"Check it out and get back to me," he said to Jackson when Marlena handed his phone back to him.

"We're on it," Jackson replied, and then the two men disconnected. Gabriel pocketed his cell phone, but was surprised to realize he wasn't in a hurry to leave the kitchen or Marlena.

He told himself it was because she might hold some nugget of information that could advance the case, such as the fact that Ryan's parents owned a place where perhaps people could be stashed. Who knew what other little tidbits she had that she didn't even realize might be helpful for finding anyone who posed a threat to the family.

He told himself he was here at the table with her because he still believed she was part of the key to solving the mystery of whatever happened to the Connellys.

He a.s.sured himself it had nothing to do with the sunshine in her curls, the graceful motion she displayed when she got out of her chair to stir the sauce and then return to the table or the warmth of her smile when she gazed at him.

"We know they weren't taken for ransom because we haven't received any kind of a money demand for their safe return," he said, trying to focus on business and not the pleasure of her company.

"Who would pay any kind of ransom? Neither Sam nor Daniella had family, and although this place holds its own, they aren't exactly millionaires," she replied.

"I keep thinking there had to be more than one perp. Otherwise how could a single person control three people at the same time, one of them a seasoned FBI agent?"

"Simple," she replied. "It was love that kept them easily controlled."

He looked at her curiously, wondering if she was being silly, but her eyes held a glow of knowing, of certainty that told him she was being serious.

"Love?" Disbelief laced his tone.

"All it would take would be a single person getting through the back door and putting a gun to Sam's head. Daniella and Macy would instantly become compliant to whatever he told them to do. It would be the same thing if somebody threatened Daniella or Macy. It would only take a threat to any one of them to effectively neutralize the others because of their enormous love for one another."

"I've never experienced that kind of love for or from anyone," he said.

She gazed at him for several long moments, her eyes holding a wealth of emotion. "That's the saddest thing I've ever heard."

He felt the need to escape, run from the faint pity in her eyes, the cozy atmosphere of the kitchen and the feeling that somehow he was missing an integral piece of what made up a human being.... He was missing a heart.

Chapter Six.

For the next several days Marlena scarcely saw the three agents who were living in the house. They ate a quick breakfast each morning and then took off for town to sniff out whatever they could about the disappearance.

There had been nothing on Ryan Sherman's parents' acreage to indicate that the Connellys had ever been there. Even though they had considered Brian Walker, the ex-mayor, as a nonplayer, they'd checked his finances to make sure he hadn't made a big withdrawal that would indicate the possibility of a kidnapping or killing for hire.

Marlena learned bits and pieces about the investigation as she served them their meals each evening. Since that long-ago morning in the kitchen, Gabriel hadn't sought her out for any conversations, and instead he had distanced himself from her.

She told herself it didn't matter, that he meant nothing to her. Besides, they were obviously two people with very different ideas about love.

Marlena wanted-needed-to believe that eventually she would be deeply in love with somebody who loved her back. She wanted the husband and the house, a couple of kids and a dog. Love had already kicked her hard in the b.u.t.t while she'd been living in Chicago, but that hadn't turned her off the idea of everlasting love; it had only made her yearn for it more.

But love hadn't saved Sam and Daniella and Macy. Somebody had possibly manipulated their love for each other to do harm. And with each day that pa.s.sed, she couldn't imagine who that person might be.

Thomas's alibi still hung in the balance as far as Gabriel, Andrew and Jackson were concerned. Although records showed that Thomas had checked into a motel in New Orleans for a week prior to the disappearance, and he had worked on a deck for a family residence, there were increments of time missing when Thomas couldn't tell the FBI exactly where he'd been or what he'd been doing.

Considering the approximate time of night that the disappearance had occurred, it was possible he would have had enough leeway to drive back to Bachelor Moon, do something with the family and then be at his motel again for the breakfast buffet the next morning.

She could feel the frustration of the agents each night when they settled in the dining room for the evening meal, a frustration that let her know they were no closer to solving the mystery.

