Keeping Company Read online

  Dear Reader,

  Readers sometimes wonder where I got my start as a writer. When I tell people that my first novels were romance novels for Bantam’s Loveswept line, they’re usually shocked. Although this genre may appear completely different from the suspense I write today, the two have more in common than it seems.

  For me, there are two crucial elements to every good story: characters to fall in love with and root for, and a mystery to be solved, whether it is a crime or that baffling and bewildering emotion that puzzles us most of all—love. Even the most twisted murder plot can’t compare to the complex inner workings of the human heart.

  In Keeping Company, sensible corporate lawyer Alaina Montgomery has been frustrating her match-making friends for years. But this time they’ve really tried to set her up with the wrong guy: Dylan Harrison, a free-spirited single dad who runs a ramshackle bar and bait shop. Appropriately enough, she meets him on the way to a science-fiction-themed masquerade party. When cops mistake the costumed pair for a lady of the evening and her client, Alaina and Dylan end up in jail together. And soon they hatch a plan to foil the matchmakers once and for all by pretending to be a couple. What begins as a good-natured ruse quickly blossoms into a real romance, as these two polar opposites discover that desire can’t be so easily disguised.

  Dylan and Alaina’s story brings us back to the small town featured in my Rainbow Chasers trilogy from years ago. I hope that you’ll enjoy this story as much today as I did at the very beginning of my writing career.

  All my best,

  Tami Hoag

  PRAISE FOR THE BESTSELLERS OF TAMI HOAG

  THE ALIBI MAN

  “Captivating thriller … [Elena] is a heroine readers will want to see more of.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Hard to put down.”

  —The Washington Post

  “A superbly taut thriller. Written in a staccato style that will have readers racing through the pages … will leave readers breathless and satisfied.”

  —Booklist

  “A suspenseful tale, with a surprising ending, the author once again has constructed a hard-hitting story with interesting characters and a thrilling plot.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  “Elena Estes [is] one of Hoag’s most complicated, difficult and intriguing characters.… Hoag enhances a tight mystery plot with an over-the-shoulder view of the Palm Beach polo scene, giving her readers an up-close-and-personal look at the rich and famous.… The Alibi Man is her best work to date.”

  —bookreporter.com

  “An engrossing story and a cast of well-drawn characters.”

  —Minneapolis Star Tribune

  “[Hoag] gets better with every book.… One of the tautest thrillers I have read for a long while.”

  —The Bookseller (UK)

  “Hoag certainly knows how to build a plot and her skill has deservedly landed her on bestseller lists numerous times.”

  —South Florida Sun-Sentinel

  “Hoag has a winner in this novel where she brings back Elena Estes.… Hoag is the consummate story-teller and creator of suspense.”

  —Mystery News

  “Tami Hoag weaves an intricate tale of murder and deception.… A very well-written and thought-out murder/mystery. Hoag is able to keep you guessing and you’ll be left breathless until all the threads are unwoven and the killer is revealed.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  PRIOR BAD ACTS

  “A snappy, scary thriller.”

  —Entertainment Weekly

  “Stunning … Here [Hoag] stands above the competition, creating complex characters who evolve more than those in most thrillers. The breathtaking plot twists are perfectly paced in this compulsive page-turner.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  “A chilling thriller with a romantic chaser.”

  —New York Daily News

  “A first-rate thriller with an ending that will knock your socks off.”

  —Booklist

  “An engrossing thriller with plenty of plot twists and a surprise ending.”

  —OK! Weekly

  “A chilling tale of murder and mayhem.”

  —BookPage

  “The in-depth characterization and the unrelenting suspense are what makes [this] an outstanding read. Gritty and brutal at times, Prior Bad Acts delivers a stunning novel of murder, vengeance and retribution.… Riveting and chilling suspense.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  KILL THE MESSENGER

  “Excellent pacing and an energetic plot heighten the suspense … enjoyable.”

  —Chicago Tribune

  “Everything rings true, from the zippy cop-shop banter, to the rebellious bike messenger subculture, to the ultimate, heady collision of Hollywood money, politics, and power.”

  —Minneapolis Star Tribune

  “Hoag’s usual crisp, uncluttered storytelling and her ability to make us care about her characters triumphs in Kill the Messenger.”

  —South Florida Sun-Sentinel

  “A perfect book. It is well written, and it has everything a reader could hope for.… It cannot be put down.… Please don’t miss this one.”

  —Kingston Observer

  “[A] brisk read … It demonstrates once again why [Hoag’s] so good at what she does.”

  —San Francisco Chronicle

  “[An] action-filled ride … a colorful, fast-paced novel that will keep you guessing.”

  —The Commercial Appeal

  “High octane suspense … Non-stop action moves the story forward at a breath-stealing pace, and the tension remains high from beginning to end.… Suspense at its very best.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  “Hoag’s loyal readers and fans of police procedural suspense novels will definitely love it.”

