C.J. finished sorting out the herb collection, focusing on the oregano, both Italian and Greek not to mention the half dozen new species of basil which had just arrived. The aromas of each plant wafted together to create a banquet of appealing odors.

Perfect for cooking, she thought and she'd started her own herbal garden at the place she rented, just a small one in a plot of earth that got plenty of sunlight and shade. Since the herbs sprouted and grew so fast, she'd harvest them soon enough to work into her own recipes. Back in her old life, she had enjoyed spicing up her meals with just the right plethora of flavors, almost to where it felt like creating art. Matt had teased her about her cooking, not that he didn't find it delicious but how she went about it. Both slapdash and methodical in ways that didn't make sense until you saw it play out in front of you. Then she had another convert.

She tried not to think about him so much. Better to work on building that distance between them that she needed to live her life.

Adela walked up to her.

"It's looking nice," she said, "Herbs are one of the largest sellers."

C.J. looked up at her and nodded.

"They're versatile for cooking and other things," she said, "and these new basils will be popular I think."

Adela sighed.

"I thought about promoting them by having some sort of event, like a cook off contest using these herbs."

"That sounds like a great idea," C.J. said, "especially if the prizes were great."

Adela pursed her lips.

"I could come up with a few incentives," she said, "Talk to other business owners in town."

C.J. started carefully sorting out some thyme pots and placed them on the shelf.

"I might need your help," Adela said, "You seem to know a lot about these plants."

"I do a lot of cooking when I've got time or need to relax."

Adela smiled.

"I never thought of cooking as a stress release more the opposite but to each its own."

C.J. thought that a fair enough assessment. She rubbed the back of her neck.

"Thanks for allowing me some afternoons to take off early."

Adela shrugged.

"Don't think anything of it," she said, "You've done a lot of great work since I hired you."

C.J. had found it easy enough to focus on her new life wanting to get away from her old one and everything that had happened. Of course, it had gotten more complicated when Matt had shown up, but she hoped that their conversation yesterday would get him to back away from her. All he'd brought her was pain and recrimination because he couldn't move past his own beliefs about what had happened on the island.

Adela smiled at her and then returned to the store while C.J. continued to work on her garden. She didn't get far before her phone buzzed and she pulled it out seeing it was Duke.

"Hi there sweet thing…"

"Hi Duke…why you calling me?"

A pause, then a clearing of his throat.

"I thought we could maybe get together tonight."

She felt tempted and so did her body which tingled at the thought that a man wanted to put his hands all over it. Maybe that part of her was coming back to life again but she hesitated.

"I don't know if I'm going to be able to do that," she said, "I know we had fun Duke and I enjoyed being with you…"

"But…"

Yeah, there was that.

"I just need to spend some time by myself," she said, "Not that you're not a great guy but this is something I need to do."

He sighed on the other end and so did a part of her because she'd enjoyed the time with him but she felt like she'd been using him even if they hadn't hit the sheets.

"Well can't we just get together sometime and hang out," he said, "even if there are other people around."

She considered that.

"You mean like at a party or a festival."

"Yeah…I enjoy being with you," he said, "so think about it."

She realized she could do that and she had no plans to isolate herself.

"Okay I'll do that and get back to you."

After saying goodbye, she clicked off the phone and turned back to her work.


Matt had run on the beach that morning a couple of miles while the sun had been rising but hadn't started baking the coastline yet. His breath came hard as he pushed through the drier sand away from the breaking waves. The seagulls flew over the ocean and he could see some boats heading out to fish offshore.

He'd heard back from the feds that Rodrigo's lieutenant Milan had been seen in various places and he remembered the burly guy who had been trained to protect his boss. Would he taking over the day to day operations while Rodrigo had to lie low for a while? No one could figure out what would happen to the trafficking organization while the prosecution moved forward with its case against the kingpin.

There hadn't been any word on whether or not Rodrigo's men were closer to finding C.J.. That made the skin prickle on the back of his neck because that just meant that Rodrigo was taking extra pains to keep that information from leaking out. He must know he was being closely watched in different ways and taking steps to protect his moves.

