conditions for a while—”
She grinned. “Just for a while. Not for long. I can see how much it means to you.”
“Uh-huh. Well, until you get into another croquet state of mind, I kind of liked your idea about hide-and-seek, using my rules of course. We hide together and pretend there's someone after us. That way, we can maintain the suspense of the game, plus have each other to share the fun.” “What about my rule of no clothes?”
He nodded. “It’s a good rule. I say we keep it.” “You know, I had no idea you were such a game-playing sort of person.”
“I told you, only with women who have velvet-brown eyes and silky brown hair.”
She grinned, pulled the letter from the envelope, and scanned it. “A last-minute plea for tickets.” She handed him the letter and reached for another envelope. “Ill have to tell them that they’re welcome to come to the ball,” she said, opening the next envelope, “but unfortunately they won’t be able to stay here. I’m happy to say SwanSea is booked to capacity for the weekend."
He recognized the name on the letter. “It won’t be any trouble for them to fly their private jet in for the evening. Mr. Lawrence cam send a car to the airport for them.” He glanced at her and saw her pulling out a letter from the second envelope. “Hey, I thought you were going to wait until tomorrow.”
“I am, but they’re kind of like potato chips, I can’t seem to open just one. I promise, though, this will be the last.” She bent her head to the letter, and in the next moment felt the blood drain from her face.
Amarillo saw her go pale. “What’s wrong?” Without saying a word, she handed him the sheet of paper.
He looked down and saw that letters had been cut from magazines and pasted together to form a message. It read:
Come back home now! If you don’t start minding me, I’ll make you mind me.
“Dammit!” He grabbed up the envelope and saw that it was addressed to her at SwanSea and had been postmarked from Boston. “The bastard changed his method of operating. I put a trace on your phone here, but I didn’t think to intercept your mail.”
Her glance shot to the phone by her bed, then back to him. “You put a trace on my phone without telling me?”
“You bet I did, and I offer no apology.”
She was too shaken by the note to argue with him. She took the sheet of paper back from him and stared down at the pasted letters. “I thought I had left this behind in Boston.”
"I was hoping he wouldn’t be smart enough to put two and two together immediately and realize you were here.”
“But you said that no one followed me.”
“No one did. Unfortunately this guy is tenacious, and on top of that he seems to know a lot about you.”
Her eyes widened with horror. “Do you mean this person might be an acquaintance of mine?”
“I don’t have enough to go on yet to say for certain, but it’s possible. Or he could be a stranger who has made you his obsession and has studied you to the point that he knows everything a person can who is outside your family and circle of friends.”
“You’re frightening me.”
He had chosen his words for that very effect. As much as he hated the apprehension he saw in her eyes, he had felt it necessary to be blunt with her. “You didn’t take the phone calls seriously. I hope now you’ll understand why I think you should take precautions.”
“What sort of precautions?”
“You need to be under guard.”
She shot off the couch and circled around behind it. “Absolutely not!”
He turned so he could see her. “Angelica, didn’t you read the note? He said if you didn’t mind him, he would make you mind him. That’s a threat. He's saying, in effect, that if you don’t do as he says and go home, he will do something to make you. ”
A wave of panic rose up in her. She waited until it had receded before she went on. “He’s only using words, Amarillo. Letters pasted on a page. He hasn’t
She grinned. “Just for a while. Not for long. I can see how much it means to you.”
“Uh-huh. Well, until you get into another croquet state of mind, I kind of liked your idea about hide-and-seek, using my rules of course. We hide together and pretend there's someone after us. That way, we can maintain the suspense of the game, plus have each other to share the fun.” “What about my rule of no clothes?”
He nodded. “It’s a good rule. I say we keep it.” “You know, I had no idea you were such a game-playing sort of person.”
“I told you, only with women who have velvet-brown eyes and silky brown hair.”
She grinned, pulled the letter from the envelope, and scanned it. “A last-minute plea for tickets.” She handed him the letter and reached for another envelope. “Ill have to tell them that they’re welcome to come to the ball,” she said, opening the next envelope, “but unfortunately they won’t be able to stay here. I’m happy to say SwanSea is booked to capacity for the weekend."
He recognized the name on the letter. “It won’t be any trouble for them to fly their private jet in for the evening. Mr. Lawrence cam send a car to the airport for them.” He glanced at her and saw her pulling out a letter from the second envelope. “Hey, I thought you were going to wait until tomorrow.”
“I am, but they’re kind of like potato chips, I can’t seem to open just one. I promise, though, this will be the last.” She bent her head to the letter, and in the next moment felt the blood drain from her face.
Amarillo saw her go pale. “What’s wrong?” Without saying a word, she handed him the sheet of paper.
He looked down and saw that letters had been cut from magazines and pasted together to form a message. It read:
Come back home now! If you don’t start minding me, I’ll make you mind me.
“Dammit!” He grabbed up the envelope and saw that it was addressed to her at SwanSea and had been postmarked from Boston. “The bastard changed his method of operating. I put a trace on your phone here, but I didn’t think to intercept your mail.”
Her glance shot to the phone by her bed, then back to him. “You put a trace on my phone without telling me?”
“You bet I did, and I offer no apology.”
She was too shaken by the note to argue with him. She took the sheet of paper back from him and stared down at the pasted letters. “I thought I had left this behind in Boston.”
"I was hoping he wouldn’t be smart enough to put two and two together immediately and realize you were here.”
“But you said that no one followed me.”
“No one did. Unfortunately this guy is tenacious, and on top of that he seems to know a lot about you.”
Her eyes widened with horror. “Do you mean this person might be an acquaintance of mine?”
“I don’t have enough to go on yet to say for certain, but it’s possible. Or he could be a stranger who has made you his obsession and has studied you to the point that he knows everything a person can who is outside your family and circle of friends.”
“You’re frightening me.”
He had chosen his words for that very effect. As much as he hated the apprehension he saw in her eyes, he had felt it necessary to be blunt with her. “You didn’t take the phone calls seriously. I hope now you’ll understand why I think you should take precautions.”
“What sort of precautions?”
“You need to be under guard.”
She shot off the couch and circled around behind it. “Absolutely not!”
He turned so he could see her. “Angelica, didn’t you read the note? He said if you didn’t mind him, he would make you mind him. That’s a threat. He's saying, in effect, that if you don’t do as he says and go home, he will do something to make you. ”
A wave of panic rose up in her. She waited until it had receded before she went on. “He’s only using words, Amarillo. Letters pasted on a page. He hasn’t
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