Trixie became suddenly still, not expecting such an open declaration. Her pulse quickened, and she felt a wave of uneasiness. What was Juan's strategy? An open frontal assault? Or did Juan believe they were already trapped? She thought back to her dealings with the former drug overlord. He was brash, bold, and often arrogant, but he wasn't stupid.

Still in character, she drawled, “I'm flattered, Juan, but I'm not sure what you mean.”

“I have a proposition for you,” Juan continued. “I spoke the truth when I said that, since you, none of my companions have measured up. The night you disappeared was...” he searched for the right word, “...remarkable.”

Trixie scrambled to make sense of Juan's statement. He couldn't possibly mean... Surely he was referring to the actual raid, and not how she had occupied him until the plan could be set in motion.

“It's a night I'd rather forget,” she countered. “The explosion, the guns...” She shuddered, the very picture of feminine horror at the atrocities she had witnessed.

Juan made a gesture of contempt, as though the devastating ruin of his business were inconsequential. “I choose to remember the more...pleasurable aspects of that night. But I must confess that my memory is not always as accurate as I might wish. It pains me to admit that, try as I might, I cannot recall every detail of our time together.”

Knock-out drugs and a bop on the head will do that to you, Trixie thought to herself. Throwing herself into the curious game, she licked her lips and allowed her eyes to wander south of Juan's expensive leather belt. “Oh, but I remember.”

Juan's breath quickened.

Dan coughed, though whether in amusement or warning, Trixie couldn't be certain. She straightened and adopted a more proper expression. “But Ricky doesn't like it when I talk shop, do you, Ricky?” Trixie simpered at Dan adoringly. “I'm sorry, honey. We're all done, aren't we, Juan?”

Noting Dan's dark countenance and Trixie's contented smile, Juan sighed in resignation. “I suppose we are.” He patted his lips with a cloth napkin. “If your husband ever gives you trouble, you let me know.”

Trixie tittered, while Dan drew her closer.

“That won't be necessary, Juan,” Dan said in a quiet tone underlain with steel. “I intend to keep Trixie very happy.” He took a bite of his medium-rare steak sandwich. “I have to admit, though, I am curious about one thing.”

“Oh?” Juan asked.

“That night at the compound...”

“Yes. What about it?” Juan was irritated. Whether the irritation stemmed from Trixie's refusal of his advances, or Dan's prying into his single biggest disaster, she wasn't sure.

“I was just wondering if you ever figured out who tipped off the CIA.”

Trixie grasped Dan's leg under the table, worried that Juan's suspicions would be aroused by the question.

Juan raised a dark brow. “What makes you think it was an inside job?”

“Come on. They were all over the place without warning. Your state of the art security was by-passed. You can't tell me that it wasn't an inside job.” Dan waited expectantly.

Trixie forced herself to let go of Dan's leg and concentrate on her Greek salad. The game was turning dangerous. If Juan knew that she and Dan were the plants...

Juan's eyes were hard and his voice cold. “My chief of security is no longer with us,” he said simply.

Trixie shivered, having an idea of the man's fate. Though the chief of security had been easily bought, he was the one who had paid a high price in the end. It was sobering to know that her actions had led in part to his death. Her thoughts quickly reverted to the man seated across the table. For reasons she couldn't explain, she was convinced that Juan was telling them the truth, and not playing them.

Juan laid his napkin neatly beside his plate. “Well, Trixie, if I can't persuade you to leave Rick and run off with me...”

Trixie giggled and shook her head.

“...then I should see how Randi is getting along.”

“Don't forget to bring her some lunch,” she advised him with a saucy wink.

“Until next time.”

Trixie sighed in relief as Juan left. Taking a long drink of water, she settled back in the booth. “Well, that was certainly entertaining,” she murmured.

