“Christ, those look nasty.” Flynn studied the raw, red grooves. “Shouldn’t they be bandaged or something?”

“Dana put something on them last night, but she’s not exactly Nurse Betty. I smeared some more crap on them this morning. Point is, our guy was seriously pissed—enough to take a genuine shot at me. Where does that leave the women?”

Heat flashed into Flynn’s eyes. “He didn’t touch Malory. Never physically touched her. It was bad enough, scary enough, the way he messed with her mind. But this . . . We’ve got to take him down.”

“I’m open to ideas.” Jordan spread his hands. “Problem is, as far as magic goes, I can’t even pull a rabbit out of my hat.”

“Some of it’s just misdirection, tricking the eye,” Brad mused.

“Let me tell you, son, when that guy’s got his claws in you, it’s no trick of the eye.”

“No, I mean from our stand,” Brad told Jordan. “We direct him toward us, it gives the women more space. He had a reason for going after you. If we can figure that out, exploit it, it might take his attention away from Dana for the next couple of weeks. And from Zoe when her time comes around.”

“I haven’t got anything concrete. It just feels like I know something, but I can’t reel it in.” Frustrated, Jordan jammed his hands into his pockets. “Something I know, or did, or have, that’s the answer. Or one of them. Something from before, that plays into the now.”

“Something between you and Dana,” Brad prompted.

“Has to be connected, doesn’t it? Otherwise it wouldn’t follow the pattern. And if it isn’t something important, why did he f**k with me?”

“Maybe it’s time for a meeting,” Brad began.

“For you suits, it’s always time for a meeting,” Flynn shot back.

“I’m forced to point out that I’m not wearing a suit.”

“Inside you are. It’s probably pin-striped. And I bet you’re wearing a tie too. But I digress. Maybe the suit’s right,” he said to Jordan. “The six of us should put our heads together. Your place.” He patted Brad on the shoulder. “You’ve got more furniture and better food.”

“That works for me. The sooner, the better.” Brad glanced at his watch. “Ha-ha, I have a meeting. Set it up with the women, let me know.”

He stepped back inside to snag his jacket, then jogged out into the rain toward his car.

Jordan stood watching as Brad drove away. “We get through this one and get to the last round, his head’s going to be on the block.”

“You think he doesn’t know that?”

“No, I figure he does. I was wondering if Zoe does.”

THE only thing Zoe knew at that moment was that this was one of the biggest days of her life. She clutched the keys, her keys, in her fist. They were brand spanking new, to go with the brand spanking new lock sets she’d bought to replace the old ones.

She was going to put the lock on the main door herself—she knew how—first thing. A kind of rite, she decided. A kind of claiming.

She parked, ran through the rain to the front porch, then waited as her friends pulled in behind. Malory had the original keys. Besides, it was right that the three of them went in together.

And wasn’t it right, somehow symbolic, that Malory had the original key? That she and Dana would wait while Malory unlocked the door. The first door.

Malory had completed her part of the quest, and had held her key. Now it was Dana’s turn. Then, God willing, it would be hers.

“Rain’s going to strip a lot of the leaves off the trees,” Malory commented as she rushed under the overhang. “There won’t be much color left after this.”

“It was nice while it lasted.”

“Yes, it was.” Malory started to unlock the door, then stopped. “It just hit me. It’s ours now. Really ours. Maybe we should say something profound, do something symbolic.”

“I’m not carrying either of you across the threshold.” Dana scooped back her damp hair.

“Booty shake,” Zoe decided and made Dana laugh.

“Booty shake,” she agreed. “On three.”

The few people driving by might have been slightly surprised to see three women standing on a pretty blue porch wiggling their butts in front of a closed door.

Giggling, Malory turned the key. “That felt right. And here we go.” She opened the door with what she considered a very nice flourish, then her mouth dropped open.

“Oh, my God, look!”

“What?” Instinctively, Zoe grabbed her arm to yank her back. “Is it Kane?”

“No, no! Look. Oh, this is so sweet! Look what they did.” She rushed inside and all but buried her face in the roses set on the card table. “Flowers. Our first flowers. Flynn’s going to get such a big reward for this.”

“It was really thoughtful of him.” Zoe sniffed at the flowers, then opened the bakery box. “Cookies. The fancy kind. What a sweetheart you’ve got, Malory.”

“He didn’t do it alone.” Dana pulled the champagne out of the bucket, arched her eyebrows at the label. “This has Brad’s fingerprints all over it. Not just champagne but stupendous champagne.”

Zoe frowned over the label. “That’s expensive, isn’t it?”

“Not only, but very classy. Only time I ever had it was when Brad gave me a bottle for my twenty-first birthday. He always had style.”

“The three of them did this together, for us.” With a long sigh, Malory danced her fingers over petals. “I’d say all three of them have style.”

“Let’s not disappoint them.” Dana popped the cork, poured champagne into the three flutes set on the table.

“We need to have a toast.” Zoe picked up the flutes, passed them out.

“Let’s not do one that makes us cry.” Malory took a steadying breath. “The flowers have me half started already.”

“I’ve got it.” Dana raised her glass. “To Indulgence.”

They clinked glasses, sipped. And cried a little anyway.

“I’ve got something I want to show you.” Malory set down her glass, picked up her briefcase. “Just something I was playing with. I don’t want you to feel obligated. You won’t hurt my feelings if you don’t like the concept. It’s just . . . just an idea.”