Chapter 1 #2
“He’ll be here. He’ll be at least thirty minutes late.” Dane looked at the multipurpose watch he wore when he was on a case, but it didn’t show the time at that moment. It showed that his heart rate was fifty-nine beats per minute. His resting rate was fifty-seven.
“It’s 11:40.” She had a deadpan look valiantly trying to mask her irritation.
He leaned forward. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but—”
She shoved back her chair with all the clattering that had been missing from her dignified entrance and stood full height, making an impressive woman figure with her hands on her hips.
“I’m waiting out front.”
He stood. “You’re not getting rid of me that easy.”
No longer bothering to hold back, she rolled her eyes and huffed a breath and turned on her ridiculous heels with a swish of her full skirt.
She looked damn gorgeous. He ought to mention that, but he doubted it would make a difference.
He could tell she’d reached the point of no return from irritability.
Only prolonged absence from him would help now.
What the hell drove him to take the devil’s role and push her away?
Sometimes she laughed. But he knew she wouldn’t this time.
The business was too serious, too important to her and he knew it.
Pushing her buttons had become far too high a priority, far too big a preoccupation of his.
He thought of Anatoly Ivanov and decided he’d join Shana outside.
It wasn’t that he needed to prepare. He knew Toly, knew the problem, knew how to deal with the solution and how to protect their flank.
But he would need to get his head in the game to do it all right.
That was not as easy or even as automatic as it had been all his life, ever since he could remember.
That realization made his heart skip a beat as he pushed through the door back outside where the Ray Bans did their magic against the glaring sparkle of sunlit ocean.
He stood shoulder to shoulder with his girl.
He felt the comfort sink in and storm through his system leaving fire and longing and a throbbing welling of emotion.
He needed to take a quelling breath of sea air and calm himself, quiet the pathetic high-school-boy crush response he had to her.
But he had never had this happen back in high school.
He’d been numb then. He needed to return to that now.
The thing was, he didn’t want to.
She turned to him. She wore giant red sunglasses and her hair in a wild blond ponytail.
“Are you ready to be the adult Dane Blaise or are you still lost in some warped adolescent world?”
“I got it, girlie. No worries. You know I won’t let you down.” He reached out and twirled a lock of her hair, tugging her ponytail slightly. She swatted his hand.
“It’s true.” She sighed.
“But? Don’t tell me there’s a but.” He knew there was. There was always a ‘but’ with Shana. He’d never met a more giving and, at the same time, stingy woman in his life. Maybe he liked the roller coaster ride.
More likely he was responsible for the roller coaster ride.
The boyish look he gave her did nothing to reassure her, did nothing to pop the bubble of giddy fear. He wouldn’t let her down. She would let him down, maybe. He would be there, shoulder to shoulder like they were now, in heart and soul and protecting her from the world.
Then he’d crush her heart when he let her go. Or she would break her own heart when she left. Because one of these days—
“Stop it, Shana.”
She turned back to him. He saw through her sunglasses, through her eyes into her soul. Every time. For once she wasn’t surprised.
“Live in the moment.”
She squelched the urge to show him her middle finger She needed to get herself under control. But it wouldn’t have mattered because he was a beat ahead of her. He covered her hand with his and held it, spread his fingers through hers and squeezed.
She opened her mouth though she had no idea what to say besides throwing a few colorful swear words at him. Luckily a black limo glided around the corner and pulled to a halt in front of them, sparing her from losing her cool any further.
“Anatoly has arrived.” Dane held her hand and approached the back door. He reached down and pulled it open before the driver had a chance. The large man gave him a look but backed off when they heard Toly’s voice boom from inside the car.
“Curbside service, Dane the Blaise—I refuse to pay you another penny extra for this.”
“Mr. Ivanov,” she said.
He put his feet on the curb, held onto the doorframe, and hefted himself from the car, ignoring Shana’s extended hand.
“Shana the beautiful. Call me Toly. Did I tell you Dane is too lucky and you are too gorgeous for him, too kind for him, too good for him?”
“Keep talking, Toly.”
He enveloped her in a heartfelt hug as if they’d been through a war together.
She supposed they had. Of sorts. Protecting his great-granddaughter from kidnappers and getting the thugs responsible for taking a shot at her had been no easy task.