How long could they remain here trying to solve a crime that had no clues? With no trails to follow? When would this become a cold case with no answers, and when did somebody decide for sure that it had changed from an open investigation to a hunt for bodies?

It had been a week ago tonight that the Connellys had disappeared, leaving behind empty gla.s.ses of milk and uneaten cookies. Marlena knew from the FBI inquiries that their bank accounts hadn't been touched, their ATMs and credit cards hadn't been accessed. The family was just...gone.

And how long did she and Cory stay here? Wondering, hoping that Sam and Daniella and Macy would magically walk through the front door and declare that it had all been a joke, a spur-of-the-moment vacation?

As she fixed the evening meal of roasted chicken and vegetables, she listened for the front door, knowing that if the agents stayed true to their schedule of the past few days, they should be walking in any minute.

It was crazy how much she'd missed the quiet moments of conversation with Gabriel. He not only drew her on a physical level, but since she'd seen a glimpse into his past, he drew her on an emotional level, too. But she knew that was dangerous to her own mental health.

He was a man who didn't believe in love, and she was a woman who desperately believed and wanted that in her life. He obviously had no desire for home and hearth, and the desire for such a thing was integral to who she was as a woman.

She'd just pulled the chicken and veggies out of the oven when she heard the front door open. Setting the large pan of food on a cooling rack, she left the kitchen and went through the great room to see all three men wearing the wearied expressions of another fruitless day.

"Dinner is ready whenever you all want to eat," she said. Although she spoke to all three, her gaze lingered on Gabriel. His eyes held the darkness of frustration, and the lines of his face indicated not just a physical weariness but a soul-deep weariness, as well.

What she wanted to do was walk to him and pull him into her arms. What she wanted to do was caress the tired lines that creased across his forehead, to do something that would ease some of the torment he obviously felt.

"Give us fifteen minutes to wash up, and then we'll be down," Andrew said, already heading up the stairs.

As the other men followed him, Marlena turned and went back into the kitchen. The table in the dining room was already set, so she placed the two chickens on a big serving plate and the veggies in a large dish, and carried them to the table with her first two trips. She'd also made a cherry Jell-O salad and hot, yeasty rolls.

With the entire meal on the table, she returned to the kitchen and poured herself a gla.s.s of iced tea, then sat at the kitchen table and stared out the window.

They were all in a state of limbo, waiting for people who might never return, afraid to leave without answers. She'd planned to head to one of the bigger cities with Cory in the next couple of months, but wondered if maybe she needed to move up their plans to go.

Pamela would be thrilled to take over the daily running of the bed-and-breakfast in Daniella's absence, and Marlena knew the woman was competent enough to make sure it was all done to Daniella's high standards.

No will had been found in any of the paperwork Sam kept in the office. So what would happen to this place if Daniella and Sam never returned?

Long after dinner was over and she'd cleaned up the kitchen, she carried a gla.s.s of iced tea out to one of the wicker rockers on the porch. Cory had stopped in earlier to let her know that he and John were going to the movies to see the latest action-adventure release that was playing.

As always, Marlena thanked the stars for John's friendship with her brother. Cory would have gone stark raving mad here if not for John's company.

She rocked the wicker chair and sipped her tea as she watched the sun dip lower in the sky. "No place are the sunsets prettier than in Louisiana," Gabriel said as he stepped out on the porch, a gla.s.s of tea in his hand.

She sat up straighter, surprised by his appearance as he eased into the chair next to hers. Instantly she was overwhelmed by the scent of minty soap, shaving cream and that now-familiar woodsy cologne, letting her know he'd recently taken a shower.

"I think the sunsets here in Bachelor Moon are pretty spectacular, because they don't have to fight with city skylines or bright lights," she replied.

"Dinner was delicious."

She smiled at him. "Thanks. I don't claim to be a professional chef, but thank goodness Daniella has some great cookbooks and all I have to do is follow directions."

He placed his tea on the table between them and then rubbed the center of his forehead, as if to ease his pain. "Headache?" she asked sympathetically.