Mindful that there was a possibility they were being watched, she chattered about every innocuous topic she could think of while Dan flagged down a passing waitress to order a beer for himself and a Coke for Trixie. After a few minutes, though, she decided to chance it. Snuggling closer to her “husband”, she murmured in his ear, “What do you think? Is Juan the plant?”

Dan tipped her chin to look in her eyes. “What do you think?”

She pulled self-consciously at the thin spaghetti strap of her top which refused to stay in place. For a fleeting moment she wondered why Honey had brought the flashy top, and when she had expected to wear it. She sipped her Coke thoughtfully. “I don't know. I don't have a good reason, but I think Juan was telling the truth. Maybe it really is a coincidence that we're at the same ski resort.”

Dan considered her assessment. “You could be right. You, he could forgive, but I'm sure that if he knew what I did to him, he would have shown it.”

“Where does that leave us? We don't know for sure what he's up to. And if he's not watching us, who is?”

“Bobby's description of the man who talked to him still bothers me. I feel like we're missing something.”

But Trixie wasn't listening. Her attention was focused on the table where Honey, Di, and Mart sat enjoying their lunch. “Look at the man sitting by himself at the table at nine o'clock.”

Dan discreetly peered over the rim of his beer. One quick glance was enough to tell him that the man was watching their friends, and he was watching them in a professional capacity.

“I've seen him before,” Trixie mused, re-playing every face she could visualize. “Was he the guy who sent me a drink when we were dancing?”

Dan's eyes narrowed.

Trixie laughed at his decidedly possessive expression. “You can stop pretending to be jealous, Dan. I don't think anyone is watching us.”

Dan grunted and scrutinized the young man more closely, his expression never wavering.

“No, that's not him,” Trixie decided. “But I know that I've seen him somewhere before.” She closed her eyes. Think, Trixie! After a moment her eyes flew open. “That's it!” she hissed, and clutched Dan's arm. “He was in one of Saunders' files! I'm sure he was one of the men linked to Mordem.”

Dan carefully disengaged the nails threatening to scratch skin through his shirt. “I remember him now. Nathan Sider. Missing, presumed dead.”

“He doesn't look dead to me,” Trixie stated.

“No.” Now certain that they were still being watched, he resumed the persona of besotted husband and took her hand in his. “When we run a description of Bobby's intruder, I bet we come up with another person linked to Mordem.”

She nodded, her blonde curls bouncing. “Now we're getting somewhere.”

“Too bad we have no idea where that is.” He leaned back and placed an arm around Trixie's bare shoulders. Absently running his fingers over her upper arm, he kept a close eye on Nathan Sider.

Trixie stiffened imperceptibly as a new thought occurred to her. She leaned forward, ostensibly to pat her lips with a napkin, and searched the room.

“What is it?” Dan asked.

“Brian and Jim. Where are they?” Her voice was low and terse.

The table they had occupied with the leggy brunette twins was empty. “This can't be good,” Trixie groaned.

“I wouldn't worry about them,” Dan said dryly, after rising slightly in his seat for a better view of the tables close to them.

“You've got to be kidding me.”

“Nope,” Dan grinned. “The table behind us.”

“That's it!” Trixie fumed, though for appearances' sake, she plastered a smile on her face. “We specifically told them to stay where we could see them.”

“I imagine Jim insisted on being able to see you,” her partner retorted mildly. “He is the protective type,” he reminded her.

She sighed and tossed back her hair. “He won't live long if he keeps this up. If one of our enemies doesn't kill him, I will.”

Dan chuckled. “Good luck with that, Friday.”

She tapped her foot impatiently. “Have we waited long enough?”

“I haven't noticed anyone suspicious besides our friend Nathan.”

“Then let's get out of here.”

