Payne was in the process of putting his clothes away in the armoire when he heard Emma’s door open. That was fast, he thought, muttering a curse. Either she was much more efficient at unpacking than he was--highly unlikely--or she simply hadn’t bothered. For whatever reason--probably stupidity--the knowledge drew a smile. Clearly she had her sights set firmly on the money--on her new beginning--and taking the time to unpack didn’t warrant her attention.

He grimaced. Given what he’d just learned, it probably shouldn’t warrant his either, but old habits died hard. He liked order. Everything had a place and Payne’s world was a lot clearer when those things were as they should be. It irritated the hell out of him that he was going to have stop mid-unpack just to tail her, but it had to be done. Until he figured out how he intended to handle this, he had to keep her close at hand. He had to make sure that she didn’t by some miracle of chance get the jump on him. Bested by a woman? Geez God, he’d never live it down.

He abandoned his shaving kit, grabbed his keys and started for the door. Someone knocked on it before he could grasp the knob. Now this was a surprise, Payne thought. Logic told him that it had to be her, but logic had also told him that she’d most likely avoid him like the plague.

He’d been wrong.

Little warning bells sounded in his head at the anomaly, but he scarcely had time to heed them before he opened the door.

Five feet of pissed off female greeted him. “Where the hell do you get off having your friend call my mother?” she demanded, advancing angrily into his room without an invitation.

Payne could pretend not to know what she was talking about, but decided that would be a waste of time. If she came here for a show-down, he’d give her one. “I didn’t tell my friend to call your mother. I told him to find out who you were and what you were doing here.” He pulled a shrug, watched her interestedly scan his room. “He called your mother in the process.”

She pivoted, cocked her head and her irritated dark blue gaze found his. “Did it ever occur to you, Boy Genius, to simply ask?”

Boy Genius? “It occurred to me,” he returned mildly. “It also occurred to me that you would lie. I distinctly recall asking you at the airport of we’d ever met and you said no.”

“That wasn’t a lie. We haven’t ever met.”

Payne crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the bedpost. “But you knew who I was.”

“You didn’t ask me if I knew you--you asked if we’d ever met. The answer was no and that was not a lie.”

He made a humming noise under his breath. “I understand your mother is a beautician--did you learn how to split hairs from her?”

She stiffened once more. “You and your friends had better leave my mother out of this. That was a shitty thing to do.” Her lips twisted. “And here I’d heard you had a reputation for being honorable.”

That dart found a mark. “And I’ve heard you have a reputation for being ruthless.”

His found a mark as well, judging by the blinking pause that met his statement. “I don’t give a damn what you’ve heard,” she said, clearly lying. “I’m not ruthless, but I am determined and since I know you’re here looking for the same thing that I am, it would be extremely stupid of me to tip you off, wouldn’t it?” She snorted. “I don’t owe you a damned thing, most especially an explanation.”

All true, he knew, and yet he couldn’t help being disappointed. “No more than I owe you anything. Given the circumstances, I find it highly ironic that you don’t have any qualms about keeping me in the dark, but get pissed off when I use whatever means necessary to shed a little light on things. Guy shouldn’t have called your mother, but am I sorry that he did? No.”

“That was low.”

“So was sticking me in that little car,” he said, surprised at the level of irritation he heard in his own voice.

She smiled and flicked an imaginary speck of link off her cuff. “No, that was a stroke of genius. How does it drive, by the way?”

“Better than I expected. You should really work on handling that Hummer better, though. You were all over the road.”

A total lie, but he couldn’t stand the smug look on her face. It was provoking and Brian Payne never allowed himself to be provoked. It meant that he wasn’t in control of his own emotions, of his own person and that this little slip of a female could incite him into exchanging juvenile barbs told him he was wading into uncharted waters.

Her eyes widened in outrage. “I was not all over the road--I owned it. There’s a difference, but I guess you couldn’t see that perched five inches off the pavement, could you?”

This was pointless, Payne decided. Time to move things into a more productive line of conversation. “How much is Hastings paying you?”

“That’s none of your damned business. What’s Garrett paying you?” she shot back.

“Garrett and I have different terms, but if you’ll leave right now I’ll match Hastings offer simply to get you to leave.”

