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  Then the crowed parted and someone made Maxine move aside. She clung to his hand, holding tight as if that would keep him there with her. He wanted to stay with her. He didn’t know why exactly, but something inside him wanted very, very badly to stay there with her. His heart was squeezing with a new sensation now, pushing the pain away and leaving him with a feeling of peace.

  He felt himself lifted onto something softer than the industrial carpet had been, then he moved through a sea of people craning their heads to see him. Little black spots showered his vision, but at that moment Maxine squeezed his hand tightly and made them go away.

  “Can I ride with him?” he heard her ask someone. “I’m his wife.”

  “Sure, ma’am,” a male voice said as Sam was slid into the back of an ambulance.

  When he was settled and could feel the ambulance take off, he focused on Maxine again. She looked like his wife—his ex-wife. No, his wife. But he knew what she had said, knew it wasn’t from the gunshot or the pain. She was Jennie. He felt it and realized he’d always felt it. He couldn’t explain it.

  He tried to remember that first moment when he’d found Maxine sprawled out on the landing in front of his office, but someone was injecting him with something, and his thoughts turned to mud and stopped flowing altogether. Over it all, through the mud and pain and the flashing lights imprinted on his vision he heard Jennie.

  “You can’t leave, Sam, do you hear me? I’m not done with you yet.”

  It felt like months had passed between the strange explosion in the airport and the next time he opened his eyes. Light filtered in from a window next to him, and he blinked as his eyes adjusted to the assault. He knew a hospital when he smelled one and saw one. He supposed that was better than other places he could have woken up at.

  He glanced down at himself, at where a dull, throbbing pain pulsed in his chest. A large, white bandage swathed his shoulder.

  “Sam.” Maxine’s soft exclamation brought his attention to her as she got up from the chair she’d obviously been dozing in. The sleepy expression in her eyes was overwhelmed by a light brighter than the sunshine outside.

  He found himself smiling, though his face felt stiff. “How long have I been in here?” his voice croaked out.

  “Since yesterday morning.” She took his hand and squeezed it the way she had then. “The bullet went through your shoulder, but it missed the important stuff. The doctor can give you all the technical terms, but the main thing is, you’re going to be all right, Sam.”

  He looked into her bright green eyes and said, “I know I will be.”

  “Sally’s not going anywhere anytime soon. She’s the one who did this. She escaped from her guard and got away. They figure she watched the apartment and saw you leave, then followed you. She’d hidden the gun from the day before and snuck home to retrieve it.”

  He started putting the images together in his mind. The explosion, and pain in his chest. Immediately Maxine was there, holding his head in her lap and pleading for him to stay with her. “And you were there?”

  “I was going to the airport to warn you that Sally was on the loose. I used one of your tricks, running the pencil over a notepad.”

  He reached up and touched her cheek, still creased where it rested against the top of the chair in her sleep. “You’re pretty smart. Maybe you would make a good partner.”

  Her face brightened even more. “You mean it?”

  His smile faltered as another image formed in his mind. Maxine…and Jennie. He knew what he heard. Yes, Sam. It’s Jennie. I’m here. Though he was looking at Maxine now, with her green eyes and red hair, he could feel…Jennie. He couldn’t explain it; he just knew it was real.

  “I saw Jennie yesterday,” he said. “I thought it was because I was dying. That maybe she was coming to take me to Heaven. But she wasn’t.” She was watching him, a careful expression on her face. “She was…you. And you were her.”

  She swallowed, her fingers tensing on his. The sun behind her lit her hair to warm fire. He thought she was suddenly an angel, looking upon him with eyes watering with tears. She just looked at him for a moment. Her lips trembled as she opened them to say, “Yes, it’s Jennie. I’m here, Sam.”

  He felt a chill wash over him. It seemed preposterous, but what else had made any sense since Jennie died? Or more specifically, since Maxine had come back into his life. He could see it clearly now. Even though she looked like Maxine, Jennie was in her eyes. Jennie was in her soul.

  “Jennie,” he repeated softly.