He nodded and dropped his hand to his lap. "I woke up with it this morning, and it's been relentless."

"Want some aspirin or something?"

"No, thanks. I know it's just a bad case of stress." He released a deep sigh. "This has been the case from h.e.l.l. We've spent the past week spinning our wheels and getting little information for our efforts. I even checked to make sure Frank Mathis is still in prison."

"He is, isn't he?"

"He's safe behind bars and completely out of the picture for whatever happened here a week ago."

"It feels like they've been gone forever," Marlena said, her throat closing up as she felt the imminence of tears. "I can't imagine them not being in my life in one way or another."

"I wish I could promise you a happy ending," he said softly. "But to be perfectly honest, I don't have a clue how this all might end. I think this may be one of the most frustrating cases I've ever worked."

"I just wish I could be of more help, but I've gone over and over it in my mind, and I can't think of anyone who would have the capacity or the desire to kidnap Sam, Daniella and Macy." Her voice cracked slightly with emotion and she reached for her tea as if a swallow would wash away the pain in her heart.

She took a drink and then cleared her throat. "What happens if you don't find out the answers? How long will your director allow you to work a case where there are no clues, no leads to follow?"

"I don't know. Right now he's given us no indication he wants us pulled off the case." He sat up a little taller in the chair. "The one thing I've learned while doing this work is that you never know when a clue will drop in your lap, when something will occur or some information will be learned that forms a lead. We've only had a week, and in the world of criminal investigations that's just a minute."

As the sun began to fully dip below the horizon and the shadows of night crept in, Marlena stood, taking her tea gla.s.s with her. "Since the night of my impromptu swim, I'm no longer comfortable sitting out here when it gets dark."

"Do you still think somebody intentionally shoved you in the pond?" He grabbed his gla.s.s and also rose from his chair.

She frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not sure right now what I think about that night. It's possible that I was so freaked out by the family's disappearance that I imagined I was pushed when I actually just stepped the wrong way."

"You haven't felt threatened by anyone or anything since then?" he asked.

She realized they stood too close to each other, that his eyes, normally midnight blue and so hard to read, appeared softer in the glow of twilight.

"No, nothing." She turned quickly and went into the house. He followed behind her, and as she placed her gla.s.s in the kitchen sink, he did the same.

They were close together, facing each other in what felt like a void of time, of s.p.a.ce. She knew she should say good-night and move away, but she was frozen in place, unable to speak, unable to move. His close proximity to her made her feel trapped, forbidden to escape even if she'd wanted to.

Her heart thundered as he took a step closer to her. "I've been fighting the need to do this since I first saw you on the front porch a week ago." His voice was a mere whisper as he raised a hand and drew it softly through her curls.

He nodded as if satisfied. "I knew it would be soft as silk." He dropped his hand from her hair and instead ran his thumb across her bottom lip. "I've also wanted to do this since the moment I saw you."

Before she could draw a breath or prepare in any way for what she knew was about to happen, his mouth covered hers in a fiery kiss that was directly at odds with the dispa.s.sionate man she'd thought him to be.

He tasted of sweetened tea and hot desire, and she opened her mouth to him as his arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.

A little voice inside her head told her this shouldn't be happening, but it was happening, and it was wonderful. His body was solid against hers, and she instantly knew he was aroused.

Their tongues battled together as if desperate to explore and know each other, as if both of them knew this explosion of simmering l.u.s.t that had existed between them would never happen again, culminating in this, their first and last kiss.

It was he who broke the kiss, dropping his arms from around her and jumping back as if she were on fire.

His ragged breathing matched her own as he stared at her. "I just had to know," he said. "And now I do, and that won't happen again." Without waiting for her response, he turned and left the kitchen.

GABRIEL SAT IN the Rusty Nail Tavern just off Main Street in Bachelor Moon, nursing a beer alone at the end of the counter. Most of the people who shared the s.p.a.ce with him knew that he was one of the FBI agents who'd come to town to investigate the Connellys' disappearance, and he knew that most of them didn't like the fact that he'd invaded their s.p.a.ce.