Trixie picked up her purse, deliberately leaving a compact peeking out of the zipper. As they passed Brian and Jim, she “accidentally” knocked the compact to the floor in a pre-arranged signal. She bent to retrieve it, stopping when her hand brushed Jim's. She looked up to find his normally intent eyes even greener than usual. Is he actually jealous of Juan? she wondered with frank surprise. Her amusement disappeared when she heard the low, throaty laugh of Jim's new friends, the beautiful brunettes. Eyes sparking with mischief and defiance, Trixie leaned towards Jim in such a way that the cleavage Honey and Di had worked so hard to set off to advantage, was on full display for his eyes only. She took the compact from his suddenly lax fingers.

“Well, isn't that sweet! Thank you.” She smiled prettily at Jim, and disregarded the change purse that had also tumbled from her handbag. She knew that Jim would find it and that he and Brian would use it as an excuse to follow them to the parking lot.

“Ready to go, hon?” Dan asked as he helped Trixie to her feet and placed his hand on the small of her back.

Trixie suppressed a sigh as Jim's jaw tightened. He's jealous of Dan? A tension headache similar to the one she had experienced on Christmas Eve at the clubhouse exploded in the back of her head. Gritting her teeth at the sudden onslaught of pain, she allowed Dan to lead her out of the restaurant.

“Are you okay?” Dan questioned as soon as they were in the SUV.

Too frustrated to speak, Trixie dumped the contents of her purse on her lap, desperate for aspirin.

“Stupid headache,” she muttered, staring at her empty purse accusingly. By the time Dan could find a pain reliever in his large catch-all bag, Jim and Brian were filing into the middle row of the vehicle.

“What are you taking?” Brian asked, watching Trixie toss back two pills. He handed her a bottle of water from the cooler.

“Tylenol,” Dan said briefly, watching Trixie with concern.

“I have a headache. That tends to happen when people I'm depending on go off and do their own thing.” Trixie glared at her brother and Jim. “What possessed you to leave your positions and move to the table next to us?”

Jim frowned. “What's the big deal? The table was free, and we thought it might be a good idea to be closer to you. You know, just in case things went wrong.”

Trixie took another drink of water and closed the cap with an angry jerk. “By sitting near us, you made it impossible for us to observe who was watching you.”

“We didn't know that was part of your plan,” Jim pointed out. “You didn't say anything about it when we made plans this morning.”

Trixie sighed. “It wasn't part of our plans until we saw someone watching the other Bob-Whites. The point is, we asked you to stay in your position for a reason. If Dan and I took the time to explain every reason for every action, we never would have made it to the restaurant.”

Brian sighed, remembering patients who had compromised their medical care as a result of not following instructions carefully enough. Trixie was probably just as frustrated as he had been. “I guess I can understand that. I'm sorry for the confusion.”

“There's no point worrying about it now. Everything is so mixed up, anyway, that it probably doesn't matter much, either way,” Dan assured him.

“Wait. You said someone was watching the others?” Jim picked up on Trixie's last comment.

She nodded. “We think he's connected to Mordem.” She glanced at her watch. “We'll give the others ten minutes, and then we'll go in after them.”

“That's not part of the plan,” Jim observed, his green eyes sharp.

Dan shrugged. “We didn't know about Nathan Sider when we made our plans. The others are probably perfectly safe, but we shouldn't leave them very long.”

Trixie nodded. “As far as I can remember, Nathan didn't have any violent crimes on his file. He's a scientist.”

“So he's safer than Juan Velasquez?” Jim questioned, saying the name with distaste.

Trixie shrugged. “I don't think Juan is going to be a problem.”

“Not since you charmed him away?” Jim's voice had an edgy undercurrent.

“Not since we concluded that, in all probability, we were wrong. He's not watching us,” Trixie said evenly, though her hands were clenched.

“And if he had been? Would you have taken him up on his offer?” Jim asked, his voice quiet.

“His offer?” Trixie struggled to keep her voice neutral, but anger was starting to creep out.

Brian laid a restraining hand on Jim's arm, but the red-head shook it off. “You heard me. The offer to run away with him and resume whatever relationship you had in the past.”

“Were you even listening? If you had been paying attention, you would have noticed that Juan can't even remember the night in question. Why do you suppose that is?”