  She nodded, watching his eyes. “How did you know?”

  “I saw you as Jennie, holding me. She was there, and then she turned into you. It seemed so obvious that you were the same person, as crazy as that sounds.”

  She closed her eyes and dropped her forehead against their linked hands. The tears were flowing when she lifted her face to his a moment later, and the sunshine glittered off them. She was still smiling.

  “Sam, you don’t know how much I wanted to tell you. I tried once, but of course, how could I expect you to believe me? It’s crazy, isn’t it, just like you said?”

  He shook his head. “No, it’s not crazy. I mean, I thought I was going crazy.”

  “I wanted a second chance with you, a whole new start when I realized I’d come back in another woman’s body.” She rubbed her forehead, a smile on her face. “Then I found out I came back in your ex-wife’s body. By the time I realized you were in love with Jennie, I couldn’t be her anymore. So I hoped you’d get over her and start over with me.” She nudged him playfully. “And then you go and get shot on me.”

  “Yeah, well. But nearly dying opened my eyes. And cleared up a lot of things, too. The coffee, the change in your personality…and the way you believed in me.” He squeezed her hand. “I want to make the most of my second chance, too. With my life, and with the woman I love. Or should I say women? It’s going to be better the second time around, kiddo, believe me.”

  She laughed, though more tears rolled from her eyes. “Gosh, if I’d known all I had to do was shoot you to make you see the light, I would have done that last week.”

  “It would have been worth it. It was worth it.” He reached up and touched her chin, feeling her damp skin. “No more tears between you and me, okay?”

  “Okay, bossman,” she nodded, but the tears kept coming. “But these are happy tears. Tears of relief. I can have those.”

  He reached for her other hand, her left hand. The gold ring sparkled there on her finger. He couldn’t afford to buy her a diamond back then, but now he could. He pulled her hand to his mouth, kissing the smooth metal of the ring and her finger at once.

  “Marry me. Again and for good.”

  More tears, and she pulled her lower lip between her teeth the way he loved. “I promise I won’t be any trouble,” she said, just as she’d said it when she’d asked him to marry her years ago. Or rather when Maxine had asked.

  He yanked her up against him, hiding his grimace of pain at the action. It didn’t matter, not when she landed with her lips right up against his. “Lady, I want your kind of trouble. I have a feeling my life will never be dull with you around. Partner.”

  THE END

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  I hope you enjoyed my book! Jaime Rush is a pseudonym for Tina Wainscott, and as Tina, I am the bestselling author of eighteen novels for St. Martin’s Press and Harlequin. My books garnered several awards, including The Golden Heart (Romance Writer’s of America) and the Maggie (Georgia Romance Writers) as well as Top Pick reviews from RT Book Reviews. In 2009, I moved to Harper Collins and began a new career as Jaime Rush.

  Because my Jaime fans are always clamoring for more books (music to an author’s ear ), I’m re-releasing the books originally published under the Tina Wainscott name. You can find them under either the Tina or Jaime name.

  If you haven’t read my Jaime books, they’re also paranormal romantic suspense. I missed the romance, relationship drama, and action
of my favorite television shows, X-Files, Roswell, and Highlander, so I created my own mix in the Offspring series.

  The Offspring: Sexy…dangerous…outcasts. They possess extraordinary abilities, and they’re being hunted by the government. Together they must find the truth and fight an enemy out to destroy them. The first book in the series garnered a Reviewer’s Choice Award from RT Book Reviews, and the most recent, BURNING DARKNESS, won three Top Picks.

  To connect with me, go to: http://www.jaimerush.com

  GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/JaimeRush

  Facebook:

  http://www.facebook.com/jaimerushauthor

  Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jaimerush

  Romantic suspense e-books:

  Unforgivable

  Blindsight

  What She Doesn’t Know

  Until I Die Again (Soul Change Novel)

  Stranger in the Mirror (Soul Change Novel)

  Woke Up Dead (Soul Change Novel)

  More on the way!

