A/N: Hey guys! First of all sorry for the long wait but here it is, the new chap. Second, I wanna thank all of you for the reviews to this story. It really keeps me going, although university is taking over most of my life at the moment. All of those, who have to write their exams soon will understand ;)
A big thanks to , my wonderful beta!

Now have fun!

(9)

It was going to be a mild, but sunny day, at least that's what they said on the radio Cho had turned on while he was driving Jane and Teresa to the Los Angeles Racecourse, which was a few miles behind the northern border of LA. Still, it took them over an hour to get there.

Teresa had been more than excited when Jane had announced they would go to the racecourse, because he had to meet some sponsors of Mashburn's next big project there. He had been surprised when she'd told him her father took her and her brothers to the circus once where they were allowed to ride on some of the ponies after the show. She'd been so deliriously happy to share this small childhood memory with him and somehow this made him want to buy her a pony himself, although this idea was more than ridiculous.

What would she do with a pony, once she was gone on Friday next week? Well, it wasn't exactly a week, but only five days left of their little encounter here in LA. This thought scared him a little. She'd been with him for only 4 days, but he couldn't stand the thought to be without her.

Jane hadn't felt this good in a long time... Well, until he woke up this morning and remembered it was the anniversary of it. Even the fact of a sleeping Teresa lying in his arms hadn't changed the pang of guilt he felt, until he realized it was the day.

Teresa knew something was off with Jane today. When he'd invited her to join him last night in his bed to "watch TV" once again, she hadn't said no, but that was maybe just because she thought he was the one to set the rules. She didn't mind, really. It was nice to have someone to hold on to, when the overwhelming nightmares woke her up in the middle of the night, even if she didn't search for his hug, but only for his calming presence.

This morning, somehow everything was different. The last few mornings he'd enjoyed it, when she joined him for breakfast and they got the chance to banter a little, before "business" began, but today… He was not his usual cheerful self; he was quiet and a little secretive. She decided to ignore it, until he felt like talking to her, since she didn't want to push things that were none of her business anyways.

When Cho turned into the driveway of the Racecourse, which was surrounded by a white fence and perfectly high-cut hedges, they could see some horses running around on the meadows.

"Are they going to run today?" Teresa asked excited.

Jane took a look out of the window and watched the perfect elegant creatures racing over the paddocks. Just then, one of the smaller ones jumped up and kicked around with its hind legs. It looked like a jump of pure joy.

"I'm not sure, maybe. This area it not only known for horse-racing, some of the horses are also put to stud, as far as I know. Some of the upper class people who own horses also bring them here, so they are taken care of since they don't always have the time to ride or feed it, or – God forbid – clean the stables. Did I mention Miss Grace is going to be there?"

Teresa looked surprised and grinned, "No I guess you forgot to mention that during your morning grumpiness," she gave him a quick wink. "Oh look there are foals with their mothers!" She pointed out of the window, shrieking surprised when Cho put down the tinted window on her side so she could have a better look. Jane couldn't help but crack smile.

It took them another minute, until the driveway turned into a beautiful parkway with tall broadleaf trees. Right behind, the area opened up into a cul-de-sac with a beautiful flower arrangement on the ground right in the middle, showing the US flag.

Cho stopped the limousine in front of an elegant yellow building, where a man dressed up in a perfect uniform was eagerly waiting to open up their doors. Some paparazzi were also waiting behind a thick red band in front of the entrance, hoping to get a good shot of some of the high class people attending the race.

Teresa swallowed hard, putting on her huge white sun hat and black sunglasses, hoping the paparazzi would not be interested in Jane and her. She really didn't need some pictures of her in a gossip magazine, not while she was on the run from Red John. The possibility that Red John and his men were already looking for her was huge, because she'd been gone 4 days now.

Oh how she hoped they would leave Summer alone, since her friend didn't know where she went. Lorelei would be furious, too, she knew the bitch wouldn't rest until she was either dead or badly damaged by Red John and his men. That bitch had never liked her – not that she gave a damn about it anyways.

