Attorney Ellyn St. John stared blankly at the scenery rolling by. Her mind churned with a myriad of jumbled thoughts, not the least of which was the wisdom of following through with her current plan.
Decision made, Ellyn removed the hair pins that held her neat bun in place. Dark tresses, just a fraction longer than her twin sister's tumbled down around her shoulders. Ellyn combed trembling fingers through the silky locks, giving them a less orderly appearance.
It was a start, the attorney thought, but there was no way just that one simple change would convince anyone that Ellyn was really her younger twin.
She dug into her purse and pulled out a compact and then a tube of lipstick. The color was called Dishabille, but despite the carefree meaning of its name, Ellyn preferred the subtle shade on her lips.
Dishabille was not a shade that Caris would ever wear. Her preferred shades had names like Red Hot Mama or Fireball Red. So short of stopping somewhere for lipstick more in line with Caris' taste, Ellyn would have to make do with applying the shade with a far heavier hand.
"Are you sure this is where you want to go?" The cab driver peered curiously at Ellyn in the rearview mirror. He turned and stared pointedly at the half-completed structure before them.
Ellyn checked the text even though she knew what it would say. "Yes, this is where I need to be." She bit the inside of her cheek. "I would like you to wait right here for me." She silenced the cabbie's automatic protest by pulling a hundred dollar bill from her wallet and waving it where he could see it in the mirror. "I will make it worth your while."
"Okay, I will wait for you." The cabbie's eyes stayed glued on the crisp new bill. "But that doesn't buy anything else. Don't call for me to help you if something goes on in there."
The cabbie's words gave Ellyn a moment's pause. She hadn't been overly concerned with her personal safety, but now, with the cabbie's warning, Ellyn was forced to reassess what she was about to do. It was likely that Caris had at least one or two patients that might be considered dangerous. What if the text had been sent by one of them?
A little voice reminded Ellyn that she might never know the truth about Caris' life if she didn't go forward with her impromptu plan. Besides, Caris might be reckless but she would never do something so foolhardy as to put herself in danger in such an isolated spot.
Ellyn squared her shoulders and stepped out of the taxi. "I am counting on you to be here," she reminded the cabbie.
"Yes, yes," the man waved her off. "And you remember that you are on your own."
Ellyn traveled the fifty or so yards to the nearest open doorway. She peered into the shadows, both relieved and disappointed that no one was inside. Exhaling a sigh, Ellyn cautiously moved to the next.
The lawyer had no sooner stuck her head into the next doorway when a strong pair of hands grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into the room. Heavy breathing, harsh and uneven, warmed her ear while a hard male form pressed at her back. Ellyn tried to speak, but her shock and fear would not allow the words to come. Everything that Landon had taught her about self-defense flew out the window in light of her current predicament.
"Trying something new?" The three words, growled in a playful masculine taunt, broke Ellyn from her frozen state. She became aware of large, blunt fingers beneath her dress, tugging at the waistband of her lace panties in an attempt to slide them down her hips. In a panic she fought against the uninvited invaders. "That's nice," the voice murmured. "I like that."
Ellyn's breath was driven from her when the hard male form slammed her unceremoniously face-first against the smooth, papered wall. Her attacker's arm was a steel bar across her throat, threatening to cut off her oxygen. She could only wriggle futilely as he nimbly reached around between her thighs and pushed the crotch of her lace panties to one side.
"Ahhh, Caris…"
Ellyn froze as she recognized the voice of her attacker. It was her new stepfather, the man her mother had married only days earlier. "I'm not-" Ellyn's horse protest was cut off by her shocked cry at the sensation of being penetrated. The hot, blunt head of her stepfather's penis awkwardly parted her unprepared lips and began to push inside. "I'm not-" she cried out, "I'm not Caris! I'm Ellyn!"
All movement in the room ceased. Ellyn slid from beneath her stepfather's now slack grasp and stumbled a few steps away to rearrange her disheveled clothing. Mortified beyond belief at what had just occurred, Ellyn would not look his way.
"I don't know what kind of game you two are playing." Eamonn Danvers stepped out of the shadows. He was a strapping Irishman, nearly 6 feet tall with a ruddy complexion and -despite his wealth - a build that hinted at years of physical labor.
The faint Irish brogue Ellyn had previously only faintly detected in his speech was now heavy and thick. It was the note of outrage in his tone however that finally freed Ellyn's tongue. "Game we're playing?" She virtually hissed the words. "The ink on your wedding license to my mother isn't even dry and you are being unfaithful to her. With her daughter, no less! How long have you and my sister known one another?"
Danvers let loose a cryptic chuckle. "We met for the first time yesterday. Your sister is an insatiable little sexpot." He looked Ellyn up and down. "I don't know how I ever confused the two of you."
"Don't bother to try and learn the differences between us," Ellyn said. "Once our mother finds out the truth you won't be in our lives long enough to put that knowledge to use."
