uch the ground either time."
Shrugging with a bit less grace than usual, Cade said, "Well, then, I guess
we don't have an answer. Let's head for the room. I could use a coffee."
Andrea said, "Actually, so could I, I think."
'I could use a coffee,' Mandi repeated Cade's words in her mind as they
headed downstairs. That was exactly what he'd said to Carter after dealing with
Nassir, and he'd said it in exactly the same tone.
She checked his heartbeat and respiration and found them ranging about
normal, even as he descended the stairs to the top floor. To Cade, the incident
was completely over, just as he'd completely closed the Nassir matter with those
words.
Were those words his... with a mental shrug, she inserted the word 'mantra'.
Were they some sort of self-developed ritual or key phrase for closing the door
on an incident?
Cade offered to make the ladies some of his instant coffee as they entered
his room, but Mandi opted for another glass of champagne and Andrea said she'd
see what was in the fridge.
"Ed," she added as he took his cup and his jar of instant to the sink, "I'm
a research scientist, not an M.D., but I'd like to check you over for damage."
Shrugging, Cade said, "Thanks, but if I have anything more than a few big
bruises, it'll be there later. Right now I just want to sit down with a coffee
and try to relax."
Mandi read his pulse and respiration again and nearly laughed aloud. If he
became any more relaxed, he'd be asleep. Cade saw her grinning at him in the
mirror above the sink and she gave him an innocent look, to which he responded
with a mildly puzzled look as he turned on the hot water.
She checked her watch, swore softly, and looked at the alarm clock on the
desk.

Chapter Twenty-four

"What's the matter, Mandi?" asked Andrea.
"Oh, I think my watch has been fried," said Mandi. "Its screen is blank."
"Open it," said Cade. "If the battery isn't swollen, it may just need to be
taken out and put back in to reboot the watch."
"Would that really work?" asked Andrea.
Tapping his own watch, Cade said, "It might. It does when a computer power
supply's field blanks my watch."
Mandi fussed with the watch for a few seconds, then said, "There's a notch
on the back, but I can't get my fingernails under the edge."
Cade stirred the instant coffee as he walked toward her, then he put the
coffee on the desk, reached for he