  —Booklist

  “Kill the Messenger will add to [Hoag’s] list of winners.… This is a fast-moving thriller with a great plot and wonderful characters. The identity of the killer is a real surprise.”

  —Daily American

  “Engaging … the triumph of substance over style … [a] character-driven, solidly constructed thriller.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Hoag upholds her reputation as one of the hottest writers in the suspense genre with this book, which not only has a highly complex mystery, multi-layered suspense and serpentine plot, but also great characterizations.… An entertaining and expertly crafted novel not to be missed.”

  —Curled Up with a Good Book

  DARK HORSE

  “A thriller as tightly wound as its heroine … Hoag has created a winning central figure in Elena.… Bottom line: Great ride.”

  —People

  “This is her best to date.… [A] tautly told thriller.”

  —Minneapolis Star Tribune

  “Hoag proves once again why she is considered a queen of the crime thriller.”

  —Charleston Post and Courier

  “A tangled web of deceit and double-dealing makes for a fascinating look into the wealthy world of horses juxtaposed with the realistic introspection of one very troubled ex-cop. A definite winner.”

  —Booklist

  “Anyone who reads suspense novels regularly is acquainted with Hoag’s work—or certainly should be. She’s one of the most consistently superior suspense and romantic suspense writers on today’s bestseller lists. A word of warning to readers: don’t think you know whodunit ’til the very end.”

  —Clute Facts

  “Suspense, shocking violence, and a rip-roaring conclusion—this novel has all the pulse-racing touches that put Tami Hoag books on bestseller lists and crime fans’ reading lists.”

  —Baton Rouge Advocate Magazine
<
br />   “Full of intrigue, glitter, and skullduggery … [Hoag] is a master of suspense.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Her best to date, an enjoyable read, and a portent of even better things to come.”

  —The Grand Rapids Press

  “A complex cerebral puzzle that will keep readers on the edge until all the answers are revealed.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  “To say that Tami Hoag is the absolute best at what she does is a bit easy since she is really the only person who does what she does.… It is testament to Hoag’s skill that she is able to go beyond being skillful and find the battered hearts in her characters, and capture their beating on the page.… A superb read.”

  —The Detroit News and Free Press

  Books by Tami Hoag

  The Alibi Man • Prior Bad Acts • Kill the Messenger

  Dark Horse • Dust to Dust • Ashes to Ashes

  A Thin Dark Line • Guilty as Sin • Night Sins

  Dark Paradise • Cry Wolf • Still Waters

  Lucky’s Lady • The Last White Knight

  Straight from the Heart • Tempestuous/The Restless Heart

  Taken by Storm • Heart of Dixie • Mismatch

  Man of Her Dreams • Rumor Has It

  The Trouble with J.J. • McKnight in Shining Armor

  Heart of Gold

  Keeping Company is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  2010 Bantam Books Mass Market Edition

  Copyright © 1990 by Tami Hoag

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Bantam Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  BANTAM BOOKS and the rooster colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  Originally published in mass market in the United States in paperback by Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc., in 1990.

  eISBN: 978-0-553-90795-7

  www.bantamdell.com

  v3.1

  Contents

  Cover

  Letter to the Reader

  Praise for the Author

  Other Books by this Author

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Prologue

  University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana Spring 1977

  “Okay, everybody, this is it. The final portrait of the Fearsome Foursome. Make sure your caps are on straight, ladies. I’m setting the timer now.” Bryan Hennessy hunched over the 35-millimeter camera, fussing with buttons and switches, pausing once to push his glasses up on his straight nose.

  Alaina Montgomery took a deep breath and slowly released it, trying to will the tension from her body. It would be hours before she would have to confront her mother—and stepfather number three, Bernie, the wheezing orthodontist. This moment was for her friends.

  Decked out in graduation caps and gowns, they stood on the damp grass near the blue expanse of St. Mary’s Lake. The clean, cool air was sweet with the scents of spring flowers, new leaves, and freshly cut grass. Birdsong mingled with Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out” blasting from a boom box in a distant dorm.

  To her left stood Faith Kincaid, their very own Pollyanna—blond, innocent, and diplomatic. At the other end of the line stood petite Jayne Jordan, all wide eyes and wild auburn hair—their resident flake. Bryan hustled around to stand behind them, his cap askew. He was tall and athletic with a handsome, honest face and shaggy tawny hair. He was sweet and eccentric—their surrogate big brother, their confidant.

  These were Alaina’s three best friends in the world. In many respects they were her family, the only people she had ever allowed to get closer than an emotional arm’s length away from her.

  They had banded together their freshman year. Four people with nothing in common but a class in medieval sociology. Over the four years that followed they had seen each other through finals and failures, triumphs and tragedies, and doomed romances. They were friends in the truest, deepest sense of the word.

  And today they would graduate and go their separate ways.

  The hollow feeling that thought brought on scared the hell out of Alaina, and she frowned at the weakness as she reached up to check the state of her sensibly short chestnut hair.

  “Okay, everybody smile,” Bryan ordered, his voice a little huskier than usual. “It’s going to go off any second now. Any second.”