Jim shrugged.

“Because I made sure to slip him a drink that would keep him from remembering anything about that evening. The evening Dan and I destroyed his compound. The evening he thinks I spent entertaining him.” Trixie slammed the water bottle into the cup holder. “Yes, I distracted him a little before the drink took effect. But the relationship, as you put it, is entirely in Juan's mind.”

Jim stared at her. “You didn't...”

“No!”

“Really?” he asked.

“Yes, really!” Trixie exclaimed.

A wide grin split Jim's face. “You had that guy tied up in knots, Trixie! He was willing to toss aside everything to get you to run away with him. All because of a relationship that never existed.”

Trixie shrugged. “Whatever.”

“I'm serious, Trix. The way he was looking at you...” Jim shook his head. “If Dan hadn't been there with you, he would have pressured you a whole lot more than he did.” He glanced at Dan out of the corner of his eye.

“I have to be useful for something,” Dan joked, but his attention was focused on the door of the restaurant. He nudged Trixie and said, “There they are.”

Everyone in the van watched as Honey, Mart, and Di walked past the SUV. As they had discussed earlier, they ignored their friends and set off on a circuitous route to the chalet. Dan, Trixie, Jim, and Brian watched until they were out of sight.

“Any sign of Nathan?” Dan asked.

Trixie shook her head. “Not yet. If he wanted to follow them, he's too late.” She reached up to finger the cross around her neck. “I think I'll walk, too. Jim? Would you keep me company?” she asked.

He looked up in surprise. “Of course.”

Leaving her purse behind, Trixie started to open her door, but stopped when Dan called her back. He tossed her the jacket he had removed on entering the van.

“Thanks.” She shrugged into the soft leather and joined Jim. Before she could change her mind, she thrust her hand into his. They walked in silence, neither quite sure what to say. When they were halfway to the chalet, Trixie spoke.

“You don't need to worry, Jim. Juan never touched me.” She stopped and looked him straight in the eye. “No man touches me without my permission.”

Jim's eyes softened, and she knew he was remembering not only their time in the hot tub the previous night, but also all the other times he had held her, kissed her, touched her... She moved closer to him, ready to create a new memory. Jim took a half-step backward.

“Dan touches you.”

Trixie looked up sharply, but saw no trace of the jealousness she had worried about at the restaurant.

“I'm not trying to make you angry, Trix. But I have to be honest with you. When I saw you and Dan in that booth, and he had his hands all over you...”

“He didn't have his hands all over me,” she protested.

Jim raised an eyebrow. “Yes, he did. And you both looked pretty comfortable with it.”

Trixie shook her head. “Jim, you knew that was part of the plan. Dan pretending to be my husband made things a lot easier for me. It gave me an excuse to keep Juan at arm's length.”

“It's not just when you're working. You and Dan seem really close.”

She stared at him. “Of course we are! We work together. We live together. Yes, we're close. Friends tend to be that way.”

Jim ran his hand over her arm. “You're wearing his jacket.”

“Because it's cold, and I'm not dressed for walking!” Angrily, she dusted away the fresh snowflakes that were landing on her.

“I know,” Jim admitted. “But I can't help it if I want to be the only man who even gets to pretend to be your husband.”

Trixie's breath caught as Jim pulled her around the corner of a building, away from the public street. He took her hand and slipped off the diamond ring. Tucking the ring in his pocket, he drew Trixie to him and kissed her. She gasped and allowed herself to be pushed back against the wall, feeling a thrill of surprise. Never had Jim been so forceful. Never had she felt more desired. She responded eagerly, pleased by his obvious desire. After a few pleasurable moments, she pulled away.

“We need to get back to the chalet,” she whispered, her breathing ragged. “Dan and Brian are probably watching for us.”