If that meant that his men were already closing in, how would they be able to find out before it was too late? Matt wrestled with that question a lot lately.

At work, he'd been doing more heavy lifting of baby fruit trees planted in containers and Clover had been in the office doing some accounting work with Adela. He'd seen C.J. focused on the herb garden and gave her a wide berth. He knew that what she had said to him yesterday, she meant and so he'd give her that space.

Damn if she could see reason anyway but yesterday, there'd been a difference to her. A rawness in her eyes that he hadn't seen when she talked about how much she needed to find her own path, that she didn't trust him.

Those words stung most deeply because what they'd shared on the island together had been all about trust, even before they hit the sheets. If he couldn't count on her who could he and he always believed she felt the same way. But there'd been an edge in her voice that somewhere along the way that had been lost.

Rodrigo had taken it when she'd been his lover. She must understand that he couldn't reconcile that fact without returning back to the betrayal.

He saw as she left the herbal garden to go to the office, after rinsing her hands on a faucet.

Dressed in faded jeans that molded to her curves and a salmon pink shirt that showed off her toned arms…showing how she could be both hard and soft at the same time. He remembered when she'd had her arms and legs wrapped around his own body while he carried her to his bed. His lips had captured hers in sweetness and sass and couldn't stop tasting her so he hadn't seen his shoes on the floor and had tripped over them.

They'd both laughed as they spilled onto the bed, still wrapped up until he rolled her over on his back, stripped her of her panties and moved his mouth in between her legs tonguing her…teasing her at first which drove her crazy on the bed until he zeroed in on her core of pleasure…the part of her which if he nursed it just right would make her purr.

But when their bodies met in the heat of something more primal than even lust, they hadn't cared, all he cared about was sinking inside of her and all she wanted was for him to fill her. Until he told himself that it had been much more than that.

He sighed as he hoisted another tree and his muscles tensed under its weight. The physical labor had been more a part of his life when he'd been back in college and done construction jobs. But he remembered now how good it had been at making him forget his problems at least for a little while.

But still even as he dropped the plant down in its proper place, a part of him deep inside ached.


Clover and C.J. looked up at Adela, who had just given them some news about a new purchase order.

"So there's some rich guy that's ordered up a slew of plants for his new estate?"

Adela nodded.

"Yes some millionaire businessman bought up the property on top of the ridge that oversees that inlet near the point."

C.J. listened, mildly curious as to who would move there. She'd seen the impressive house that rested there, but the grounds landscaping had fallen off since the owner had put it on the market.

"They might be interested in hiring a couple of you to work part-time there," Adela said, "Until the owner moves in there."

"When will that be," C.J. asked.

"I don't know yet," Adela said, "I think the guy's leaving it up in the air."

Clover frowned.

"They redid the inside of the house recently," she said, "That's what I heard on the grapevine."

Adela nodded.

"I did too, I wonder what style the new owner favors," she said, "Should be interesting to find out."

C.J. wondered what it'd be like to actually be involved in a project like that but she didn't have a landscaping background. She wondered who Adela would offer up to work there. It'd be two days a week and possibly some weekend days.

Adela sighed.

"I'll let you know when I get more definite details," she said, "and you can sort out who will take the positions."

Clover shrugged.

"I might be able to…but I'll have to think about it."

Adela nodded again.

"Fair enough…what about you C.J.?"

She looked up at Adela, not sure what to say. It sounded fascinating but she didn't' know if she had the right experience.

"I don't know…maybe…sounds interesting."

Adela smiled.

"Well it will be for those who decide to work there," she said, "I don't know much about the new owner. We'll be working with some staff he's sent there ahead of time."

C.J. thought it sounded pretty tempting. She wondered if Adela had talked to Matt about it and whether they would both decide they were interested. If so, could they work together? She thought they'd done well so far as long as they tackled different jobs and no doubt there'd be plenty to do on the estate.

Yes, they could work in the same place but keep their distance at the same time. She knew that she could do that.