Payne blinked, certain those bored-sounding words hadn’t just come out of his mouth. Surely to God he hadn’t just tried to bribe this woman simply to be rid of her. He didn’t bribe anyone. He didn’t need to. He played by the rules and he won, fair and square. What the hell was wrong with him? He wasn’t threatened by her, dammit, though given the suddenly crafty glint in her eye that was the conclusion she’d instantly leaped to. A litany of anatomically impossible curses ricocheted through his head.

“That’s a kind offer, Major Payne. Very generous,” she said, with a patronizing little smile that made his teeth grind together. “But I think I’ll stick with my original plan.”

He leveled a cool stare at her, purposely let a beat slide into five before responded. “You’re in over your head. Are you sure?”

She met his hard stare with a surprising amount of lead in her own. “I made an agreement with Colonel Hastings,” Emma told him. “And, believe it or not, my word is worth more than your money.”

Honorable and ruthless--now there was a combination one didn’t encounter very often, Payne thought, reluctantly impressed. Unfortunately, it put them right back where they started.

At odds.

Payne nodded. “I am also a man of my word and I’ve given it to Colonel Garrett, so may the best man win.”

Those ripe strawberry lips slid into another provoking smile. “No worries. The best woman will.”

Plucky and sexy. A lethal combination. She might not be the only one in over her head, he thought, slightly alarmed.

“Tit for tat time,” Emma said. “You know Hastings has offered me a nice bonus in exchange for finding this pocket-watch. What’s Garrett giving you?”

Freedom, Payne thought instantly.

The final payment on a life he desperately wanted to leave behind. This favor for Garrett was the last tie to Danny’s death. Visiting Arlington again day before yesterday had been like sticking a hot poker into a gaping wound.

Though Payne knew he wasn’t directly responsible for Danny’s death, he’d been the one who’d coordinated that mission--his tactics had failed--and, as a result, no matter what anybody ever told him, he bore a major share of the responsibility.

Naturally they’d all known the risks--had known that death of one of more of them had been a possibility--but up until the moment Jamie had carried Danny Levinson’s lifeless body over that hill, it hadn’t been real to them.

They’d been invincible.

Untouchable.

They’d never failed. Hell, they hadn’t failed then, either, they’d just come back as three rather than four.

Did Payne doubt his mission? His service? The belief in a greater good? No. Somebody had to do the hard work and he’d always prided himself on being one of those people--on having the stones to step up--on shouldering the burden that had been passed down from generations of fearless American’s who’d laid down their lives for the freedoms and wealth their nation enjoyed.

But something had changed the night Danny died--Guy and Jamie had felt it as well. It was as though the spark that had made them the unit they’d been had been snuffed out right along with their friend. Suddenly all that had mattered was getting out--passing the torch--and starting over.

Guy had been the first to bring it up. It had been after the funeral, but before they’d even left the cemetery. A sea of white crosses, the newest of which belonging to their friend, lay out before them. “I don’t know about you guys,” he’d said. “But this Bama boy is sick of fishing and ready to cut bait.”

Both he and Jamie had been thinking the same thing. They’d merely nodded and, after a final goodbye, turned and walked away. The idea of Ranger Security had been borne and Payne had once again lost himself in the details.

Deadened his pain with daily minutia.

One way or another, though, by the end of the week, his debt to Garrett will have been paid. God willing, he could make a clean break and, while he never expected to understand Danny’s death--to an organized mind, there was no way to process senselessness--he hoped that he could come to terms with it. To move on and get past a margin of the guilt. For whatever reason, this favor to Garrett was hopelessly connected to the former. That’s what Garrett was giving him.

That’s why he couldn’t bail.

That’s why he couldn’t walk away.

But he couldn’t tell her that anymore than he could explain it to Guy, so he twisted his lips into a semblance of a smile and fired her line right back at her. “It’s none of your damned business.”

 

*   *   *

 

Reading Brian Payne was like staring at an out-of-tune TV screen that occasionally flashed into focus and then trying to make sense of the whole program with only a few frames for guidance. From the instant she’d barged into this room, Emma had been catching flashes of him, but never the total picture.

