The Hill. Carol Ericson

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      He took in the scene before him. Either London Breck was one messy heiress or her place had been tossed.

      She gasped behind him and let loose with a string of profanities.

      Her place had been tossed.

Chapter Five

      London pushed past Judd’s solid frame, but he grabbed her around the waist before she hit the foyer, nearly lifting her off her feet.

      “Hold on. We have no idea if the perpetrator is still here or not.”

      “Perpetrator?” Her blood simmered and she felt like putting her fist through the wall. “I’ve got a few other choice names for him.”

      “Yeah, you just screamed them in my ear.” He tugged on his earlobe and tilted his head back. “How big is this place?”

      “Big.”

      Judd kept his gun in front of him, and she almost wished the SOB was still here so he could get a load of that.

      “Okay, stay with me and we’ll do a sweep of the place, unless you want to leave now and call the cops.”

      “I’m hoping we catch him in the act. I’m not waiting for the cops.”

      “All right, Calamity Jane, just stay behind me in case he is.”

      She stayed close to Judd as she directed him through the rooms of the condo, each one ransacked and upended. They even looked in the closets and under the beds, but the slimeball had done his dirty work and escaped.

      He replaced his gun in what she assumed was an out-of-character fanny pack and hooked a thumb in one belt loop. “Now that we know he’s not here, do you want to see what’s missing? I’ll get on the phone and call the cops.”

      Crooking her finger at him, she marched across the great room and through the double doors to the library. She placed both hands against a bookshelf and shoved. It turned into the wall, exposing a cavity with a squat metal safe in the center.

      Judd whistled. “That’s some James Bond stuff right there.”

      She aimed the pointed toe of her boot at the safe. “All my important papers and real jewelry are in there, except for the important papers and real jewelry in some safe-deposit boxes.”

      “Check it just to make sure.”

      She crouched in front of the safe and he turned away while she spun the dial on the combination lock. He did take his job seriously.

      The safe opened with a heavy click and she pulled open the door. “You can peek now.”

      He squatted on the floor beside her, his hands braced on his muscled thighs, his shoulder brushing hers. They were almost as close as they’d been on that motorcycle. Every time he’d gone downhill, which had seemed to happen a lot, the decline had thrown her against his back. She’d fought mightily against resting her head against his shoulder and exploring beneath his shirt with her hands.

      That ride, with him between her legs and the monster machine buzzing beneath her, had been about the most sensuous journey she’d ever experienced.

      Only to come to a screeching halt when they reached her ransacked apartment.

      He cocked his head, and his long black hair tickled her cheek. “Well?”

      She plunged her hands into the recesses of the safe and grabbed stacks of paper bonds, bringing them into the light. She tossed them back inside and her fingers curled around a velvet box, which she pulled out and dropped to the floor. She flicked the latch and the jewels inside glittered in the muted light.

      “Did you get those from the queen of England or something?” He reached into the box and hooked a finger around a necklace of rubies with pink diamonds clustered around each one.

      “My father bought that for my mother. I have no idea where he got it.” She wrinkled her nose. “It’s not my style.”

      He dropped it. “Not mine, either. I guess your taste runs more toward three-hundred-carat yellow diamonds.”

      She sucked in a breath. So he did know all about her. Well, not everything. “Sheikh al Sayid gave that diamond to me. Of course he was going to deny it when his wife found out—one of his wives, I may add.”

      “The question is, what did you do to earn it?”

      “You have a dirty mind.” She punched him in the shoulder and then shook her fist. Was the man hard all over?

      He wasn’t the only one with a dirty mind.

      “Any other treasures in there?”

      There were, but a few she’d keep to herself.

      “There’s nothing missing from this safe.” She slammed the door shut and fell to her backside. “Whatever else he might’ve taken—cameras, computers, gadgets—he’s welcome to them.”

      “Computers? If he has your computers, you could be in for a lot of trouble.”

      “All company information and financials are stored on computers at the office. I don’t do any of that at home, not even on a laptop. I have a backup service, so I’m not going to lose any music or pictures.” She covered her mouth with her hand. There were pictures she didn’t want anyone to see—not even some junkie thief.

      “What is it?”

      Judd had moved closer, his knees bumping hers.

      She looked into his eyes, the darkness of the room casting them the color of a deep ocean-blue. She probably should tell him everything, come clean about everything. No. Maddie had nothing to do with any of this, and she didn’t need Judd Brody thinking of her as any more flighty than he already did, or worse, as someone heartless and selfish.

      “Getting all those files restored would be a major pain.”

      Pushing to his feet, he extended his hand. “Then let’s go see what’s missing, and I’ll call the cops.” He circled his finger around the safe room. “I wouldn’t mention this, though—to anyone.”

      “Nobody knows about it except me and you. My father had it put in when I bought this place.”

      She grasped his hand and he pulled her up. The small room had them inches apart and she breathed in the scent of him—soapy with a hint of mint from his warm breath—and something else. Something she couldn’t identify, but that made her think of tousled sheets and bare skin and bruised lips.

      Must be all the heightened tension of the break-in, but he could take her right here and she wouldn’t complain one bit. She’d make it a point to be the best he ever had—and from his looks and manner, he’d had more than his share.

      He kicked the door of the safe closed with a bang and she jumped. “The rest of your stuff?”

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