Carter rented a sleek, black Mercedes Benz sedan, and he gunned the engine hard as he drove them out to the North Cove Marina. Kat liked watching him behind the wheel—a melding of man and machine, sophistication and aggression. As much as Carter eschewed the trappings of contemporary civilization, he certainly wore them well.

The engine revved up through the seat, her body seeking it out even as she knew it wasn’t appropriate. Something about that made it all the more tempting for her to focus on her new physical sensitivity, and her reignited imagination and intellect. Things were coming alive for her, around her and inside of her, and it effected every minute of every day—the way she saw everything, herself included.

The Fields family met aboard their yacht—an eighty-foot craft that looked as much like a spaceship as anything else. The bow was sleek and pointed, the several decks broad and welcoming at the stern, black windows protecting the privacy of the cabin.

Carter seemed very relaxed in his casual wear—slacks and a polo shirt, and though Kat was dressed for the weather in a pair of capris pants and a red-and-white stripped top, looking and feeling a bit like a young Audrey Hepburn, she knew it would take more than fun clothes to achieve anything like comfort among the super-wealthy Fields family. Her stomach turned with nerves, and Carter seemed to sense it. He took her hand as he led her up the gangplank and onto the yacht.

Kat noticed that the name of the boat, painted on the stern, was Other People’s Money.

Carter turned as three people approached them—two male twins and a woman, all in their early thirties.

“Leen, these are my brothers and sister, Houston, Austin Jr, whom we call AJ, and Meadow.” He smiled and turned to his siblings. “This is Kathleen Le Fleur.”

They shared smiled and nods and coldhearted handshakes. Meadow asked, “What’s that he called you, hon?”

“Leen, it’s just short for Kathleen.”

“I’ve never heard of that,” AJ said.

“My father used to call me Leen.” A tense silence followed.

Meadow forced out a fake smile. “Well, whatever you like to be called, you’re welcome here. Come in, have a drink.” Leen and Carter followed them up to one of the decks, where a wet bar was set up, a young man in a red jacket already shaking a martini.

Carter looked around. “So, where is he? Don’t tell me he didn’t show up?”

Houston said, “Carter, honestly, he’s the one who keeps sending us to come get you. He wants you back in the fold more than any of us.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Carter grumbled.

“As I live and can barely breathe,” the low voice said, aged with brandy and experience. The man who owned it stepped out of the cabin, white slacks and a navy blue blazer. “The Prodigal Son.” He extended his hand and Carter shook it, though Kat could sense no real warmth between them. The man looked like his twin sons—blond and handsome—but aging well beyond their years, of course. He extended his hand and introduced himself. “Austin Fields.”

“Kathleen Le Fleur.”

Meadow said, “Her friends call her Leen; isn’t that…sweet?”

The elder Fields said, “At my age, it’s a lot more pleasant that Kath, I can tell you that. Who’s ready for lunch?”

“I was,” Kat said, the Fields chuckling around her.

The lobster was perfectly cooked, tender and flakey and dripping in hot butter. The garden salad was crisp and colorful, the clam chowder warm and soothing against the bracing breeze off the Atlantic Ocean.

“So,” AJ said to Leen, “what is it that you do, um, Leen?”

“I founded a party entertainment company,” she replied, ready to hold her ground for whatever questions came her way.

Houston asked, “Escorts?”

Not sure how to respond but not wanting to linger in that nasty, insulting silence, she said, “Clowns, bouncy houses, that sort of thing.”

Carter asked Houston, “How can you ask her that?”

But his brother only shrugged. “Considering your own line of work.” The other Fields family members snickered.

Houston asked, “How did you two meet?”

“On the job, actually,” Kat said.

Meadow gave that some thought. “Carter was at one of your kids’ parties?”

And Kat just looked at her blankly and said, “No.” A tense pallor fell over the table, a seagull crying as it soared overhead. “Carter tells me the family is in pharmaceuticals.”

“That’s right,” the senior Fields said with a proud smile on his aging face. “We’re protecting the American people, everyone in the world, the very best we can.”

“And that’s a very noble calling,” Kat said, “I don’t quite see why Carter is so strongly against it.” Carter seemed surprised by Kat’s turn, but even more intrigued by it, and she was gratified that he was willing to give her a chance, especially with people he knew well and she didn’t know at all.

But she knew him, and she knew their type. And more and more, she was coming to know herself, and she liked what she was discovering.

“After all, he only brings joy to people in their daily lives, just a little break from the ordinary. But your business, that’s the big-time, that’s life and death!”

“Precisely, young woman.”

“Though all studies show that an active sex life is one of the most healthy practices there is—adds years to your life.” The Fields family looked at her dumbstruck, Carter harboring a little smile.

Austin Fields set his utensils down. “By paid sex workers?”

“But he’s not a paid sex worker. He’s a service provider. I paid for the kidnapping. The sex was free.”

The Field family was aghast, looking at Carter with shocked, opened mouths.

Carter could only shrug, eating happily. “When she’s right, she’s right.”

“Miss,” Austin said, standing, “I think it’s time you leave.”

Kat remained calm, absorbing the glares of those wicked Fields siblings. “But whatever for? I was simply agreeing with you that healthcare is important.”

“She’s right, Pop.”

“What would you know? With as little time as you spend around us, you can’t claim to know us at all.”

“You’re mistaking me for having wanted to,” Carter retorted.

Kat held her hands out to calm the table. “I was only saying—”

“You were only stirring things up,” Meadow snapped. “And you’ve been asked to leave.”

Kat glanced at Carter and he back at her. With no further conferring, they stood. She said, “Thank you for having me; I’m sorry to have offended you.”

Carter said to them, “A pleasure, as always,” before letting Kat slide her arm under his to escort her off the boat, for what both were certain would be the very last time.