For instance, only a second ago she’d glimpsed a pain so stark that it made her breath catch, then just as quickly it was gone, only to be replaced by a fleeting look of fierce determination. Then he’d told her his reasons for looking for the pocket-watch were none of her damned business and was currently staring at her as though he wasn’t quite sure what to do or say next.

Brian Payne at a loss. Surely this was a momentous occasion, she thought, suppressing a smile.

Emma was suddenly aware of his big shoulder leaned so casually against the bedpost, the intriguing landscape of muscle displayed beneath his khaki cable-knit sweater. He’d pushed the sleeves up a bit, revealing forearms that were equally muscled and covered with a smooth dusting of light blonde hair.

His hands were big and capable and a rush of heat flooded her belly as a picture of those hands splayed across her naked back leapt instantly to mind. He could easily span her waist, she realized, and the knowledge was like an immediate aphrodisiac, making her senses swim, her nipples tingle and her stomach flutter. He reminded her of a palomino stallion she’d seen once, huge and glorious and splendidly proportioned. Harnessed energy and strength, ready for action should the need arise.

A soft breath stuttered from between her lips as the rest of the room seemed to shrink and the bed loomed even larger into focus. In less than a blink of an eye she imagined them naked and sweaty, her riding him until every bit of that legendary ice melted, leaving nothing but a sizzling, steamy puddle of satisfied man. Fire licked through her veins, flaring hotter in her breasts and settling in for a slow burn in her sex.

A knock at the door startled Emma out of her daydream. Payne pushed away from the bedpost and answered it, giving her a chance to wipe some of the imaginary dribble off her chin.

Good Lord, she had to get a grip. He was a man, Emma told herself. That was all.

Yeah, and the Great Wall of China was a chain link fence, too, she thought with an inward snort, briefly wondering if sexual attraction could make a person’s reason completely snap. Hers had definitely suffered some sort of fracture over the past few hours, otherwise she wouldn’t be standing in her competition’s room, imagining carnal acts of depravity fit for a premium porn channel.

“Cookies and lemonade,” Emma heard a familiar friendly voice say. It was the same older gentleman--Matthew, Norah’s father, if memory served--who’d delivered her refreshments as well.

Payne murmured a thank you, then went to give the man a tip.

“Oh, we’ll have none of that,” he said with a soft chuckle. “Just compliment the cook and that’s tip enough. Enjoy your stay.”

Payne looked momentarily out of his element, as though he wasn’t accustomed to anyone refusing a tip. Given the trendy clothes, the designer watch she’d noticed only moments ago and the pricey Italian loafers on his enormous feet, she imagined he was more accustomed to staying at a five-star hotel than a quaint B&B.

Emma paused, cast him another once over, this time for completely different reasons than she’d had only moments before. Well, I’ll be damned, she thought with belated realization.

She’d missed it--money.

Evidently she’d been too bowled over by his seemingly infinite sex appeal to note it before. She’d been too busy imagining him naked to pay any attention to what he’d been wearing, but now that she took a closer look...it was obvious.

Hell, the watch and the shoes alone would pay for a new car she wanted, Emma realized. She considered him thoughtfully. Either Brian Payne was relatively wealthy, or he was in serious debt and, for whatever reason, the latter didn’t fit. He didn’t seem like the extravagant type.

Furthermore, this answered another question. Whatever his reasons, she could safely assume that he wasn’t here for the money. She seriously doubted Garrett could pay him enough.

So if it wasn’t cash, then what was his motivator? Had Garrett offered him something else? Did he owe Garrett? And if so, then what? She couldn’t imagine--

“Cookie?” Payne offered, before she could ponder the conundrum any further.

“No thanks,” Emma told him. “I’ve already had some.”

“Right,” Payne said with a knowing quirk of his lips. “You were quicker about getting up here than I was. You practically sprinted up the stairs.”

Emma tucked her hair behind her ear. “I needed to stretch my legs.”

He selected a cookie. “You needed to get away from me.”

She winced, making light of the too true comment. “We have spent a lot of time together recently.”

“Then you aren’t going to like the next few days.”

Oh, hell. “What do you mean by that?” she asked cautiously.

