Flash

as Dixon made his way through the aisles. Closer and closer until she had realized too late that his search would bring him first to Jasper's hiding place.
    Jasper had
known
that would happen when he left her in Rollie's locker.
    "Don't ever do that again," she whispered.
    "Don't ever do what again?"
    "Don't ever leave me behind while you go off to deal with things the way you did today. We're supposed to be partners, remember?"
    His eyes were enigmatic pools of night. "I made an executive decision. I thought it would be easier to handle Haggard alone."
    "You should have discussed it with me first."
    His mouth quirked, but he said nothing.
    Olivia flushed. She was grateful for the shadows that enveloped the bed. "Okay, okay, forget the preplanning discussion idea. Obviously there wasn't time. But promise me you won't do anything like that ever again."
    "I promise you that I have absolutely no intention of repeating today's exercise. In fact, I may never even rent a self-storage locker again."
    She sensed the amusement he was trying to suppress and groaned. "I suppose neither of us could have predicted what would happen when we went to find those files this morning."
    "You're wrong." The humor vanished from Jasper's voice as if it had never existed. It left behind a grim edge. "I should have considered the possibility that whoever else was after those files would follow us."
    "Stop it." She put her fingers over his mouth to silence him. "It was eight o'clock in the morning in a commercial establishment. We should have been perfectly safe."
    He caught hold of her wrist and dragged her fingers away from his lips. "A commercial establishment in which there had already been another dangerous incident between you and Gill. I was an idiot to take you back to that place."
    "There was no one else who could have gone with you. This affair has involved only the two of us right from the start."
    "I could have gone alone. I should have gone alone."
    She smiled. "What are we going to do, spend the rest of the night telling each other that we should have done things differently? Even a couple of brilliant executives like us can mess up once in a while. The bottom line is that we both got out of it in one piece."
    Jasper curled a strand of her hair around his fingers. "About this affair."
    She stilled. Even without her glasses she could see the intensity of the look in his eyes. She knew that he was no longer talking about blackmail.
    "What about it?"
    "You keep saying we're partners."
    "Yes," she whispered. "I do say that a lot."
    "When it comes to Glow, I'm the senior partner."
    "Jasper, this is not a good time to discuss your fifty-one percent."
    "I need to know how you really feel about the fact that I control the company."
    She smiled. "You want the truth? I feel relieved to know that it's in good hands and that I can concentrate on Light Fantastic. I've dreaded the day when I would have to be responsible for Glow. But Uncle Rollie kept reminding me that there wasn't anyone else in the family who could handle it."
    "You trust me to run Glow?"
    She touched the severe line of his jaw. "I trust you with my life."
    He smiled slowly. Then he turned his head just far enough so that he could kiss her fingers. "About the other aspects of this partnership…"
    "What about them?"
    "I'm aware that any kind of personal arrangement based on mutual business interests makes you uneasy. But I would like to take this opportunity to point out that we've got a few other things going for us, too."
    Everything in her went on hold, poised on some invisible ledge, straining to hear his next words.
    "Do we?" she prompted gently.
    His eyes narrowed. "You want me to list them?"
    "Just a couple will do."
    He frowned. "All right, let's start with the fact that we've been through a traumatic, dangerous experience together."
    "A relationship based on that kind of thing is no more secure than one based on business interests. Once the artificially enhanced emotional edge wears off…"
    He pushed her back down onto the pillows and rose on one elbow to lean over her. "We were both willing to break into a house, steal some papers, and lie by omission to the cops in order to protect some people who are important to us. I'd say that gives us a hell of a lot in common."
    She curved her hands around his sleek shoulders and looked up into his shadowed face.
    "In the event the question ever arises, let's set the record straight here," she said. "Melwood was run down