So maybe she would think seriously about volunteering, it might be just what she needed.


Rodrigo waited until Milan had entered the room. His top lieutenant and the guy he trusted most to back him up full force if necessary.

He looked up at Milan who pulled off his shades.

"Any word yet?"

Milan shook his head.

"No, no sign of that bitch yet but she's not as smart as she thinks."

Rodrigo shook his head at him.

"Now, now Milan, be careful with what you call her."

But the lieutenant shrugged.

"That's what she is," he said, "Doesn't matter what her parents named her."

Rodrigo knew that Milan had a lot of contempt for C.J. even before she'd turned out to be much more than a beautiful girl at a party. But then again, he'd used that with such deep skill not even Milan had been aware of it.

Right up to the moment of that weekend, the one where they would begin to teach her what it meant to be a whore.

"When we find her, she'll just be another piece of property," Milan said, "She's doing well at auction."

Rodrigo sighed.

"It'd be better if we already had her," he said, "I might have to figure out some more incentives to get my men to track her ass down."

Milan went over to the wet bar to pour some Scotch.

"The guy she's with," he said, "You know he's one of the best."

Rodrigo fingered his own glass.

"Damn good businessman too before he betrayed me but he'll be in over his head if he tries to stop me…"

Milan didn't argue with his boss but he knew about Matt' history and that to underestimate this guy would be a mistake.

Possibly a fatal one for their operation and one where they couldn't take unnecessary risks.

"They're keeping close tabs on me," Rodrigo said, "but the cover plan's working well."

That would allow him to send his men to try and find her, to bring her back to him so he could deal with her. The beautiful woman with the eyes that could bore right through a man, who had lain on that bed, while he prepared to take her... He'd almost believed…but clenching his hands into fists at his desk, he knew she'd been damn good at saving those who mattered to her. Just not good enough to save herself.

But she'd been hidden from him a while now and it was getting to be too long, his patience ebbed quickly. Milan just looked at his boss, reading his frustration lying beneath his exterior, not sure what to say to him.

Then the phone rang.


Matt mused about whether or not he should volunteer for the landscaping assignment at the estate that overlooked the ocean. He'd seen it from a distance and also photos of it and it reminded him a bit of the one back on the island. Someone wealthy had purchased it and then wanted to go change everything that surrounded the main house. He could do that, he'd always worked outdoors, construction, landscaping and even a bit of ranch work before he had started his business. He wondered if Clover would agree to take the assignment.

Or whether C.J. would want it….he considered that possibility too. That they might be over there working in close proximity together. Even though they both worked for the nursery now, they had kept their distance since their last couple of conversations and that passionate interlude.

His body tightened as he thought about what'd it been like to hold her body while he'd kissed her, exploring her waiting mouth as if he'd never known what it had been like to do it. Yet at the same time, it had been like coming home and the contradiction enticed him in ways he hadn't been in quite some time. Since…no he couldn't go back and think about the past that he'd shared with her. His only interest was to keep her safe and out of Rodrigo's hands.

Not that she made it easy for him with her stubbornness, didn't she know how dangerous it was out there with a man as relentless and as far reaching as Rodrigo hunting her down? Would she finally figure it out after he'd caught her and shipped her off to a brothel where she'd spend the rest of her life? That thought sobered him because if he made the wrong move…he'd never see her again.

He felt the coldness of that possibility deep inside him and he turned away from those thoughts to go attend to some of the avocado trees. A popular item, he had been pruning the dried branches off some of the latest shipment before putting them on display.

Clover walked by him.

"Hey you thinking about that job offer?"

He looked up at her and nodded.

"Sounds like good money and the place is incredible."

"Yeah it's been empty for a while…too long and the new owner supposedly has definitive plans for the place."

Matt guessed that he would and wondered what kind of direction he would give to those who did his work.

"He's some far flung businessman," she added, "No one's seen him yet in town."

Matt flung a couple of small branches he pulled off into a bag.

"Maybe he's not had the opportunity yet," he said, "What about you, you interested?"