She shivered even as Toly squeezed tighter.
There had been shooting and death as the price to pay.
Dane stepped into the circle and extracted her by way of insisting on a handshake.
Toly gave him a good old-fashioned Russian bear hug too.
Shana shouldn’t have been surprised to see Dane hug back.
It wasn’t hesitant, there was no awkwardness.
Dane hugged the old man like he held him in affection.
Maybe he did. He hid it well. He hid everything well. Or maybe she had a blind spot.
She’d drive herself to drink if she kept trying to keep up with Dane’s game. She needed to get off the merry-go-round of emotions. At least for the duration of their assignment. Until after the wedding. Bells peeled in her mind and a flash of herself in a white wedding dress gave her a chill.
Dane turned to her then and she turned her face to ice in the flutter of an eyelash.
“Welcome to the Lucky Parrot. My office away from home,” Dane said to Toly. They walked to the door and it opened. Two men stepped forward. Heavily muscled strangers in suits. Shana reached for her bag, slipped her hand inside and was ready to pull her gun when Dane reached out and stopped her.
“You had your men check out my place, Toly? You don’t trust me?”
“I am hiring you to protect my granddaughter and her miserable fiancé at their wedding. This does not mean I will not have my own people there too. I am being cautious. Very cautious.”
The two men nodded and held the door while she stepped inside first and the others all followed.
No other patrons were there. Jones, the Lucky Parrot owner, stood in front of the bar with his apron on.
Shana walked to their usual booth at the back corner.
She would face the front door and Dane would face the back.
She slid in. Then Dane slid in next to her. Goddamn man. Toly sat across from them.
“I thought,” she spoke under her breath, “you were sitting—”
“No.” That’s all he said. Then Dane flicked his gaze in Lucky Parrot Man’s direction and he came over with menus.
“Nice choice of eating establishment, Blaise.” Toly looked around after they ordered.
“What’s this all about?’ Shana decided to cut to the chase. Both men turned and looked at her as if she’d cursed in a church.
Toly shrugged. “I try to stay out of trouble and I get into more trouble.”
“Who’d you piss off?” Dane spoke to Toly but he moved his leg so that it touched hers, his skin meeting hers from his thigh below his cargo shorts and down his leg.
She felt the solid muscle of his rough calves up against hers, his sandaled foot bumping against hers.
His skin warmed her and made her shiver.
“I’m not sure.” Toly lowered his voice and his formerly wide smile faded to a grim line. “I was invited to source some rare items. An unknown group propositioned me. Over the phone. My secure line at home. This line I use only for family or the most private business.”
“These rare items wouldn’t happen to be arms, would they?”
Toly banged the table and sat back in his seat. The grin returned for a moment. Shana turned to Dane and stared at him until he turned to face her.
“What?”
“How did you know?”
“Exactly what I want to know,” Toly said.
“Easy. I know you, Toly. There are only two things you will never do again. And one of them is the exact thing you would be best at doing. That would be arms. You know every player there is and especially the ones with rare arms.”
“He’s too smart for his own good.”
Shana figured Dane was too smart for her own good, but she didn’t say that.
“He’s showing off. Don’t give him the satisfaction of being impressed.”
“You’re right of course, but you—and this other group whoever they are—are wrong about me. In the old days, I knew everyone there was to know. But now…”
“You still have friends. Contacts that most other people don’t have. And a reputation,” Dane said.
“You flatter me. I think.”
Shana laughed. She liked this old man in spite of who he was.
He wasn’t all bad, she knew. But she also knew it was best to remember he was no jolly old boy scout either.
It was best she curb the smile and the warm fuzzy feelings creeping in.
She sighed. She didn’t relish the ice princess role, but it was best to adopt it between Toly’s charm and Dane’s animal magnetism.
“What’s wrong?” Dane asked her.
“Nothing.”
“You sighed.”
She shrugged. He watched her, reading her eyes. She gave him her cool polite smile in return.
“What’s the other thing Toly will never do?” she asked.
“Quit evading.”
“What is it?” Toly asked.
Dane turned to him and said, “She’s on her guard. I’m not sure if it’s you or me that has her on edge.”
“Probably you.”
Dane snorted. “You’re probably right.” He pushed his leg closer to hers and leaned in her direction. She understood the message. He would double down.
