Prologue

Tina crossed her arms and tapped one high-heeled boot on the linoleum floor. She knew the echoing click was irking the customs clerk, but she didn’t care. It was just a small portion of what she deserved for demanding a letter of invitation when she’d traveled to this country umpteenth times before. This kind of treatment was completely uncalled for.

“Look, will this take long?” she demanded. “I have things to do.”

“Maam, you’ll need to be patient. I have to check with my supervisor.”

Tina blew out a noisy breath and turned away. She moved a few paces from the desk and flipped open her cell. If she could get through to her assistant, this matter could be cleared up quickly.

“Martin? Martin!” she yelled into the phone.

“Uhn?”

She’d forgotten the time difference. It must be one in the morning back home.

“Sorry, Martin, but I need you to do me a favor. Martin?”

“Yes, of course, Tina.”

She explained briefly and was confident her assistant would come through. Even if he had to go out in the dead of night, in a blizzard, he’d go. She smiled to herself. She needed to give that man a raise and soon.

“Fax it to…” She glanced over her shoulder, flicking one eyebrow skyward in query for the number. The response was clipped and Tina relayed the information to Martin.

“Ok, we’re done here for now,” Tina told the clerk.

“Yes.” That sounded too relieved, but Tina didn’t feel like challenging it, so she let it go. The help in some of these places…, she thought as she walked away. She refused to examine her own attitude. A seventeen hour flight was enough to put anybody out of character and being stuck in an airport for hours was also no picnic.

Tina hooked a hand around her suitcase and wheeled it behind her as she searched for a comfortable spot that wasn’t overcrowded with other travelers. A full bench was available in the next cluster of chairs and Tina sprinted toward it just as a group of young people arrived at the same decision. She spread her full length on the seat and closed her eyes, ignoring the exclamations of disgust from the bunch. Just a quick rest of her eyes would help her horrible mood, she hoped.

Surfacing from a deep sleep, Tina forced her eyes open to discover she’d been resting for two hours. She surged to her feet and hurried back to customs. The same clerk was there.

“Any word?”

“No.”

“I—“

“Maam, we haven’t received the fax. I’m busy right now.”

Tina speed-dialed her assistant. No answer. She chewed at her lip, wondering where he was and if he was safe. Guilt descended for her insistence on sending him out in the bad weather.

Now what would she do? She returned to her bench to mull it over. So distracted was she that she nearly sat on top of the man now occupying the space.

“Do you mind?”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Her face suffused with red as she sat beside him. “I’ve had a long day.”

If she thought he’d make light conversation to pass the time, she was mistaken. His aristocratic nose pointed higher in the air, if possible, and he turned away from her. Tina took the hint and copied the cold shoulder. She tapped her boot again to the rhythm of a song playing in her mind.

“Stop!” the man bellowed.

“Sorry!” Tina fumed. Some people were completely inconsiderate of others. “If you’re stuck here, there’s nothing you can do about it now. So why take it out on others?”

“You’re one to talk.” The man turned an accusing glare on Tina, making her remember her own attitude toward the clerk.

“I—“

He softened, “No need to explain.”

Tina took in the silky black hair, the now-amused blue eyes and the impish grin. “I guess we’re in the same boat. Huh?” She breathed in his cologne which was seriously clouding her logical mind. This man was incredibly gorgeous and obviously an American. She stuck out her hand. “I’m Tina.”

“George.” His large hand swallowed Tina’s smaller one, sending a slight tingle down her spine.

“I’m here on business, but I live in New York. You?”

He winked and leaned conspiratorially toward her, “I’m supposed to be working, but I’m sneaking a few extra hours in on the beach. “Don’t tell my boss.”

She burst out laughing. “I hear that. With all the snow on the ground back home, I would love to enjoy the warmth for a while.”

“Why don’t you join me?”

Tina’s eyes widened. She’d just met this man. She knew nothing about him, except his name. Still, he looked like fun and she could use some of that right now. Working nonstop for the last three months, she could not be faulted for taking a little detour at the beach.

She threw caution to the wind, “I’d love to.”

“Great! Here’s where I’m staying. Call me after eight tonight and we’ll plan where to meet, ok?”