He wasn't a native. He wasn't one of them. n.o.body approached him, and that was just fine with him. He was doing what he did best-watching people, eavesdropping on conversations, perfectly satisfied being alone.

It had been two nights since he'd kissed Marlena and he was still trying to get the taste of her out of his mouth. He took a drink of his beer as if that would do the trick, and his gaze constantly moved over the Sat.u.r.day-night crowd.

Was the perp in the room right now? Silently crowing over how easily he'd managed to fool the agents who had been sent here to investigate? Gabriel tightened his hand around the neck of his beer bottle. Within days it would be two full weeks since the Connelly family had last been seen, and they were no closer to having any answers.

This case was driving him crazy. She was driving him crazy. That kiss had been one of the biggest mistakes he'd ever made in his life, for now it was emblazoned on his brain, and he couldn't stop thinking about kissing her again.

He took another pull of his beer, wondering if they were ever going to get a break on this case. For the past couple of days, he and Andrew and Jackson had beat feet across the town, checking abandoned storefronts, empty storage units, old barns and sheds, anywhere that a family of three could be stashed away and anyplace bodies could have been disposed.

They'd listened to gossip, to rumors and had chased down a dozen dead ends. With each day that pa.s.sed, his belief that the Connelly family was alive had slowly died. He believed it was just a matter of time before their bodies were discovered by somebody walking in a field, strolling through a forest or fishing near a swamp.

What he found hard to accept was that it was possible he and his small team of two would leave here and never have any answers, never know who was responsible.

If he looked deep inside himself, he also knew that he found it hard to believe he would leave here without following through on that steamy kiss he'd stolen from Marlena.

He wanted more.

He wanted a lot more from her.

He wanted to slide his mouth down her neck, cup her bare b.r.e.a.s.t.s in his hands while she moaned in acquiescence. It had nothing to do with love or romance. It had nothing to do with anything but the raging l.u.s.t she created inside him.

What made it so difficult to get out of his head was the fact that he thought she felt the same way about him. She'd eagerly accepted his kiss, had pressed herself against him as if she'd been willing to give him more. And he'd wanted to take more.

"Smells like pig in here-a big fat federal pig," a deep voice said from nearby.

Gabriel turned to see Ryan Sherman and his girlfriend, Tammy, seated at a table for two near the bar. Gabriel whirled around on his bar stool and stared at them. He mentally groaned. He was in no mood to deal with a yahoo. Ryan apparently didn't realize he was baiting a pit bull.

Gabriel continued to stare at Ryan, almost begging him to do something stupid so Gabriel could fly into action and get rid of the energy building inside him. But Tammy placed a hand on Ryan's arm and whispered in his ear, and Ryan broke the intense, challenging stare, and instead got up and wandered toward the pool tables on the other side of the room.

Gabriel turned around, finished his beer and checked his watch. Nearly midnight. The crowd had begun to thin out a bit, and he knew if he had one more beer, it would be one too many to drive back to the bed-and-breakfast. It was time to leave.

He hadn't invited Andrew or Jackson to come along with him to the tavern. As much as he liked them, he'd needed a break from them, too. They would be in their room by now, their deep snores mingling to create a discordant form of music.

As he left the bar, the night air wrapped around him, thick and humid and with the tang of ozone that preceded an approaching storm. As he got into the car, he saw in the distance a zigzag of lightning split the darkness of the black, clouded sky.

If he was lucky, he would make it to the bed-and-breakfast before the storm hit. Driving with his window down, breathing in the heavy, thick air, the distant rumble of thunder pealed and he stepped on the gas, eager to get inside before the wind and rain arrived.

He felt as if the storm was inside of him, and he understood the interior tumult mirrored the unstable atmosphere around him. He also knew the genesis of his unhinged emotions.

Marlena.

It had only been nine days since he'd met her, and yet he felt as if he'd wanted her for an entire lifetime, as if he had been born wanting her, and he wouldn't be satisfied until he had her.