He lifted his shoulders in a negligent shrug. “I’m in the room next door, we’re both looking for the pocket-watch. We’re bound to run into each other. Coincidentally, of course,” he added, his lethally sexy lips sliding into a smile that held more warning than humor.

It was just as she suspected then. He’d pegged her as the enemy and intended to keep her close. A perverse thrill swept through her, even as a tense ball of dread landed in her stomach. She let go a somewhat shaky breath.

Game on, then, Emma thought.

“You could always move to another hotel,” she suggested, just to annoy him.

Payne actually laughed. “Now what would be the fun in that?”

“I didn’t realize we were here to have fun,” she said.

In fact,she had too much riding on this to label it fun, but given what she knew about Payne and considering Hastings’ you-don’t-have-to-play-by-the-rules comment, she could sure as hell make it interesting for him. If he thought she was simply going to allow him to follow her around without putting up any resistance, then he’d better use that big brain of his and think again, Emma thought. She had too much riding on this to allow him to toy with her.

“Odd how Garrett didn’t tell you about me,” she commented, shooting him a speculative glance.

His expression turned grim. “’Odd’ isn’t how I’d describe it,” he said, his voice an ominous mixture of anger and promised retribution.

“Oh? Then how would you describe it?” Blatant fishing, but she had nothing more to lose at this point, right?

“Stupid.”

Oy. Emma waited, hoping he would elaborate. After a moment, when it became annoyingly obvious that he wasn’t going to, she decided to do a little more excavating. Or blasting, because she could see that trying to get anything out of him would be like trying to coax water from a stone. “Why do you think he decided to omit that information?”

That cool blue gaze met hers over the rim of his lemonade glass. He took a swallow, seemed to be weighing the merit of sharing his opinion with her. “I imagine because he knew it would piss me off. I’m not used to having my services bartered in a bet. It’s insulting.”

She had to agree with him on that. Initially she’d been too excited over the money to really stop and think about how Garrett and Hastings had pitted them against each other like lab rats and were eagerly watching from a distance to see whose gopher would win. Unfortunately, right, wrong or indifferent, she didn’t have the luxury of dwelling on the insult. She had to keep her eyes on the prize, so to speak, and couldn’t afford to consider Hastings’ offer as anything more than a business arrangement.

Another thought struck. “You said you’d had Guy McCann find out who I was and what I was doing here? How did he do that without my name?” That had been bugging her. She’d been too careful about revealing her name.

“I had him call the rental car company.”

“And they gave him my name? Isn’t that against the law?”

Payne shrugged. “The clerk was young. It’s amazing what kind of information people will share over the phone, particularly when you tell them you’re with a security company.”

Emma grimaced. Her mother, included. “Security company?”

“Me, Guy McCann and Jamie Flanagan started our own business when we left the military--Ranger Security. We’re based in Atlanta.”

“Congratulations,” Emma said, because it was the appropriate response.

Meanwhile the cookies she’d eaten a few moments ago were whirling around her gut like a load of wash on the spin cycle and were undoubtedly going to make an encore appearance if she didn’t get a grip. He’d started a security business? she thought faintly. Had become a friggin’ private investigator? Hell, he had resources at his disposal that were more than likely going to make this a walk in the park for him.

Surely Hastings had known this, Emma thought, feeling blind-sided by the news. He had to have known and, for reasons known only to himself, he’d chosen not to tell her. No doubt this was akin to the unhappy sensation Payne had felt upon learning of Garrett’s duplicity, she decided, and suddenly felt a smidge of belated regret on his part.
Nevertheless, Payne had most likely researched the pocket-watch and was operating on more information than what Hastings had passed along into her possession. In addition to that extra intel, he had a staff in Atlanta who could handle a lot of the menial things--phone calls, etc...--that she’d be taking care of herself. Her gaze slid to Payne and an unhappy truth surfaced, but one that, in light of this new information, she could not deny.

If she wanted this--and she did, so very, very desperately--then she didn’t have any choice but to be ruthless.

And she instinctively knew he was the type of person who would hate her for it.

For reasons which escaped her at the moment, that was almost as bad as losing this so-called contest.