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dealt with death estates.
He had more of an untamed look about him even if he was wearing an
Armani suit.
    “ You keep
mentioning an estate, Jared. I went through all of Rafe’s paperwork
and there was nothing there to indicate he’d taken out any kind of
insurance policy. He was only thirty-six years old and had no
family apart from myself. He probably hadn’t seen a need to think
about that kind of thing.”
    Jared was prepared for
this, and smiled gently at her. “He’d lodged the paperwork with a
firm of solicitors,” he lied smoothly. “When his obituary appeared
in the paper they located the paperwork and approached me about the
pay-out. You were listed as the sole beneficiary of his estate
which I believe you have already cleared so therefore the cheque is
all yours.”
    She nodded numbly, only
half wondering why Rafe had never told her about it. He usually
told her everything when it came to financial matters. She managed
a weak smile as she sipped at her coffee.
    “ I can’t
imagine it will be that much,” she said quietly. Rafe had worked
labouring jobs. The money was reasonable but not exactly the kind
of money which would allow a huge life insurance policy.
    “ On the
contrary, Annie, your brother appears to have been very concerned
about your well-being should anything untoward happen to him,”
Jared answered. He clicked open his briefcase and pulled out some
legal documents and a cheque. “Rafe insured himself for the sum of
one million dollars. I just need you to sign these legal documents
and the cheque is all yours.”
    Her mouth dropped open
and she stared at him in shock. The man wasn’t looking at her, his
head staring down at the documents before him as he quickly leafed
through the sheets of paper. “Did you just say one MILLION
dollars?” she stammered, her eyes wide, her mind whirling madly as
she blinked at him.
    He looked up at her in
surprise. “Yes, one million dollars,” he repeated
slowly.
    “ There has to
be some mistake,” Rhianna gasped, jumping up from the table and
beginning to pace in agitation. “There is no way on the planet Rafe
could afford to take out a policy with that kind of pay-out. I know
my brother very well and I know he couldn’t have afforded something
like that.” She turned to look at Jared, her eyes narrowing at his
surprised expression.
    He rose slowly. “I can
assure you, Annie, your brother did take out the policy and that
was the agreed upon amount of life coverage he requested. If you
read through the documents you can see for yourself.”
    “ But how?”
she asked, clutching at her stomach. “This just doesn’t make
sense!”
    Anything he was about to
say was cut off by the sound of a key in the front door and
Millicent Cooper walking in. The instant the tall, curvy dark
haired woman entered the apartment Jared’s wolf howled loudly and
he stiffened in shock.
    Millie looked from her
friend’s anxious expression to the tall handsome man looming over
her and she actually growled. An honest to goodness growl erupted
from her throat, and she flew across the room to pull Rhianna
behind her protectively.
    “ Who are you?
What are you doing here? And what the hell are you doing upsetting
my friend?” she barked at the man who was looking at her as if he
was completely stunned. She tried to ignore just how gorgeous he
was, how his deep blue eyes seemed to be peering right into her
soul, and how her heart was practically skipping as she took in the
sheer size of the man.
    Her actions seemed to
shake Rhianna out of her shock, and she stepped from behind her
friend and placed a hand lightly on her arm. “It’s okay, Mills.
This is Jared Hanlon. He came to speak to me about an estate Rafe
left.”
    Millie dragged her eyes
reluctantly from the gorgeous man before her and turned to look
quizzically at her friend. “Estate? We went through all of Rafe’s
papers. There was nothing there.”
    “ It appears
he lodged the paperwork with a solicitor.