“What?” she whispered.

“In order to make me feel that you loved me!” he yelled.

“I do love you,” she wailed.

“Bull!” he shouted and turned on his heel for the door.

Marisa ran after him and grabbed his arm. He wheeled and seized her shoulders so hard that she winced.

“Stay away from me,” he said warningly. “I don’t want to hurt you but I just might, so leave me alone.” He released her suddenly and bolted through the doors before she could say anything else.

Marisa looked after him despairingly, still trying to absorb what had happened since she arrived at the courthouse that morning.

* * *

“What are you doing back so early?” Tracy said, looking up from her pile of notes. Then her expression changed. “My God, you look ghastly. What happened?”

Marisa told her, as briefly as possible, while Tracy stared at her in appalled silence.

“I can’t believe it,” Tracy whispered.

“That makes two of us,” Marisa said, unbuttoning her jacket, still in a state of shock.

“What are you going to do?”

“I have no idea,” Marisa said miserably, wiping her eyes.

“You have to find Block, that’s the first thing.”

“I’ve already called the Bureau three times and left messages. His secretary keeps saying that he’s in a meeting.”

“I’ll bet—what used to be called a lynching party. He never thought Brady would turn him in to Lasky. I knew Block was stupid.”

“And now he’s trying to bail himself out by saying it was all my idea,” Marisa replied.

“Oh, he won’t get away with that. He’s just buying time. You’ll straighten it out in the end. You’ll see.”

“I’d better, or I’ll be lining up at the unemployment office.” Marisa sat down hard and stared at the carpet fixedly without replying.

“That’s not the worst of it, is it?” Tracy murmured.

Marisa raised her eyes. “Tracy, Jack wouldn’t even listen to me,” she said softly.

“He’s just hurt, Marisa. Once he calms down he’ll think better of it and call you. I know it.”

Marisa shook her head. “You weren’t there, you didn’t see his face.” She threw up her hands. “How could he take the word of that snake from the Bureau over mine?”

“He’s not in love with Block. He’s in love with you.”

“Oh, what does that mean?” Marisa moaned.

“It means he’s proud and sensitive and taking a big chance on you, right? Even the suggestion that you might not feel the same way about him, that you might have had ulterior motives for your relationship with him, is bound to drive him wild.”

“But it isn’t true!”

“He’ll see that eventually.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“Why don’t you give him a day or two to cool down and then go and see him?”

“Assuming he doesn’t shoot me on sight.”

“He’ll calm down.”

“I wish I could be sure of that. He was wild, Tracy. I’ve never seen him like that.”

“But you knew that potential was there,” Tracy replied.

Marisa looked at her.

“That’s part of what attracted you to him so strongly, isn’t it?” Tracy said sagely.

“I’ve never analyzed it,” Marisa said.

“I have.”

“Of course.”

“It’s the attraction of opposites. There’s a lake of fire smoldering beneath that polished surface of Jack’s, and you’ve always known that, haven’t you?”

“I didn’t expect it to burn me!” Marisa protested. “He was so unreasonable. Nothing I said had the slightest impact on him .”

“What did you think would happen?”

“I thought he would have some faith in me!”

“Maybe he’s more insecure than he seems,” Tracy observed.

Marisa snorted.

“I mean it. Look at his background, look where he comes from. He must have had some dreadful experiences while he was growing up.”

“He won’t talk about it much, but I think you’re right.”

“So there! You must seem like a goddess to him.”

“Please,” Marisa said disgustedly.

“Think about it. Sure, he’s gorgeous. Sure, he’s been around quite a bit, but has he ever had a serious adult relationship with somebody like you? I doubt it. Is it any wonder that he’s vulnerable to the suggestion that you were manipulating him?”

“But what do I have to do to convince him otherwise? He’s turned into a madman!”

“Wait it out, as I said. He’ll come around. In the meantime, let’s see if we can unearth Randall Block.”

“And I’d better call Charlie at the firm right now and tell him what’s happened,” Marisa said resignedly.

“Don’t you think you should alert his cardiac specialist first?” Tracy said dryly.

“If he thinks I was in on the bribe I’ll kill myself.”

“I wouldn’t worry about Charlie. He’s got a high tech computer ticking away in his chest. He’s never allowed an emotion to cloud his judgment in his life.”

Marisa nodded and picked up the phone.

* * *

Jack shut down the word processing program in disgust and threw his notes in the trash. It was impossible to work. He couldn’t think straight enough to count to ten. His manuscript would be late, his editor would go crazy, and the NFN case against the government was stalled indefinitely while Lasky tried to decide who was lying about what. His life was in a shambles, all because he was stupid enough to fall for a regal blonde with an innocent manner and a heart of stone.

He sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He was not crying; his eyes were tearing from fatigue. He blinked until he had himself under control and then rose to get a drink.

In the kitchen he fumbled around for the bottle of whiskey at the back of the cabinet. When he located it he splashed several fingers of the amber liquid into a glass and drank it neat. He gasped as it hit his stomach and the fire spread through his belly. It didn’t help much, but a little. Any relief was welcome.

He couldn’t wait to wrap up this case and leave Florida forever. All it meant to him now was bittersweet memories he wished he could erase from his brain. It was no fun recalling what an idiot he had been, and a change of scenery might make it easier to forget. He was sorely tempted to jump on a plane and let Brady wrap up the case alone, but that was a little too much like flight, and he was damned if he was going to run. He would face her down and show her up for the rotten little deceiver she was.

Jack looked at the bottle and then resolutely put it away. His father had been an alcoholic, and he was not heading down that road. He had been through many painful episodes before and had survived them. He would survive this, even though it didn’t seem like it at the moment.

He couldn’t forget Block’s smug expression as the agent told him how Marisa had come to him with her clever plan to put an end to the NFN case. The warning signs had been there all along, of course, but Jack had been too much in love to heed them. Marisa’s career was very important to her. She prided herself on her win record, and she especially wanted to beat that overblown gas bag Ben Brady. She couldn’t lose, that was all, and when she saw that she was going to do just that she pulled a last rabbit out of the hat to try to save the situation. And her relationship with Jack had been a ploy to keep him off guard and maybe get some inside information while she worked the angles. He was a jerk, all right, a prize bull led to the slaughter by the delicate scent of perfume.

Jack swallowed the rest of his drink abruptly, hoping that if he got semi-sloshed he’d be able to sleep. Then he felt his way upstairs in the dark and fell into bed.

* * *

Marisa took Tracy’s advice and waited three days before she went to see Jack. She didn’t call first because she knew he would refuse to see her. She drove her hired car out to his isolated house just after sunset and knocked on his door with her heart banging in her chest. When he appeared seconds later she blurted out, “Don’t throw me out, Jack, please give me a chance to talk to you.”