AVAILABLE FILE FORMATS: HTML for the standard computer, PDF for Adobe Reader, MS Reader for the PC and Pocket PC, Mobipocket for Palm Pilot

Chapter One

"Duck!"

Anna twisted slightly, bobbing her head to avoid the basketball whizzing past her ear.

"Revisiting your childhood?" she asked sardonically.

"Nah, I don't think basketball had been invented when I was a kid."

Anna ignored him. "And did you really have to set your hoop up directly above my desk? I know I've been away for ages, but really..."

Her sometime-partner Jim ruffled her hair as he squeezed behind her chair, scooping up the ball, before he bothered replying. "Yep. It was the only good spot available."

"Hmmpf!"

"Show some respect for your elders." He waggled his finger, purposely taunting. "Besides, you don't really mean it, you know."

"I do too!" She couldn't hold the scowl any longer, and grinned up at him. "Anyway it doesn't matter. I'll only be here a couple of days before I'm off on holidays."

Generally speaking, Anna enjoyed her job, hectic as it often was. Since she'd finished training at the police academy eight years ago she'd worked almost entirely undercover, most often with Jim. More recently, the bosses had been sending her out on her own and she really did miss having him around. She'd been out of the office for almost a month this time, playing bodyguard to a visiting diplomat, and she was almost regretting that she was about to go away again. Almost, but not quite. After all, she hadn't had more than a weekend off in over two years, and she was long overdue for some serious relaxation.

"Some people get all the luck," he teased. "Cushy jobs, long holidays..."

"Yeah, yeah. Same old, same old." She was used to him baiting her and he'd have to try a lot harder than that if he wanted her to bite.

"Was he okay?" Jim was serious now. "I heard a rumour about him being a giant pain in the ass."

"Who? The diplomat?" She laughed at his concern. "Nothing I couldn't handle. He did think he was the gift to all women," she conceded, "but he got used to me after a while." After the first fifty or so rejections, she added to herself.

"So long as you're alright." He sounded unconvinced.

"Big worry wort! Anyone would think you were my dad."

Jim grinned sheepishly, his eyes giving away the genuine concern he felt for her. "Well, you are fairly young to be out by yourself, and you look so...girly. An easy target," he added as her brows shot up in query.

"Exactly why Helen keeps sending me out on the assignments she does," Anna agreed. "I'm a lot less obvious hanging around than you, you old codger." It was true too. No one ever suspected she was a bodyguard. A girlfriend, a granddaughter, or sometimes even a sister, but never a bodyguard. She just didn't look like your typical Hollywood tough guy.

"Yeah, well..." He shrugged.

"You're cute when you're worried," she teased, breaking off to answer the phone that started to ring on her desk. "The boss calls," she told him a few seconds later. "I'll catch you round."

"If you're lucky," he said darkly, and she swung on him.

"Do you know something I don't?"

He gave her a gentle shove towards the corridor. "Off you go. She doesn't like to be kept waiting."

* * *

Anna straightened her skirt as she headed down the hall, tugging the mini to a more respectable height. She'd come straight from the last assignment and was still dressed the part in a neat linen business suit and designer heels. None of the other agents would laugh--well, not other than to tease the girl who was most comfortable in jeans about what great legs she had--but Helen Peterson wasn't the other agents. She was reserved enough, and old enough, to object to women showing off their knees, yet in other things she had absolutely no scruples at all. Probably why she'd held onto the job for all these years, Anna thought. She could admire her, grudgingly, but she didn't want to be her. Anna figured she still had to live with herself after each assignment was over. She sometimes wondered how Helen slept at night.

As usual, Helen's door was wide open so she could watch exactly what was happening in the outer office. Her head sprung up as Anna paused in the doorway.

"Ms. Cameron. Come in."

"Thank you." Anna pulled out the seat in front of her desk without being asked, and crossed her ankles delicately. With luck, Helen wouldn't even notice the ultra-short skirt.

Or not. Helen glared briefly at Anna's knees before dragging her gaze back to her face. "You received a good report from the Portuguese embassy. Well done."

"Thank you."

"Mmm." She looked at her legs again. "Did you dress like that the whole time?" From the expression on her face, it looked like she thought Anna's legs were the entire reason for the positive feedback.

"I did." Anna's voice was level. She'd had plenty of practice at being emotionless. "It worked," she added.

"Obviously." Helen shuffled a stack of papers, tipping the majority of them straight into her out tray, before separating a slim manila folder from the pile and passing it across the desk.

Anna reached out for it, her heart sinking. This wasn't looking good for her holiday.

"New job for you." Helen's face was as expressionless as Anna's had been moments before. "Female university student needs to be protected for a week or so until she leaves the country. Her older brother's received threats against the family. She's being sent overseas but, until she goes, she's all yours." She looked back to the paperwork scattered across her desk, the interview apparently over, and raised an eyebrow in enquiry when Anna didn't move.

"I'm, um, supposed to be on leave as soon as I file the report from this last job."

"Defer it. I need you on this one."

"Jim's not on anything at the moment. Maybe he could..."

"No." Helen's eyes flashed. "You. And only you."

Anna could sort of see her point. She just didn't want to. Jim was fifty-something and had "cop" written all over him. He wouldn't exactly blend in on a university campus, or be at home nightclubbing.

"Fine. Anything else I need to know?"

"It's all in the file." Helen stared at her for a moment before looking back to her paperwork, pen already in hand. "Use a bit of discretion," she said. "This one could be a media nightmare if you get it wrong."

"Great." Anna sighed. "I'll be off then."

* * *

Kel MacKenzie tried not to thump the table in frustration. His sister was sitting opposite him, staring at her fingernails and apparently not paying him the slightest bit of attention.

"Hilary! For once in your life, would you listen to me? Please?" he added as an afterthought, hoping his bemusement wasn't obvious.

His employees had no problem following his instructions. His companies ran like clockwork, but he had no idea how to control his sister. Surely there was an instruction manual somewhere no one had told him about.

Her eyes met his briefly, the boredom in them obvious. "Look Kel, we've been through all this before. I'm not going to have my life disrupted by some macho guy in a suit following me everywhere and telling me what to do."

"Don't you believe the threats are real?"

"Of course I do." She didn't bother looking at him again, fascinated by the movement of her fingers. "But the threats are against you, not against me."

"And anyone with half a brain can work out that the easiest way to get to me is through you. You may not believe it but I don't want anything to happen to you." Especially because of me, he added silently.

Their father was long gone, and Kel had stepped in to take that role wherever he could for his little sister. She hadn't even had a particularly useful mother figure around in the last couple of years, not since their mother had moved to Switzerland to be near her new husband. That had left Kel running the family business, and Hilary still at school in Sydney. She'd refused to go with their mother, leaving Kel in the unenviable position of father and mother to a headstrong teenager. He'd done his best but it obviously hadn't been enough. Hilary was a brat. A rich brat, unfortunately, with access to her own trust fund. In the past, threats to withhold her pocket money had sometimes worked--but not anymore.

Now she was in her second year of a psychology degree at the University of Sydney, and he hardly ever saw her. She was at uni most weekdays--at least he hoped she was--and she was out clubbing and partying every weekend. Midweek, he rarely made it home before ten or eleven so he hardly ever saw her even then. She'd be curled up in front of the telly, shushing him if he tried to make conversation, and he'd tended to just give up.

But she was his sister. You could tell simply by looking at them. She had the same dark blue eyes with long lashes and the same thick dark-blonde hair. And definitely the same stubborn streak! He ran his hand through his hair in exasperation, annoyed at himself for the unguarded gesture almost as soon as he'd done it.

He could imagine what she was thinking, and knew she was at least a little bit right. Control freak, control freak. When they were kids, she'd used to chant it, laughing at him as he'd tried to organise her life. And she'd been right then too. But a little bit of nostalgia didn't stop him from being instantly suspicious when she softened her stance ever so slightly.

"Look, sweetie. Don't worry about me. Only a couple more days, then I'm off to Switzerland to stay with mum. Nothing's going to happen." She attempted to smooth the cowlick he'd rubbed into his hair, laughing gently as it sprung straight back up.

"I'm sorry Hilary, but you're going to have to trust me on this one. "

Her milder mood evaporated. "No chance. No bodyguards."

"Whether you like it or not, you are going to have one..." He held his hand up as she started to interrupt. "No, listen to me. I've gone out of my way to get someone you'll be happy with, but you're going to have them with you for the next week, no matter what. The last threats specified you."

"You never told me that!" Her eyes widened almost imperceptibly. Maybe he was actually starting to get through to her.

He shrugged. "I didn't want to scare you, but this morning's message was pretty specific. Personally, I'd rather you left the country right now, but I know you need to stay for your exams. If I've got to put up with you staying here, you've got to put up with the inconvenience."

The news she'd been targeted might have rattled her but he knew she wouldn't admit it and wasn't surprised when she kept her tone hard. "Fine then, since that's the only thing that's going to make you happy."

"Thank you." He relaxed slightly. "We're meeting with them here in an hour. Please make sure you hang around until then."

"Sure."

Kel watched her stomp upstairs to her rooms. He couldn't believe just how frustrating she was. Who'd want to have kids when you knew they'd turn into teenagers? Go figure.

Considerably more sedately, he followed her up the stairs towards his bathroom to stick his head under the tap. It was a fact of life that bad hair detracted from the authority he always exuded, and that authority was one of the things that made his businesses run so well. He looked powerful, and sounded powerful. People respected him. But it was damn hard to get someone's respect when they were busting themselves trying to hold in their laughter because your hair was sticking up on end.