He rose and Tina stood with him, “Ok.” Her stomach fluttered at what this rendezvous meant. “I will.”

George hugged her briefly, gathered his bag and disappeared into the crowds hurrying along the terminal. Her body was alive with the excitement of what she’d just done. She had flirted with many guys, even picking up a couple. But making a date in a foreign country was bold, even for her. It was exhilarating.

With a grin pasted to her flushed face, she returned to the customs counter. The fax had not arrived and Martin did not answer when she called again. Yet, none of these complications dented her exuberance. She was moved to apologize for her earlier attitude.

“I’m sorry how I acted before, Miss. I have no excuse.”

The woman blinked and accepted the apology at face value, “No problem. You know what? My supervisor has just told me that it’s my discretion whether I let you through. Based on your other paperwork, I think we should have no problem.”

The clerk stepped around the counter holding a handheld scanner and indicated for Tina to pass through the metal detector. She moved to comply but stopped abruptly when the machine’s alarm went off. Tina squeaked and jumped.

The clerk smiled kindly, “Don’t worry. It’s probably your earrings or something. Let’s see.”

As the scanner moved slowly over Tina’s body, she had a sudden premonition of things getting a hundred times worse than a small delay in the airport. The scanner went off at her jacket pocket.

“Maam, what’s in your pocket?”

“Nothing.” Tina reached her hand inside and felt something completely unexpected, something she knew she hadn’t put there. Fear choked her and tears ran down her face.

“Maam?”

“This,” Tina whimpered, “is much worse than I could ever imagine.”

In her other pocket, her cell phone buzzed to life, but Martin was too late to save her or anyone else in the immediate vicinity.

Chapter One

She struggled against the covers that seemed to bind her to the bed. A dense fog clouded her mind as she struggled back to consciousness. Finally alert enough to force her eyes open, she searched the room for some sense of familiarity. There was none.

She shoved back the covers, preparing to rise, but a withered hand held her in place. “No, no. You must stay in bed.” The voice was kind, yet foreign to her ears.

“I must go.”

“No,” the lilting voice came again. “Jade, you’re not well enough yet.”

“Jade?” Her mind must still be mottled. “My name is not Jade, it’s—“

“It’s Jade now. Remember that.”

Jade sat in the garden, as was her custom for the last two months. She questioned the woman sitting across from her, receiving the same vague answers she'd been given every day since she wakened to find herself in this unfamiliar place.

“Please. I just don’t understand. Why has he brought me here? Why change my name? And,” she lifted trembling hands to her cheeks, “why did he change my face?”

The woman was always patient, always gentle. She’d held Jade in the middle of the night when she cried desperately at her circumstances, confused with the changes and the memories of her ordeal flitting constantly in her mind.

“Jade, I have given him my word that I will wait for him to discuss all of this with you. It’s the best I can do.”

“It’s not good enough!” She stood, knocking over her chair. “He took away my life, my identity. And I’m not supposed to know who he is? It’s absurd.”

“With all due respect, Jade, he didn’t take away your life. He saved it.”

Yes he had, she admitted to herself. But that didn’t give him the right to rule her now. She was an American citizen after all. She could leave whenever she liked, couldn’t she?

“I’m not a prisoner?”

“Of course not.” The woman stood and moved to link an arm with Jade’s. She led her charge toward the house. “You are not a prisoner. You can leave whenever you want. But you’ve been very ill. Give it some time.”

Jade acquiesced. Not because Lana was so persuasive, but because it was fruitless to argue. She had been ill. The injuries she’d sustained were serious, the plastic surgery more extensive. It had taken all of those two months to get to her present state. And even now, she had her bad days, like today.

“Ok,” she sighed heavily, suddenly exhausted. “I will give him one week. And then I am leaving, Lana.”

Her companion patted her hand, “Alright. But no more discussion. You’ve worn yourself out. Time for a nap.”

Three more months ha slipped by. Jade pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the window inside her room. She stared out at the garden, allowing the varied colors of flowers blooming there to soothe her troubled mind. Behind her, Lana made up the bed.

"Saint John. Is that a first or last name?"

"Does it matter?" Lana was particularly reticent this morning. Not that she was ever talkative regarding her employer. The only thing Jade was sure of at this point, was that she was devoted to the man.

