FIRE AND ICE by Julie Garwood

But Jack was also in the FBI, and she was thedaughter of a man they considered a career criminal. That reminder helped her control the attraction. She barely glanced at him again and kept her focus on Alec.
    Her boss had met Alec several months ago when he had given her a ride to work. He shook Alec’s hand and said, “Come on inside.”
    Alec introduced Jack to Bitterman and smiled as he watched Sophie’s boss squeeze his way around the root beer to get to his chair.
    “Have a seat, all of you,” Bitterman said.
    Jack looked around the office in astonishment. “There must be a hundred crates in here.”
    “I only wish I had that many,” Bitterman said. “If you want a cold one, there’s some in the fridge behind Sophie.”
    Neither one of the feds took him up on his offer. “You do know this is a fire hazard, right?” Jack asked.
    “The way I see it, the root beer would put any fires out.”
    Jack laughed. “It probably would.”
    “Before I forget, Regan wants you to call her,” Alec told Sophie.
    “I will.”
    “Do you remember meeting Jack?”
    She finally looked at the agent. “I remember. I would say it was nice seeing you again, but it might not be. I guess it all depends on why you’re here.” Turning to Alec, she asked, “Why did Mr. Bitterman call you?”
    “You didn’t tell her?”
    Bitterman shook his head. “I figured she would just shrug it off. I thought I’d leave it to one of you to tell her and hopefully make her understand how serious this is.”
    Alec was pretty sure she would shrug him off, too, so he nodded to Jack to let him know he wanted him to break it to her. Maybe hearing the news from someone who wasn’t a friend would have a greater impact.
    Jack didn’t bother to be diplomatic or ease into the announcement.
    “Someone wants you dead.”
    “Okay.” She nodded, nonplussed.
    “Okay? That’s all you’ve got?” Jack asked.
    As far as Jack could tell, the news didn’t affect her at all. God love her, she shrugged. She was good. He couldn’t help but be impressed.
    “Do you hear this kind of stuff often?”
    “My father is Bobby Rose. What do you think, Agent MacAlis-ter?”
    He resisted the urge to smile. Yeah, she was good all right, but he still wasn’t buying the blasé attitude.
    Alec was much more gentle in his approach to get through to her. “There have been some threats.”
    Still no visible reaction. “Okay.”
    “We’re not taking this lightly, Sophie,” Alec said, his voice firmer now. He was trying the no-nonsense method even though he knew it was pointless. Sophie was as stubborn as his wife. No wonder they were such great friends.
    “Thank you for telling me. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go call Regan. You didn’t tell her about the threats, did you?”
    “No, I didn’t tell her, but she saw the press conference. She knows your father’s back in the news.”
    Jack noticed something protruding ever so slightly on the wall next to the refrigerator. He moved closer, then glanced over his shoulder at Alec and said, “There’s a bug in here.”
    Bitterman planted his hands on his desktop, half stood, and looked around the room. “Where? What kind of bug? I hate roaches, and I hate spiders.” He sat down again and was rolling up a newspaper as he anxiously waited.
    “It’s not that kind of bug, sir.” Jack leaned close to Sophie, his arm brushing against her shoulder as he reached past her and pulled the listening device from the wall next to the refrigerator. To a novice, the barely visible bug would look like it was part of the darkwall socket. It was dusty, which meant it had been there for some time.
    Jack tossed the device to Alec. “Look familiar?”
    With Jack standing so close, Sophie was trapped. Pressed up against the refrigerator, she could feel it humming behind her back. She thought about trying to squeeze past him or nudge him aside, but he wasn’t the type to be nudged. His body looked solid as a rock. She doubted she