Sweet Fortune

okay, Jessie.”
    “You're sure?”
    “Dammit, I'm sure .” Hatch heard the frustrated fury in his own voice. He made a grab for his self-control and his temper. It was not an easy task. It occurred to him that he was dealing not only with the adrenaline of the short-lived battle but also with a fierce anger that was focused one hundred percent on Jessie.
    Apparently the little idiot did not yet realize that if it had not been for Alex lying there on the floor, she would have dashed straight into the office and wound up being the one confronting the bastard with the knife in his hand. Hatch longed to point that out to her in an extremely blunt fashion, but told himself that now was not the time.
    “What about you, Alex?” he said to the injured man.
    “I'm okay too. I think. Like I said, I didn't completely lose consciousness. I've just been dazed for the past few minutes.”
    “I assume you're the one who called Jessie?”
    “Yeah. Sorry about that.” Alex found a pair of hornrimmed glasses beside his leg and put them on. They sat somewhat crookedly on his nose. Then he gingerly touched his head. “Didn't realize anyone was still around or I would have called the cops first. I wasn't even sure there had been a break-in. Nothing seemed disturbed upstairs. Thought maybe Jessie had just left the door unlocked.” He gave Hatch a questioning look. “Guess we'd better call the police now, though, huh?”
    “Yes,” said Hatch. “I think that would be a very logical next step. Although I doubt there's much they'll be able to do.”
    Jessie swung around, clearly startled. “What do you mean? There's been a break-in and an act of violence.”
    Hatch gave her a pitying glance. “Jessie, get real. It happens all the time in the big city.”
    She frowned. “Yes, well, it's never happened to me.”
    “You just got lucky. Where's the phone?”
    “Over on the desk near Alex's computer.” She tipped her head slightly to the side. “Hatch, are you angry?”
    “What the hell gave you that idea?”

    Three hours later Hatch opened Jessie's refrigerator door and rummaged around inside until he found the skim milk. He closed the door and started opening cupboards until he located a box of cereal. Then he started searching for bowls and spoons.
    He was putting breakfast together on his own because Jessie, who had recently emerged from the shower wearing a pair of snug-fitting black leggings and a voluminous orange sweater that fell below her hips, was not much help at the moment. She was still chattering away excitedly about the break-in. It was obvious she was viewing the whole thing as a grand adventure.
    Hatch realized he was still seething. Every time he thought about what had nearly happened earlier, his gut went cold. As furious as he was, he was also vividly aware of the fact that he would have liked nothing better in that moment than to haul Jessie over to the couch and make concentrated, determined love to her.
    He had wanted Jessie for some time, but never so intensely as he wanted her right now. It was the aftermath of the fight, he told himself. Rampaging hormones or something.
    But deep down he knew it was because some primitive part of him actually thought that if he claimed her physically he might be able to control her in other ways. Control her so that next time she would follow orders in a crisis. Control her so that he could keep her safe.
    Follow orders? Jessie Benedict? Who was he kidding ?
    She was sitting at the counter, blithely unaware of his precarious mood. She pushed a thick curve of witchy black hair back behind one ear and her jeweled eyes gleamed with excitement. “I suppose the cops were right,” she allowed. “The guy broke into the building and started going through the upstairs offices first. When he didn't find anything valuable, he went back downstairs and discovered Alex's computer equipment.” Jessie drummed her fingers on the countertop. “But I don't like it.”
    “Nobody liked it, Jessie.”
    “I mean, something doesn't feel right about it. I think I'll go visit Mrs. Valentine today and see what she thinks. She might have some insights into this thing.”
    “Jessie,” Hatch said wearily, “you're not going to try to tie this break-in to your DEL case, or something equally stupid, are you?”
    “Why not? I don't care what the cops said. The whole thing is very suspicious. The guy did go through the offices of Valentine Consultations first.”
    “The cops also said