Free Identity Crisis by Grace Marshall Page B

off to California to start her own business.’
    Ellis laid the spatula down and dropped onto the bench of the picnic table. ‘That was why we were trying to head you off at the pass the other day at the engagement party.’
    ‘Of course, you had no way of knowing that she loves Tess Delaney novels, and certainly no one would suspect that from Kendra,’ Dee said. ‘But I don’t know anybody as tenacious as Kendra when it comes to getting what she wants, and once she found out that Tess needed help with PR, if anyone could figure how to get to Tess, Kendra could.’
    ‘Could and did,’ Garrett said, slugging back half his beer.
    ‘Shit,’ Dee half whispered. Then she dropped onto the seat next to Ellis. ‘What happened?’
    ‘Kendra’s going to be Tess Delaney for the Golden Kiss Award, or rather Kay Lake is. I’m going as her date.’
    For a second neither Dee nor Ellis said anything. They only sat looking at Garrett as though he’d suddenly grown a second head. Then Ellis spoke, holding his brother’s gaze. ‘Garrett, are you sure this is a good idea?’
    ‘It’s not like I have any choice in the matter, is it? I’ve got less than a week before the award dinner and Don hasn’t found anyone but Kendra.’ He waved his hand. ‘I mean, I didn’t know K. Ryde was Kendra, and obviously Don doesn’t know either. We nearly gave each other a heart attack, Kendra and I, when she showed up at the Pneuma Annex and discovered Tess’s true identity.’
    In spite of herself, Dee almost managed to hide a snigger, and Ellis was biting his lip, trying to keep back a laugh of his own. ‘That would have been a sight to see,’ Ellis said.
    Garrett glared at him. Then he turned his attention to Dee. ‘Is Kendra really that good?’
    ‘Let me put it this way,’ Dee said, scooting forward on the bench. ‘The Shelby Mustang she drives? A gift from Devon Barnet.’
    ‘Jesus,’ Garrett said. ‘Are you serious?’
    She nodded. ‘A gift for a job well done. No one knows that, of course. Devon Barnet and everyone else K. Ryde ever worked for are sworn to secrecy. Well, anyone who actually ever met the real K. Ryde. She’s good all right.’
    ‘Still,’ Ellis said, returning to the grill to check the burgers, ‘I’m surprised she’d even consider working for you, knowing how emotionally attached she is to you.’
    Garrett flipped his brother the finger. ‘Kendra’s not working for me. She’s working for Tess Delaney.’
    Dee nodded. ‘Well, that makes sense. She’s a ravenous reader, but not of romance, not until she discovered Tess Delaney. Kendra doesn’t believe in romance.’
    ‘Has she talked to you about any of this?’ Garrett asked.
    ‘Of course not,’ Dee replied. ‘Kendra loves a good bit of gossip as much as the next person, but when it comes to keeping secrets, the woman’s a fortress, and when it comes to her work, the woman’s a fortress with a shark-infested moat around it. In fact, she’ll probably not be happy that you’ve talked to us about it.’
    ‘You think she can pull it off, then?’ Garrett asked.
    ‘Of course she can pull it off.’ Dee sounded like Garrett had just asked her the stupidest question ever.
    ‘Question is, bro,’ Ellis called over his shoulder, ‘can you let her pull it off and stay out of her way?’ Then he turned and offered a wicked smile. ‘I certainly hope so, because I’m guessing she’ll probably kill you if you mess it up for Tess.’
    Somehow Garrett suspected that might just be the case.
    Kendra had never needed a lot of sleep. It was a part of what made her good at what she did. If she needed to go to a party at night and do research during the day, she could manage it on an hour of sleep and a cup of strong coffee. Back in the early days, no one would pay any attention to a young woman a little too blonde and a little too pretty to look like she knew what she was doing. But she did know what she was doing, and when that blonde became a