* * *

"So he mainly works from home? Odd, I thought he was mega-rich, but I guess not." Jim shrugged as he flipped through the MacKenzie file Anna had laid on her desk.

"He is. Mega-rich, that is," she amended as she pointed out the company balance sheets from the last financial year. "It's a private company so the profit's all his."

"Shheesh." Jim whistled through his teeth. "And he mostly works from an office at home? Must be a serious miser."

Anna shrugged. "I guess I'll find out soon enough. I'm heading around there now. Just wanted to give you a hug before I left again." She wrapped her arms around his chest and squeezed. "Say hello to Irene for me."

"Sure. I'll let her know you won't make it round for dinner this week. She'll excuse you--she always does."

Anna smiled complacently. "I know. She's a darling."

And it was true. Jim's wife was nice. What could he do except nod his agreement, and return the hug?

"Now get out of here!" He smacked her playfully. "You're in the way of my basketball hoop."

"Don't remind me!" She laughed as she shoved the file under her arm and grabbed her bag with her free hand, waving awkwardly as she disappeared out the door.

* * *

At exactly 3: 00 p.m., the doorbell chimed, echoing loudly through the large north shore house. Ridiculously large with just the two of them rattling around in it, Kel had often thought, but there was no way his mother would ever agree to selling the family home. It was where she'd raised her children and she refused to let it go--despite the fact she was now on the other side of the world and hadn't been 'home' for over two years. About the only good thing Kel could see about what he thought of as a bloody great museum was that it kept two staff in full time work. It made him feel like he was doing his bit for the unemployment figures. That was if you ignored the three hundred-odd staff he employed in his own business, of course. But, by his reasoning, they were an essential overhead and they made money rather than costing it. The only thing the old house made was bills.

Kel answered the door himself, briskly pulling it open, a polite welcome forming on his lips before he realised it wasn't his appointment waiting on the verandah.

It was a woman, or maybe he should have said it was a girl, and she smiled nicely as she held her hand out to him. She wasn't particularly striking except in her height--she was only a fraction shorter than him and he was just on six foot tall--but there was something else about her that caught his eye. She had dark shoulder-length hair, swept back off her face and caught at the nape of her neck in a tortoiseshell clasp, and cheerful brown eyes. Her smile was pretty, if polite, but that wasn't it either. It nagged at him, but he didn't have time for that sort of thought right now, so he pushed it to the back of his mind, returned her smile and accepted her outstretched hand.

"What can I do for you?" He concentrated on ignoring the softness of her skin and the little tingle her touch sent shooting up his arm. In other circumstances he may have been interested, but today he needed her gone as quickly as possible.

"You must be Kel MacKenzie. I think you're expecting me."

Her smile hadn't slipped, but his carefully cultured calm went scurrying for cover. Surely this slip of a girl wasn't the bodyguard Helen had promised him? And if she was, what sort of game did Helen think she was playing?

He shook his head abruptly. "No. I don't think I am."

"You're not Kel MacKenzie, or you're not expecting me?" The young woman smiled pleasantly before glancing at her watch. "I was asked to meet you here at three. Perhaps the times got mixed?"

"No." His eyes were cold, his body language distant, but he didn't release her hand straight away. "I'm expecting someone called Cameron for a three o'clock appointment, so if you'll excuse me..."

"That's right," she agreed, stepping forward before he could close the door in her face. "I'm Anna Cameron."

* * *

This was not a good start. Anna hadn't wanted to be here in the first place, then the brother turned out to be a giant jerk--condemned by his own first few words--and add to that the fact he'd tried to shut the door in her face, and she was one very unhappy camper. And an angry one as well.

What was making things even worse was, mad as she was, she couldn't avoid the very unbusinesslike flash of awareness that had gone coursing through her body as soon as she'd laid eyes on him. His gaze hadn't moved from her face and she'd had the uncanny feeling of being trapped, that she couldn't have looked away if she'd wanted to. His eyes were dark blue, fathomless, and gave no hint at all of what he was thinking. She dragged her own eyes downwards, and caught herself staring at his chin. Even pulled tight with displeasure, his features were classically handsome. He had a strongly drawn jaw, softened by a tiny cleft she longed to reach out and touch. And his mouth. Oooh, his mouth. She almost sighed at the thought of those firm lips on her, tracing a damp line around her collar bone and up behind her ear...

Where the hell had that thought come from?

It took superhuman effort but she pulled herself together and looked away. Cranky at letting her hormones rule her head, even if it was only for a split second, she let her eyes flash with annoyance as he hesitated on the threshold, but kept her social smile pasted on her face. Surely it was cracking at the edges with her attempt not to let it turn into a snarl, but he didn't seem to notice. Thick skinned too, apparently!

"Are you planning on inviting me in, or shall we discuss our business out here in the street?" she asked sweetly, the saccharine dripping between each word.

He looked beyond her, out to the car she'd parked at the curb, apparently expecting someone else to materialise even as he wished it.

"Nope, it's just me," she added dryly, very unamused. Adding 'sexist' to his charge sheet, she gave up on waiting for the invitation and stepped through to the hall behind him, pausing there while he caught her up.

She waited for the door to close and the bolt click home before turning back to face him. The few seconds had given her time to glance around the entry, mentally adding the cost of the parquetry floor to the antique telephone table to the crystal chandelier hanging above the stairs. Old money, she decided. Too tasteful to be the nouveau rich. And Mummy must have done the decorating, because she couldn't see this mannerless oaf ever choosing colours as restful as the eggshell and powder blue that was on the walls.

The pause had given him a chance to regroup too, because he had an equally practised social smile on his lips when she looked back at him. He held his arm out to direct her to a room off the hall, and waited as she preceded him through the door. Maybe he had learnt something at the expensive boys' school he'd attended, after all.

He ushered her to a comfortable wingback chair before seating himself directly opposite. "I must apologise for my rudeness." His tone was cool. "I was expecting a man."

"I could see that." Anna's voice was neutral.

"May I get you a drink?" He stood again, moving to a small table holding two decanters and a collection of glasses. "Sherry, scotch? Tea or coffee perhaps?"

"Only if you're having one."

"I put coffee on to brew just before you arrived."

"That will be fine, thank you."

Anna stayed relaxed in her chair, watching him idly as he disappeared from sight. He seemed to be quite well-built under his slightly stuffy suit. He wasn't wearing a jacket and his shirt fitted so well it had to have been tailored. She doubted any shirt bought off the rack would sit so well over those broad shoulders. It was a shame about his poor manners though, because he was certainly good looking. Even the social smile was kind of cute, and she wondered what the real one would be like.

Anna didn't move, wanting him to understand she was perfectly comfortable here, no matter what his feelings were. She was too used to convincing all kinds of people to do whatever she wanted them to do to worry about him being much of a challenge. For someone with his ruthless reputation, he was certainly easily shocked. Usually, business people were better at keeping their emotions in check. It made negotiating easier if no one knew what you were thinking.

* * *

"Helen?" Kel juggled the kettle while he spoke, the phone crammed awkwardly under his ear. "I know it would be suspicious if I was the one to follow my own sister around--" he winced at the sharp response from the other end of the phone. "But Anna Cameron? Are you sure she's much of an alternative?"

"Just put up or shut up." Even over the phone, Helen managed to sound acerbic. "Anna's good at what she does, and I have my own reasons."

"Are you planning on sharing those reasons?" he queried, not bothering to hide the sarcasm.

"When I'm ready. And don't give the poor girl a hard time either."

Helen hung up with a sharp click, once again leaving him wondering just why he put up with all this. He was still shaking his head wearily as he headed back to the lounge room and the girl he was supposed to be nice to. Huh!

* * *

Kel returned with a tray in his hands which he carefully placed on the low coffee table between them. When he turned his back for a moment, arranging the cups, Anna couldn't help her eyes straying. As he bent, his trousers stretched tautly, outlining a very well-toned butt. The sort she wouldn't mind seeing with a whole lot less clothing. She let her eyes drift up to his shoulders, measuring their width, but had them firmly focused on his face by the time he turned back to her.

"Milk? Sugar?"

"Just milk please."

He handed her the cup then re-settled himself, this time leaning back comfortably and mimicking her relaxed pose. "Now, I don't wish to be rude, but I'm afraid I find it rather difficult to understand why you're here." He eyed her over the rim of his cup, and she took a thoughtful sip of her own coffee before replying.

"You requested government assistance in handling the threats you've been receiving. Simply put, you got me."

He held eye contact, his voice reasonable even though his words weren't. "That's correct, yes. But I was assured the person who was sent out to assist us would be highly experienced in this sort of situation. You look a little...young."

"Yes?" She wasn't going to help in the slightest.

"I'm afraid I really do need to get the best help available. My sister is at risk, and I can't stand the thought of anything happening to her."

For the first time, Anna noticed a touch of honesty in his words, but his worry for his sister wasn't about to soften her attitude towards him. She'd been pulled away from her holiday and, as far as she was concerned, he could just start showing some suitable gratitude.

She placed her cup neatly on the coffee table before straightening and holding his stare. "I've been working in the field of personal protection for eight years. My assignments have included heads of state, diplomats, business people, witness protection programmes and socialites. I dare say I can manage your sister."

He snorted unthinkingly. "Good luck to you. No one else can!"