  SNEAK PEEK: UNFORGIVABLE CHAPTER 1

  For the third day in a row, Katie Malloy made the long walk from Possum Holler into town carrying the cardboard box. This time only one of the kittens was left inside…her favorite, Boots. Mama said not to name them, cause that would only make it harder to give them away. Katie didn’t want to give them away, at least not Boots. How much could one little ole kitten cost, anyway? Porch Kitty having those kittens was the most excitement she’d had in her whole nine years, and what else could a kid do in their stinking, dusty Georgia town except fall in love with kittens?

  She especially hadn’t wanted to leave the house after she’d seen that dead bird in their yard. It was a bad omen, especially since it was a black bird, but Mama had insisted. Like waiting one more day would have done any harm.

  The road stretched on forever, giving off waves of invisible flames. There was nothing around for the longest time other than the gravel driveway that disappeared into the woods to the creepy Koole house, and another driveway leading to weird old lady Babbage’s house. Then she’d pass the abandoned convenience store, cross the old bypass, and go past the ancient cemetery. The town itself was to the left, another twenty minutes before she’d reach the Piggly Wiggly grocery store.

  Orange dust coated her feet and ground between her toes. Mama said it was no use buying a new pair of shoes for the summer when she’d just grow out of ‘em by the time school started.

  Gary Savino’s shiny new bike was parked outside the old store. He was fourteen and his daddy was the D.A., which people said like it was important. Gary always had the best clothes, the best toys, even the best looks. She’d had a tiny crush on him when she was younger, but Mama had set her straight about that. “Don’t you go near Gary or his family. I mean it. Stay away from the whole lot of them. We don’t belong with the likes of them.”

  Now that she’d grown up, she knew Mama was right, but her heart still kinda thrummed whenever she saw him.

  “Hey, Katie,” he said, coming around from the back of the old store zipping up his pants. He always said her name funny, drawing it out. She didn’t know whether he was making fun or just liked her name.

  “Hey,” she said, clutching the box tighter. Boots meowed, slowly blinking his green eyes. That was his way of saying he loved her.

  Gary had dark hair and brown eyes, and he was tall for a boy of his age. “What’cha got there?” he asked, leaning over the box.

  “This is Boots. I’m trying to find him a home.”

  “I’ll take it.” Without even waiting for her to say okay, he picked the kitten out of the box and held him up.

  “Really?”

  She should have been thrilled that Gary Savino was going to take her kitten, give him a nice, rich home. She wasn’t. “You want the box to take him in?”

  He was already walking toward his bike. “Nah. Won’t need it.”

  And then he threw the kitten against the plate glass window.

  She felt her insides drop out of her as Boots fell to the walkway. Her voice sounded shrill when she screamed, “Why’d you do that?” She was already running toward Gary.

  “Stop polluting the world with unwanted cats,” he said, climbing on his bike.

  She could hardly breathe. She wanted to run to Boots, but instead kept her focus on the vicious animal on the bike. She threw herself at him.

  His blasé expression changed to irritation. “What the—”

  “You creep!” She scratched at his face and kneed him in the nuts. She wanted to hurt him bad, she wanted him to never forget what he’d done. “You hurt him! For no reason, you hurt him!” she screamed, horrified to hear tears slipping into her voice.

  “Get off me, you twit!”

  He might be bigger, but he was no match for a furious girl. His face was scratched and bleeding, his shirt was ripped, and his body was contorted to protect himself from her thrusting knees. When he put his mind to it, though, he finally pushed her off him. She skidded across the concrete, but her scratches were nothing compared to the screaming pain inside her. When she started to run at him again, the gleam in his eyes halted her.

  “Don’t mess with me, little girl.”

  “I’m going to tell the sheriff,” she said, backing away toward Boots.

  That always worked to scare the troublemakers in her neighborhood, but it didn’t faze Gary at all. “Yeah, you go tell him. You think they’ll believe some piece of white trash that Sam Savino’s boy hurt some dumb ole cat.” He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t peddle your bastard kittens again, you hear?”

