âWho are you?â
For the briefest of moments, their gazes wed.
Danteâs eyes glinted as if he knew exactly what Elle looked like stark nakedâ¦and he approved. The intimate suggestion in his stare caused her to catch her breath.
Nature had packaged him in a hard muscular frame. Then Elle spied something that completely rattled her. There, at his wrist, circled the hint of dark blue ink.
A tattoo. Talk about out of place.
Who was he really?
The look that passed between them was weighted with a meaning Elle couldnât begin to unravel. Her cheeks tingled. How embarrassingâshe was blushing!
What was happening to her? One minute sheâd been minding her own business, and the next minute this sharply dressed, broad-shouldered stranger had her locked in some kind of sensual hold.
She didnât trust a man who could make her feel so aroused with just a look.
Or could she?
FROM ITS STATELY EXTERIOR overlooking the bucolic Colorado River just outside Austin, Texas, Confidential Rejuvenationsâa small but criminally expensive medical treatment facility for the crème-de-la-crèmeâexuded an atmosphere of supreme tranquility.
The lush green lawns were perfectly clipped, as were the bountiful privacy hedges. Ivy-twined trellises shaded genteel redwood park benches. The profusion of petunias, pansies, daisies and daffodils in full bloom undulated in the breeze, testifying to the exemplary gardening skills of the groundskeepers.
A luxurious flagstone walkway led toward the discrete front entrance in one direction. The other fork wound its way to an elaborate hand-carved gazebo positioned on a bluff above the sensuous curve of the river.
Confidential Rejuvenations was a favorite recuperation spot for southwest politicians, actors, musicians and other VIPs seeking various cures for addictions, aging and crisis of identity.
But Dr. Dante Nash wasnât fooled by appearances.
Beneath the serene surface, behind the healing promises made in the glossy full-color, trifold brochure resting on the passenger seat beside him, beyond those stately vinecovered walls, lurked a shadowy menace.
Careers lay on the line. Fortunes stood to be lost or gained. Lives hung in the balance.
And Dante was the catalyst. Sent undercover by the FBI to find out exactly who at Confidential Rejuvenations was trafficking in a very potent sex drug.
The designer party drug, street named Rapture, had been popping up on the club scene and college campuses around the Southwest for the past several months. It was being blamed for a dozen senseless deaths, and the FBI had traced the genesis of the substance to this quaint boutique hospital, partially owned by Danteâs former college roommate, Dr. Mark Lawson.
For the past three years, Dante had worked for the Bureau as a plastic surgeon, giving new faces to people entering the Witness Protection Program. This was his first actual undercover assignment; heâd been hand selected for the project due to both his skills as a surgeon and his connection to Mark.
Dante didnât know if his ex-roommate was involved or not, but if Lawson was, he would take the man down without a momentâs hesitation. Nothing was going to stop Dante from getting those drugs off the street. Ultimately, he was doing this to avenge Leezaâs death.
He winced at the thought of his murdered sister. Of all the things they had suffered together. Sense memories of his miserable childhood rolled over him. The stench of sour mash whiskey on his fatherâs breath. The feel of a leather strap slapping against his skin. The taste of fear on his tongue. He thought of the beatings heâd taken. Both from neighborhood thugs and his old man, until he had learned to fight back, learned how to protect his baby sister.
Painfully he recalled the way Leeza had looked the last time heâd seen her, strung out on drugs, eyes red, unwashed hair matted to her head, track marks running up and down her arms as she carried that hopeless, helpless air of the damned.
Heâd tried to help her. Had gotten her into rehab twice, and sheâd run away both times, unable to resist the seductive allure of heroin and the dangerous pull of her mobconnected boyfriend, Furio Gambezi.
Danteâs desire to save his sister was the motivating factor in his decision to join the FBI after heâd completed his residency in reconstructive cosmetic surgery. Itwas the burning need to see justice served. His hunger to even the score.