To her relief, Jane led her into the building without stopping for the paparazzi, even if some of them called his name, asking for someone named Erica. Teresa didn't even want to know who that was, but guessed it must be some former girlfriend of his. He was an attractive man…

"Did I tell you, you look gorgeous in that dress and with the hat?" he mumbled close to her ear, making her blush a little. The place where his hand was lingering on her back started burning like fire, sending a light shudder over her body.

"Thank you," she whispered back, smoothing the fabric of her white dress with the little black and red stars to distract herself from the heat coming from his hand.

They walked across a square; on the left side they could already see people walking over to the racecourse, while others went towards the building straight ahead of them, where you could set your bets on horses, the stables continued behind an ivy covered red brick wall on the right.

"We still have some time left until the race begins. What would you like to do? Have a tea or coffee, eat cake… Take a look at the horses?"

"Let's leave the tea and cookies like the British and have some fun. I would love to see the horses," Teresa answered and followed him towards the stables. She couldn't stop to admire the neat building and the people, especially the women, walking around with all sorts of fantastic and crazy hats. Her simple white sun hat looked like an ugly duckling next to all the other ones. It almost felt like she was in one of these British magazines which reported about Ascot horse races. One of the old ladies actually looked very similar to the Queen…

"Don't you think some of those hats look really ridiculous? This woman over there looks like she's wearing a bird on her head," Jane said grinning. The sight of a little fat woman in a brown dress with a hat full of equal brown feathers made Teresa laugh.

"You're right, she looks like a fat little chicken! Oh look, over there is a flamingo!" She pointed towards a woman in a tight pink dress with a crazy looking pink and black hat that was almost ten inches high.

"You're right! Let's see how many more animals we can find today," Jane suggested with a grin. He'd always found this hat thing a little ridiculous, especially since some of the women tried to copy the newest hat trends from Britain. He wondered if some of them actually were British or just tried to bring the British glamour of traditional horse races to America.

Jane and Teresa continued to point out "animals" in the crowd until they got to the stables, where they found fewer visitors but more jockeys who were neatly cleaning and saddling the horses.

"Some of the horses arrived already yesterday. That's why they are here in these boxes so they don't have to sleep in the trailers," he explained. Teresa gave him a "don't you know it all" look and went over to a black mare who'd stuck her head out of the box to see the new visitors.

"Aren't you gorgeous," Teresa mumbled, stroking the horse's head. It blew warm air out of its nose into her face and made her giggle. "Oh I wish I had some sugar for you, but I don't think you're allowed to have anything before your big race."

"Right not that the horse get fat", Jane mused, immediately getting a glare from Teresa. Just then he realized the color of her hair and the coat of the horse were exactly the same shade... only their eyes were different.

"Don't listen to him, sweetie," she whispered, patting the horse's cheek, "the weird looking human with the big mouth doesn't know what he's saying." Like she was agreeing, the horse nodded with her head.

"See? She understands us!"

"You think I'm weird looking?" he asked offended, but the sparkle in his eyes betrayed him.

"Of course that's the only thing that interests you," Teresa teased grinning.

A jockey came over to them with a snaffle and saddle in his arms. "Seems like Piari made a new friend," he grinned and laid down the equipment to pull out a treat.

"She's not in her best form today I'm afraid – at least she wasn't at the practice run-through early this morning – but it's the last race in her carrier. Would you like to give it to her?" The jockey put the treat in Teresa's hand. It smelled like eucalyptus.

"Thank you," she answered surprised and held out the treat to the horse, who carefully touched it with her snout, before she ate it while shaking her head up and down, once again agreeing.

"She likes it", Teresa grinned, patting her throat, "You're a good girl and I'm sure you are going to win today. You just didn't want to waste your energy this morning and that's good. What is going to happen to her after she finished the race? You're not going to kill her, right?"

The fear in her voice was clear, but the jockey calmed her by shaking his head: "No, we're not killing off our champions, even if it's been a while since her last big victory. She's going to a stud in Kentucky where they are using her for a breeding program for the next generation of racing horses."