  He didn’t wait for an answer, just started riding away fast. He didn’t look back once.

  She stumbled to the kitten. “Boots,” she whimpered, letting the tears come now. She could see the smudge on the dusty window, and it caved in her heart even more. His head was bleeding where he’d hit the glass. But…he was alive! He was breathing and his mouth quivered. His eyes were all wobbly. He tried to get up, but he swayed and rolled on his side again. What really broke her heart were his mewling sounds.

  He’d trusted her, and she’d let him down.

  She started back to the trailer park hunched over the box to protect Boots from the sun. Then she had a better idea. After making sure Gary wasn’t watching, she tucked him in the shade of a maple tree and ran home.

  Mama wasn’t surprised, and that surprised Katie. “I know his father, honey. I cleaned for his family after school years ago. Meanness runs in the family, though they keep it hidden well. That’s why we pray for their victims every night, victims of mean people.”

  This isn’t meanness,” Katie said, hardly finding the breath to speak. “This is…evil! I’m gonna tell the Sheriff. But first we gotta help Boots.”

  “Honey, don’t do that. The sheriff ain’t gonna believe a word of it. And if he does, he ain’t gonna care anyway.”

  “How do you know?”

  Her face shadowed. “I just know. ‘Sides, we can’t afford to take him to the vet. You know that.”

  “I’m taking him to Dr. Sewell,” Katie said. “And I’m going to talk him into fixing Boots for free.”

  “I don’t want you going to the vet. ‘Member, it’s not Dr. Sewell anymore. It’s that young man that took his place. We don’t even know him.”

  “I don’t care. I’m going to see him anyway.”

  First she had to get to the vet’s office. They didn’t have a car, not since the tranny had gone on the old Ford. Katie ran to some of the other mobile homes in their area. If they weren’t drunk from the night before, they were either car-less or at work. She’d walk to town if she had to. It was better than sitting there watching her kitty die.

  Once she retrieved Boots from his hiding place, the mid-morning heat pressed down on her like an iron. Not many people drove this far out of town, not much chance of a ride.

  She neared the long driveway that disappeared back into the woods. Silas Koole lived there with his dad. Silas was older than her by at least fiv
e years. People said his dad hit him sometimes, but Silas never said a word about it. The kids called him Spooky Silas. Whenever she’d seen him in town, he seemed nice enough. Kids said she was strange too because she had a purple birthmark on her neck, but she couldn’t see anything wrong with Silas.

  A breeze toyed with the leaves of the trees flanking the driveway, giving an eerie feeling to the dark place beyond. Boots needed her to be brave, so she whispered, “Wish me luck,” and started down the shady driveway.

  Country music blared as she neared the home. Silas and his daddy were rich by her standards, living in a house with four huge columns along the front porch that went all the way up to the second floor. The house was run-down, though, and the yard was sprinkled with weeds. Hope washed through her when she saw two long, jean-clad legs sticking out from beneath the old truck. Something metallic clanked, and he swore.

  “Please”—she cleared her throat—”please help me.”

  Silas slid from beneath the truck, his eyes wide with surprise. He was tall and thin, with dark hair, smoky blue eyes, and a lean face. There was something dangerous about him, like a wild animal you couldn’t trust. Like a wolf, she realized, even the way he moved. Mama would kill her if she knew she was here, but Silas might be her last hope to save Boots. He was wearing a gold cross on a chain; that had to count for something.

  Silas rubbed his hands down his grease-smudged jeans and walked up to her. “Is he all right?” he asked as he peered into the box.

  She tried to be cool about it, but the concern in his eyes melted her strength. “I don’t think so. Gary threw him against the store window, and he’s gonna die if I don’t get him to the vet. Please…can you take us there?” She swiped at her tears.

  “I’ve been trying to get the damn thing going. Hold on a minute.” He slid back under the truck slick as a snake. He jerked on something, banged on something else. Three of the longest minutes of her life slid by, and then he pulled himself back out again. “Let’s give it a try.”