Dinner And A Surprise
Vex
Why did I promise to be nice to her boss?
That was stupid. Punching him would have been the perfect way to get her fired.
This is all Payne’s fault. I stalk over to his office to give him a piece of my mind.
And maybe punch him.
“Why didn’t you tell me about her job?”
Payne looks up from his computer. “So she told you finally.”
“This isn’t a joke, Payne. Her job isn’t safe.”
“What does she do?”
Imogene is in my club? I spin around to find her lounging across Payne’s couch with a magazine in hand. “She’s a 911 operator.”
“How is that dangerous? Are you afraid she’ll fall off her chair?”
Take a breath. You’re a calm, reasonable man who doesn’t yell at women .
Often. “She’s dealing with all the crazy, drug-addicted criminal elements in Urbium.”
“She’s answering the phone. Not out there in the trenches wading in with the criminal element like two men I know.” Imogene looks between us. “Are you both so overprotective that you want a sweet little fifties housewife who never leaves the house?”
I shrug. “That sounds good to me.”
Imogene glares at Payne.
“What?” He grins at her.
“Barefoot and pregnant while chained to a stove isn’t a thing anymore.”
“I don’t know, half of that sounds pretty good to me.”
WHAT? Payne’s thinking about having kids with her already! It’s too fast. Dahlia and I haven’t even…
Don’t think about what can’t be. Dahlia would never want to have kids with you.
“Someone needs to teach the two of you Neanderthals about modern-day women.”
We know all too much about modern women. Dahlia is the perfect blend of a modern woman with traditional values.
This line of conversation isn’t helping. “How do I get her to quit?” Mostly I ask Imogene since Payne hasn’t helped.
Imogene laughs. “Does she enjoy her job?”
“Yes.” It kills me to say that.
“Then you don’t. You support the people you care about. You don’t mold them into…” Imogene starts to shake as her eyes fill with fear and tears.
Payne rushes over and takes her into his arms.
That’s my cue to leave.
Why won’t people give me the answers I want to hear?
** *
It took all of two minutes to find a hole in their security. Two minutes. The only comforting part of this setup is that the place is swarming with police. Though dirty cops exist…
If she’s going to keep this job, I need to find a way to make Dahlia safer. A way that I can watch over her. Piggybacking on the video cameras seems like the easiest choice. But how long can we get away with doing that?
There’s no way a bodyguard will go unnoticed. I’ve already gotten the eye from several cops, and one or two are building up the nerve to approach me. It’s not like I’m trying to stay under the radar, leaning against a light post and watching the door.
Dahlia should be down in just a few minutes.
This was the safest location for her to choose of all the 911 call centers scattered around Urbium. She sacrificed commute time for safety.
Smart woman.
“Funny seeing you around here.” Cormac walks over.
“You never know where I’ll turn up.”
Cormac chuckles. “That’s my new nephew. The one that married Maddie.” Cormac glances at a boy in a cop’s uniform.
When did they start letting kids become cops? “He can’t be more than eighteen.”
“That’s the innocence still lurking around him. Atlas is twenty-five.”
“Innocence and cops don’t vibe well together.” I give him a knowing look.
Cormac nods. “He’ll grow out of it soon enough. Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on him.”
And Cormac knows. “It’s a good thing to have family around to keep you safe. The world is a very dangerous place.” Back off and keep your family safe.
“Cops take care of their own, just like family.”
Don’t tell me you’re going to try to poke your nose in. This is too big.
Dahlia steps out surrounded by the two women that were with her in my club, ending the conversation.
“You found yourself a woman.” The shock in Cormac’s voice is irritating .
“She found me.”
“A woman ran to you instead of away from you. This woman I need to meet.”
The two ladies with Dahlia stare at me as they giggle to each other.
“Even her friends don’t believe it.”
Punching Cormac on the steps of a police station would land me in jail with my fingerprints and mug shots on record, which is something I don’t want.
Dahlia gives me a wiggly finger wave and her friend’s giggles draw the attention of every cop in the place.
Well, that’s one way to make an introduction.
The idea of walking any farther into their world makes me twitchy. I crook a finger at her.
She disengages from her friends and comes over to me.
Why is that so sexy? I can’t look away. Someone could pull a gun and I wouldn’t even notice. The sweet little smile on her bowed lips enthralls me.
My hand has a will of its own when she gets close. I cup her head, loosening the bun she wore to work. “Hello, Dahl.”
“Vex.”
Her breathy voice hits me in the gut, taking mine away.
I could kiss those delectable lips. Lose my sense—
“So, are you going to introduce me to your friend?”