"It shouldn't matter. I should say to you, Lana, what is my benefactor's name? And you should easily reply, His name is…"

"Jade, you must understand—"

"Understand what! He paid for me to have plastic surgery. He put me up in his castle." She waved her arms around frantically, encompassing the well-appointed room, the expansive house and the rolling hills beyond. "There should be no mystery behind it all. This is the twenty-first century, for heaven's sake, not some gothic novel!"

Lana moved to take her hand, "Jade, there's more in the world—"

"That's enough, Lana." The male voice was clipped, authoritative.

Having long anticipated facing him, Jade was unreasonably terrified of looking up at Saint John. His presence alone had set Lana to quaking and scurrying from the room like a frightened rabbit. Jade couldn't believe she'd been abandoned so quickly with this stranger.

"So, Jade," his tone was filled with amusement, "are you always so shy, staring at the floor in a man's presence?"

She refused to be manipulated into looking at him. The garden scene was more inviting, and she let him know that with the turn of her back. "I appreciate all you've done for me. However, I think it's time I went back home. I will be leaving tomorrow."

His voice, when it came, was at her ear. She hadn't heard him move from the doorway. "No."

Jade jumped, "What?"

"Tomorrow is not a good day for you to leave. It will rain…heavily."

She frowned, "Then the next day."

Saint John tsked and placed strong hands on her shoulders to turn her toward him. Lightening raced through her slender frame, nearly knocking her to the floor. She raised startled eyes to his face and stared, unable to look away.

Jade didn't suppose it was the chiseled jaw or the arrogant nose that caught and held her attention. Nor was it the sensual lips, though she did wonder. Instead, it was the intensity of his gaze upon her, those smoky eyes, almost black. She thought he knew things about her she hadn't intended him to know. Her secrets lay bare before him.

With effort, she looked away before he could ensnare her in a trap her rational mind told her did not exist. Yet, she longed to explore him—his mouth, his body. Shocked at her thoughts, she tugged out from the light touch on her shoulders and moved to a safer distance across the room.

"Who are you? What is your name?"

He echoed Lana, "Does it matter?"

"Yes, it matters," she sighed. "What is going on?"

Tears of frustration filled her eyes. Jade blinked them away, not wanting him to see her in weakness. She stepped to the dresser and removed the clothing there. She would leave this place whether he liked it or not and no matter what the weather was like. If Saint John, or whatever his name was, wouldn't give her answers, she'd find them on her own. Jade hadn't admitted it to Lana in their discussions, but she'd finally remembered all of what happened the day she'd been hurt. Her path was clear. She'd find the man calling himself George and she'd put him out of his misery.

Jade retrieved her suitcase from beneath the bed and began to pack her clothes inside. She ignored the man leaning against the window sill where she'd been staring out much of the morning. He hadn't said anything, so she assumed he wouldn't stop her.

"I've changed my mind," she announced when her packing was done. "I'm leaving today. If you will arrange for someone to drive me to wherever I can find an inn, then I will stay there until I can get a flight home. Thank you again for everything you've done for me."

Finally, he shoved away from the window and approached her leisurely. "I'm sorry, Jade. You can't leave."

The tears erupted from her eyes and the months of waiting and wondering drove her to throw a tantrum. She slammed her suitcase on the floor and stomped her feet childishly, "You have no right to keep me here! You have no right!"

She sobbed uncontrollably as he took her gently in his arms. Even in her misery, Jade felt the attraction that made her press closer to his muscled form. She sought his warmth, despite herself and yielded immediately when Saint John covered her mouth with his own.

His kiss along her throat burned her skin, lighting her entire being. He lifted her against him, so that her feet dangled momentarily in the air. Jade wantonly wrapped her jeans-encased legs around him and felt his arousal pressed between her legs. It wasn't until she'd abandoned common sense and greedily stuck her tongue inside his mouth that caution reasserted itself. This trusting of a handsome man had gotten her into trouble at the airport. She was not so foolish to fall into that trap again.

Jade struggled in his arms to free herself. "Please put me down."

He grinned, revealing perfectly white teeth, "But we're having so much fun."

"I need to go."

"Still?"

"Yes, please."