Pretending he hadn't just said what he had, he looked at her assessingly and she gazed back, ignoring his open inspection. His eyes lingered a fraction too long on her legs and for an instant she really wished she'd chosen a pants suit this morning. On the other hand, now she knew he was interested in her legs, she might be able to use that little bit of information to her own advantage. She'd also noticed the awareness in his eyes when he'd first seen her on the verandah--before he'd realised who she was. As the saying went, knowledge was power.

His eyes came back to meet hers. "I find that a little hard to believe Ms. Cameron. After all, you are a..."

"Woman?" she supplied silkily, the anger that had been simmering in the background starting to boil.

He shrugged. "Yes."

"Have you ever heard the term 'misogynist'?" she asked nicely, forcing herself to stay calm. She continued over him as he started to interrupt. "Or perhaps you prefer 'sexist', or maybe even 'chauvinist'?"

"Now really, that was quite uncalled for."

"No, I think not." Anna stood up, stretching her back elegantly as she did so and enjoying the tiny rush of feminine power as her movement caught his attention. "I haven't had a vacation in two years, Mr. MacKenzie. I was due to fly out this evening, but I gave it up in order to take on this job. We were told you'd asked for the best, but apparently you're not quite so discerning after all. I still have time to make my flight so, if you'll excuse me..."

She headed for the door, her walk easily sensual in her spike-heeled shoes. She knew damn well that her legs were one of her best assets and he wouldn't be a male if he wasn't taking a good gander at them under her mini skirt right this minute. She paused at the door, twisting to glance at him over her shoulder and making her hair fall in a luxurious cascade. So far, she hadn't raised her voice in the slightest, or let her inflection go to anything beyond the carefully neutral tone she preferred. It usually threw people off balance, and today was no exception.

"Don't worry about seeing me out, I'm sure I can find my own way." She grinned to herself as she turned to grasp the door handle, then added in a cutesy little-girl voice, "Oh dear, I do hope I don't get lost. I'm sure you know how utterly hopeless girls are at reading maps." Her shoulders wiggled as she twisted the knob, and she wasn't surprised to find him hovering at her elbow before she'd even put any pressure on the door.

* * *

"All right, I was out of line. I apologise." Kel was gruff. He could only hope he sounded like he meant it. Embarrassingly, she was right. Despite what Helen had said, he'd still assumed a youngish woman couldn't possibly be a competent professional.

She paused, her hand resting on the door handle. "And?"

"And?" He hesitated before venturing, "It won't happen again?"

"Good." Her voice was suddenly business-like and she strode back to her chair without even glancing at him. "Now that we've got all this out of the way, can we actually start talking about the reason I'm here?"

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Her eyes were wide and she radiated innocence. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

Kel slammed himself into his own seat, choosing to ignore the way she'd manipulated him so easily. She'd even made him apologise--twice!--and that wasn't something he ever did. Dammit! He'd worked out now what it was that had fascinated him about her when she was standing on the verandah. It was her self-confidence. He could tell that she just knew everything was going to turn out her way. There was only the tiniest glimmer of satisfaction in her eyes, but it was enough. A dangerous fascination, he thought to himself, shaking his head slightly as he tried to focus on the topic at hand.

She took over the conversation at that point, drawing details from him about the threats and what his thoughts on them were. "So you don't have any idea of who's sending them to you? They seem to know plenty about your personal life." Anna was justifiably disbelieving, but he kept to the same line he'd given everyone else.

"I really don't know." It wasn't a total lie. He didn't know the individual who'd penned the notes, even though he was pretty sure he knew who they worked for. "As I keep on saying, everyone in my position tends to have a few pet cranks who blame us for what's gone wrong in their lives. I'm assuming that it's just one of those people."

"Jealous of your wealth, your position?" Anna's voice was neutral again, spurring him to exasperation.

"Ms. Cameron, is this really necessary? I was under the impression you were hired to protect Hilary. Surely this isn't relevant."

"It's very relevant. How am I supposed to protect her if I don't know where the threat's coming from?" She shrugged expressively, the careless shoulder movement telling him exactly what she thought of his input. "There're plenty of police investigating the threats, but I need information for different reasons. I've read the file," she gestured towards the manila folder she'd left lying on the coffee table, "but all it gives me is black and white. It doesn't tell me anything about you as an individual, or about your sister."

Damn! As he'd glanced towards the folder, he'd realised something even more annoying. The little vixen had been so sure of herself she hadn't even picked up the file, or her handbag, when she'd made such a show of walking out on him.

He couldn't help himself. "Are you always this arrogant?"

"Me?" She raised an eyebrow in polite enquiry. "I'd have thought you were talking about yourself when you use words like that."

"Ms. Cameron, I really must object to your abusing me like this..." Kel was losing his cool and knowing it was making it worse.

"You were the one who started the name calling, Mr. MacKenzie," she observed, totally unconcerned.

God she was annoying! Here she was, sitting in his lounge room, drinking his coffee and, quite rightly, throwing the blame straight back to him. After all, he was the one who'd started everything off so badly.

He stood up and paced across the room, his hands clasped behind his back. "All right. You're right, and I'm sorry." Three apologies in one afternoon--a miracle! "Do you think we could just start this over again?"

"Why?" She wasn't going to help him, and he could understand that. In normal circumstances, he'd be the one sitting there so calmly watching everyone else fall to pieces under pressure. He must have been more shaken than he'd thought by the threats to Hilary. Anna Cameron was finding it no problem to get under his skin.

"Why start again?" He attempted a smile. "Because I was a sexist jerk, and I think I'd much rather work with you than against you." The smile flashed again, genuine warmth in it this time.

Anna looked at him consideringly, but it was the grin rather than the words that did her in. Sure, he sounded like he really meant it this time, but that smile was just totally infectious. He grinned like a little boy who'd been caught red-handed with his fingers in the cake batter. It lit up his face, smoothing away the tiny worried wrinkles that had lined his brow since the moment she'd seen him.

He was charming when he relaxed, and she had to work hard to contain her own grin. As he'd paced, he'd unconsciously pushed his hand through his hair and now it was sticking straight up. She itched to run her fingers through it, smoothing it down. It was so thick, and he somehow reminded her of a rumpled kitten. Not the sort of thing she should be thinking about a client, and especially not one who was so overbearing.

Forcing her thoughts back to the job, she stood up and faced him across the room, taking a little more malicious enjoyment from the moment of panic in his eyes. Did he really think she was leaving? She held her hand out, and smiled pleasantly as he grasped it in a firm handshake. "I'm Anna Cameron. Nice to meet you."

He had the good grace to flush slightly. "And I'm Kel MacKenzie. It's my pleasure to meet you too."

"Right then, Mr. MacKenzie, I think it's about time I met Hilary."

"Of course. But please call me Kel. I insist," he added when she looked like she might protest. Then, "I'll just go and call her."

"There's no need. I've been standing out here enjoying the show." Hilary stepped from the shadows of the hallway, her eyes gleaming sardonically. "It's always good to see a woman standing up to my brother. And winning."

Chapter Two

Anna stood up to greet her, her expression carefully friendly, but she couldn't help noticing that, once again, Kel had been thrown off balance. Did all women upset him this much?

"Nice to meet you, Hilary." She grinned at her, sharing a secret wink. "As you probably already heard, I'm Anna. Despite what your brother says, I'm sure we'll get along okay for the next few days."

"Unlikely."

Anna didn't falter. "I know it's a pain having a stranger tag along with you all the time, but it won't be for too long. And I'm fairly flexible about where you go and what you do."

"Yeah, right." Hilary was disbelieving.

"So, how much did you hear?" Anna sidestepped the topic effortlessly. Kel was impressed. Hilary was actually listening and, going by Anna's supreme self-confidence, it looked like she was about to be persuaded to do what she was told for once. Maybe he should be taking notes!

"Pretty well everything."

"Then you know how experienced I am at what I do. I may not look much like a body guard but I haven't lost anyone yet and I'm not planning on starting with you." Anna smiled again.

"I only said I'd have you because Kel practically begged me to. That doesn't mean I have to like it so don't bother trying to sweet-talk me." The obstreperous teenage attitude was still there but it didn't worry Anna.

"You know, I find it hard to imagine your brother begging." Anna shot him an amused glance that made him cringe. "I think maybe I'd like to see that."

"Very funny," he said drolly, "and very unlikely."

"We'll see." She turned back to Hilary. "Anyway, as I was trying to say, I'm here because of how I look. I can basically just go along with you wherever you want to go and no one will notice me." She gestured to her short suit and high heels, casting another mischievous glance to Kel as she did. "I don't always dress like this."

"I should hope not," he muttered under his breath.

Hilary almost giggled, sharing a sideways look with Anna. This woman was going to drive him crazy, he could tell. Within minutes of meeting Hilary she had the rebellious teenager more or less under control. It wasn't fair! He was almost wishing that Hilary would do something awful to upset her complacency so he groaned when Hilary sat down in the chair he'd recently vacated, curling her legs comfortably over the cushions. Apparently, it wasn't to be.

"What do you need from me?"

Anna settled herself back in her own chair, her attention now entirely on the girl sitting opposite. It gave Kel a chance to look at her properly and, with that in mind, he chose a seat on a low sofa that was just out of her line of vision. With luck, she wouldn't even know he was watching her.

