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codes.”
    â€œTold you she was smart.”
    â€œShe is smart.” He looked at Kilraven. “But I don’t want to get married. Not for years yet. I’m just thirty!”
    â€œAlmost thirty-one, little brother,” Kilraven said affectionately. “And you really don’t know what you’re missing.”
    â€œIf I don’t know, I can’t miss it. Now let’s get something to eat,” he said quickly, cutting the other man off.
    Kilraven chuckled as he followed him into the restaurant. Jon had actually taken Joceline on a date once, some years back. It had been a strange aftermath, including a hospital visit and some threats of legal charges. Jon never spoke of it. He kept secrets. But so did his brother. No doubt he didn’t like remembering that his drink had been spiked right under his nose.

2
    â€œBut she’s such a sweet girl,” Cammy argued over the phone. “She’s pretty and she knows all the right people!”
    â€œShe spent thirty minutes giving me news bulletins on the latest fashions and hairstyles,” Jon muttered.
    There was an exasperated sigh. “At least she’s better dressed than that acid-tongued secretary of yours!”
    â€œAdministrative assistant,” Jon corrected. “And Joceline at least manages within her budget. She doesn’t have to borrow to buy clothes.”
    â€œIt does show,” came the sarcastic reply.
    Jon frowned. “Cammy, don’t you remember being poor?” he asked quietly.
    â€œI do remember, and I’m your mother, so stop calling me by my first name.”
    â€œSorry, force of habit. Mac does it all the time.”
    â€œCall him McKuen, if you please. I hate that nickname.”
    â€œSo does he.”
    â€œYour secretary has a child out of wedlock,” Cammy continued, unabated. “I hate having you associated with someone like that.”
    He felt himself bristling. “We live in the twenty-first century,” he objected.
    â€œYes, and morality is all that separates us from savagery,” she shot back. “We have rules of conduct to keep civilization from floundering. Just look around you at the outrageous things people are doing! Women don’t raise children anymore, they run corporations! Do you wonder why the crime rates among juveniles are so high? Who’s teaching them values? Who’s…?”
    He cleared his throat. “Cammy, I’m due in court.”
    She stopped short, still seething. “You should get another secretary.”
    â€œI’m so glad you called. Have a nice day. I’ll phone you on the weekend.”
    â€œCome to the ranch for the weekend,” she suggested.
    Where her candidate would be waiting with glee.
    â€œAfraid I can’t, there’s a stakeout.”
    â€œYou’re a senior agent, surely you can delegate!”
    â€œNot on this one. Now I have to go. Really.”
    â€œI don’t like it that you work on that violent crimes squad. You could work white collar crime! Jon…”
    â€œBye, Cammy!”
    â€œDon’t call me…!”
    He put down the receiver and let out a puff of air. That was when he noticed Joceline, outside the door he’d forgotten to close. She was very pale and she didn’t speak. She walked in, forced a smile and laid a document on his desk. While he was trying to find something to say, and worrying about how much of that conversation she’d overheard, she walked out and closed the door.
    Joceline sat down at her desk heavily and tried to block out the sound of Jon’s mother’s voice, which had been audible even several feet away from the telephone. Most agents used cell phones, and eavesdropping wasn’t really possible, but Jon used a landline in the office. And Cammy Blackhawk’s voice carried. Joceline felt sick to her stomach as she registered the other woman’s overt hostility toward her.
    She knew that people