Cormac brings me back to reality.
“Dahlia Fleur meet Cormac Masters.”
“Everyone knows Captain Masters. He’s part of the orientation tour.” Dahlia smiles and holds out a hand.
“What department do you work in?” Cormac shakes her hand.
Even though it’s not logical, I bristle at another man touching her.
“I’m a 911 operator.”
Why did she have to pick a job like that when she could have been a book editor?
Adonis steps out of the building, and I stop listening to the conversation around me .
To stake my claim before he can get anywhere near Dahlia, I wrap my arm around her waist. Dahlia leans into my body without hesitation.
Adonis heads over to Atlas without looking our way and slaps him on the back. Then Atlas shoves him. Are they related? Their physical appearance is similar enough that Adonis and Atlas could only have come from someone who was into Greek mythology.
Adonis breaks off from the group and walks over to us.
So, he did see her. Is he keeping track of my woman?
“Cormac. You said the cake would be good, but that was something else. Do your girls sell it somewhere?”
Cormac’s chest swells with pride as I try not to gag. “I’ve tried talking them into it a few times.”
“Prue is quite the baker as well. Have you tried her brownies yet?”
WHAT did he just say? I pull Dahlia in closer, trying to tamp down my desire to knock Adonis to the ground. How does he know what Dahlia’s brownies taste like? My woman needs to stop baking for other men immediately.
Cormac turns to her. “You were the one that brought the brownies in?”
Dahlia shrugs.
“Don’t do that again.”
She pushes away from me and glares at Cormac. “Why?”
“Because they’re fantastic, and you’re with my friend over here. My men might try to change that for another one of your brownies.”
She smiles. “Don’t be silly. They aren’t brownie cheesecake.”
Both men tip their heads at her cryptic response.
“Adonis, you don’t know Vex.” Cormac turns to me with a raised eyebrow and a knowing grin.
It’s doubtful that I’m hiding my irritation well. “We’ve met before.”
“How long have you two known each other?” Adonis asks Cormac to avoid making eye contact with me.
Smart man .
Though since he brings my woman soup and brags about her brownies, he can’t be that smart. Or maybe he just has a death wish.
“I’ve known Vex since we were teenagers.”
Adonis’ head comes up and his eyes light up with understanding. “Ah. That makes sense.”
Does it really? If you want to keep your head on your shoulders, you’ll shut up soon.
Dahlia’s two friends walk over. “Are we going to eat? Everyone is hungry.”
And that saved Adonis from dying.
Dahlia and I lag behind the group.
“Brownies. You made him brownies,” I whisper once we’re out of hearing range of the rest of them. Dahlia wasn’t kidding about it being a huge group of people.
“I didn’t make him brownies. I made everyone in the office brownies. My mother insisted. She wants me to make friends.”
“And you listen to your mother?”
“Occasionally.”
“And did you make friends?”
She shrugs.
“Dahl, what am I going to do with you? No more baking for the people at work. If you want to bring them bribery, I’ll show you where the best bakery is in Urbium.”
Dahlia squeezes my hand. “This jealous thing is sexy, but you do know that’s not going to happen, right?”
She’s going to drive me out of my mind. “I’m not jealous.”
“So that means you don’t hate Adonis?”
How could I not hate that creep? “I don’t trust him.”
“Do you trust anyone?”
“I trust you.” Those words feel so right on my lips even though they’re foreign. It took Payne years to earn my trust, and this woman earned it in just a couple of hours. It makes no sense. Then again, she shouldn’t have ever trusted a man like me with her life. But that’s exactly what she did.
“Then know it doesn’t matter how many cookies I make for other men—”
A growl escapes my lips.
“—that it will never change the fact that I love you.”
Those three words take my breath away and give my soul an inkling of life. Kiss her! I stop and tug Dahlia into my arms. In the blink of an eye, I’ve threaded my fingers through her hair and tipped her head up.
Giggling up ahead pulls me out of the moment. “Are you sure they aren’t friends of yours?”
“Huh?” Dahlia's eyes never leave my lips.
“Your two ‘non’ friends are watching us.”
She glances their way briefly. “They can’t decide if you’re going to kill me or marry me.” Dahlia slaps a hand across her mouth. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. Dating. I told them we’re just dating.”
Was that a Freudian slip? Has Dahlia been thinking about marrying me?
Dahlia and I married… “What I’m going to do is order everything you need to make me brownies tomorrow.”
“Vex.” She grins up at me.
“Say it again. Quickly, before those two have a heart attack.”
Dahlia giggles and steps out of my arms.