* * *

He was trying for discretion, obviously assuming she wouldn't notice his gaze, and she felt like laughing at how easily she'd managed to tame him. It would be nice if it lasted the entire week but Anna was fairly sure he'd have himself back under control by tomorrow and she'd have to start all over again. According to his file, he was an astute businessman, not particularly popular, but there was no mention of the total lack of social skills he'd shown today. Assuming he was off-kilter because of the threats to his sister, there was a good chance everything would be back to normal by breakfast time. Now she was looking out for Hilary, he could push the problem to the back of his mind and continue on with life as usual. Which would be a shame--she almost liked the slightly-out-of-control, definitely harried but trying to hide it, high-achiever she'd seen this afternoon.

As she discussed the details of the next few days with Hilary, she could feel his gaze traveling over her. The heat of his eyes warmed her as his focus moved, shifting from her face to her breasts to her legs and back again. She could see him from the corner of her eye, but made no move to indicate she knew he was watching her. His gaze lingered a little too long somewhere around her abdomen, and the heat that sprung up between her thighs was almost unbearable.

Languidly, she uncrossed her legs, stretching gracefully before she tucked them to the side, shifting her stance ever so slightly. As she'd hoped, it was just enough of a hint for him to realise she could see his interest, and she wondered what he'd do. Would he halt his flagrant inspection, or would he continue openly?

Maybe he wasn't quite so tame after all. Rather than looking away, he raised his eyes to hers and smiled lazily, an unmistakable come-to-bed smile if ever she'd seen one. It softened his features and suddenly he was the gorgeous, eligible thirty-something she'd read about in the file. The arrogance was gone, replaced with something much more desirable. His smile deepened as he noticed her watching him and, rather than breaking that eye contact, his eyes stared into hers, drowning her in a slow, seductive blink. What eyelashes the man had!

"Anna?" Hilary's voice was enquiring, snapping her back to the present.

Damn! Kel was laughing at her, she could see it in his eyes, and he even had the audacity to waggle his fingers back towards Hilary, reminding her where her attention should be. She turned stiffly, and struggled to hold her composure when he chuckled. It was a deep laugh, low and breathy, and her stomach churned at the sound. She hadn't let a man interest her this much for a very long time, and the fact that he was doing it so easily wasn't a good thing. She mustn't have had him nearly as under control as she'd thought. She could see a battle of wills shaping up...

"Sorry Hilary, I didn't quite hear what you just said." Anna pulled herself back into professional mode, doing her best to ignore the handsome man who was so blatantly checking her out.

"You see Hilary," Kel inserted smoothly, "Not everyone is half as interested in your social life as you'd thought." He chuckled again, his eyes moving between the two women in front of him, wondering who'd bite first.

Surprisingly, it was Anna. "That's not quite true, Kel," she explained, pinning him with a gaze that would have made a butterfly squirm, "I was just thinking about what a variety of places Hilary and I will be in the next few days, and working out what sort of back up I'll need to arrange." She turned back to Hilary, effectively shutting him out of the conversation again.

* * *

So he could make her bite, hey? And more easily than he'd thought, too. Her calm neutrality had flustered him, but now he knew exactly how to get to her. Fancy her being uncomfortable with masculine attention? Oh yeah, this could be fun. He wouldn't do anything to interrupt her concentration on the job, but there'd be plenty of opportunities to tease her into a reaction. There were times he positively enjoyed playing to his rakish image.

Just for a moment, he felt a twinge of disquiet. It really wasn't fair of him to act like that and, really, it wasn't as if he was even half as reprehensible as he let the world believe. Still, she was a big girl, and had more than enough confidence to cope with his playboy industrialist image. Helen wouldn't have sent Anna if she didn't think she'd cope.

Kel leant back against the sofa, grinning at himself for his obvious posturing as he let his legs fall slightly further apart, and crossed his arms over his chest. He bet she'd notice the change in his body language, and wondered what she'd do about it.

* * *

Hilary was doing her best to pay attention, but she was too fascinated by the not-so-subtle war being waged between Anna and Kel. There was no way Anna couldn't have noticed Kel's behaviour. He was suddenly relaxed, and somehow more...masculine. His eyes on Anna were almost predatory and, for the first time, she thought she understood what he'd meant when he'd tried to give her "the talk". There was something dangerous about the attention he was paying Anna, and the thought that a man might one day look at her in the same way was frightening. And thrilling. She'd never really thought of her brother as a man before--heck, he was her brother!--and she'd certainly never seen him in action. But now she could see what he'd been warning her about. She wondered what Anna thought about his attention?

* * *

Kel had regained his composure, and then some, and it was annoying Anna. There'd been a shift in the power base and she didn't like it. She was the one who was always in control, not some overconfident rich guy. And look at him! He was sitting there, legs spread wide, showing off his masculinity. Oh God, and what masculinity! It took every ounce of her self-control not to stare.

So, rather than letting him go on distracting her, she pulled herself together and went on the attack, turning back to face him directly and hoping to out-brazen him. She leant fractionally forward, knowing her breasts would push against the thin fabric of her blouse as her suit gaped.

"What do you think, Kel?" she asked sweetly, barely hidden triumph in her eyes as she saw she'd caught him unawares. Gotcha!

He hesitated for a second, then, "Sorry, I wasn't listening."

"You're not interested then?" Still sweet, but this time she crossed her ankles, purposely snagging his attention down towards her legs.

"Oh, I'm interested." He answered without thinking, having to hurry to save himself. Even Hilary noticed and covered her mouth with her hand to disguise her giggle. "What did you want my opinion on exactly? You seem to have everything under control." He spoke calmly, stretching widely as if bored. It also showed off his nicely toned chest and shoulder muscles. He figured there had to be some benefit for the time he spent in the gym every day.

"Not quite everything. But I'm working on it." Her gaze openly followed the movement of his shoulders, not a trace of a blush creeping over her cheeks.

Going a little further, she glanced down to where his legs were still so enticingly apart and a tiny smile flitted across her mouth. Moving his legs closer together now would probably be quite painful, and she brought her eyes back to his, letting him know that she knew it too. She raised a single eyebrow in oh-so-polite enquiry, struggling to hide her grin as she glanced back down.

She'd never dared to flirt quite so obviously, but it was working. He gave in first, looking at a spot just over her shoulder as his face reddened. Anna turned smoothly back to Hilary, smiling demurely, and continued where she'd left off. Luckily, Kel had no way of knowing just what his hungry gaze and obvious arousal had done to her. Her nipples had tightened uncomfortably, her bra rubbing on them, but they were hidden under her jacket and out of his view. The last thing she wanted him to know was just how much she'd been turned on by his seductive teasing.

Kel gave up concentrating as Anna ignored him again. It wasn't going to be quite as easy as he'd hoped to ruffle her feathers, but it was sure going to be enjoyable. Once she'd realised he was flirting, she'd just flirted right back. She was good at it--too good going by his body's reaction--but she wasn't quite the same confident woman when she was in femme fatale mode. He was sure he'd got to her and would swear he'd seen her squirm uncomfortably when he'd stared so long at her tummy. Eying her breasts or groin would have been too obvious, and wouldn't have got the same delicious reaction. But her tummy...well, it seemed like her body had it's own ideas about what it was interested in, and it wasn't necessarily listening to the prim orders her brain was issuing. That wriggle had looked suspiciously like the movement of a woman who was getting all hot and bothered between the legs. He couldn't help grinning to himself at the idea, wondering how much she'd squirm when he had more than just his eyes on her body.

He dragged his mind away from the fantasies and gave some more thought to how he might break through her barriers. Her confidence wasn't an act, she really did seem to have everything under control, but the flirting didn't come quite naturally. Sure, it worked. There was no question about that. Without meaning to, his lips twitched as he felt the memory of his body's traitorous reaction to her. Sitting up straight still wasn't really practical. But there was something forced about her sexy act, and he thought he wouldn't mind pushing her boundaries just a little bit further. He would have put money on it that he was an awful lot less inhibited than she was. And keeping her off balance when she was around him would not only be fun, it might teach Ms. High-and-Mighty that she wasn't quite as invincible as she apparently thought.

* * *

Hilary led the way up the stairs to her rooms, giving a quick guided tour of the house as they went. She'd arranged a room next to hers for Anna, and she pointed out the doors leading to Kel's rooms and the guest bathroom as they passed them. Anna trailed in her wake, lost in thought, occasionally making appropriate "ah ha" noises.

Back downstairs, Kel had gone quiet after a while, she'd thought suitably chastised, but when she'd finally looked at him as Hilary led the way out of the room, he was still leaning back in his seat, totally relaxed, and disturbingly polite. Hilary had shown her the other downstairs living areas and opened the door to Kel's offices but he hadn't followed. If anything, Anna had expected him to be heading directly to his office to catch up on all the work their meeting must have interrupted.

Stop it, she chided herself. He'd just been playing games with her, trying to get his own back for having her show him up so thoroughly at the start, and now he was back to being the distantly polite older brother businessman she'd expected to see all along. She should have been relieved, not disappointed.

The room Hilary showed her to was about the same size as Anna's flat on the other side of the CBD. Anna went straight to the window and stood slightly to the side of it as she opened the curtains. They were heavy, dark blue brocade and there was a filmy lace privacy curtain beyond them. She tweaked the lace aside, careful to remain out of sight herself, and studied the view. Her window overlooked the front of the house and she could see most of the driveway and a reasonable way down the street. There was a cluster of silver birches blocking her view to the neighbours on one side, but the other side was relatively clear other than the brick fence that lined a portion of the driveway. It wasn't going to be easy for the other agents to hang around unnoticed.