“I love it when people talk about me as if I’m not present. It’s always so uplifting and affirming and respectful.”
“I mean no disrespect, Shana. I admire you greatly.” Toly lifted his big hand and gestured in Dane’s direction. “You can do better than this one.”
Jones came over, plunked their drinks on the table and said, “I’ve been telling her that all along.” He walked away.
“I hope you’re not expecting a tip,” Dane called after him, then turned back to Toly. “Personal discussion aside, we’ll need to find out who this group is if we have a ghost of a chance of protecting you and your family. What do you know?”
“After I received the threat, I checked all the people I know—former clients, associates. I called everyone. No one knows the source.”
“What was the threat?”
“Classic. A package.”
Dane nodded.
“A package?” They both looked at her. Neither of them explained. “I’m a big girl.”
“Never mind this,” Toly said. “What made me take it seriously is the next day Lara came home upset when her fiancé Ryan Murphy told her his family had received a threat—the same package. They were told to deliver it to me.”
“Your granddaughter’s in-laws? Isn’t that odd? Why would someone threaten nonfamily members?”
“I agree. It’s very strange to involve the Murphy family law firm.”
Dane’s body tensed next to her and she knew it meant something was amiss.
“Murphy family law firm? Murphy & Haley in Boston?”
Toly nodded with a grimace.
“That’s more than strange, Toly. If they’re involved in the threat, you know what that means.”
The old man took a deep breath. Shana had a bad feeling.
“You think it means they’re involved in—”
“Arms dealing. The financing most likely. Or in some way brokering the deal.” Dane picked up his glass and emptied half of it.
She watched his throat, thick and muscled, his strong jaw and chin rough with stubble, his Adam’s apple throbbing.
His heat seared through her entire left side with the sensuality melting through her defenses.
“We’ll need a client list, Toly,” she said. “I doubt the Murphys are arms dealers. If the law firm is involved it’s through a client. Possibly blackmail or extortion.”
Dane snaked an arm around her and leaned in. “I don’t know if you’re more smart or more sexy.”
“I’m both, you idiot.”
“I think she is right, Mr. Blaise. I will get the client list. I’ve been too preoccupied about Lara’s tears.
She’s upset that this will ruin her wedding.
I did not think to obtain the firm’s client list. Very smart woman.
” Toly raised his glass and said, “za ná-shoo dróo-zhboo.” Shana didn’t know much Russian, but she knew this toast meant “to our friendship.” That surprised her but warmed her.
She joined Toly and Dane as they downed the remainder of their drinks.
The quick splash of vodka down her throat brought water to her eyes, but she averted her gaze. No way would she let them see. In spite of the sting in her throat she doubled up on her determination to keep up with them.
In a rough voice she said, “We’ll also need the guest list for the wedding.” The old man took a sheet of folded papers from his pocket and slid it across the table to her.
“She is very business-minded. I like her more and more, Dane. She is like a super woman.”
“How do you think I feel? I get to live with her every damn day. It’s insufferable.”
Toly laughed. Shana lifted her foot and stepped on Dane’s, but not too hard. His toes were bare. He grinned and pulled her closer.
“You always know how to excite me,” he whispered.
“Ahem. Maybe it’s time I leave.”
“Where are you staying?” Shana asked.
“I stay with my associates at the Admiral’s Inn.”
Shana froze and felt an involuntary shakiness take hold. It felt like returning to the scene of the last crime. They’d just had a close call in the capture of the remaining Tavares family cartel members at the Admiral’s Inn not a month ago. As she tensed, Dane squeezed her shoulder.
Dane said, “I’ve rented you a house.” He slipped some keys from his pocket and a piece of paper. “Here’s the address. It’s within a mile of the beach shack—”
“Beach shack?”
“Where I—Shana and I live. In a beach shack. Beachcomber Investigations world headquarters.”
Toly laughed. “This is good. I will pay you for this extra.”
“You bet your ass you will. It’s got a view of the ocean and a sandy beach for Paulette. Get her and Lara on the island pronto. They’ll need to stay here under our watch for the duration.”
“Ah. I see you are a marshmallow man on the inside.” Toly looked at Shana and winked, then slid from the booth and stood. “But you and I, Shana, we already knew this.”