She shrugged.

"I don't know, I got other obligations so probably not," she said, "What about C.J.?"

He'd been thinking a lot about her lately but he tilted his face.

"What about her?"

"You think she might want the position?"

"Maybe…the estate's big enough for the both of us so that'd be fine."

Clover chuckled.

"What's between the two of you," she said, "Sometimes you look like you want to go at it, like fight and other times…"

Her face changed.

"What?"

She paused.

"You look like you want to go at it…in a different way."

Damn, he thought, he'd been more transparent than he thought but Clover had nothing to worry about. He had no intention of tangling again with C.J..

"Clover…she…and I….it's over."

She appeared to digest that but some doubt lingered in her eyes.

"If you say so…does she know that?"

He chuckled a bit harshly.

"I'd say so…I think you're right about the fighting part but that's not going to happen either. We're both professionals at heart."

She folded her arms.

"And that supersedes everything else?"

He nodded.

"Definitely…"

He didn't know if that satisfied her but it wasn't like the two of them were serious and she had to know that. What he'd felt for C.J. back then had been as close to getting serious as he'd ever be and that had blown up in his face.

So no thanks to being close with any woman. That's what he told himself now as he had since it had all gone bad.


C.J. looked up at Miranda from where she sat in the couch. She'd come for another session, a bit on edge as always but feeling that sense of purpose she had since she made the decision to seek therapy.

"I don't know about him sometimes," she said, "He and I were so close…friends before things changed and then I thought it meant something to both of us but everything got so complicated…"

"With the assignment…?"

C.J. had told Miranda about what she'd been doing with Matt and the feds, because she knew that it'd remain confidential and she couldn't move forward with what she needed to do omitting that part of it.

"Yeah…I never thought I'd screw up my judgment…what happened with Matt weakened it because all I cared about was those moments I was in his arms."

"So balancing work and relationships was difficult to say the least?"

C.J. nodded.

"Yeah you could say that with the addition that it could be fatal for both of us," she said, "but I didn't care…it was like this dam broke down that had always been there blocking that part of my feelings off from him…and myself."

"But those feelings broke loose…"

C.J. chuckled without much mirth.

"They sure did and god, it was so wonderful but like I couldn't get enough and that's when it became dangerous."

Miranda mostly just listened to her except for a question here and there but she took plenty of notes. She never looked fazed by what C.J. told her about her complicated life, but then again, maybe she had heard everything already.

"How so…?"

"He'd killed the woman who he exposed as a plant after his pack of lieutenants had raped her," C.J. said, "that should have been warning enough not to cross him."

"But you did your work," Miranda said, "What happened with Matt was separate from that."

C.J. shook her head slowly.

"Yes I did and it went according to plan at first."

Miranda jotted her notes.

"Then that one time…I told you about when he…grabbed me in the hallway and I couldn't move because his body…I just thought about the ocean, the blueness of it and the whitecaps which lit the top of the waves like diamonds. Anything to not think about what he was doing…because I couldn't lose it you know and endanger the assignment."

"Disassociating yourself from him and what he was doing," Miranda said, "That's not uncommon when someone's conduct is not welcome."

"I didn't want it…none of it," C.J. said, "but I never told anyone about what he did outside the office. We all had our jobs to do, we all knew the dangers and what would test us. I just thought that's how it would be for me…with him and I could handle it."

"You were the professional operative?"

C.J. nodded.

"Well at least for that assignment," she said, "but I was wrong about that."

Miranda nodded.

"So what happened next?"

C.J. pursed her lips and grasped her arms with her hands, settling back deeper into the couch.

"Well I went back to the other women at the party and we enjoyed ourselves talking for a while mostly about how the men had abandoned us for business."

Miranda didn't say anything just listened as C.J. hunted her mind for the words she needed to say next.

"At some point, I left and went to find Matt and the others."

She felt herself start to tremble and hated herself for it, if anyone even the woman sitting across from her could see it. But the next words left her mouth easily enough through a sigh.

"And that's when everything changed…."