"What are you looking for?" Hilary was curious, and Anna let the curtain fall back before turning to her and smiling.

"I'm just checking the visibility," she said lightly, brushing the question aside. Even though she'd explained there'd be more watchers following them, she didn't particularly want to remind Hilary about their presence. Anna's role was simply to be in constant contact with the subject. She wasn't the slightest bit interested in locating the source of the threats, and she wasn't about to go off chasing after suspicious shadows. That was what the other agents were for.

"Is it any good?"

"What?"

"The visibility." Hilary was patient.

"Yeah, it's okay." Anna folded herself onto the edge of the bed, absently testing the bounce. "I have to go back to my place and get some clothes and things..."

"Things?"

Anna had to smile at Hilary's question. "Yeah, things. You know--hairbrush, makeup, that sort of stuff."

"Oh."

"Don't look so disappointed!" Anna grinned. "I thought you didn't want a gun-toting guy in a suit?"

"I don't. But going to fetch a hairbrush sounds kind of dull," Hilary grumbled.

"You can come with me if you want," Anna offered nonchalantly.

"Really?"

"Yep. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."

"Cool. Let me grab my purse and I'll be right with you."

Anna smiled tiredly at her retreating rear view, and collapsed back until she was lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling. She really could have used at least one full night's sleep before she started this job. The diplomat had only needed four hours a night so that was all she'd managed too, and right then she'd have killed for a nap. Without thinking about it, she let her eyelids close.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a deep masculine voice from out in the hallway. She started upright, suddenly disoriented and afraid she'd drifted off.

"Oh, it's just you." Automatically, she kept her voice disinterested, even though her pulse had quickened at the sight of him.

He smiled down on her, the amusement clear. "I thought we were getting the best, and here you are asleep on the job."

"You should try surviving on about three hours sleep a night for a few weeks, then see how you are," she snapped defensively, very aware of her body's reaction to his masculinity and the fact that she was sitting awkwardly in the middle of a queen sized bed.

"I'd rather not, thanks anyway." He changed the subject, delicately aware that now probably wasn't a good time to tease her. She really did look like she was about to fall asleep on her feet. "Tough job?" he asked politely.

"I'm fine. Thank you. What can I do for you?" She tried not to sound quite so fish-wife-like, wondering what he wanted. Letting her guard down a little for Hilary's sake had been a mistake--it was putting her off-balance again now she had to deal with Kel. And what was he doing being polite anyway?

"I was just, um, passing by a few minutes ago, and heard you talking to Hilary." He sounded vaguely guilty, but not enough to convince her he hadn't been eavesdropping on purpose.

"Yes?" Her tone was dry.

"It's amazing how you get her to do what you want." He fidgeted, wanting to compliment her on her skills, but grudgingly. "I wish I could handle her like that."

"I was her age not that long ago. It's no big deal." Anna shrugged, strangely embarrassed by the compliment.

"No, really. It is good. I almost believed myself that you couldn't have cared less about whether she went with you to collect your gear. And I know better."

"Do you?"

"Well, I hope I do." His voice lowered, and he stepped nearer so he was towering even higher above her. As he'd thought she would, she straightened her skirt and stood up so she was meeting him at eye level. She definitely liked to be in control, or at least on equal footing, he amended.

Kel moved towards the window, looking out and not acknowledging her silent challenge. "This is purely curiosity, but," he hesitated, "just how old are you exactly?"

Anna pouted before answering. "Twenty nine."

"Thank you. I didn't think you'd tell me."

"Neither did I," she retorted. "I must be even more tired than I thought."

"Sure." He kept his voice neutral, but was secretly pleased at her honesty. And he had to admit that it gave him more confidence in her. He'd been trying damn hard to believe in her ability, and the way she'd manipulated both himself and Hilary had gone a long way towards achieving that belief, but knowing she really was older than she looked reassured him. She wasn't quite the beginner she appeared.

It also made him feel a hell of a lot better about his earlier behaviour. After a while he'd realised he didn't actually know how old she was and had suffered a mild flush of guilt. No matter how capable Helen thought she was, he wasn't interested in continuing with the same tactics if she was as innocent as she looked. That wouldn't have been right, but now he knew she was only a few years younger than him, she was definitely fair game...

"You two called a truce, have you?" Hilary enquired from the doorway.

Kel turned away from the window. "You're making a habit of listening in hallways recently, aren't you?" he enquired mildly.

Anna looked innocently towards him, the amusement clear in her eyes. "It's apparently a family trait," she commented.

"Huh?" Hilary was confused.

"Never mind." This time Anna didn't try and hide the little laugh that escaped. Between the two of them they'd made Kel shuffle awkwardly again. He ran his fingers through his hair making it stick up even worse. "Kel, darling," she added sweetly, enjoying his discomfort, "Do you have any other appointments this afternoon?"

He was really confused now. "What? Appointments? Yes, I'm expecting some colleagues to arrive shortly. Why?"

"Because you might want to comb your hair before then." Anna turned to Hilary. "You ready?" When she nodded, she led the way from the room.

The hallway was long so they hadn't made it to the stairs when they heard Kel's loud groan echoing from the room they'd just left. It would have just about coincided with the time it took him to cross the room and look in the mirror above the dresser.

Hilary laughed and scooted down the stairs ahead of her. "Last one to the car's a rotten egg!"

"Puh-leeze." Anna's groan was almost as loud as Kel's had been.

"No, really." Hilary laughed again without slowing down. "He's really sensitive about his hair."

Unable to help herself, Anna giggled in delight and took off after her. How long had it been since she'd felt this light-hearted, this childish? The high-heeled shoes weren't made for speed but she did her best to catch up with Hilary, trying not to skid on the polished timber floors. Before she could reach the stairs she felt a movement behind her, and saw a flash of darkness from the corner of her eye. The hall was as tastefully decorated in muted colours as the rest of the house so it seemed that Kel had joined in the chase, his navy suit catching her eye.

Her escape down the stairs was blocked at the half way point. Hilary had stopped running and was watching Kel and Anna, a dangerous grin on her face. Anna skidded to a breathless stop, still laughing, and wasn't surprised to find Kel's arm snake out and grab her elbow before she could inch her way around Hilary. Satisfied with the interruption, Hilary continued sedately down the stairs, totally ignoring Anna and Kel above her.

"Whose side are you on anyway?" Anna called after her as Kel jerked her closer to him.

Hilary sounded pleased with herself. "I'm not quite sure--I think it varies, but I did warn you that I didn't want a bodyguard. You didn't think I was going to make it easy for you, did you?" She laughed and disappeared from sight.

"Brat!" Anna's insult was good natured, and she twisted herself back towards Kel, figuring it was past time she started thinking about dealing with him. The touch of his hand on her wrist had sent a high voltage current straight up her arm and, now that the distraction of Hilary was gone, it was heading directly to her tummy and trickling into her groin.

Kel's eyes were only inches from hers, and the way they bored into her made her shiver helplessly. She couldn't break away from his stare, caught by its force.

"Mr. MacKenzie..." she attempted.

His eyes gleamed, but he didn't let her go. "Kel."

"Kel?"

"Yes?"

"I, ah, need to follow your sister." Being this close to him was frying her brain and there was nothing she could do about it.

"She'll wait for you." He smiled sensually down on her, his slightly parted lips an invitation she was finding very difficult to refuse. She felt the trap tighten around her, and tried again to assert herself.

"No, really. I need to go." He didn't budge and she hesitated, wondering idly whether he was man or wolf. The expression in his eyes was impossible to read, but...She tried a milder tone of voice. "Please. Let me go."

Instantly he stepped back, releasing her arm. "Of course." His eyes crinkled and his smile changed fractionally as some of the hunger was replaced with humour.

"Thank you." She continued down the stairs as if nothing had happened between them, her mind and her heart both racing. What on earth had all that been about? As soon as she'd asked, he'd backed off...Weird! Shaking her head at the vagaries of the male psyche, she followed Hilary out to the car.

Above her, and out of sight, Kel was smiling in satisfaction. He'd already trained her to say "please" and she hadn't even realised it. Charm had worked for him where assertion hadn't. Give him a little more time and he'd file the sharp points off all her prickles.

He had no idea why she fascinated him as much as she did. Usually, he was way too busy to even think about having anyone in his life other than Hilary. Sure, he had the occasional date and he certainly didn't object to taking a woman home for a mutually pleasurable tumble between the sheets, but he wasn't normally interested in them for anything other than their decorative qualities. Anna didn't fit into that category. She was pretty, but not particularly striking. And she was definitely a lot more interesting than his usual arm-candy. The girls he tended to date weren't nearly so eager to disagree with him!

He kept thinking about her as he dunked his head, successfully flattening his hair, and went back to his office to pull out the reports he'd be discussing with his management this afternoon. The very fact that she was still on his mind was unsettling, and it took a lot more effort than it should have for him to concentrate on the regular Thursday afternoon meeting.

He grinned at himself, even as he wondered what she and Hilary were doing right that moment. Oh well, he figured he'd be safe enough from her charms. He had a reputation as an unemotional cold fish and she evidently wasn't particularly experienced as a siren. He enjoyed sex, he just didn't like getting involved, and she was...interesting. More importantly, she'd be gone in a week or so. Until then, it wouldn't hurt to see what he could achieve.

