The Desperate Game: (InterMix) by Jayne Castle

really going to pull me out of StarrTech?”
    He was annoyed at how easily she ignored his invitation for brandy. “I’ll let you know tomorrow. I have a meeting with Hampton Starr in the morning. After that I’ll make some plans. But, yes, I think I may set you free.”
    “And the Elf? He’ll keep quiet?”
    “You have my word.”
    “I don’t see how you can be so damned sure of what he’ll do,” she said fretfully.
    “He’s my friend,” Zac said simply.
    “Someday,” she announced coolly, “I’d like to hear the story of that friendship.”
    Zac felt the shiver of excitement and relief that went through him. It was the first time she had ever mentioned a future that even remotely involved him. “Someday,” he said very carefully, “I’ll tell you the story.” He got to his feet. “Ready to go home?”
    “Yes.”
    “About that brandy . . .”
    She hesitated, reaching for her suit jacket. “I have some at home.”
    He let out the breath he’d been holding and thought about the first night he’d met her. “I remember.” His hand closed aggressively around the doorknob, and he had to stop himself from slamming the door shut behind him too violently. The anticipation he felt was suddenly difficult to channel and control.
    As she walked out onto the sidewalk beside him, Guinevere felt the strange tension that seemed to emanate from Zac’s solidly built body. It fed her own uneasy sense of being at a crossroads. This was ridiculous. The relationship, such as it had been, was about to conclude. It sounded as though Zac had decided she wasn’t going to be of much help in his investigation. This was the time to be slipping out of the Frog’s clutches, she told herself firmly. So why was she inviting him home for brandy?
    They walked the few blocks down to her apartment building in Pioneer Square without saying much of anything. She would not have made the walk alone at night, but with Zac as an escort Guinevere felt oddly safe. In silence Guinevere turned the key in her lock and let Zac in behind her. She tried to think of something suitably flippant and casual to say as she turned on the lights and found the brandy.
    “Well, here’s to my short stint as blackmail victim and undercover detective.” She handed him his glass and raised her own in mocking salute.
    Zac sat down across from her and warmed his brandy by cupping his large hands around the glass. “The end of what might have been a brilliant career.”
    “I doubt it.”
    He smiled briefly. “Oh, I don’t know. You got a little rush out of that illegal entry the other night.”
    “A rush? I was terrified!”
    “The terror’s part of the rush, I think.” He sounded as though he were just now thinking it through in his head.
    “Believe me, I’ve no wish to repeat the experience.” She shuddered delicately. “I’ll stick to the daily terrors of getting temps to the clients on time. That’s about all the excitement I can handle.”
    “Is that right? Coming from someone who was willing to risk draining ten grand out of StarrTech’s benefits program, that’s rather amusing.”
    Guinevere winced. “I suppose it must look a little as if I lack some scruples . . .”
    “I didn’t say that. It looks as if you’ve got some nerve. Just like you had the nerve to follow me into Bender’s house the other evening. Here’s to your nerve, Guinevere Jones.” He took a deep swallow of the brandy and then set down his glass.
    “Thanks. I think.” She watched him closely, unsure of what was going to happen next. The tension in the air was rapidly turning electric. “Good luck to you, Zac. I hope you find your white-collar criminal.”
    “Sooner or later I will. Just another bone.” He didn’t take his eyes from hers. “But we’re not quite finished, you and I, Gwen.”
    “No?”
    “No. I said I’d make the decision tomorrow.”
    She nodded once. “Yes.”
    “That leaves us with tonight.”
    “Yes.” Her fingers