Lisa Jackson - Running Scared

Dear Reader,

Heres the deal: I love this book. So when I was asked to rewrite it, to ramp up the suspense, I jumped at the chance! Originally titled WISHES, the book with its new, more intense scenes is now RUNNING SCARED. Yes, the characters are the same and the story, too, is much like the original, but this version has been retooled; scenes added and deleted, the suspense notched up, and a deeper insight into the characters added.

Dont get me wrong. I loved the original version, enough so that I was thrilled the book would be reissued, with a new emphasis on suspense. How fun is that?

Few authors get the privilege to go back and rewrite one of their favorite works, so I feel extremely lucky that I was offered the chance to hang out with these characters again and tweak their story. It was a fun ride! I hope you agree.

Enjoy!
Lisa Jackson

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

1980

Free!

Kate Summers pulled the last page from her word processor and dropped it with the others in her OUT basket. Now for the hard partsaying good-bye and making a quick exit. She glanced at the pebbled-glass door to Tyrell Clarks office. His desk lamp shined through the opaque barrier.

Get a grip, Kate. You can do this.

Shed agreed to work late, hoping that he wouldnt return, but she hadnt been so lucky. Shed heard his heavy tread on the back stairs just forty minutes before, and though he hadnt paused at her desk, hadnt so much as glanced in her direction as hed beelined to his office, she knew she couldnt leave without collecting her last paycheck and a letter of recommendation.

The rest of the building was quiet. Only the soft rumble of the structures tired furnace and the muted sounds of traffic outside disturbed the silence in the once-hallowed halls of Clark & Clark. The elder Clark, Tyrell Senior, had died just two years before and now there was only his son to carry on the tradition. In the meantime business was shrinking. The staff that had once filled eight offices now occupied just two. Tyrell, a brilliant lawyer, also loved women, drink, and a friendly, if fatal, wager at the race track. And he had not only the IRS after him but other, more sinister adversariesloan sharks and bookies and the like.

In two days Kate planned to leave Bostonand the nightmare shed been livingbehind. Shed never have to set foot in the offices of Clark & Clark again. All she had to do was ship her meager belongings to Seattle and hand her keys over to the landlord of her small apartmentfour tiny rooms that had been her home for the past three years. A lump filled her throat, but she ignored it.

No more memories. No more pretending. A new start. Thats what she needed.

Kate?

She sucked in her breath.

From the adjoining office, Tyrell Clarks voice, smooth as well-oiled machinery, caused a chill to creep up her spine. She hated that well-modulated, nearly patronizing tone.

No more, she whispered under her breath, and one of her hands curled into a tight fist. She didnt have to put up with his advancesgentle touches and suggestive innuendosa second longer. She found her coffee cup, favorite pen, address book, and dropped them all into her oversized bag.

Before you leave, Ive got something I want to discuss with you.

The light in his adjoining office snapped off. Her stomach knotted in apprehension.

Now what? Bracing herself, she glanced at the clock. Nearly seven. And she was alone with him. The building was probably empty. Nervously she looked out the single window in the reception area, through the trails of rain that drizzled down the glass. Outside it was dark except for the illumination from streetlamps and the flash of headlights from cars as they passed. Shed been a fool to stick around after Rinda had gone home for the day, but shed needed the money the overtime would bring, had naively thought that Tyrell wouldnt return from his late afternoon meeting with a client. Shed been wrong. Stupid, stupid girl.

He scraped back his chair and it squeaked as he stood. His familiar tread followed.

Just a few more minutes. You can handle it, Kate. Whatever you do, dont blow it; you need his letter of recommendation so you can get another job in Seattle.

She managed a thin, watery smile as he approached her L-shaped desk. Fake it, she told herself, though her palms began to sweat. Be friendly, but firm. She resisted the urge to wipe her suddenly moist hands on her skirt. A few more minutes, then youll never have to see him or put up with his harassment again. Just hang in there.

Tyrell was an imposing man and a clich of the highest order. Tall, dark, and handsome, hed been compared to Clark Gables Rhett Butler time and time again. He made it a point to see that his tie was never askew, his dark hair always in place, his three-piece suits without so much as a thread of lint or wrinkle to detract from his polished image.

Except lately. Hed been slipping. His shoes werent always shined to a high gloss, a few gray hairs had dared invade his temples, and lines of worry had collected near the corners of his mouth. But it was his eyes that had changed dramatically. Usually full of a mischievous light, theyd dimmed with worry and he was forever playing with the wristband of his watch, as if he were running out of time. She knew why. The continuous correspondence from the IRS explained it all.

So this is good-bye, he said.

Yes. She reached for her purse. I was just getting ready to call it a day. Her mind was spinning ahead, creating an excuse to flee the building.

I thought we might have one last drink together.

Sorry. Not really. I told Laura Id stop by. Im already late.

Your sister will understand. He picked up her favorite paperweighta crystal porcupineand tossed it lightly, as if testing its weight. This is important. He offered her an infectious smile that had worked its magic on dozens of women with weaker hearts and landed them in his bed. The sorcery hadnt affected Kate. She wasnt interested in a man, any man, and especially not one as well worn as Tyrell. And now his grin seemed forced, his usually tanned skin, paler, as if the life were being sucked out of him.