Love

by Sherryl Woods

  With Vinnie occupied, Dana flew at the one called Rocky. Just as the remaining youth prepared to come to the assistance of the gang leaders, Jason tore down the alley and slammed the guy into the wall. The boy managed one glancing blow to Jason’s head that drew blood. Then Jason grabbed the boy’s arm and twisted it behind his back until he heard a satisfying grunt of pain.

  “I think maybe you should plan on sitting this one out,” he said as he wound his tie around the youth’s wrists, then looped it around a drainpipe. Satisfied that this one was out of commission, Jason went to Dana’s assistance. He decked Rocky with a blow that the kid didn’t even see coming. The crunching shot gave him a mild sense of satisfaction.

  Even before the thug crashed to the ground, and with barely a glance at Jason, Dana moved on to help Sammy. The two of them were all over Vinnie. They didn’t look as if they needed any help from him in winding things up. In fact, Dana actually looked as if she was enjoying her moment of revenge on the scum who’d threatened her. Jason had no intention of denying her the pleasure. He figured the punk had it coming.

  With blood dripping from the gash above his eye, Jason settled on a garbage can to watch. He pressed a clean handkerchief to the scrape and admired the uppercut that Sammy delivered to Vinnie’s jaw, while Dana held his arms pinned behind him. Vinnie sank slowly facedown into a bank of gray slush. Apparently out of some misguided concern for the punk’s life, they rolled him over before walking over to Jason, whose temper was kicking in at full steam now that the danger was past.

  “My heroes,” Dana declared, looking downright invigorated by the success of the brawl. She had a scrape down one cheek and scratches on her hands. Other than that she looked none the worse for wear. It took everything in Jason to keep from crushing her in an embrace.

  Instead, he glared at her. “Heroes, hell. Sammy, what were you doing here in the alley with those guys when they went after your sister?” he demanded.

  Dana looked shocked by Jason’s implication. “He wasn’t with them.”

  “Oh, wasn’t he?” He leveled a look at Sammy, who had the good sense to look uneasy. “You were right in the thick of things until you realized it was Dana they’d dragged back here, weren’t you?”

  “No. I saw ’em and followed,” he swore unconvincingly. His gaze never met Jason’s directly. “That’s all.”

  “You don’t know these boys?” Jason pressed.

  Dana regarded him oddly, her expression puzzled. “Sammy is not on trial here. He threw the first punch to protect me.”

  “The police might think otherwise. Sammy, you haven’t answered my question. Do you know these guys or not?”

  “I’ve seen ’em around.”

  “Are they part of a gang?”

  “I guess.”

  “What about you?”

  Sammy looked from his sister to Jason and back again. “I’m not in any gang.”

  “But you want to be.”

  “Dammit, Jason, leave him alone,” Dana said protectively. “I’m telling you he came to my rescue. You were here. You must have seen it.”

  “In the end, yes, he did,” Jason admitted, then sighed. “We’ll talk about it later.”

  “There is nothing to discuss,” Dana declared. “Sammy, go call 911 and get a policeman over here so I can file assault charges.”

  Sammy’s expression went from hostile to scared in an instant. “Sis, can’t you forget about it?” he pleaded, confirming Jason’s belief that he’d been up to his skinny little neck in the activities of this gang of hoodlums.

  “No, I cannot forget about it. If I don’t press charges, they could do this to someone else. Get the police now.”

  Sammy ran off. As soon as he’d gone, Jason said mildly, “I seriously doubt that the police will show up here anytime soon.”

  “Of course they will,” Dana said. “Why wouldn’t they?”

  “Because Sammy won’t call them, not if he expects to hang out with his friends ever again. These guys don’t rat on each other.”

  Fury flashed in Dana’s eyes. “And I’m telling you that you’re wrong about that. Just because a kid’s had it tough in life, doesn’t mean he automatically turns into some criminal. I thought you were his friend.”

  “I’m trying to be. That doesn’t mean I turn a blind eye to his faults.”

  “The way I do?” she asked resentfully.

  “I didn’t say that, but yes, the way you do.”

  Dana’s lower lip trembled. “I see his faults. I’ve told him…”

  “Telling him isn’t enough.” He reached for her hand, but she stiffened. “Dammit, Dana,” he said impatiently. “There have to be consequences. Can’t you see that, even after this?”

  “What kind of consequences did you have in mind? Jail? Beating him with a belt? What?”

  Jason raked his fingers through his hair. “No,” he said wearily.

  “What then?” She perched on the lid of the garbage can next to him. “Take tonight. He came to my rescue. Am I supposed to punish him for that?”

