Tami Hoag - Heart of Gold

They had been over this already. At three o’clock in the morning. Shane had awakened to find Faith pacing back and forth beside her bed, anxious and angry over the situation her ex-husband had embroiled her in and the feelings of helplessness that had all but overwhelmed her.

Now they sat at one of the larger tables in the inn’s dining room with afternoon light streaming in through the tall windows. The setting was different, but it was quite clear by the angle of Faith’s chin that the argument was going to be the same. Under all her sweetness, behind those gorgeous brown eyes the lady had a true Irish temper.

The door to the kitchen swung open, and Alaina and Jayne walked in, Alaina looking very official with her dark hair pulled back and black-rimmed glasses framing her arctic blue eyes. Jayne’s expression was one of wide-eyed intensity, as if she had just been thrust into a scene in a movie. Shane bristled at the intrusion, but Faith cut him off before he could voice his objection.

“I asked Alaina and Jayne to sit in on this meeting,” she said. Shane shot a burning look her way. Her slim shoulders stiffened, and she stuck her chin out a little farther. “Alaina is my attorney, and Jayne is… well… Jayne is my friend.”

“And spiritual confidant,” Jayne added, sliding down on a chair.

Shane rolled his eyes. Banks frowned, but it was hard to discern whether he was frowning at the addition to the powwow or at Jayne’s outfit-a wildly flowered dirndl skirt that hung to her dainty ankles and an oversize Notre Dame T-shirt, the end of which was tied in a knot at her waist.

“As I was saying,” Shane began in a tight voice, when the door swung open again and Mr. Fitz marched in.

“Here I am, as ye asked, lassie,” he said, nodding purposefully to Faith as he tugged on the bottom of his smelly brown coat.

The glower Shane turned on her was almost enough to make Faith swallow her bravado. “Are you the least familiar with the concept of the need-to-know basis?” he questioned in a dark, silky voice.

“Um… Mr. Fitz lives here,” she said, not wanting to admit she had wanted all these people present for moral support more than anything. “He needs to know.”

Shane’s hands clenched the edge of the table like vise clamps as he struggled with his temper. “Why don’t we just call the Anastasia Gazette and tell them everything that’s going on here?”

Faith sniffed. “You don’t have to get snippy.”

“I’m drawing the line here, Faith,” Shane said through his teeth. He turned to the bearded, bedraggled caretaker. “You can go, Mr. Fitz. You don’t need to know.”

The old man’s beetle brows waggled furiously as he gave Shane a hard stare, then turned and left, grumbling under his breath.

“Can we get on with this, please?” Banks asked pointedly.

“Yes.” Shane turned toward Faith once again and gave her a direct order. “Pack what you need. We’re moving you out of here.”

“No.” She watched Shane blow smoke out of his nose and wondered how much of it could be attributed to his mood rather than his cigarette. He didn’t like her plan, but her mind was made up. She was all through playing this hellish waiting game. The scare she’d had over Lindy’s disappearance the day before had pushed her to take the offensive. Her chin came up a notch, and she turned toward Banks, meeting his bloodshot green eyes with a fierce look.

“I want the man caught. I want him punished.”

Banks opened his mouth to comment, but Shane ignored his boss. All his attention was focused on the woman he had just discovered that he loved. “I want you safe, Faith.”

“That’s what I want too,” Faith insisted, her eyes begging him to understand. “I can’t go on like this, living in a state of terror, waiting and waiting. I can’t go on letting William Gerrard victimize me.”

Shane’s stubborn expression didn’t alter a fraction. “Then we’ll put you in a safe house until the trial is over.”

“And then what? What do I do if you never catch this madman? Am I supposed to go on forever waiting for William’s accomplice to take revenge?”

She wasn’t going to like his next suggestion, Shane knew, but it was the only foolproof solution. It was the solution the frightened man inside him wanted put into motion immediately-anything to keep Faith safe. The idea of anyone hurting her or Lindy scared the hell out of him. “Then we put you in the witness protection program.”

“Absolutely not. This inn is my home, Shane, my dream. I came here with my friends to start a new life. I will not let William steal that from me. When I left him, I vowed I would never let him manipulate me again. That’s exactly what I’d be doing if I went into hiding. I want this ended now.” She turned back toward Banks. “I want to set a trap.”

Again when Banks opened his mouth to offer an opinion, Shane jumped in ahead of him. His low, rough voice had the razor edge of steel in it, which matched the glint in his gray eyes perfectly. He brought Faith’s attention back to himself by snatching hold of her wrist, as if he thought he could change her mind with the strength of his grip. “No way in hell am I letting you set yourself up as bait.”

Faith glared up at him, her dark eyes blazing. “Isn’t that what I’ve been all along?”

Shane ground his teeth. He couldn’t deny it. From the beginning the plan had been to construct a loose net around Faith in order to capture the missing piece from the DataScam puzzle. The difference-the very big difference-was that Shane hadn’t been in love with Mrs. William Gerrard, the woman he had been sent here to watch over. He was very much in love with Faith Kincaid, the woman who had quietly stolen her way into his heart over the past few weeks.

It went against everything in him to allow her to put herself in danger. In fact, the idea terrified him. It was the kind of fear that reached deep inside, past all his barriers to the lonely man who had distanced himself from others all these years. He hated the feeling, hated the way it interfered with his logic.

“What you’re talking about is entirely different.” He fairly growled the words as he ground out his cigarette on the delicate china saucer before him.

Faith met his fierce gaze without flinching. A corner of her mind was aware that Shane’s attitude was stemming from something other than professional judgment, but she couldn’t wonder about that right now. This was not the time for romantic fantasies. It was time for her to take control of her fate. “What I’m talking about is putting an end to this so I can get on with my life.”

“If we follow your damn fool plan, you may not have a life to get on with!” Trying to dominate her with his size, he leaned over her until they were practically nose to nose. Faith didn’t so much as blink.

“I’m with Shane,” Alaina announced. Faith’s expression clearly branded her a traitor, but that didn’t sway Alaina’s judgment. “You’re under no obligation to help catch this person, Faith. The burden of his arrest is on the government, as is your right to protection. As your legal counsel and your friend, I advise against your scheme.”

“Well, I’m with Faith,” Jayne said, always ready to stick up for the underdog. “A person can live in suspense for only so long-about the length of a Hitchcock movie. This has already gone on too long. And if Faith strongly feels it’s her destiny to help capture this man… well, then maybe it’s just her karma,” she said with a decisive nod. She gave Faith her most supportive look. “As long as there’s a hundred cops around and no chance of you getting hurt, I think it’s a good idea.”

Alaina slanted her a look. “This from someone who thought mood rings were a good idea.”