Against the Law by Kat Martin Page B

they?”
    His gaze moved to the east side of the road. “They look damned rugged. I’d hate to get lost out there.”
    Lark’s gaze remained on the rocky gray peaks. “Me, too.” But she was imagining what it would be like to climb to the top and look out over the valley floor below. As a kid, she had hiked with her dad. The family had even gone camping on occasion. The memory was bittersweet with both her parents gone.
    They drove in silence for a while, admiring the landscape and thinking their own private thoughts.
    â€œWe’re getting fairly close,” Dev said as the miles slipped away. “Probably be better if we head straight for the house. Maybe we’ll get lucky and Catherine or Byron will be home with Chrissy. If not we can go back to the candle shop.”
    â€œThat sounds like a good idea.”
    â€œIt might be better if we take them by surprise. We don’t know how these people are going to react when they find out we know about the illegal adoption. We don’t want them running, or shipping the baby off somewhere we can’t find her.”
    Lark fell silent. In her mind, she had already decided the Wellers were going to be really great people who loved little Chrissy as if she were their biological daughter. They would be wary of her and Dev at first, but in the end, they would open their home and their hearts to Chrissy’s aunt and the man who’d helped find her niece.
    That was what she believed, but deep down she knew there was a chance the outcome could be far different.
    The historic town of Tubac loomed in the distance. Following the print of the computer map Chaz had emailed to Dev, they stayed on the road and continued toward the High Plains Resort and Golf Course.
    â€œHow far out of town is it?” Lark asked.
    â€œLess than twenty miles. According to Chaz, the development is only twenty-five miles from the border.” Dev handed her the map. “The development’s too new for the roads to show up on the nav system. You’ll have to play copilot.”
    She looked down at the map, the tension beginning to build. “We’re getting close to the turnoff.” She found herself perching on the edge of her seat as she checked the map, looked up and excitedly spotted the exit they were looking for.
    â€œThere it is!”
    Dev pulled the Suburban off the highway onto a frontage road marked with arrows pointing toward the High Plains Resort. The entry was impressive. A huge arched gate marked the palm-lined road leading to the clubhouse, a Spanish-style building on the eighteenth hole of an immaculately maintained golf course.
    â€œTake the first street to the right,” Lark instructed, keeping a close eye on the map. “It’s just past the tennis courts. Then take the first left.” A series of winding roads led them through the impressively landscaped community.
    â€œIt’s gorgeous,” Lark said, caught up in the size andluxury of the homes being built around the course, which sparkled with lakes surrounded by smoke trees.
    Only about a quarter of the housing development was complete. Another quarter was under construction, and the other half of the oversize lots were still for sale. With the backdrop of the rugged desert mountains, it was beautiful, the huge homes all built in a Spanish, tile-roofed motif, yet the variety of the architecture was spectacular.
    â€œI’m surprised it isn’t gated,” Lark said as they made their way toward the address Chaz had given them.
    â€œI imagine it will be, once all the construction is finished. Right now, it wouldn’t do much good, not with so many workmen and vehicles going in and out.”
    Which, of course, was to their advantage. As Dev had said, there was no way to know what sort of reception they might receive. If there was a guard at the gate, the Wellers might not grant them permission to enter.
    Not that it would keep them away