When Jim's face darkened at the mention of Dan, Trixie merely laughed and tucked her arm through his. “Stop worrying, Jim. Dan and I are friends. We show affection sometimes. That's all, Jim. That's all.”

He surprised her by stopping her and looking intently into her eyes. “He means a lot to you, doesn't he?”

She studied him carefully, but Jim's green eyes radiated interest and concern instead of jealousy. “We've been through a lot together,” she said slowly. “Going away to university, job training, our work, Maria, sharing an apartment... We have a lot of shared experiences.”

Jim smiled ruefully. “Dan and I have a lot of life experiences in common, too.”

Trixie nodded, thinking of their troubled childhoods.

“It's worked both ways, though,” Jim continued. “Dan and I having so much in common—in some ways it drew us together, and in other ways it kept us apart. It's hard to look at another person and know that they understand the darkest parts of you, the parts that you want to never think about.” He shifted his gaze back to Trixie. “I'm glad that you had each other; that you had someone to help you through the hard times.” Thinking of Maria's death, he added, “It's good that your experiences didn't drive apart your friendship.”

Trixie snorted. “Dan wouldn't let it. When I think of how I tried to push everyone away... Well, let's just say I'm lucky it didn't work.” She paused. “Does this mean you're not jealous anymore?”

Jim put an arm securely around her shoulders and they started back down the street. “It means I'm working on getting the green-eyed monster under control.”

Trixie smiled up at him. “Good,” she said simply. As they walked, she continued to watch him out of the corner of her eye. His copper hair glinted, even though the afternoon sky was heavy with clouds. She studied each freckle on his cheek, and suddenly understood why Jim had always liked her freckles. It was impossible not to hold dear something that was so much a part of the person you loved. Distracted by her thoughts, Trixie failed to notice a group of talking, laughing friends on the pavement a few blocks ahead of them. She did, however, notice a black SUV, driving slowly down the crowded thoroughfare. She frowned, somehow knowing that something was wrong. Scanning the street for any suspicious characters, Trixie almost missed Jim's casual comment.

“Looks like we're catching up to the others,” he observed. “Honey, Mart, and Di are a few blocks ahead of us.”

With sickening certainly, Trixie suddenly knew that her friends were in terrible trouble. She broke into a run, but it was already too late. Darting between groups of casual pedestrians, ignoring the difficulty of running in high heels and a short skirt, she watched in helpless horror as the SUV turned onto an intersecting road and stopped directly in front of Honey, Di, and Mart. So quickly and smoothly that Trixie wouldn't believe it had happened if she hadn't seen it herself, two men dressed entirely in black sprang from the back passenger door and forced Honey and Di into the vehicle. Mart tried to stop them, but he was quickly subdued by a sharp rap to his head, and hustled into the vehicle with the girls. Trixie skidded to a stop at the corner just as they pulled away, with Jim only a few seconds behind her.

“Get Dan and Brian,” Trixie ordered. “I'll try to see where they're going.” Without waiting to see if Jim would comply, she was off, sprinting after the SUV. Since they were already on the outskirts of the small town, she was able to catch a glimpse of the vehicle and note which direction it took out of town. She jogged back to the place where she and Jim had parted, and was relieved to see Jim, Dan, and Brian pull up in the Escalade. She dove into the passenger door Dan threw open for her, and gave terse directions.

“North.”

As the Escalade careened out of town and gathered speed, the occupants sat silently, tense with worry. Trixie bit her lip and leaned forward, willing the vehicle to go faster. They had only been driving on the narrow, winding road for ten minutes when they caught sight of the black SUV.

“There they are!” Trixie fidgeted, leaning even further forward. “But why are they going so slow?” she asked, frowning as she realized how quickly they were gaining on the other vehicle.

Dan's voice was tight. “Ice.”

But it was too late. Without warning, they hit black ice, and Trixie's foot pumping an imaginary brake was just as useless as Dan's foot on the real brake. The last thing she saw was the white wall of the ditch as they spun out of control and skidded off the road.