(2004) Man with a Past by Jayne Ann Krentz

Author:Jayne Ann Krentz [Krentz, Jayne Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 9780786261352
Publisher: Thorndike Press
Published: 2004-03-15T21:27:00.437000+00:00

7

He was a giant of a man, but it wasn’t his size that made him dangerous, Cole knew. It was the way he moved like a cat through the jungle.

A rather out-of-practice cat, Cole conceded as he tracked his quarry. The big man wasn’t quite as silent or as careful as he should have been, but Cole was willing to bet that at one time Valentine had been very skilled, indeed.

It had to be Valentine. From the brief glimpses he got as he circled around behind the man, Cole decided no one else could fit the description Kelsey had been given. Huge, a long beard and gold wire-rimmed glasses.

No one had apparently bothered to tell Kelsey that the man called „Valentine“ had once done something far more lethal than program computers. Perhaps no one had realized it.

But as soon as he’d become aware of being followed, Cole had understood one or two crucial facts about their pursuer. The first was that he was a trained hunter and the second was that the game Valentine had once been taught to hunt was probably the two-legged variety.

It takes one to know one, Cole thought grimly as he closed in behind the massive Valentine. He could only hope mat the big man’s skills might have grown a shade rustier than his own.

Silently he glided to a point a few feet behind the bearded man. Balanced lightly, feet spread slightly apart, Cole collected himself physically and then called out softly.

„Valentine’s Day is going to be a little late this year.“

The huge man spun around, and Cole found himself being rapidly scrutinized and assessed by a pair of very perceptive blue eyes. For a moment the two men stood poised, confronting each other across the short distance.

„I don’t know whether or not Valentine’s Day is going to be late this year, but I surely do know that today hasn’t been it. Just one damned thing after another. And now you.“ Valentine’s voice was a low, bearlike growl. Perfectly suited to the man.

„And now me,“ Cole agreed laconically. „If it makes you feel any better, today hasn’t exactly been one of my red-letter days, either.“

„Vbu’re with the woman.“ It was a statement, not a question.

„Yeah, I’m with the woman.“

„Do you mind telling me in what capacity?“ Valentine flexed his big hands a little, as if they were stiff.

Cole noted the small movement, and his mouth twisted into a faint smile. He instinctively checked his own balance and decided it was as good as it was going to get. It had been a long time, and nothing stayed well honed if a man didn

’t practice frequently.

„You could say I’m looking after her,“ he explained very politely to Valentine.

„Protection, hmm. Paid or unpaid?“

„I look after her because she belongs to me,“ Cole said with deadly simplicity.

At once Valentine seemed to relax. „That,“ he rumbled gently, „explains a few things. Not everything, but a few things. I think, sir, that we may be on the same side.“

„And what side would that be?“ Cole felt the tension lessening, but he didn’t change his balanced stance.

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