Wildest Hearts

immediate threat. It was a coalition of suppliers and the other investors, all of whom panicked when they realized that Daniel was no longer at the helm of his company. Barry Cork, Daniel's trusted assistant, did the best he could to reassure everyone that business was going on as usual, but no one believed him.

    A few days later Rain had called again.

    “Perhaps we had better talk,” he said quietly.

    “About what?” Annie demanded, knowing full well what he wanted to discuss.

    “Lyncroft's future.”

    “Lyncroft is doing just fine, thank you. Barry Cork has everything under control. My brother will be rescued any day now, and everything will go back to normal.”

    “I'm sorry, Ms. Lyncroft, but you must face the fact that Daniel is very probably dead.”

    “I don't believe that and neither does his fiancée. We're going to hold Lyncroft together until he returns.” Annie gripped the phone cord and tried to keep her voice calm and confident. “I appreciate your concern, but nothing has changed at the company. Everything's under control.”

    “I see.” There was a long silence on the line. “I hear rumors that some of your brother's other creditors are starting to press for a sale or merger.”

    “Nonsense. Strictly rumors. I've explained to all of them that things are fine and that we expect Daniel to return soon.”

    There was another thoughtful silence. “As you wish. Please feel free to call me if the other investors become difficult. I might be able to help you.”

    Annie had hung up the phone feeling more uneasy than ever. Lyncroft Unlimited was a family-owned corporation. No one except family members could hold stock in the firm. Daniel had been intent on keeping full control of his company.

    At the moment there were only two members of the Lyncroft family, Annie and her brother. That made Annie Daniel's sole inheritor.

    Two weeks ago Rain had again contacted her. Instead of talking about the fate of Lyncroft Unlimited, he had explained that he was requesting her services in a professional capacity. He wanted her to provide the finishing touches for the rooms in his new penthouse.

    Annie was still not quite sure why she had accepted the job. She certainly had more than enough to do without taking time out of her frantic days to provide personal consultation to a client.

    But today was her fourth visit to the twenty-sixth floor of the downtown Seattle high rise. Thus far it had followed the same pattern as the previous visits.

    It wasn't easy getting to Oliver Rain. First, she had to get past the doorman in the lobby of the building. There was a special code that had to be punched into the elevator control panel in order to get to the twenty-sixth floor. When she arrived at the penthouse door, she was greeted by a robot of a man known only as Bolt. He appeared to be a combination of butler and chauffeur. Annie wondered if he was also a bodyguard.

    In his own way, Bolt was almost as interesting as his employer. He looked to be somewhere in his early fifties. Every time Annie had seen him he had been wearing a formal dark suit. His pale blue eyes betrayed no emotion of any kind. His thinning hair was razored to within a quarter of an inch all over his head.

    There was a mechanical quality about Bolt that made Annie wonder if he was part machine. She had visions of him plugging himself into an electrical outlet each night to recharge his batteries. She got the distinct impression he did not approve of her.

    On that first visit, Bolt had shown her into the study with a minimum of words. Tea had been brought in on a tray.

    Annie had waited nervously for Rain to bring up the subject of her missing brother, but he had proceeded to discuss nothing except the appropriate finishing pieces for the penthouse.

    After the first consultation Annie had begun to look forward to these quiet, serene interludes. During the time she was safely secluded here in Rain's study, drinking his exotic, aromatic tea and talking of unimportant things such as cloisonné elephants and gilded carousels, she could put aside her fears and problems. It was a relief because those fears and problems were rapidly turning into nightmares.

    She had not forgotten what Daniel had said about Rain being dangerous, but she was finding it increasingly impossible to be afraid of him. There was something oddly reassuring about his strength. She found herself consciously trying to absorb some of it during these afternoon