Steve Cruzak, the Secret Service agent who was driving tonight, glanced at her in the rearview mirror, then looked over at his partner, sitting in the passenger seat. Beyond the tinted windows, the rolling hills of northern Virginia gleamed in the morning sun as they headed east toward the Arlington hotel where Nealy would make her announcement.

“He didn’t offer any explanations,” her attorney replied.

The heavy Chanel earring she’d tugged off to answer her phone bit into her palm. Normally her assistant would have been in the car with her, but she had the flu. Jim Millington, her new campaign manager, along with Terry and her key staffers, were already at the hotel mingling with the press as they awaited her arrival.

For three months Mat had refused to give any television interviews, but the day of the most important press conference in her career, he suddenly changed his mind. He was blackmailing her.

“Maybe you should talk to him,” her lawyer said.

“No.”

“Nealy, I’m not a political advisor, but the eyes of the entire country are going to be on your campaign. This guy’s a loose cannon. Who knows what he has in mind? It wouldn’t do any harm to sound him out. ”

More harm than he could imagine. “It’s out of the question.”

“I’ll try to talk to him.”

She returned her phone to the brown leather tote she carried instead of a purse, then clipped her gold earring back on. For her press conference, she was wearing a soft butterscotch wool Armani sheath with a silk scarf knotted at her throat. The untidy haircut she’d worn on the road had been reshaped by her longtime hairdresser so that it looked sophisticated, but still contemporary. She’d decided to keep it short, just as she’d decided to keep her color natural. They were small changes, but to her they were significant. Each change was a sign that she had finally taken control of her life, which was why she couldn’t let Mat force her into a meeting that would only cause her grief.

She pulled out her leather portfolio and studied the notes she’d been compiling for the past three months. They no longer made sense. Since Mat was so determined to speak with her, why hadn’t he used the most obvious means at his disposal? Why hadn’t he threatened to call a halt to the adoption if she refused to meet with him?

Because something that ugly would never have occurred to him.

“We’re here, Mrs. Case.”

She realized they’d arrived at the hotel. The butterflies in her stomach began to tango as she put her notes away, then let the agent open the door for her.