"If I could bet, I would bet on her," Teresa answered satisfied with his explanation, before clearing the space in front of the door so the jockey could get started on saddling Piari.

"Do you really think she's going to win?" Jane asked curiously.

"Of course I do. Just because she fell once, doesn't mean she can't get back up to the top. She just needs someone to believe in her." For a second, he wasn't sure if she was really talking about the horse and not and entirely different person, but he didn't want to push her, just like she didn't want to push him today.

They went on, admiring the strength and elegance of the other horses, until they arrived at the end of the stable, only to run into a red headed woman with white riding trousers and a black velvet jacket.

"Teresa?" the woman asked surprised and before she could answer, Teresa was pulled into a hug.

"Grace? It's so good to see you… What are you doing here?" she mumbled catching for breath since the hug was so tight.

"It's so good to see you too. I totally forgot to give you my number last time, I didn't know how to reach you at all."

"Oh I'm sure we'd have managed somehow. Nice outfit by the way."

"You don't look too bad yourself," she teased, "Well I'm here for Tiger, my horse. He's got a stall here in the stables and since my fiancé and soon-to-be father in law are invited to the race today, I thought I'd take the opportunity to come here too. With all the preparations for the wedding in a few months I don't have time to come here that often, so I cherish every minute I can get. Hello Mr. Jane, by the way."

Jane nodded friendly and shook Grace's hand. "It's good to see you, Miss Grace. How is Mr. Minelli doing?"

"It's not easy at the moment. Your meeting a few days ago hasn't made it any better if that's what you want to know. The dinner was a disaster, but I guess you know so much yourself," Grace said with some kind of edge in her voice.

"I can imagine…"

Grace turned away from him and spoke to Teresa. It was clear she didn't want to have too much to do with the man who was probably going to rip apart her family's company. "Why don't you come with me and I will show you Tiger, before the race starts?"

The woman in question threw Jane a questioning glance. "Of course, go along," he said waving his hand, "I have to talk to some people anyways."

"Thank you," Teresa grinned before she went back to squeeze his hand and tagged along with the redhead.

Jane watched the two of them leave, before he turned around and went back to the box where the jockey was saddling Piari. Teresa said if she could bet, she'd bet on her and although he wasn't one for betting games where he wasn't 100% sure he would win, he decided to give it a try. For Teresa's sake.

"You said she's not in her best form today?" He asked the jockey who shook his head.

"I don't know. Like any woman, this horse is good for a surprise," the man joked. Jane sighed, knowing it was a waste of time and money to bet on horses, but he did it anyways. Maybe giving Teresa something to be happy about would lighten up his mood, too, so he went towards the betting stands and put one thousand bucks on a horse that was "good for a surprise".

"Jane!" someone called loudly a few meters beside him. A middle aged man with short gray hair and in a suit came towards him, a tall skinny woman with black hair in a bun and a lovely golden dress followed right behind him. Jane raised an eyebrow. He did know both of them, but hadn't had any idea they knew each other.

Jane really didn't want to have company now, but Ray Haffner was one of his biggest competitors in the Minelli case and after their lunch on Thursday, it was even more important to be up to date. It was still worrying him a little to see Haffner with this woman and he wondered what Teresa was going to say once she came back. But for now he decided to play along.

"Ray, it's good to see you! I see you brought company? I'm Patrick Jane." He lifted her hand to press a fake kiss on the back and smiled.

"What a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Jane", the woman answered. He could see in her eyes that she recognized him, but he pretended not to know her for the moment.

"She's a very good friend of mine... How is it going with Minelli? I saw him and his step-son Rigsby a few moments ago. Didn't look happy to see me at all."

Haffner grinned, before he invited Jane for a drink in the lounge where they'd be sitting to watch the race.

Teresa followed Grace to the back of the second stable building, where a fire red horse with dark brown knees was waiting for them. It had a little white spot on his forehead, almost hidden underneath the long black mane and was nibbling on a little bag filled with hay.

"This is Tiger," Grace explained proudly, patting the horse's throat. "Don't be shy, he's good. Wayne got him for me on our first anniversary when I told him how much I was missing my home in Iowa. My uncle has a farm there, you know? Tiger's been my best friend here ever since."

