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  “Because you whacked that asshole on the head three times?”

  She grinned and continued to let the hot water wash away the events of the morning. “That helped, but I think it’s because this is nearly over and I can go back to a normal life.”

  He stepped fully dressed into the shower. She took a step back. His eyes changed and his mouth turned down in a frown. “Define normal,” he demanded.

  His shirt and jeans were getting wet, but he didn’t seem to care. Lena reached up and touched his bristled cheek. “I have no idea what normal means anymore. I know whatever it means, I want you to be part of it. If that’s what you want.”

  She let her hand drop and looked down at the water swirling around at their feet and rushing down the drain. It was the first time she noticed he hadn’t put shoes on earlier.

  “I’m giving up hunting.”

  She didn’t know what she’d expected him to say, but that was not it.

  “Why?” Her heart would not stop pounding. It was a wonder she could hear him at all with the blood rushing through her ears.

  “It’s no life for a family man.” He reached out and touched her flat stomach.

  Her body hummed at his touch. “Is it what you want?”

  He stepped closer and the full force of the rain showerhead poured over them both. “I want you.” He touched the side of her head. “When you’re ready, I want this.” His fingers trailed down to her abdomen and lingered there. “I want the life we saw in the vision.”

  “I…I want that too.” Her words were breathless and stuttered.

  There was a knock at the bathroom door. Joshua’s voice called, “Um, you two should save whatever you’re doing for another time. We’re on a bit of a clock here.”

  Kane smiled down at her. She started to giggle and couldn’t stop.

  “We’ll be out in a minute,” Kane called back.

  They didn’t talk as they rode the elevator to the top floor, nor did they wait for the receptionist to announce their arrival. The Lakeland brothers, Agent Blake and Lena walked into Oscar Thorn’s office and closed the door.

  Oscar stared up at them. His eyes focused on Lena in her burnt-orange silk dress. Her hair was pulled up in a French twist and she kept a look of serenity on her face.

  Lena walked forward and sat in one of two leather chairs in front of the desk. Blake took the other one. Kane and Joshua stood by the door.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” He said it to the room, but his eyes stayed on Lena.

  “Agent Blake has been kind enough to allow us to come along,” Lena said.

  Blake cleared his throat and took a piece of paper from the inside pocket of his jacket. “It seems you’ve been using your influence to do a bit of insider trading, Thorn.”

  Oscar smiled and looked from Lena to Kane. “I’ll be out in a year and I’ll come after you. If she testifies against me, you’ll always be looking over your shoulder. You don’t want Banta coming after you.”

  Kane pushed off the wall and took a step closer to the desk. Lena saw him out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t turn to see his face, but from the way Oscar pushed his chair back, she knew Kane looked deadly.

  “Banta has been neutralized. You will be in prison for the rest of your life. You see, some bodies have been discovered on some of the properties you own. I’m afraid the charges against you will hold far longer terms than just insider trading.”

  Oscar’s face turned a pale white.

  Blake said, “Oh yes, the FBI will be charging you with the insider trading, but there are some local law enforcement agencies waiting outside to take you into custody.” The agent shrugged. “Their jurisdiction, I’m afraid.”

  “Lena, you can’t do this to me.”

  She got up from the chair. “You did this to yourself, Oscar. The conversation we had yesterday was recorded. You may have thought you paid off all the right people, but most of them were working for the FBI.”

  Oscar rose as if to jump across the desk. Then his face fell and he sat back down heavily.

  She walked toward the door, stopped and turned. “By the way, the deal that John Porter was making with Cross Lending? It never happened. Just one of those things, the stones must have been wrong.”

  “Wha…” Oscar sat with his mouth opening and closing, but no words came out.

  “I’ll bet those people you were dealing with will be disappointed when they find out you had your information all wrong and they lost millions on the deal.” She continued out the door with the Lakeland brothers flanking her. Several police officers walked in behind her and she could hear them Mirandize Oscar as they made their way to the elevator.

  Lena didn’t exactly feel joy, but she felt pretty good.

  * * * * *

  “This is where you live?”

