Rarities Unlimited 02 - Running Scared

“How’s it going?”
    “Quiet.”
    “Good.”
    The plainclothes guard ambled off down the hall, looking for all the world like a man with nothing on his mind but a night gambling in the casino.
    “Is it evening already?” Risa asked, then glanced at her watch. “Yes, I guess it is.” Her mouth turned down as she thought of the cops going over and over her story. “My, how time flies when you’re having fun.”
    “Yeah. Don’t know how much more of it my heart can take.”
    She stopped in front of her apartment, reached into her narrow skirt pocket, and came up empty. “I don’t have my key. I must have lost it when I tried to get away from him. Or in the other apartment when we, uh . . .”
    He gave her a smoky, remembering kind of glance.
    Heat shot through her.
    Without a word he pulled a slim plastic rectangle from his wallet. The electronically coded key fitted neatly into the slot. The door opened. He handed the key card to her.
    “New code. If you lose or loan it, let security know,” Shane said. “Anybody using that card who isn’t with you will get a lot of armed attention real quick.”
    Risa started to answer, then saw the mess beyond him. She walked into the room and stood with her fists on her hips. “Well, hell. I was hoping I was wrong.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I thought my mind was playing tricks and no mess could be this bad. Wrong again. How am I supposed to find out if anything is missing when nothing is where it’s supposed to be?”
    The fact that she was already striding toward her bedroom told Shane that she didn’t expect an answer. She did a lightning check of electronics and found the TV, DVD, CD/radio/clock, and computer all in place. Mostly. The computer apparently had been thrown across the room. Clothes—ripped and wadded—covered the TV and made a big mound in the center of the bedroom floor. Shoes were scattered like confetti throughout the rooms.
    She did a swift turn through the bathroom and kitchen. Big mess. Nothing obvious missing. Her grocery list was still stuck to the refrigerator with a grinning, bright green frog magnet.
    Shane was in the bedroom, surveying the chaos.
    “All the electronics are here,” she said.
    He plucked a midnight blue lace bra off a lampshade. He had discovered matching panties in the bathtub. Next time I’ll definitely take it slow. Sliding lace off her skin is worth going slow for. He carefully folded the silky underwear and set it on top of a dresser that was missing all its drawers. They were facedown where they’d been thrown.
    “What about jewelry?” he asked.
    She shook her head. “The stuff I want is too expensive.”
    “So you go without?”
    “I spent my childhood with second and third best and hand-me-downs from charities. If I can’t afford what I want today, I wait until I can.”
    “What do you want?” he asked quietly. He would get it for her.
    “It’s all in museums.” She looked at the upended mattress and for the first time noticed the slash marks where the man had taken a knife to the fabric. “I’m thinking he was pissed off.”
    Shane followed her glance and felt both ice and anger slide into his veins. “I’m thinking you’re right.”
    “He was looking for something I didn’t have.”
    “Celtic gold.”
    She stared at the mess. “Much as I don’t like it, I have to agree.”
    “While you’re being agreeable, think about trusting me a little more.”
    She turned and gave him a startled glance. “I trust you.”
    “Do you? Then why didn’t you tell me that Cherelle had some knockout Celtic gold artifacts for sale?”
    “Because she didn’t tell me.”
    “Interesting.” Without knowing it, he got his gold pen from the pocket of his sport coat and began walking the slim gold over his fingers while he sorted through possibilities and probabilities with a speed that had made more than one person uneasy.
    Risa wasn’t bothered. She liked knowing that he was more than a pretty face and a fine body. Next time she would have to get more than the essential parts of him naked. She bit her mouth against the smile that wanted to settle in. A few minutes with Shane had been better than hours with any other man. It would have made her nervous if it hadn’t felt so damned right.
    “Did she know what you do for a living?” Shane asked finally.
    “Yes. But until this last time she never asked me any questions about my work.”
    “So we can assume she came to you because of your