Rather absently, he wondered whether Helen would consider it consorting in the workplace? It wasn't as if Anna knew anything about his 'other' life. Helen, be damned, he decided after a moment's reflection. Anna was a grown up, and he wasn't about to do anything to hurt her. He shrugged, then grinned at the track his thoughts were taking. Why not?

* * *

"So far, this is the worst job Helen's ever sent me out on," Anna groaned.

Jim chuckled. "Worse than that expensive hooker you trailed around for a few weeks?"

"Definitely! At least I knew exactly where I stood with her."

"Yeah, behind a curtain with your fingers jammed in your ears from what I've heard!"

She blushed, glad he was on the other end of a phone and couldn't see her reaction. That job had been embarrassing, but this one was starting to be worse. "Thank you for reminding me, Jim. I've been trying to forget about that assignment."

"Hey, you're welcome. Any time."

She grimaced. "I mean it. This one is already a real pain."

She'd driven Hilary to her flat, upended the suitcase she'd taken on the last assignment, picked out the suits and stockings, and replaced them with a variety of younger, casual clothes. Hilary had watched her packing efforts in disbelief and she'd felt the need to explain she'd only been home long enough this morning to drop off her bag.

"Is this how you always live?" Hilary had asked, and shuddered when Anna just shrugged.

"It's pretty normal in my line of work," she'd explained, amused by Hilary's horror, and hadn't been able to resist teasing her. "I guess you're not thinking of the police force when you graduate?"

"God no! Couldn't think of anything worse. How do you put up with it?"

Anna had shrugged again, escaping the question by dragging her case to the door. As far as anyone she worked for was concerned, she was from a specialist police team. It was a reasonable assumption, if not exactly true.

They'd gone back to the house to find their meals waiting in the fridge, ready to be microwaved. Kel had already gone out for the evening, leaving a note on the kitchen table letting them know he wouldn't be home until late. It should have been a nice, quiet evening. Unfortunately, it left Anna plenty of time to think and she couldn't get her mind off Kel or his behaviour.

She was jumpy and on edge which wasn't normal, and images of Kel kept appearing in front of her. She just didn't understand it at all. No other man had ever affected her like that, and no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that it was just a silly schoolgirl infatuation with a handsome man who'd enjoyed rattling her cage, she couldn't get him out of her mind. The way those dark blue eyes had stared right into her, probing her thoughts, was hypnotic. She couldn't remember anyone else looking at her with that kind of intensity. There'd been a touch of desire, but it had been well-veiled behind the humour. And he hadn't the scruples to not use her fascination with him against her either. She felt vaguely like a bug under a microscope. A fanciful thought but, when she looked back over his behaviour of the day, maybe not quite so fanciful as all that. He'd been testing her gently, watching her responses until he'd worked out how she'd react in any given situation. And then, at the top of the stairs, he'd put that new knowledge to use, effortlessly trapping her with his amazing eyes.

She'd honestly thought he was going to kiss her. All he'd had to do was bend a fraction closer and his lips could have meshed on hers, easily swallowing her mouth. With the thrall he'd held her in, she wouldn't have protested. Dammit! She'd wanted him to kiss her, wanted to taste him, wanted to personally experience those lush lips against hers.

Then he'd let her go. As soon as she'd asked. Weird. She shook her head in frustration. She hated not understanding, and she didn't understand him.

"So what's the problem exactly?" Jim's voice pulled her back to the more pressing problems. The ones she'd actually tell him about.

"The girl doesn't want me and is being purposely difficult, and the brother's..." How to explain? "Unusual."

"And?"

"Can you get whoever's following us to keep an extra eye out for Hilary in case she gives me the slip?" Anna sighed. "I wouldn't put it past her."

Jim chuckled. "No problem. I'll be behind you, on and off, so I'll let everyone know."

Anna was suddenly disturbed. "There's something strange about this whole set-up. How come you're going to be lurking in the bushes? You're usually right up there with the victim, ah, subject," she corrected herself hastily, hoping Hilary wasn't listening in. She'd shut her bedroom door, but Hilary had already proven that she wasn't adverse to eavesdropping.

"You're with a VIP darling. Didn't Helen tell you?"

"No. She said there could be media problems if things went wrong but that's it."

"Yeah, well, she obviously forgot to mention that she took this job on as a personal favour to Admiral Knight. Add to that the fact that the brother's forever in the media, sometimes the darling, sometimes the villain, and you work out that Helen really, really doesn't want anything to go wrong. So," he finished with an immodest flourish, "You get me. Only the best will do."

"Admiral Knight?" The current head of the armed forces didn't usually ask their agency to provide protection services. He had an entire army, navy and air-force at his disposal for that!

"The same."

"Odd..." she mused.

"Yep." Jim was jovial. "So, whatever the reason, you need to watch yourself. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Not really." Anna was starting to worry now. She'd been much more confident before she got the extra information. "As far as I know, we'll mainly be hanging around the uni tomorrow. If I can, I'll hustle her straight home after that."

"Good-o. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"See ya."

"I doubt it." And with another hearty laugh, he rang off.

Anna stared unseeingly at her mobile phone. It was true, she probably wouldn't see Jim tomorrow, not unless he stuffed up anyway. A good tail shouldn't be spotted, and it wasn't like she'd be looking for him. What was unnerving her now was wondering just who else might be following them around. Helen Peterson was a notorious miser when it came to funding. She wouldn't be tossing her budget around, paying the most experienced--and most expensive--agents to tail an ordinary nineteen year old girl. Information was being withheld, and she'd bet that Kel was one of the people doing the withholding.

Chapter Three

Despite the unusual start, it didn't turn out to be nearly as bad as she'd thought it would be. Mainly because Kel was called away on business and didn't return for several days. What really surprised her was that she missed him. He'd annoyed the hell out of her and had managed to irritate her more in two minutes than Jim had done in the past two years but, in a perverse kind of way, sparring with him had been fun. And the house seemed empty without him--his presence filled every corner, even when you couldn't see or hear him.

She'd gone down to breakfast the first morning to find Hilary simultaneously gulping a bowl of cornflakes, applying makeup, and trying her hardest to ignore her older brother. He'd been all business with barely a glance to spare for Anna other than a brief hello and terse explanation that problems had arisen at last night's meeting, meaning he needed to fly to Melbourne that morning. They'd been interrupted by the taxi driver leaning on his horn and he'd rushed out the door, carry-all in hand, with only a quick brotherly kiss for Hilary.

"I'll see you in a few days," he'd said to both of them, then added to Hilary, "Please do what Anna asks. It's only for a little while."

Obviously, he was as wary of Hilary's acceptance of Anna as was Anna herself. The way he looked at Hilary said more than any words--a kind of affectionate exasperation and plenty of worry. Even if Hilary wasn't taking the threats particularly seriously, he was.

Anna had read through each of the threatening letters. Some had been hand delivered, some posted, a couple emailed. They were all carefully crafted to intimidate as each one showed recent, intimate knowledge of the family. The threats themselves were vague, nor did they specifically ask for Kel MacKenzie to take any particular action. To Anna's way of thinking, they were intended to scare the MacKenzie's away from something. Or maybe to stop them doing something. Either way, Kel must have known what it was that he was being warned off from. He just wasn't saying. Still, it wasn't her problem. All she had to do was stay with Hilary.

Hilary had just waved at him in acknowledgement--neither agreeing to or refusing her brother's request. She'd finished her breakfast soon after and she and Anna had taken the bus to the university campus.

There'd been three lectures and two tutorials to attend and Anna had accompanied her everywhere despite Hilary's token protest about the tutorials. It had been a fairly minor disagreement as Anna had been adamant that she was going to those as well, even as Hilary was equally adamant that she wasn't.

"Look, just introduce me as your cousin from Queensland, the same as you've been doing with your friends. No one's going to query me and, trust me, the tutors aren't going to kick up a stink."

Hilary had looked at her strangely as it sunk in, then rounded on her accusingly. "You've told my tutors!"

"Yep." Anna was unperturbed. "That's our job. And if looking after your ungrateful little butt means making sure the people around you are aware of the danger you could be in, then that's what we do. Whether you like it or not."

"Damn you!"

Anna had just grinned and shrugged. Truth be told, Hilary's tutors and lecturers had been aware of the threats for quite some time. It was just that no one had bothered to tell Hilary.

So she'd gone to the tutes as well, sitting quietly and trying not to look bored senseless. Hilary had sat with her friends, introducing Anna as requested, and Anna had filled in the time wondering about exactly why she was here. As Jim had said, she hadn't seen the other agents following them, but she was sure they were there. And everything still seemed extremely odd. No, more than extremely odd. Almost eerie. There was just no way that Helen Peterson would spend this sort of money protecting someone like Hilary unless there was a really good reason. The majority of the threats had been vague--and against the MacKenzie's generally--yet Kel was just going about business as usual. Definitely weird.

Over the next few days, Hilary stayed home and studied with only a single trip to the mall a couple of suburbs away when she couldn't stand sitting at her desk for another minute. Anna had been surprised by her attitude; having seen her tendency to behave like a spoilt rich kid, she hadn't expected her to take studying so seriously. Kel called each night, always asking first for Hilary to chat about what she was doing, then requesting a brief report from Anna. It was turning out to be the most relaxing assignment Anna had ever undertaken in spite of all Helen's dire warnings.

Kel finally flew back into Sydney on Monday afternoon, immediately destroying the quiet.

