Sidney Sheldon's Chasing Tomorrow (Tracy Whitney #2)(36)

“By moonlight?”

“It wasn’t moonlight when I started,” said Blake. “Besides, I got a flashlight.” He patted his pocket.

“Well, you should get home to bed,” said Tracy, drying her hands on a dish towel. “Or did you want something?”

Blake looked suddenly awkward. “No, not really. I heard Nicholas was in some trouble again at school today, is all.”

Tracy frowned. “News travels fast.”

She wasn’t angry with Blake Carter. Over the years Blake had developed a close bond with Nicholas. The boy needed a positive male role model and Tracy couldn’t have asked for a better one than her ranch manager and friend. But one of the drawbacks of small-town life was small-town gossip.

“What happened?” Blake asked.

Tracy told him. “You should have seen the other mother’s face!” She laughed. “It was priceless. She knew she’d been had but she didn’t know how. They are not a nice family,” she added, breaking off a square of chocolate from the bar on the counter and offering Blake a piece.

“So what consequence is Nicky facing?”

“Consequence?” Tracy looked confused.

“He tried to cheat on his test, and then he lied to you about it,” Blake said sternly. “You don’t think you should punish him for that?”

“I . . . well . . . I didn’t really . . . we talked about it,” Tracy blustered.

Blake Carter’s raised eyebrow spoke a thousand words.

“Oh, come on,” said Tracy. “No harm was done in the end. And this Rock Carter is such a vile boy.”

“That’s not the point,” said Blake, “and you know it. You’re too easy on him, Tracy. You keep this up, he’s gonna be out of control at thirteen.”

AFTER BLAKE LEFT, TRACY crept into Nicholas’s bedroom.

Deep asleep, his dark curls spilling over the pillow and his arms flung wide across the bed, he looked positively angelic.

Tracy thought, Blake’s right. I am too easy on him. But how can I not be? He’s so . . . perfect.

She tried not to think about Jeff Stevens, but this was another impulse beyond her control. Was Jeff sleeping somewhere now too? Was he well and happy? Married to someone else? Was he even alive?

If she put her mind to it, Tracy could probably have found out the answers to all these questions. But over the years she’d trained herself not to. Jeff Stevens existed only in her heart and in her memory. She found her mind wandering back to the last job the two of them had done together. It was a diamond heist in Holland, before they were married. A mental picture came back to her of Daniel Cooper, the odd little insurance agent who had doggedly followed them across Europe, but had never been able to pin them to any crime. He’d been watching, the day that Tracy left Amsterdam. She’d actually seen him, seen the crushing disappointment on his face. She remembered feeling sorry for him.


Where was he now?

Where were any of the characters from those long-gone days?

For Tracy, and for Jeff, the scams and heists and capers had become a game. But to Daniel Cooper they’d clearly been more than that. Did we hurt people back then, with the things we did? Tracy wondered. She’d never regretted her old life, but perhaps she should have? As she gazed down lovingly at her sleeping son, it occurred to her that maybe her moral compass was off. Certainly Blake Carter represented goodness and decency and honesty in a way she aspired to, but didn’t really recognize in herself. Or in Nicky.

I must do better.

I must be a better mother, for Nicky’s sake.

Tracy kissed her son good night and went to bed.





CHAPTER 10



LISA LIM LOOKED AT the man zipping up his suit pants and fastening his cuff links beside the bed. As a high-class hooker, servicing Singapore’s elite, she was used to all kinds of clients. Fat or skinny, old or young, straight or kinky, married or single, overbearing or shy. As long as they could pay the requisite $500 an hour and agreed to wear a condom, Lisa Lim was an equal-opportunity employee. She did this job for the money, nothing else. Still, it was a pleasant surprise to come across a client she not only found attractive, but actually liked. Thomas Bowers checked both boxes.

“Are you all right to get home?” he asked her, slipping her fee plus a hefty gratuity into a hotel envelope. He was staying at the Mandarin Oriental in the Oriental Suite and had picked Lisa up in the lobby. “Can I call you a cab?”

“I’m fine, thank you. I have my own transport.” She took the money. “I enjoyed myself tonight.”

“So did I.”

Thomas Bowers pulled her close and kissed her. He smelled of expensive cologne and his stubble felt wonderfully masculine and rough against Lisa’s soft skin. His kiss was like his lovemaking. Passionate. Tender. Confident. Thomas Bowers was that rarest of things, a john who actually liked women.

“If you’d like to see me again while you’re in town, I could make myself available.”

“I’d love to. But unfortunately I leave tomorrow.” Bowers walked her to the door. “I’m taking the Orient Express to Bangkok. I’m rather looking forward to it.”

“How lovely.” Lisa smiled. “I’ve heard that’s a stunning journey, through the Malaysian jungle. Is the trip for business or pleasure?”