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"I suppose he will"

"Then why don’t we pack soet a roolanced toward the hallway that led to Howard’s rooe, less suite in the basement, they had let Howard use the round floor As a were-bear, Hoas very territorial, so they had allowed him to treat that part of the house as his private domain She’d seen his office a few times, but she’d never ventured into his bedroo around in his room Besides, he’s been on vacation for over a month He must have plenty of clothes with hiames" Tino bounced on the seat cushion "We can’t play without his ga into his rooames

"And he’ll want his secret DVDs"

She turned toward Tino "His what?"

"His DVDs He has a box of them hidden under his bed He watches the"

"They don’t sound very secret if you knohere they are"

Tino shrugged "I just call them secret ’cause he won’t let me watch them He said they’re for older people"

Adult only? Shanna sed hard Was there a side to Howard no one knew about? No, she couldn’t believe it Sweet Howard, who always had a smile on his face and a donut in hand? Surely he wasn’t"Did he say anything else about these DVDs?"

Tino tilted his head, considering "There’s a girl and two guys The guys are called Big Al and The Ha on her face Good Lord, she’d trusted her children with Howard Forget privacy issues As a responsible parent, she had to investigate "Ithink I could look in his rooames"

"Cool! Can I come with you?"

"No!" Shanna softened her voice to continue "Why don’t you be a sweetie and help Grand your sister’s suitcases down?"

Tino frowned "All right But reet the chess set, too Howard promised he would teach me"

"I will" She waited for her son to teleport upstairs, then hurried down the hallway

She glanced inside the office Howard used as his security headquarters One as covered with monitors A few screens normally showed the outside perimeter of the house in White Plains, while others were linked to surveillance cameras in Roman’s townhouse on the Upper East Side Theat either place

Her gaze wandered across the room A file cabinet topped with a few trophies and awards Howard had earned during his football career, a plain wooden chair, a pair of hand weights on the floor Fifty pounds each? Good Lord Hoould be for he was so sweet-natured Or was he? Hoell did she really know hiames Tino’s words slipped back into herNo, this was easily explainable Hoas their security guard He needed silver handcuffs to prevent bad va away But what about the adult-only DVDs under his bed?

The door to his bedroom was locked, but that didn’t present a probleth Mental note: repair the splintered doorfraoes on sale

She flipped on the light as she entered the bedroom, then stopped with a small jolt of surprise This was hoard had furnished his roo cabin on several occasions when Connor had hidden the Draganesti faerous times The cabin was exactly what you would expect from an Alaskan were-bear Lots of wood, leather, Indian blankets in shades of earth and sky, and a few ani rustic about this bedroom Sleek, sophisticated, and modern, it didn’t seem to match Howard Was there a secret side to hi-sized bed was covered with a black-and-white striped coht red pillows The bedside tables were chrolass Across from the bed, a shiny black dresser was topped with a wide-screen TV A black leather recliner rested in the corner next to a glass and chroames Tino wanted on the bottom shelf

But what about the secret DVDs? As she approached the bed, the unusual headboard drew her attention Tin ceiling tiles?

She ran her fingers over the e The tiles were mounted on a piece of plywood to make a headboard Had Howard made this himself? Apparently, there was a lot about Howard that she didn’t know With an uneasy feeling, she dropped to her knees and peered underneath the bed

There it was A black alligator-skin box She pulled it out, then took a deep breath and opened it

Ho the labels Howard had written and attached to the plastic cases Elsa in London Elsa in Aot around Elsa in Pittsburgh Elsa in Cincinnati Was this like Debbie Does Dallas?

Shanna inserted the first disc in the DVD player on Howard’s television, then lowered the volu

A collage of stately old homes rolled across the screen, then the title of the show appeared International Home Wreckers A map of the UK and the Union Jack flashed by, followed by the photo of a well-dressedAl The outline of Ger, followed by another photo Oskar Mannhei of Sweden, followed by the photo of a beautiful blond woman, dressed in cut-off jeans, a plaid shirt tied beneath her breasts, a pair of work boots, and a utility belt resting on her hips Elsa Bjornberg aka Aan for the network, HGRS Hoosh," Shanna breathed "I love this channel" She glanced back at the tin-tiled headboard Hoas into ho a Victorian townhouse in London that had fallen into disrepair Alastair, dressed in an expensive designer suit, was selecting neallpaper for the parlor Oskar, wearing jeans and a T-shirt, was ripping up a hideous orange shag carpet to expose a wooden floor underneath

"It’s extree," Alastair explained in a crisp British accent "But at the same time, we must be sensitive to the needs of the fa this home They have their hearts set on a reed to take down part of the wall separating this parlor from the room behind it Fortunately, we have the perfect person for busting doall Elsa!"

Shanna sucked in a breath as Elsa Bjornberg strode into the room Good Lord, she had to be over six feet tall Either that or her costars were a little short She wore a pair of white overalls splotched with paint and a short-sleeved T-shirt, also white, that contrasted nicely with her golden, tanned skin Her long blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and the upper part of her face was covered with an enorloved hands she carried a large sledgehammer