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Copyright © 2012 by Elizabeth Lapthorne
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
Chapter One
Jacqi glanced over the dry, curled pages of the musical score for the dozenth time. Supposedly it was a rare, unfinished Sonata by Bach. She was still unable to believe there might be a hidden message within it. Dropping it onto her lap she ran a hand through her long, dark brown hair and turned to the man beside her on the couch.
Tall and lithely muscled, with tanned skin, sparkling blue eyes and gorgeous golden curls, Alex took her breath away each time she saw him. More than once since meeting him, she’d though he resembled an angel. The man frequently stole her breath when he glanced her way, and when his eyes sparkled with a naughty knowledge her heart always pounded.
They’d been working together for months now, but she still loved every second she could spend in his company.
Stretching out her legs, Jacqi lifted them and replaced them over Alex’s knees, linking them together.
“Solved it yet?” he teased her.
Jacqi chuckled.
“Smart ass.”
“Are we sure Autumn isn’t playing some elaborate practical joke on you?” Kim asked from the other side of the room. Kim sat on her partner, Ben’s, lap. Despite her question she looked completely at home wrapped in her lover’s embrace.
Jacqi looked at her best friend. Physically the two women couldn’t look more different. Kim had short, blonde hair, blue eyes and the look of a pixie. Dark haired and brown eyed, tall and with a runner’s sleek muscles Jacqi knew petite, elfin and small would never be words used to describe her.
“Autumn was never one for jokes back at college,” Jacqi replied, taking her friend’s question seriously. Even back in college Autumn had been a serious woman, her petite Asian face set along studious lines that appeared deeply ingrained into her very psyche. “When we studied music together she was always serious, doing extensive research, gaining extra credit. I can’t imagine her wasting our time on something. She clearly thinks is this important.”
“So the next logical question would be is there really some hidden cipher or message within this Sonata?” Ben added.
Kim nodded and twisted her head to smile at him. Jacqi smiled as Kim instinctively brushed two fingers to push a lock of dark brown hair out of her partner’s eyes. He pressed a soft kiss to the tip of her nose, the casual intimacy between them proving again to Jacqi that despite the shortness of their relationship, it was solid as concrete, much like hers and Alex’s.
“Is there some way we can authenticate it really was written by Bach?” Alex asked.
“I don’t know if we need to go down that path,” Jacqi replied with a thoughtful frown. “I mean, it doesn’t really matter whether this is Bach’s or not. Autumn has only asked us to decode the message.”
“After getting us to steal it for her,” Kim added with a grin.
They all snickered. Kim and Jacqi did sporadic work for a select group of clients, doing sensitive jobs that not many could manage. The two women had realized using their specialized skills—safe cracking and security decoding on Kim’s part, shooting and defensive skills on Jacqi’s—was extremely satisfying and lucrative.
Months ago the women had been forced to join forces for a particularly tricky mission with Ben and Alex. Not only had the four of them partnered up and found love, but they had discovered to date that as a group they were capable of anything. The foursome stuck.
Jacqi shuffled through the pages of the musical score once again, losing herself in thought. She heard Kim booting up her laptop and didn’t think much of it until her friend spoke again.
“You know, regardless of whether this really is a rare script of Bach’s or not, he does have a history of coding messages into his work,” Kim said slowly.
Jacqi looked up from the pages. Kim tapped keys and continued.
“I’ve found a few references to hidden messages, substitution codes and the like in Bach’s more well known pieces.”
“Does it say how they were decoded?” Jacqi asked, a memory stirring at the back of her mind. “I’m sure I’ve heard somewhere else about this, in the past I mean.”
“I’ll keep looking,” Kim offered. “But there are just a few articles saying how Bach is known for doing this in the past. Why does Autumn want this message, do you think?”