Flash

LOOK FOR THESE THRILLING NOVELS FROM
NEW YORK TIMES

BESTSELLING AUTHOR

JAYNE
ANN
KRENTZ

SWEET FORTUNE

PERFECT PARTNERS

FAMILY MAN

WILDEST HEARTS

HIDDEN TALENTS

TRUST ME

DEEP WATERS

SHARP EDGES

FLASH

EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

ENJOY TWO SPLENDID COLLECTIONS OF HER BELOVED NOVELS

GRAND PASSION
and
ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY

THE GOLDEN CHANCE
and
SILVER LININGS

AND BY JAYNE ANN KRENTZ WRITING AS JAYNE CASTLE

AMARYLLIS

ZINNIA

ORCHID

Available from Pocket Books

FLASH

“ROMANTIC SUSPENSE OF THE HIGHEST ORDER… [told with] wit and intelligence…. As always, Krentz pairs two equally strong people, endowing them with just enough quirks to make them real, and provides plenty of plot twists to keep her story humming.”

—
Amazon.com

“FLASH
GLITTERS AND GLOWS with all of Jayne Ann Krentz's patented humor and spice.”

—
Romantic Times

“ANOTHER WINNER…. The sparks fly…. Krentz entertains us with her own brand of magic.”

—
Rendezvous

“KRENTZ DELIVERS… a compelling plot with equal parts romance and suspense, and a surprise denouement.”

—Publishers Weekly

“With superb style and skill, Krentz creates a series of false trails that cloak the identity of the threat…. Th[e] element of suspense, plus Krentz's trademark family squabbles and strong characters, will thrill her fans.”

—Booklist

EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

“[A] well-paced thriller fraught with tension—both sexual and suspenseful….”

—Publishers Weekly

“Krentz weaves her magic in this exciting and passionate tale. She leads us into a maze of puzzles and adventures, which we don't want to end. Read, absorb, and enjoy.”

—
Rendezvous

TRUST ME

“Her characters are colorful, unique individuals who draw the reader into the story immediately…. Great fun to read.”

—
Rendezvous

“The pace is brisk and the high-tech gloss fun.”

—
Publishers Weekly

ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY

“[A] cheerful escapist package combining sex and mystery….”

—
Cosmopolitan

“Jayne Ann Krentz outdoes herself….
Absolutely, Positively
is Krentz at her most insightful and entertaining best.”

—
Affaire de Coeur

GRAND PASSION

“Filled with the kind of intelligent, offbeat characters … [who] are so fun to get to know that it's hard to close the book on them…. [Krentz] is one of the hottest writers in romance today.”

—
USA Today

“Charming, suspenseful, and downright steamy…. Pure and unabashed fun.”

—
West Coast Review of Books

WILDEST HEARTS

“The phenomenal Jayne Ann Krentz once again delivers one of her patented storytelling gems…. Another guaranteed top-notch read!”

—
Romantic Times

SILVER LININGS

“Jayne Ann Krentz entertains to the hilt…. The excitement and adventure don't stop.”

—Catherine Coulter

THE GOLDEN CHANCE

“Irresistible romance and high-powered corporate intrigue…. Splendid.”

—
Romantic Times

Also by Jayne Ann Krentz

Absolutely, Postively

Deep Waters

Eye of the Beholder

Family Man

Flash

The Golden Chance

Grand Passion

Hidden Talents

Perfect Partners

Sharp Edges

Silver Linings

Sweet Fortune

Trust Me

Wildest Hearts

Written under the name Jayne Castle

Amaryllis

Orchid

Zinnia

Published by POCKET BOOKS

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

Copyright © 1998 by Jayne Ann Krentz

Originally published in hardcover in 1998 by Pocket Books

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

ISBN: 0-671-52309-0
eISBN-13: 978-1-4391-2013-2
ISBN-13: 978-0-6715-2309-1

First Pocket Books paperback printing March 1999

13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6

POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

For information regarding special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-800-456-6798 or [email protected]

Cover design by Lisa Litwack

Printed in the U.S.A.

Eight years earlier
…

Jasper Sloan sat in front of the fire, a half-finished glass of whiskey on the arm of the chair beside him, a thick file of papers in his hand. Page by page he fed the incriminating contents of the folder to the ravenous flames.

It was midnight. Outside a steady Northwest rain fell, cloaking the woods in a melancholy mist. The lights of Seattle were a distant blur across the waters of Puget Sound.

In the past his Bainbridge Island home had been a retreat and a refuge for Jasper. Tonight it was a place to bury the past.

“Watcha doin', Uncle Jasper?”

Jasper tossed another sheet to the flames. Then he looked at the ten-year-old pajama-clad boy in the doorway. He smiled slightly.

“I'm cleaning out some old files,” he said. “What's the matter, Kirby? Couldn't you get to sleep?”

“I had another bad dream.” There were shadows in Kirby's intelligent, too-somber eyes.

“It will fade in a few minutes.” Jasper closed the half-empty file and set it on the wide arm of the chair. “I'll get you a cup of warm milk.”

The dozen books on parenting that Jasper had consulted during the past several months had given conflicting advice on the subject of warm milk. But the stuff seemed to be effective on Kirby's bad dreams. At least there had been fewer of them lately.

“Okay.” Kirby padded, barefoot, across the oak floor and sat down on the thick wool rug in front of the hearth. “It's still raining.”

“Yes.” Jasper walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He took out the carton of milk. “Probably stop by morning, though.”

“If it does, can we set up the targets and do some more archery practice?”

“Sure.” Jasper poured milk into a cup and stuck it into the microwave. He punched a couple of buttons. “We can do a little fishing, too. Maybe we'll get lucky and catch dinner.”

Paul appeared in the doorway, yawning hugely. He glanced at the file on the chair. “What's goin' on our here?”

“Uncle Jasper's getting rid of some old papers he doesn't want anymore,” Kirby explained.

Jasper looked at his other nephew. Paul was a year and a half older than Kirby. Instead of the overly serious expression that was Kirby's trademark, Paul's young gaze mirrored a hint of his father's reckless, aggressive approach to life.

Fletcher Sloan had bequeathed his deep, engaging blue eyes and his light brown hair to both of his sons. In the years ahead, when the softness of youth would give way to the harsher planes and angles of manhood, Jasper knew that Paul and Kirby would become living images of the dashing, charismatic man who had fathered them.

He also had a hunch that, given the strong forces of their two very different personalities, there would be problems as both boys entered their teens. He could only hope that the parenting books he was buying by the pallet-load these days would guide him through the tricky years.

Jasper was relying on the books because he was only too well aware of his inadequacies in the field of parenting. His own father, Harry Sloan, had not been what anyone could call a strong role model.

Harry had been a devout workaholic all of his life who had had very little time for his sons or anyone else. Although ostensibly retired, he still went into the office every day. Jasper sensed that the day Harry stopped working would be the day he died.

Jasper poured a second cup of milk for Paul. He would have to take things as they came and do the best he could. It wasn't like there was much choice, he reminded himself. Fortunately, there were a lot of books on parenting.

He watched the digital readout on the microwave as it ticked off the time. For a disorienting moment, the numbers on the clock wavered and became years. He counted backward to the day, two decades earlier, when Fletcher had entered his life.

Flamboyant, charming, and slightly larger-than-life, Fletcher had become Jasper's stepbrother when Jasper's widowed father had remarried.