* * *

He hadn't particularly wanted to go down to his manufacturing plant on the outskirts of Melbourne, but the management there had taken it on themselves to go head to head with the union rather than negotiate as he'd instructed them. What should have been a simple annual pay negotiation had turned ugly and Kel had decided to intervene personally. From a business point of view, it had been a successful trip. The staff was happy, the heavy-handed general manager had been sacked, and he'd even been able to find a suitable replacement. But he hadn't wanted to leave Hilary by herself for any length of time and hated to think just what a handful she might have been.

Kel paid the taxi that dropped him off in his driveway, and headed straight inside. The only problem was that he couldn't actually open the door. The locks had been changed.

"Bugger!" He chucked his hold-all on the verandah and practically growled. The plane had been delayed, he'd hardly slept for three nights, and he was starving hungry. It had been a long few days. He thumped on the door, hearing the pounding echo through the entry hall. There was no immediate movement so he leant on the door bell as well, rattling the handle, ready to commit violence when someone eventually let him into his own house.

"Finally!" There'd been a flutter of movement through the frosted glass but, whoever they were, they weren't in any particular hurry. He rapped on the door again, his impatience growing with every passing second, and pushed through the door the instant it was opened.

"What the hell did you do to my door?" he demanded as he strode past Anna, barely glancing at her.

"Well, it's nice to see you too." Her voice was dry. Shame about that temper she thought, shaking her head slightly and trying to ignore the sudden rush of heat that shook her to her knees despite his scowl. How did he do that? Normally, she was nothing but sensible. Well, he may have been cute but it was no excuse...Damn shame that a body that fine was attached to such a complete prat. But people could change, so maybe she could do something about his attitude? Otherwise, it was just such a waste of all that broad-shouldered, spine-tinglingly beautiful potential...

"My office," he demanded. "Now!" His voice snapped her back to the present.

"Sir, yes sir," she said quietly, facetiously, and ambled after him, refusing to be intimidated. It looked like the peace was well and truly gone. She really had her work cut out for her.

Kel had flung himself into the seat behind his desk, expecting Anna to be right behind him. A few minutes delay only made his temper worse and he snarled at her as she wandered in, long skirt flowing elegantly about her ankles, a file in her hand.

"Food poisoning, is it?" she asked politely. "Lack of sleep, perhaps?"

"What?" She'd spoken before he could rip into her, and he had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

"You're in a foul mood. I thought perhaps you had a good reason." She was using that infuriatingly neutral tone of voice again and, rather than calming him, it goaded him to an even filthier temper.

"You'd be unhappy too if you'd been locked out of your own house," he snarled, his temper blazing.

Anna just shrugged. "You gave me permission to take whatever measures I thought were necessary to protect your sister. I had no idea who had the keys to the house so I had the locks changed. Your set's in your top drawer."

"Oh, I'm allowed a set then?" The sarcasm he was trying for didn't come off quite as well as he wanted it to.

Anna stared at him seriously. "Well, actually, I did have to think fairly hard about whether or not you actually needed a set. I decided you could have access, but only so long as you promise to be very careful with your keys."

Her lips twisted fractionally as he stared right back at her, his mouth literally hanging open. "You, you..."

"Yes?"

"Oh my God! You are joking aren't you?" He ran a hand through his hair, still staring at her in shock.

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes, I'm joking." She smiled properly, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "Have you finished with your little temper tantrum yet? Because if you have I can go through what's been happening while you've been away. I thought you might like to know before you catch up with Hilary."

Kel looked away, busying himself by opening his drawer and pulling out the keys Anna had promised were there. He flipped through them, picked up the stack of mail marked 'personal' that had been left in his in-tray, and put it down again.

"Damn!" He said it quietly this time.

"Yes?"

When he looked back to Anna she was sitting opposite him looking completely relaxed. Looking like absolutely nothing had happened, and certainly not looking at him like the piece of slime he deserved to be compared to. He'd meant to apologise and move forward from there, but he surprised himself by smiling broadly as soon as he went to open his mouth.

He shook his head slightly, the smile lighting up his face. "Do you know that you're the only one who's stood up to me in the past three years? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have taken my bad mood out on you."

Anna looked at him curiously, softened by the smile. "Doesn't Megan tell you where to get off?" Megan was his Sydney-based confidential secretary and worked from the home office five days a week.

"Nope. Never."

"Maybe I'd better give her some lessons in asserting herself before I leave," she teased.

He raised his hands in mock terror. "Oh no! Don't do that! I've already got one headstrong woman to deal with around here. I don't need two!"

She pursed her lips before smiling back. "What happened while you were away?"

"Industrial dispute," he said simply. "It was a big mess, and the union was confrontational. The bigger the company gets, the harder it is to keep control."

"And you diffused it?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Sometimes I seem to spend my entire life fixing other people's mistakes. You think you've employed a great manager, they come with the best references and experience, then they turn out to be pond scum who treat the employees like dirt." He shook his head. "That's not how I run my companies."

"But you don't have trouble most of the time." she probed gently.

"True." He had to agree.

"And, um--" She was teasing again, and he could see it by the naughty glimmer in her eyes, "--do you solve your union crises by yelling at people?"

He chewed his top lip, then grinned again. "Nope. It's just you." No one else irritated him half as much as she did.

Anna raised a mildly enquiring eyebrow.

"You, ah, seem to rub my fur the wrong way without even trying."

She made a mocking moue. "It's obviously a skill few of us have."

A temporary truce having been called, she turned the conversation back to the events of the last few days. Not much had happened, leaving Kel plenty of time to wonder exactly what it was about her that unnerved him as much as it did.

* * *

Hilary had only one more exam left to sit, and it was due to start at 10:00 a.m. the following morning. She and Anna took the bus, the same as before, but it didn't feel quite right. They'd chosen seats about halfway down, crammed in just in front of the rear door. It wasn't Anna's favourite seat--she preferred to be further back where she could watch the other passengers--but it was the only one available. As soon as they sat down an eerily familiar prickling between her shoulder blades started.

Trying to convince herself it was just the other agents wasn't working, and the feeling didn't go away. It got worse. She didn't want to look behind her, alerting whoever was watching that she was suspicious, but it was nerve-wracking to just sit there quietly as if nothing was the matter. But she'd done it before, and having Jim Richards somewhere behind her made her feel infinitely better. Blissfully unaware of Anna's discomfort, Hilary kept reading her notes, cramming in as much last-minute study as possible.

Anna's back positively itched as they walked through the university grounds. The feeling of being followed was definitely worse, and the scorching heat of someone's gaze was threatening to set her lightweight shirt on fire. Unable to contain herself, she drew Hilary into the small kiosk in the Fisher Building, telling her she wanted to grab a bottle of water to take into the exam.

"Are you going to be there too?" Hilary was indignant.

"Don't worry, you won't see me." Anna tried to sound soothing; now wouldn't be an ideal time for Hilary to create a scene, but she was also trying to concentrate on spotting whoever was watching them so intently.

Being exam time, there were fewer students around than usual, but there were still more than enough people jostling along the narrow roads to make it damn near impossible to notice a single person loitering. It was fairly open around the kiosk, but there was a cluster of older sandstone buildings only fifty metres behind them and it wouldn't be difficult for someone to be standing, unnoticed, in their shadows.

"Hang on a sec."

Anna swung back to Hilary.

"I may as well get myself another drink while we're here." Hilary shook the near-empty bottle she'd pulled from her bag before tossing it in the bin. "It's a three hour exam--I'll need it."

"Sure." It was actually a good chance to have a better look around while Hilary was busy making her purchase. "It's a bit crowded in here. I'll wait for you outside."

It wasn't a lie either. The Fisher Kiosk was tiny, tucked away under the library, but the door opened directly out onto the main road, meaning Anna could take a proper look at the people milling about, all under the cover of waiting for Hilary.

No one. At least, no one who didn't look like they belonged. She looked more carefully, apparently fiddling with the bottle top as she gazed absently back towards the science areas. Still no one. Damn. Maybe she was just being paranoid. But she didn't believe in paranoia...Intuition was reliable.

Anna turned to face the main quadrangle as Hilary came out the doors behind her, still scanning the crowds. There were a few people sitting idly on the grass and a handful of girls were perched on the low retaining wall, no doubt ensuring their clothes didn't get dirty. The girls were chattering, their voices surprisingly loud, and Anna stared at them for a few seconds, enjoying their carefully affected attitudes. One of them flicked her hair provocatively over her shoulder, her gaze aimed at a young man sitting by himself a few feet away. He was looking at something held in his hand, study notes probably, and was paying the girls absolutely no attention. There was something wrong with that picture, and Anna looked smoothly away, turning back to face Hilary as they again started to walk.

Yep, definitely wrong. She veered so they passed within a few metres of his spot on the grass, apparently chatting idly all the while, and without letting her eyes linger Anna glanced at what he was reading. A newspaper, folded in half and still on the front page. One would assume he could read--probably--since he was at a university, but the paper was still on the front page. There was no way someone could be reading so intently and not have made it past that first tiny section of newsprint.

She picked the pace up slightly, Hilary falling into step without complaint and, as they rounded the corner of the building, she risked a quick glance back. Her instinct had been right. He was staring at them intently as he levered himself to his feet, the newspaper lying forgotten on the grass. The tingling skin was back with a vengeance, but now she knew it was justified.

The man followed them discreetly all the way to the exam hall where he disappeared into the crowd of students waiting to enter. Anna had occasionally checked his location as they walked, but she wasn't particularly bothered about losing him now. It was enough to know that they were under observation, and that it wasn't by agency staff.