"He's beautiful," Teresa whispered, carefully stroking Tiger's shoulders.

"Did you know horses are very sensitive and reflect how you feel a lot? If you're angry for example, they feel it and start to act very uncomfortable. On the other hand, if you're feeling sad and they sense it, they have the sudden urge to comfort you. They are very clever animals." She leaned her head against Tiger's side.

"The situation is very hard on us at the moment. I know it's not your fault, but my father-in-law is not taking the whole thing very well and Mr. Jane is not exactly helping."

Teresa watched Grace, who wore a sad expression on her face. All of a sudden she was asking herself, why Jane acted to generous and human, when it came to her, but like he had a heart of stone when it came to poor Mr. Minelli's business.

"He's not a bad person, you know… It's just, sometimes I think he forgets what's right or wrong."

"Please don't get me wrong, I know it's a lot to ask but… Do you think you could talk to him perhaps? Not about the money, but that he's not going to dishonor Virgil in front of everyone. He's too proud and I fear it would destroy him."

The two women looked at each other, Grace with a silent plea in her eyes, Teresa thinking. She didn't know Grace, so why should she trust her? Perhaps that was why Grace'd been so eager to become friends with her, perhaps… No. Grace was not like the women she knew from Las Vegas, she was different, a good person. She just wanted to protect her family. In a way, Teresa thought, they were much more similar than it seemed.

"I can't promise you anything but to try. I don't think he'll listen to me, but I'll try." Why would a successful businessman like Patrick Jane care, what a little dirty hooker he picked up from the streets in Las Vegas had to say? Maybe because deep down… he cared?

They remained silent for a while, before Grace shyly suggested: "It depends on how long you are staying, but perhaps you could come with me some time and I show you how to ride."

This was another point Teresa'd been avoiding these last few days. Her time here was limited. In less than a week, Jane would give her the money and then she'd be on a plane back to Chicago. How could she stay friends with Grace, if she didn't even know what she was? They'd have never become friends, if they'd met on the dirty streets of Las Vegas.

"I would love to, Grace, but it's really complicated and... I don't know if Mr. Jane is fine with it. Please don't ask," she added when the redhead gave her a weird look. "Like I said, it's complicated and I don't know how much time is left."

"But you are still allowed to come with me to the game tomorrow, right?" the woman asked a little panicked. Glad for the change of subject, Teresa tried to give her friend a big grin.

"Of course! I would never miss this! You still haven't told me when we're going."

"If you give me your hotel, I'll make sure to send someone to pick you up in time."

They continued talking about football and gossiped a little about the ridiculous looking women who thought they looked good but the truth was, they didn't.

To Teresa this was something she hadn't realized she never missed it until today. Talking to a friend about things just to talk and enjoy the time. Even when Grace suggested they could clean a Tiger and the conversation became silent once again, it didn't feel awkward.

About an hour later, Grace suggested to go looking for Jane, since the races would begin in a few and she still had to go and change clothes before meeting her fiancé.

"But I have no idea where we are sitting", Teresa said.

"There aren't many possibilities. Either you're sitting in the lounge up there," she pointed towards a tall glass complex, "or in the boxes over there on the little tables. Let's go and have a look, I don't think he can be far."

They walked up the stairs to cross the modern area of the lounge, looking for the handsome blond, who was no where to be found. After a few minutes, Grace decided to ask one of the waitresses and gave her a description of Jane.

"Oh, that must be the generous tipper of table 121 my friend told me about", the woman grinned and pointed towards the exit on the other side of the room, a direct connection to the boxes.

Grace walked Teresa over to the exit, a glance on the clock telling her she was already late. "Oh crap, I have to go and change otherwise I won't make it to Wayne on time. Do you think you'll find Jane on your own?"

"Sure, you can go. Thank you for the lovely time."

"You're welcome. If you need me, I'm in the boxes downstairs on table 53. We could meet up here during the break, what do you think?"

