Prologue

      The kiss—ten years ago

      THE WOMAN moved as if she were making love, slim curves gathering and unfolding in a sinuous display as she descended a rope using nothing more than the strength of her upper body to lower her, long sleek legs to anchor her. She wore all black, from the top of her ski-mask-covered head to the tips of her soft-soled boots.

      Jake Trinity stopped short in the doorway leading from the offices to the warehouse, the two sides of his brain colliding at the impossibility of the sight. One side absorbed her smooth descent as she shimmied down and dropped to her feet without a sound, her body absorbing the impact with an effortless motion that brought to mind a cat landing on all fours.

      This had to be the testosterone-filled half of his brain. The more rational half observed that she’d landed neatly out of reach of the infrared sensor beams zigzagging across the opening of the warehouse doors.

      No one should have been in the building.

      The night watchman who’d let him in earlier must have gone to sleep on the job because Innovative Engineering had a state-of-the-art security system, barbed-wire fences and steel-reinforced doors and windows to avoid exactly this occurrence.

      Jake knew this for certain. For the past two years he’d been conducting his internship with Innovative, the largest electrical engineering firm on the eastern seaboard. He’d made it his business to learn everything about the company he was establishing a career with while earning his degrees.

      He’d only stopped by this late on a Saturday night to retrieve some account data so he could continue work on a project for his newest boss, the company president.

      He remembered his father’s parting words as he’d left home earlier. College students should spend their weekends dating, playing golf and watching football games, in that order.

      Had Jake put any stock in his father’s opinion, he wouldn’t be standing inside a building watching a burglary in progress.

      Not that this particular thief would present much of a problem. She wouldn’t, but Jake didn’t believe for one second that this woman was alone. No way.

      He stood shadowed in the doorway as she raised her hand to punch numbers onto a keypad, presumably to disable the beam sensor. He searched for any identifying features to report to the police—if he survived the meeting with her accomplices.

       Five feet four inches, maybe five-five, most of which comprised long, long legs…

       A body that was all slim lines and sleek curves…

       Liquid movements that reminded him of…sex.

      Something about her, and Jake wasn’t sure what, struck him as young. Around his age maybe. Not quite twenty. With effort, he shrugged off the thought as plain stupid. Why would any young woman be breaking into a commercial warehouse that stored millions of dollars of electrical equipment, not to mention a high-security vault that housed several invaluable prototypes?

      Jake didn’t have a chance to consider the possible answers because the mystery woman suddenly spun and looked directly at him. She could have only sensed his presence. Her back had been to him and he hadn’t moved, had barely breathed.

      The black mask covered her face