"You right to go in by yourself?" she asked Anna as students started to converge on the doors. The withering look was answer enough. "I'll be around when you've finished. If I'm not right here, wait for me. Okay?"

"Whatever." Hilary's mind was obviously on the exam, and nothing else.

"Good luck."

"Thanks." She headed inside, leaving Anna alone in the shadow of the wall.

Rather than standing around so obviously she ducked inside, flashing her identification at the security guard who was manning the door. An odd concept really, a guard at an exam. She wondered if the university was taking itself just a little bit too seriously. What was he going to do? Arrest anyone who cheated?

There was a small office directly opposite the open door and the guard waved her in, giving her the illusion of privacy. In reality, he could hear every word she said, but it was more important to leave the door open so she could see the comings and goings from the building than it was to talk without listeners.

Jim answered his mobile phone on the second ring. "Expecting me, were you?" she queried.

"Not really." He was jovial as always. "What's up?"

"We were followed today."

"Yes?" He was patient.

"Not by you. By a stranger."

"Description?" She could hear a muttered conversation at his end of the phone being silenced and his voice going slightly distant as he held the phone away from his ear, letting whoever was with him listen at the same time.

"Male, early twenties, Caucasian, brown hair, prominent nose--kind of sharp. Wearing blue jeans, new boots and a green and red football shirt."

"Sounds like half the kids on campus," he grumbled.

"Yeah, well, can't be helped. I take it you guys didn't spot him then?" She'd admit to being a bit surprised about that. After all, he hadn't been too hard to notice when you were looking.

"Nope."

"Keep an eye out for me, would you?"

"Will do." Jim rung off, leaving her to put her own phone away and stare pensively out at the empty corridor.

It was surprisingly quiet, only the drone of the exam supervisor's voice as he ran through the rules interrupting the quiet. She considered going for a wander around the building to see if she could spot the guy who'd followed them but quickly dismissed the idea. She'd given Jim a good enough description to find him if he was still around. That would have to do. Instead, she waited until the exam was properly underway before dragging herself up from the desk and going in search of the exam supervisor. He was expecting her, but she'd figured no one would pay her any attention once the exam was in full swing. It looked like the peaceful assignment was heading swiftly downhill.

Her phone rang half an hour before the exam was due to end. It had been so quiet for so long the usually gentle tone startled her, sending her jumping guiltily to answer it before it disturbed anyone in the exam just beyond the door. A few students had started to trickle out in the past half hour but by far the majority were still inside, probably writing furiously with an anxious eye on the clock.

"Anna!" It was Jim.

"Yes?"

His voice was heavy with satisfaction. "We got him."

"Good. But...?" There'd been a definite "but" implied in Jim's tone, and she asked rather than waiting for him to bring it up.

"Are you positive about him?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"He honestly seems like just another uni student. He's being taken in for questioning." He hesitated. "Do you really want to follow this through?"

"Absolutely. I know what I saw."

His sigh was audible, even with the less-than-perfect mobile reception. "Well, if you're sure..."

"I am sure. Thanks Jim."

Anna pulled the phone away from her ear, disconnecting before he could badger her again. In truth, she wasn't actually quite that sure, but she was suspicious enough that she'd take the risk. After all, surely the enemy, whoever they were, would be smart enough to use a tail who'd melt into the background of a university? Heck, that's why she was with Hilary! She blended into the scenery.

* * *

Hilary had grumbled about going directly home after the exam, but she'd given in rather than arguing in front of her friends. Anna had gently reminded her that there were times when it was best if she just did as she was asked without question, that this was one of them, and it had worked. Anna had even managed to hide her surprise at winning so easily.

Once home, Hilary had gone straight to her room, not stopping to answer Kel's question about how the exam had gone, other than a brief "Okay, I guess," as she walked past.

Kel hovered on the threshold of his office, wanting to follow her, but somehow aware that it probably wasn't the right time.

"What happened?"

"In what way?" Anna smiled slightly as she watched his adorably confused expression. His sister really got to him.

"She usually at least stops to say 'hello'. Was the exam that bad?"

"No. Why don't we go into your office?" She led the way past him, brushing against his chest as she squeezed through the door. He followed willingly enough, but had seemed surprised at her suggestion. Either that, or the tiny intimate contact had left him speechless.

"Leave the door open," Anna suggested as he automatically went to close it behind them. "I want to be sure she doesn't sneak past me while we're talking," she explained, smiling again at his raised eyebrow and adding, "It's me she's not talking to at the moment."

"And why's that?" Back on home territory, Kel had regained all his usual authority.

"Because I stayed right through the exam, and then insisted we come straight back here. She wanted to stay out with friends."

"And would that have been a problem? I thought the brief was that you weren't to interfere with her plans unless she was in danger." Kel was looking at her steadily, almost certainly having guessed what she was about to say, but waiting patiently for her to put it in her own words. She had to remember that, despite how lost he was when it came to managing Hilary, he was an extremely competent businessman and he hadn't got there by sheer luck.

"We were followed from the house this morning, all the way to the exam. The guy who followed us has been picked up but I haven't heard any details back yet. Frankly, I doubt he was the only one." She grimaced and shrugged. "I couldn't spot anyone else, but I wasn't about to take any risks with her safety."

"Oh." He was taking it amazingly well. "What are your plans?"

If it wouldn't have been totally inappropriate, Anna would have swooned on the spot. He was regarding her intensely across the desk, actually asking for her professional opinion. Would wonders never cease?

"Basically, I don't let her out of my sight until she boards that plane tomorrow morning. There's not much else I can do--the other agents should have everything else under control."

"And do you trust the other agents?" His question threw her.

"Sorry?"

He explained. "What's your own opinion of the other agents? Should we be relying on them?"

We? That was a new one too...His total about-turn was really putting her at a disadvantage.

"I know the guy in charge," she told him. "I worked almost exclusively with him until a few months ago. He's fine. I don't know the others personally, but I'm sure they wouldn't have been sent unless they were good." It was the politically correct thing to say, and she hoped she sounded as firm as her words.

"Hmmm." Kel stared at her again, his face softening from the granite-like expression he'd had trained on her for the last few minutes. "You said that you only spotted one follower. Isn't that what the other agents are supposed to be doing? Not you."

She felt a blush creeping up her neck towards her cheek and knew that the warmth of the room wasn't a good enough excuse. Her answer was whisper-soft. "Yes."

"Yes, that's their job?"

"Yes." A little firmer this time.

"And what's your job exactly?"

Anna squirmed a little, not wanting to answer. Why the hell couldn't he have asked all this earlier in the week when the timing would have been more appropriate? It would have been so much easier to brush the question off then...

She took a deep breath, absently noticing how his gaze was drawn slightly downwards as the force of it made her breasts heave. There wasn't much hidden by the top she'd chosen to wear today, and she tried to ignore the too-enjoyable flush that was warming her even more than her embarrassment. "I'm the last resort. If someone gets past the other agents, I'm right there with Hilary to either get her safely away from the threat, or..." She hesitated, hating to sound melodramatic.

"Or?" His gaze was intense, holding her eyes prisoner, and not giving her the chance to lie. She knew he'd see it if she tried.

"Or protect her if I have to." There, she'd said it.

He chewed thoughtfully on the tip of his thumb and she watched, fascinated, as he moistened his lips. Was that a hint of a smile she saw? She dismissed the thought. He wasn't playing games now, he was deadly serious. "Are you any good?"

There were several ways to read that question, and she took the safest route. Let him interpret what she meant! "Yes."

He smiled openly, his teeth gleaming. "Interesting," he drawled. "I might have to test you on just exactly what it is you're so good at..."

Anna saw a flash of movement in the corner of her eye.

"Damn!" She jumped to her feet, and headed for the door at a run, leaving Kel staring bemusedly at her back. "Don't you even think about it!" she ordered Hilary, reaching out to grab her elbow as she tried to duck past her. Behind her, she could hear Kel getting to his feet, but her attention was entirely on the girl in front. "Where are you going?"

"Out!"

"Out where?" Anna was back to using the calm voice. The hint of breathlessness she hadn't been able to control when Kel was staring at her had disappeared in an instant.

"None of your business!" Hilary shot back. "You're not my keeper!"

"Actually, yes, she is," Kel said from the doorway. His manner was mild, but the slight tic in his neck gave away his tension.

Hilary shook Anna's hand off her arm. "Unwanted physical contact!"

"You've been watching too much TV," Anna told her neutrally, but let her hand fall anyway.

"Did you tell her?" Kel asked, turning his attention from Hilary to Anna, who shook her head. "There were people following you today. Not from the agency," he said forcefully as she tried to interrupt. "The danger's real. More so than it ever has been before. You are not to leave this house without Anna and then it will only be to go to the airport tomorrow."

"Try and stop me!" And Hilary stormed through the front door, nimbly avoiding both Kel and Anna. The door slammed shut hard enough to shake the walls.

"Bloody hell!" Kel's swearing was understandable, but not useful. Throwing him a totally unreadable glance, Anna darted after her, only slowing down to grab her bag from where she'd tossed it on the hall table.

Behind her, she heard the unmistakable thud as Kel kicked the wall, along with some relatively unintelligible mumbling. Probably just as well, really. She may have been thinking those words, but didn't actually need to see the air turning blue all around him as he vented his temper

To order or learn more!