Double the Heat by Deirdre Martin, Lori Foster, Elizabeth Bevarly, Christie Ridgway Page A

basket on top of the refrigerator. Feel free to grab it.”
    Now that sounded promising. He gazed at her body, cleared his throat, and asked, “How much time do you have before you need to leave?”
    “Forget it, Skippy. I’m already running late, and besides, you’re out of condoms.”
    As she sashayed off for the bathroom, Hart let out a low whistle. Tonight he’d buy an entire box of condoms. And now that she’d promised him a key, he felt like he’d made great headway.
    Toward what, exactly, he couldn’t say. It was incredible that his career was at risk because a woman wanted to set him up so that men could maim him.
    Yet all he really cared about was understanding Lisa. He imagined his brother and Joe would get a real kick out of that.

Six
     
    Thick humidity hung in the air, laying an eerie mist over everything. Fat clouds obscured the sliver of moon, and a steady drizzle fell from the night sky, raising noxious steam from summer-scorched blacktop. In this area of town, debris littered the sidewalks and stuffed every brick-and-mortar corner.
    Hart looked at the ramshackle drugstore where Caroline said she worked. The place looked like it had been out of business for a decade, with tape on the windows, peeling paint on the clapboard siding, and shingles missing from the roof.
    Despite the signs of neglect, a light shone inside. The parking lot behind the building butted up to the concrete- block side of a drive-through pony keg. Broken beer bottles were hazardous to car tires.
    Lack of security lights made it hazardous to him.
    But Hart wasn’t worried. The only thing he felt was an impatience to get this over with, so he could return to Lisa.
    Somewhere nearby, Joe had secured himself, unseen but available. He had Dex with him, and Drew Black, having been informed of the plan, awaited an update. Drew had promised that if Brad was stupid enough to use underhanded tactics to win, he’d be booted from the organization.
    Hart believed him.
    As he pulled around to the back of the building, avoiding the broken glass as best he could, he wondered . . . what Lisa was doing right then. Was she worrying about him? Jealous that he’d be meeting Caroline, even if only to use her to get to the men? Or had she put him from her mind?
    Seeing no one in the dark, treacherous lot, he parked his car and turned off the ignition. The plan was for him to linger there until the men launched their surprise attack.
    Since Hart knew about it, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise, though, which changed the odds in his favor.
    The sooner he got through with this, the sooner he could sort through his relationship with Lisa, so he turned up the collar of his Windbreaker and got out of the car. The slamming of the door echoed through the hushed lot.
    Hart waited, his senses heightened, but nothing happened. No one approached. He heard nothing but the drip of water from the drugstore’s gutter and the song of crickets enjoying the weather.
    After pocketing his keys, he walked toward the back of the drugstore.
    The door opened before he reached it, and Caroline stepped out under a rusty overhang. “You made it,” she called out, opening a big umbrella.
    Hart plastered on his most charming smile. “Am I early?”
    “Nope. Just on time.” Caroline strode out to him, but she looked nervous, her gaze darting this way and that.
    She wore snug-fitting jeans, wedge sandals, and a frilly blouse. If he wasn’t so strung out on Lisa, he might have appreciated the picture she made, with her hair loose and curling, her lips all shiny.
    Hart took her arm and turned her toward his car. As he did so, he scanned the area, but saw no one. Damn it, he wanted this over and done with. Tonight.
    “So where are we going?” he asked, trying to sound natural.
    She gave him a coy look. “Your place would be fine.”
    If she wanted to play it that way, he could go along with her. “Right to it, huh? You don’t need to be wined and dined first?”
    “With