Mark shook his head in agreement as he took the last bite of his sandwich and crumpled up his wrapper. He swiveled in his chair and shot the balled-up paper into the trashcan. Swoosh, it went into the can. “Yes,” he said, about his success.

Lindsey rolled her eyes, and laughed. “King of trashcan basketball. Just where do your skills stop?”

He smiled, seeing an opportunity and taking it. “I’m good at lots of things.” He leaned in a little closer to her, a sudden awareness between them. “Spend some time with me and you might be surprised what you discover.”

She didn’t seem to know how to respond. They sat here, attraction lacing the air, eyes locked, until she averted her gaze. “I was thinking I would do some field investigating tomorrow. We don’t have time for someone else to do it. I’ll hit the streets bright and early.”

“We’ll hit the streets,” he said, drawing her gaze. “You aren’t going without me. This is a murder investigation, remember?”

“I don’t need a bodyguard,” she said with irritation lacing her words. “I make my living protecting others.”

He held up a finger. “Did you ever go out into the field alone while you were investigating a violent crime?”

She fidgeted in her chair. “Well . . .”

“Exactly. I’ll pick you up in the morning. Write down your address for me. It’s that or I’m hiring a buddy of mine to do the field work.”

“We don’t have time for someone else to get up and running.”

Mark’s tone was confident. “Royce Walker doesn’t need time to get up and running.”

“Royce Walker, as in the state security liaison?”

Mark grinned. “Yep, the one and only.”

“I still think I can do a better job in less time.”

He shrugged. “Then you will have to put up with me tagging along.”

Lindsey grimaced but wrote down her address and phone number. “If you get lost, call me.”

He gave her a ‘you’re-kidding’ look. “I won’t get lost.”

“Of course not. Not Mark Reeves,” she mocked.

Mark ignored her. “Nine o’clock.”

She nodded her agreement. “Lose the suit,” she said pointing to his jacket.

Mark stood up and started to take off his jacket.

“Stop!” Lindsey shouted. “What are you doing?”

“You said lose the suit,” he said, playfully dumbfounded.

“You knew what I meant,” she insisted. “Don’t wear a suit for the field work.”

He frowned. “You sure? I’ll be happy to lose it now.” Amusement danced in his eyes.

She harrumphed. He rubbed his hand on his jaw. “What does that mean?”

Her brows went up. “Nothing,” She paused a second. “Not really. I just didn’t see you having a sense of humor, that’s all.”

He wasn’t sure he liked that. In fact, he knew he didn’t. He sat back down. “Let’s back up here. Your early assessment didn’t seem very flattering. Do you mind telling me exactly what you thought of me?”

She studied his sexy brown eyes, wondering what parts of her first impression she should share. “You know they call you a cobra in the courtroom. I thought they were right.”

“I see.” His words were long and drawn out. “A cobra.”

He picked up the Williams file and started flipping through it, not one bit pleased. He’d put his life on hold to help a woman who thought he was a damn snake.

Lindsey frowned. “Mark?”

“Yes?” he said, without looking up from the file.

She reached out and touched his arm. Heat shot up his arm. His eyes lifted to hers. He was losing his freaking mind. No woman impacted him like this. He looked at her lips. Kissing her was on his mind.

“I was only teasing you about the cobra stuff, just because of the reputation you have. I admire you for your achievements. I told my father he was wrong about you.”

He wasn’t sure what to do with this new information. She’d talked to Edward about him. “I turned down your offer. Why would you defend me?”

She gave him a rueful smile. “Believe it or not, aside from the Hudson mess, I have always been a good judge of character. Just because you ticked me off doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. That’s just one of the many differences between my father and me. He can’t separate the two. Besides,” she added, “if there’s a cobra around, I want him on my side.” She playfully poked his arm.

He smiled. Then, before he could respond, she added, suddenly serious, “I do appreciate you coming back, even if it isn’t exactly on the terms I had hoped for.”

“So,” Mark said in a slow, playful voice. “How much do you appreciate it?”

She eyed him. “What?”

“How much do you appreciate me being here?” He grinned.

She rolled her eyes. “Why do I know you are being bad, Mark Reeves?”

He laughed. “I’m good when I’m bad, baby.”

She gaped at him. “You’re out of control.”

A glimmer of heat sparked in his eye. “Hmm, I am. I think you should do something about it.”

She shook her head. “That,” she said sharply, “would be dangerous.”

“I thought you liked danger, being FBI and all.”

She glowered at him. “Will you be serious?” she said, abruptly changing the subject. “Please. Now, I want to know how bad the books really are.”

He longed to pull her back into her playful mood. But it was too late. With a brief moment of regret, he answered. “I do my job well. It will be fine.”

“That bad?” she asked apprehensively.

He sighed. “It could be worse.”

“Oh,” she said flatly. “That bad.”

“Don’t worry, it will be fine.” And it would be. He was going to make sure of it.

Irritation flickered in her eyes. “Mark, don’t protect me. I hate being coddled. Tell me how bad it is.”

“I’m not protecting you. I’m simply not done with my analysis,” he countered.

Her eyes narrowed. “You are too. You’ve said as much.”

He laughed. There was no fooling Lindsey. “I’m sure. Look, let’s make a deal.”

“Another one?” she asked incredulously.

He slanted her a plaintive look. “I never make a promise I can’t keep, so let’s compromise.”

She jumped in. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Let’s try this again,” he said with forced patience. “Where I come from, a compromise is better than a lack of one. Should I continue?” He crossed his arms in front of his body and waited for her answer.

She made a face. “Fine.”

“When it comes to business matters, I’ll tell you the cold, hard facts. However, I can’t and won’t promise not to be protective in matters involving rapists and murderers. It’s just not in my chemical makeup.”

“Fine. I’m too tired to argue.” Her tone was tense. “Do you have the Hudson file?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I just want to look through it tonight,” she said quietly.

He studied her expression. “The similarities are bothering you?”

“The marks on the girls’ arms.” Lindsey grabbed the file and pulled the pictures out again. She held up several pictures, one at a time, and pointed to each girl’s arms. “The markings on their skin, the similarities in the girls’ appearance . . .” she paused deeply in thought, “I don’t know. It just bothers me.”

It bothered him too. The way Lindsey resembled the victims bugged the hell out of him. “Yeah, I have to admit something doesn’t feel right. I did some research after you left my apartment the other day. There are too many parallels in the two cases for comfort.”

Her face was filled with concern. “Yeah, I know. I think we should go interview Williams before we do anything else tomorrow.”

“A good plan,” Mark said.

She glanced up at him. “I scheduled the partners’ meeting. Everyone had a lot of questions, but I put them off for the most part. I figured you might have your own approach to things.”

Mark leaned back in his chair, his hands resting on the arms. “Yes, actually I do.”

* * * * *

Exhausted both mentally and physically, Lindsey stepped in the front door of her one-bedroom apartment and wearily discarded her belongings on the foyer table. She started walking towards the living room when a sudden wave of unease stopped her dead in her tracks. She turned and walked to the door and flipped the locks into place. She pushed to her tiptoes and looked through the peephole.