LITMIR.BIZ

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questions, then.”

      “Just like that?” Liana asked, more than a little boggled by all this.

      “You’re Redstone now,” Lilith said simply. “If we can help, we will. In fact,” she added as she glanced through her office window, “here comes help now.”

      Liana turned, saw a tall, leggy woman striding their way. Her hair was that incredible shade of platinum blond one usually saw only in young children, and Liana saw that it was quite long, given that she had it up at the back of her head and secured with a clip that let a few strands escape to drape down to her shoulders.

      The blonde tapped quietly on the office door, and at Lilith Mercer’s call, stuck her head in.

      “Hello, Sam,” Lilith said.

      “Hi, Lil.”

      “Come on in.”

      She had, Liana realized, the most amazingly bright blue eyes. Like Logan Beck’s had been, she thought suddenly, that day so long ago.

      “You must be Liana,” the blonde said, with a smile so engaging Liana couldn’t help but return it and take the hand the woman held out to her. “Welcome to Redstone. I’m Samantha Gamble, Redstone Security.”

      Liana blinked. She automatically glanced at the woman’s left hand, saw the simple gold band that matched the one she’d seen on Ian Gamble’s finger.

      This was Ian’s wife? Lord, her brother had been right. And at first glance the combination seemed incomprehensible. But something in the woman’s eyes, some quick, clever intensity, brought to mind the crackling intelligence she’d sensed in the young inventor, and suddenly it didn’t seem so strange after all.

      “Nice to meet you,” Liana said hastily, hoping the woman hadn’t noticed her moment of shocked recognition. Or perhaps she was so used to it she didn’t pay attention to people’s reactions anymore.

      “I’m told you have something that you’d like us to look into.”

      “I…” She didn’t know what to say. Her mouth twisted wryly. “Things move fast around here.”

      Samantha laughed. “Yes, they tend to.”

      “IT won’t have your setup complete for another hour or so,” Lilith said. “Why don’t you and Sam talk, and I’ll page you when they’re done and you can actually start work.”

      Still not quite able to believe what was happening, Liana followed the stunning blonde out of Lilith’s office. Once outside in the lab area, she saw Samantha’s head turn. Liana looked in the same direction, saw the floppy-haired inventor she’d just met. There was the barest hesitation as their gazes locked, and Liana’s eyes widened at the nearly palpable connection between them across the big room. Then Ian winked, one corner of his mouth lifting in an endearing smile. Samantha grinned back at him, then resumed her brisk stride.

      After a moment during which she could only think, “Wow!” Liana followed. If she’d had any lingering doubt about the marriage between the eccentric inventor and the daring security operative, it was gone now.

      They walked in silence until they reached the end of the hall and the huge bay window that looked out on the courtyard. The building that was Redstone, Incorporated’s main headquarters was built around a cool, green garden with a big pond and waterfall. On her tour of the building she’d been told that in the heat of a California summer it was a preferred spot for all the employees.

      “This is Ian’s favorite place when he needs to get out of the lab,” Samantha said as she gestured Liana into one of the comfortable chairs in a windowed alcove that looked out over the courtyard.

      “I can see why,” Liana said as she sat down. If you looked down at the garden, you could almost imagine yourself on some tropical island.

      Samantha studied her for a moment before saying simply, “Tell me what you need.”

      “I…I’m not sure. I just found out this morning that…a friend is in trouble.”

      The blonde nodded. “I read the newspaper article after Josh called.”

      Liana’s eyes widened. “He called you? Himself?”

      Samantha grinned. “Welcome to Redstone,” she repeated. “You’re family now, and Josh takes his family very seriously.”

      “I’ve always heard that, but…”

      “And you’re a special case,” Samantha added.

      Liana blinked. “I am?”

      Samantha nodded. “He knows perfectly well this job is a step down for you, that you were running your own department nearly the size of our R & D at JetCal.”

      “I wanted to work for Redstone.”

      “We know. And you were willing to take a job some would say was beneath you to do it.”

      “I don’t plan to stay an assistant forever.”

      Samantha smiled. “If you did, you wouldn’t be here.” She gave Liana a thoughtful, assessing look. “Josh also knows why you left JetCal.”

      She’d made no secret of the fact that she’d parted ways with her previous employer over the business practices she’d found beyond distasteful. Including and especially the theft from Redstone. “I couldn’t work for a company that thought methods like that were justified,” she said.

      “Exactly.” Then, briskly, “So, tell me about Logan Beck.”

      “He…saved my life.”

      “I know. And almost died doing it. So you understandably feel a debt.”

      “It’s more than that. He just couldn’t have done this.”

      “It would be hard to believe your hero could have feet of clay.”

      Liana drew herself up. She might be new here, she might be more than a fool to clash with one of Redstone’s vaunted security team, but she simply couldn’t let that stand.

      “Not hard. Impossible.”

      “You said yourself you haven’t seen him in eight years,” Samantha said gently. “And you didn’t know him for long.”

      “But under the most intense of circumstances,” Liana said. “We talked for hours when he was in the hospital. When there was a chance he would die. When he knew that. I don’t believe he hid who he was, not then.”

      Samantha was silent for a long moment. Then, at last, she nodded. “Good enough. We’ll get started.”

      Liana was startled at the turnaround. “What?”

      “Not me, I don’t think,” Samantha said thoughtfully. “I’m afraid I might stand out a bit too much in the circles Beck’s been running in. But I know just the right person.”

      They really were going to help, Liana thought numbly. The famous Redstone Security team, the group she’d heard such incredible stories about, was going to help. She’d been here a grand total of two hours and Redstone was already behind her. It was a feeling she knew she’d never forget.

      “Someone will keep you posted,” Samantha said, getting to her feet. Slowly Liana followed suit.

      “I don’t know what to say.”

      “Thank you is always good,” Samantha said with a grin.

      “Yes. Thank you.”

      The tall blonde laughed then. “It’s amazing, isn’t it? I was one of Josh’s lowliest, most distant employees, at the Redstone Resort in Sitka. When I needed to make a change, the man himself flew all the way up there to talk me out of quitting and gave me the chance at this job.”

      Liana shook her head. “I don’t know what to say to that, either,” she said wryly.

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