He groaned when he thought about the scene at the bank: the evidence, the fear and the anger as Jim Haney explained about the latest development in the embezzling operation. Not only was three thousand dollars missing, but Jim had learned from Olivia Parsons that Erin had met with Mitchell Cameron on the day of his arraignment hearing—the very day the money was transferred from the dividend account. The only good news was that Jim had traced the money’s path and it would only be a matter of days before he had sifted through all of the departmental checks to find one that was out of balance with the general ledger. At last the torture of the unknown would end, and Kane realized bitterly that Erin would be caught.

Erin was sitting in a chair, engrossed in a mystery novel, when Kane let himself into the apartment. Her black hair was wound into a loose ponytail, her glasses were perched on the end of her nose, and her legs were curled comfortably beneath her. As Kane saw her he was reminded of the first time he had seen her, dressed much the same and crouched in a pile of legal documents at the bank. He felt the same, now-familiar male response that he had several weeks ago. He wanted to run to her, to scoop her up in his arms, to crush her against him and to bury his head in the soft warmth of her breasts. Even now, suspecting what he did about her and knowing he was deathly close to the truth, he wanted her as he had never wanted another woman.

“Hi,” Erin greeted him, and pulled her glasses off her face. She laid the book and the glasses on an upturned box that she was using as a table, stood up and stretched. It was an unconscious and provocative gesture that made Kane’s blood heat as he watched the fabric of her clothes mold tightly to her body. Her eyes found his. “Can I get you anything? There’s quite a few leftovers….”

He stood in the doorway, his shoulders drooped in resignation. Though she could tell that he, in his own way, was glad to see her, there was a strange look on his face.

“Are you well?” she asked.

“What? Oh, yeah. I’m fine,” he responded, and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Were the computer problems that difficult?”

“The what? Oh, no, the computer is fine. But you know how it is, one problem seems to lead to another, and before you know it, the half-hour that you planned to be gone has stretched into three.” His voice was vague, distant, and Erin wondered if he was trying to tell her something.

“How’s Krista?” Kane asked, and dropped to the floor. He grabbed a loose pillow for his head and patted the floor next to him, inviting Erin to sit next to him on the floor.

“We got along fine,” Erin replied, and leaned against Kane, who cocked a dubious eyebrow. “Well, it wasn’t easy—not at first,” she admitted hesitantly. “But we worked things out.”