"Good idea, I'll see you later Grace." The redhead gave her a quick hug before she hurried the way back they just came. Teresa stepped into the large roofed area, which had a bit more of a nostalgic charm with the little wooden tabled and red velvet covered chairs.

It didn't take long to find Jane sitting on a table for two right in front of the white railing, a cup of tea in front of him. He must have spied her the minute she entered, because he was eagerly waving for her to come and join him.

"There you are, my dear. I was afraid you wouldn't show up at all." He stood up, to welcome her.

"I'm sorry, I guess Grace and I forgot about the time. We were talking about the game tomorrow and…"

"Mr. Jane, why don't you finally introduce your lovely company to us?" a familiar voice right behind them asked.

The blond gave Teresa an indefinable look, before he put on his most charming smile and gestured for her to turn around. "Teresa, I want you to meet Ray Haffner and his company Lorelei Martins."

For a second, she thought misunderstood, but when she met the poisonous brown eyes of Lorelei, and the ice cold gray of Haffner's, her heart stopped beating and dropped down into her stomach.

No. No, no, no, this was just a bad dream, this couldn't be the truth. Lorelei was supposed to be in Vegas and Haffner…

The man put forth his hand, waiting for Teresa to shake it. She swallowed hard, before she took his hand a shook it quickly. His grip on her hand was so hard, it almost hurt. "How nice of you to finally join us. It's very lovely to meet you, Miss Teresa."

"I can only agree with Ray," Lorelei answered with a cold smile on her lips.

Jane immediately felt something was off with the three of them and judging from Teresa's stunned face, he wasn't exactly sure if he'd done the right thing with introducing them. He remembered Lorelei from the night at the "Red Mill," where she'd been the main show act of the evening. Teresa, as far as he remembered had been wearing a blonde wig and pretended to be Tammy the barkeeper. Later on, after the incident with Summer, he'd met her as Trixi the hooker.

For the first time since she was with him, Jane felt like she'd been hiding more from him than it was good for her. From the goosebumps on her arms and the light shivering of her hands, he could tell she was afraid. But afraid of what? He had to figure out later, when they'd have a minute alone.

Just then, a voice in the loudspeakers above their heads announced the beginning of the races.

"Why don't we sit down and enjoy the show?" Jane suggested, leading Teresa towards their little table in front of the railing. The light pressure of his hand in her back calmed her down a little.

"Are you okay?" he asked concerned. She just nodded with her head, afraid her voice would break if she's answer him.

Everything was not okay. The situation was bad, very bad. Teresa could feel Lorelei's poisoninous look burn a hole through her body, but she didn't dare to turn around and look back. Damn it, what was this bitch doing here anyways? Why in all places on earth did they have to meet at a race course?

She knew about Lorelei's "escorting" services for some of their customers, but she didn't know about her relationship with Haffner. Another shudder ran over her back, remembering the first time she met him. Actually it was something she had hoped to never be reminded of again.

Now all her plans of escaping Red John and starting a new life were gone, blown away by a tornado called "fate" that came always crushing down on her when she thought she'd built her life back up again. Her death sentence was sealed now, everything was over.

It took all of her strength to not start crying, although her heavy breathing must have betrayed her, because Jane took her hand in his, giving her an excusing look. Of course he must have remembered Lorelei from the night at the "Red Mill". Somehow she wished she'd have told him everything right from the beginning but by then, she wasn't sure how much she could trust him.

His thumb rubbed calmingly over the back of her hand, like he was going to reassure her everything was going to be okay.

When the ringing announced the start of the first race, Teresa watched the elegant animals run for their lives. Oh how she wished she could run now too. Well, maybe she should, before it was too late.

A/N: Oh well here we go! I bet that was some kind of a shock, seeing Lorelei at the race course. What do you think will happen now? Teresa gave us three options earlier. Will she tell Jane or just grab her things and run? I guess you have to wait to find out – good news is, I already started the next chapter so it won't take me as long with the next one.
Thanks for sticking around with me, guys!

Liefs

P.S. I dedicate this chapter to the mom of my horse, Piari.