Slowly, Saint John allowed her to descend upon his body. Of course he'd know the hard planes of his flesh would drive up her cravings. She resisted with the little strength remaining within her.

"Jade, you must know—"

"Don't call me Jade." She bent to pick up her suitcase and headed toward the door. "My name is Tina. You may have taken my face, but you won't take my name."

He followed her into the hall and took the case from her to assist her down the long winding staircase to the first floor. "I won't force you to stay, J-- I will only say that you risk your life by leaving my protection."

"What does that mean?"

"It means there are those who wish to harm you. I have kept you here to keep you alive."

She stopped on the last step and turned to face him. "Look, I remember what happened to me. I remember someone put a…bomb in my pocket. It went off. I don't know how I survived, but I remember the man who must have done it to me and to the others who were killed in the explosion. I will hunt him down and make him pay. It's as simple as that."

"Jade."

She glared at him.

He continued without using her name, "You are right. Someone planted that bomb on you, but it was not some terrorist act as you might suppose."

"Then what was it?"

"I cannot say. Only know that I have already taken care of 'George.'"

She crossed her arms in front of her. She doubted his sincerity. Who's to say he wasn't behind this whole thing? "Yes, just like you cannot say what your name is. I'm not interested in you any more. I've got to go."

He grinned suddenly, the dark eyes flashing. "Somehow I think you are interested in me."

"That's beside the point!" Embarrassment made her yell at him.

"Ok, I will be honest with you if you cannot be with me." He sat down her suitcase beside them and reached to grasp her hands. She trembled at his touch. "Now, my name is Saint John Kane. You may call me John, if you like. I own this house."

"More like castle," she interrupted.

A look silenced her.

"I brought you here to keep you safe. The bomb was meant for you and you alone."

She gaped, terror twisting her insides.

"I…I'm nobody special."

"No? Tell me, Jade. How did you know so quickly that the device in your pocket was a bomb?"

"I—" How could he know that she'd recognized it, the bomb her father had designed ten years before? He wasn't there, was he?

"Yes," he nodded as if he'd read her mind. "Your father."

"I just don't understand," she whispered as she sat down on the stairs. "It malfunctioned. It is designed to be undetectable by the scanners, even casting an illusion when x-rayed."

John sat beside her and drew her into his arms again. "I made sure that Lana would not share this with you, since there is something I need to tell you myself."

She turned wet eyes up to him, "What is it?"

"It's your father."

She dropped her head against his chest and held on to him. She knew what he would say before he said it, had known all along. It was the only logical explanation why someone other than her father had access to the device he'd created and supposedly destroyed.

"My father's dead, isn't he?"

"I'm sorry, Jade. Yes he is."

"And now?"

He sighed, "And now you are a suspected terrorist, wanted in two countries. I had your face changed, as well as your name to protect you."

"I can't believe this. Things like this are only for the movies, not real life."

His lips pressed lightly on hers before he pulled her to her feet. "Jade, you can't leave my home until I have prepared you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if you are to survive out there," he nodded toward the door, "then you must be ready for what you'll be faced with."

"But surely they think I'm dead? I had the bomb in my pocket."

"As you said, it malfunctioned. Your 'remains' were not found in the wreckage."

Jade was still confused. Ok, so her name had to be changed and her face, but how had she survived? Even a malfunctioning bomb should have ripped her hip to shreds, yet she had no damage. She'd examined her body from head to toe seconds after she recalled what happened. There was not even a tiny scar on her body. Could plastic surgery do all of that? Something in John's story still didn't ring completely true. But what he'd said as far as her being wanted probably was. An American terrorist. That was sensationalism. If nothing else, the media would be desperate to locate her. She needed to decide on a direction.

"I suppose all of my assets have been frozen?"

He nodded and then grinned, "You are completely dependent on my good will."

So she had to accept his hospitality a little longer. She had no choice. "Ok, what do you want me to do?"

John took her into his arms again, "I want you to learn."

Passion ignited between them. Jade clutched at his suit jacket, struggling against the drug that was his male scent. "You don't want me to learn to be your sex slave do you?"

John burst out laughing, "Oh how tempting, my beauty. How very very tempting. No, you must learn how to protect yourself while extracting the information you need from your enemy."

She gasped, wondering what she'd gotten herself into.