  They all grinned engagingly and held their collective breaths.

  The camera suddenly tilted downward on its tripod, pointing its lens at one of the white geese that wandered freely around St. Mary’s Lake. The shutter clicked, and the motor advanced the film. The goose honked an outraged protest and waddled away.

  “I hope that’s not an omen,” Jayne said, frowning as she nibbled at her thumbnail.

  “It’s a loose screw,” Bryan announced, digging a dime out of his pants pocket to repair the tripod with.

  “In Jayne or the camera?” Alaina queried, her cool blue eyes sparkling with teasing mischief.

  Jayne made a face. “Very funny, Alaina.”

  “I think it’s a sign that Bryan needs a new tripod,” said Faith.

  “That’s not what Jessica Porter says,” Alaina remarked slyly.

  The girls giggled as Bryan’s blush crept up to the roots of his hair. While there had never been any romantic developments within their ranks, outside of his unusual friendship with the three of them, Alaina knew Bryan had an active social life. She was going to miss teasing him about it.

  “If you want a sign, look behind you,” Bryan said as he fussed unnecessarily with the aperture setting on the camera.

  They turned together and immediately caught sight of the rainbow that arched gracefully across the morning sky above the golden dome of the administration building.

  “Oh, how beautiful,” Faith said with a sigh.

  “Symbolic,” Jayne whispered.

  “It’s the diffusion of light through raindrops,” Alaina said flatly, crossing her arms in front of her. She had always been the practical anchor of the group. It was a role she had no intention of giving up. She proudly vowed there wasn’t a romantic bone in her body.

  Bryan looked up from fiddling with the camera to frown at her, his strong jaw jutting forward aggressively. “Rainbows have lots of magic in them,” he said, dead serious. “Ask any leprechaun. It’d do you some good to believe in magic, Alaina.”

  Alaina’s lush mouth turned down at the corners. It wasn’t the first time they’d had this argument, but it was probably going to be the last. A sharp pang reverberated throughout the hollowness inside her chest. She swallowed hard. “Take the picture, Hennessy.”

  Bryan ignored her, his wise, warm blue eyes taking on a dreamy quality as he gazed up at the soft stripes of color. “We’ll each be chasing our own rainbows after today. I wonder where they’ll lead us.”

  They each recited the stock answers they’d been giving faculty, friends, and family for months. Jayne was leaving to seek fame and fortune in Hollywood as a writer and director. Bryan had been accepted into the graduate program of parapsychology at Purdue. Faith was headed to a managerial position in a business office in Cincinnati. Alaina was staying on at Notre Dame to attend law school.

  “That’s where our brains are taking us,” Bryan said, pulling his cap off to comb a hand back through his hair as he always did when he went into one of his “deep thinking modes.” “I wonder where our hearts will take us.”

  If anyone knew
the answer to that, it was Bryan, Alaina thought. He was the one they told all their secrets to. He was the only person on earth who knew her deepest wish was for security—not just financial security, but emotional security. And he was the only one who knew just how afraid she was to pursue that dream. Hell, she seldom admitted it to herself. Jayne and Faith would probably have been stunned to know strong, self-sufficient Alaina was afraid of anything, but Bryan’s reaction had been understanding. More than once she had wished he really was her brother, that she could have had his support while she’d been growing up in a house devoid of emotion.

  “That’s the question we should all be asking ourselves.” Jayne wagged a slender finger at her friends. “Are we in pursuit of our true bliss, or are we merely following a course charted by the expectations of others?”

  “Do we have to get philosophical?” Alaina groaned, rubbing two fingers on each throbbing temple. “I haven’t had my mandatory ten cups of coffee yet this morning.”

  “Life is philosophy, honey,” Jayne explained patiently, her voice a slow Kentucky drawl that hadn’t altered one iota during the four years she’d spent in northern Indiana. The expression on her delicately sculpted features was almost comically earnest. “That’s a cosmic reality.”

  Alaina blinked. Jayne was her opposite in nearly every way. It was amazing they had become such close friends. Finally Alaina said, “We don’t have to worry about you. You’ll fit right in in California.”

  Jayne smiled. “Why, thank you.”

  Faith chuckled. “Give up, Alaina. You can’t win.”

  Alaina winced and held her hands up as if to ward off the words. “Don’t say that. I abhor losing.”

  “Anastasia,” Bryan declared loudly. He gave a decisive nod that set the tassel on his cap dancing. The statement would have seemed straight out of left field to anyone who didn’t know Bryan Hennessy and the workings of his unconventional mind.

  Anastasia was the small town on California’s rugged northern coast where the four of them had spent spring break. Alaina’s lips tilted in a rueful smile at the memory of the fantasy plans they had made to move there and pursue idealistic existences. Jayne’s dream had been to have her own farm. Bryan had wanted to play the role of local mad scientist. An inn with a view of the ocean had been Faith’s wish. They had somehow gotten Alaina to admit to a secret desire to paint.