  She brought him to her small condo in New Hope, Pennsylvania. The quaint town was full of artsy types with galleries and shops. She could live there, do her readings and no one really thought anything about it. The main drag ran one block in from the Delaware River. Her condo was six blocks off Main Street. She liked that it was partway up a mountain and had a view of the land below. “This is where I live.”

  “I thought you said New Jersey.”

  “I said I was from New Jersey. I’ve lived in Pennsylvania for a couple of years.”

  He walked around the living room and dining room, then through the kitchen. He touched the table, the couch and ran his hand along the blanket she kept on the back cushion. He opened cabinets in the kitchen before walking to the only bedroom. She waited for him to return to the main area. After a few minutes, he did return. “Is it important to you that we live here?”

  “Is it important to you that we don’t?” she countered.

  He shrugged. “It’s not going to be big enough once the baby is born.”

  She couldn’t help the laugh that burst out of her mouth. “I’m not even pregnant yet.”

  He crossed to where she waited by the entry hall. “You could be.” He pulled her into his arms.

  “I suppose that’s true. If I’m pregnant, we will need a larger place,” she admitted. “Do you have a house?”

  He nodded. “In Colorado.”

  “It’s awful far away from Gran.” She thought about moving across the country from her only blood relative. A knot formed in her stomach.

  “I didn’t say we had to move there, Lena. I know how you feel about your grandmother. We can keep it as a vacation home.”

  “So where do you want to live then?”

  He bent his head and sucked her bottom lip into his mouth. “I want to live wherever you are.”

  “I like it here because it’s only an hour to see Gran in Cherry Hill, plus Philadelphia is pretty close, but I could live anywhere.”

  “We don’t have to decide right now. I only need you to decide one thing today.” His face was serious and the line between his eyes deepened.

  She smiled. “What’s that?”

  To her utter surprise, he dropped to his knees. “Will you marry me?”

  Tears were threatening to push their way out. She could feel her bottom lip trembling. “You don’t have to do this, Kane.”

  “Is that a yes or a no?” He held up a small back box. “Will this sway your decision?” He opened the box and exposed the large round diamond set in platinum.

  She reached out one hand and touched the sparkling stone. “When did you do this?”

  “I had some help.” He frowned. “I’m on my knees here, Lena. I’ll give you all the details later. Are you going to marry me or not?”

  She dropped to her knees. “Of course, I’ll marry you.”

  He wrapped her in his arms and devoured her mouth with his. Her body trembled as he broke the kiss.

  His smile lit the entire condo. “You have no idea how happy you’ve made me. I never thought, never believed, I could have this kind of life.”

  A bubble of laughter made its way up from her chest and eru
pted as a giggle. “You’re not going to get all boring on me. I told you, I enjoy a little excitement in my life.”

  He flipped her onto her back before she had time to protest. His hand eased her head down and he straddled her hips. “I don’t think you have to worry that we are going to be a boring couple, Lena.”

  For the first time since Banta had raped her mind, Lena let her defenses down completely. She opened her mind to Kane and nudged him mentally.

  His eyes widened. “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely. After all, you brought me in and didn’t even get to claim your bounty. You should get something for your trouble.”

  He leaned down and kissed her. His tongue slid inside her mouth and made love to her lips, teeth and tongue. When he broke the kiss, they were both breathless. “I have all the bounty I will ever need, right here.”

  About A.S. Fenichel

  A.S. Fenichel adores writing stories filled with love, passion, desire, magic and maybe a little mayhem tossed in for good measure. Books have always been her perfect escape and she still relishes diving into one and staying up all night to finish a good story. Originally from New York, she grew up in New Jersey. She now lives in the southwest with her real-life hero, her wonderful husband. When she’s not reading or writing, she enjoys cooking, travel, history and puttering in her garden.

  A.S. welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email addresses on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

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  Also by A.S. Fenichel

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  Mayan Destiny 1: Mayan Afterglow

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  Print books by A.S. Fenichel

  Mayan Destiny 1 & 2: Mayan Saviors

  Ellora’s Cave Publishing

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  Kane’s Bounty

  ISBN 9781419945052

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  Kane’s Bounty Copyright © 2013 A.S. Fenichel

  Edited by Briana St. James

  Cover design by Syneca

  Cover photography by Sergy Mironoz

  Electronic book publication May 2013

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