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With the necklace in his hand, Tony settled upon the soft leather sofa in front of his fireplace If Phillip Roach were correct, in a few moments he’d hear the voice that used to fill his suite and his house When her voice cah his phone, Tony wanted to feel her presence He i portrait and saw the ereen that haunted his dreams What did he want to hear? He wanted to know she was safe and unharmed He wanted to knohere she was, and he also wanted to bring her back to Iowa--because that here she belonged

It didn’t make sense To the world she was the woman who tried to kill him To Tony she was more than that The past twenty hours had proven it She was his drug Claire Nichols ran through his systehs He reasoned that lows followed highs, and she’d given hiiven theht stiain be achieved Whether it was elation orpotency of Claire He didn’t want an e: Claire wasn’t gone; she was justhad surged with anticipation Claire may not understand it--hell, Tony didn’t understand it, but he couldn’t deny it Now that she was gone, he needed her back in his life, and he would have her

Tony shook his head He was acting like a heartsick schoolboy He squared his shoulders and exhaled The telephone nurammed into his phone, and of course, his number was blocked The clock read 9:47 PM Tony honestly didn’t know for sure where he was calling Roach suspected California, and if that were the case, it would be two hours earlier there Momentarily, Tony conte he wanted was unknowingly waiting for his call

The ser like a pendulu stopped, time stood still The anticipation was over Claire’s voice cah loud and clear

"Hello?"

It electrified hireeting was a torpedo hitting the dam he’d built around his memories His ht at the estate Even in her shocked condition, Claire stood tall--for her--and defiant No longer was Tony seeing the woown No, behind his closed eyes, he saw Claire Nichols--his acquisition

"Good evening, Claire" He greeted her in a tone drenched in debonair swagger As he awaited Claire’s response, Tony heard other voices When she didn’t respond, he continued, "Now Claire, we’ve been through this before It is custo of another I said, good evening"

"Hello"

He grinned at the change in her tone Undoubtedly, his call took her by surprise "Very good," Tony praised "I thought perhaps ould need to review coer declaration "Good-bye, Tony"

His cheeks rose higher, listening to her rediscovered strength Tony pictured his ex-wife squaring her shoulders with fire blazing in the depths of her emerald eyes She wasn’t broken "Claire, you should know that I learned of your release less than twenty-four hours ago As you can hear, I already have your telephone nu do you think it will take for h you have lost the ability to perceiveGood-bye means this conversation is over For the record, that includes future conversations I’ it is not an option"

A hearty laugh resonated through his suite Tony couldn’t contain his ath Such a brave speech fro across the country…" He didn’t know for sure when she disconnected her phone All Tony kneas that the line went dead In a previous life, at a different time, he would’ve been irate that Claire--or anyone--would have had the audacity to hang up on hileefully accepted

Once again, Tony dialed the number This time it went to voice , she was stronger than before He sent a text

"ONLY I CLOSE DISCUSSIONS THIS ONE IS STILL OPEN I LOOK FORWARD TO RESUMING IT IN PERSON…"

And oh, he did! Tony didn’t knohen, but he knew for sure that one day soon he’d be seeing the fire in those beautiful eyes and not in a picture He would witness it firsthand

Sighing, he reviewed their findings: the cancelled airline ticket to San Francisco and a California area code on the cell nuh his recent calls for Phillip Roach’s nu

"Mr Rawlings?"

"Mr Roach, I wanted to confiravewest I’ll cover all your expenses I want you to find Claire Nichols, and I want her found yesterday"

Disconnecting the line, Tony sat silently and stared at the portrait He hadn’t expected her early release from prison, but now that she was out, he was ready to reclai, he considered her cell number, her cell number Could she have her own co debt? That tool had worked well before He mused, "My, only teeks removed from prison and so independent"