  “No, but you’d better make darned sure you know who his friends are from now on.”

  “And just how am I supposed to do that? I work two jobs at the moment. I can’t stick around all afternoon and do background checks on the kids he spends time with after school.”

  Jason sighed. There was no denying the complexity of the problem. “You’re right,” he admitted. “I don’t know what the answer is. I just know that he’s headed for trouble.”

  “I thought the time he was spending with you was helping.”

  Jason grinned ruefully. “Sure. Didn’t you see those punches he threw? The kid’s a natural. On one hand, I’m damned proud of him. On the other, I want to shake him until his teeth rattle.” He glanced sideways. “There may be one thing you could do to improve things.”

  “What’s that? I’ll try anything.”

  “Move. This neighborhood’s not safe for you, and it sure as hell isn’t doing Sammy any good to associate with the kids around here.”

  For a fleeting instant Dana’s expression brightened, then her face fell. “I can’t afford to move.”

  Before Jason could open his mouth to offer to help, she held up her hand. “I won’t take a cent from you.”

  “Do you really have a choice? If you don’t do something, Sammy’s likely to end up in jail. Let me help. If you won’t take money, then move into my place.”

  Her eyes widened. “You have to be kidding.”

  Actually Jason thought he might be slightly insane, but the longer he toyed with the idea, the more he saw it as the only solution. Once Sammy was removed from these surroundings, the kid might actually have a chance. As for Dana, at least she would be out of danger. Of all of them, he was the one most likely to be endangered by such a move. The feelings that had slammed into his gut when he’d faced the prospect of losing her would be on the line if she were in close proximity. He had to risk it, though. For her sake. And Sammy’s.

  “Just temporarily,” he said, giving both of them a needed out. “Just until you save enough to get a better place in a better neighborhood. There are plenty of bedrooms. You and Sammy can both have your privacy.”

  He allowed his gaze to linger until he saw the rise of desire in her eyes. He dropped his voice. “If you want it.”

  Dana seemed to shake off the spell she’d clearly been succumbing to. “Not a good idea,” she said, but there was a breathlessness to her voice that contradicted the declaration. She was tempted. He would just have to make her see the logic of it.

  At the first stirring of Vinnie and his cohorts, Jason glanced toward them and asked pointedly, “Do you have a better idea?”

  “No, but…”

  “Just promise me you’ll think about it.”

  With her gaze locked with his, she finally sighed and nodded. “I’ll think about it.”

  “By the way, are you ready to concede that the police are not headed our way? If so, I suggest we take of
f before these guys decide they’d like to go another round. If they ask for more, I’m not at all sure I won’t be the one in jail with a murder rap hanging over my head. With any luck, we can make that call ourselves and get the cops down here before these jerks vanish.”

  Dana’s chin inched up. “I’ll wait. You call the police.”

  “Oh, no,” Jason said. “You’re not staying here another minute. And since we’ve already established that there are very valid reasons for not leaving me within a mile of these guys without witnesses, we’re going together.”

  “What if they escape?”

  “Then we’ll just have to convince Sammy to tell us who they are. Now let’s go.” He groaned as he leaned down to pick up the bag with the steaks in it. They were about the only thing he could salvage from his romantic offerings. The bottle of wine had broken when he dropped it to go after Vinnie. The bouquet of flowers had been trampled. Dana stared around at the mess, seeing it for the first time.

  “Flowers?”

  “For you. Sorry they didn’t make it.”

  She picked up one spunky daffodil that was less bruised than the rest and held it gently. “They’re beautiful,” she said. “Thank you.”

  “I’ll buy you more.”

  “No. I like this one. It’s a survivor.”

  Jason shook his head wearily and admitted with grudging admiration, “Like you.”

  Sometimes Dana’s fight-to-the-end philosophy scared the daylights out of him. Protecting a woman like that took more ingenuity than most mortal men possessed. He was trying, though.

  And with a little divine intervention and a whole lot of patience, maybe he’d survive Dana’s stubborn determination to fight him every step of the way.

  Chapter Ten

  After the incident in the alley, Jason could barely bring himself to let Dana out of his sight. He was astounded by the deep feeling of protectiveness she aroused in him. Again and again he tried to tell himself it wasn’t because he was falling in love with her. He couldn’t be. He was a man who always used his head, and his head had warned him from the outset to steer clear of her. His heart, though, was another matter. He couldn’t seem to control it the way he could his thoughts.

  The only thing keeping him from forcing the issue of a move was the knowledge that Dana’s reaction to pressure was likely to be withdrawal. She didn’t seem to trust simple generosity. It had taken him a long time to understand that. It was Halloran tradition to reach out, to give something back to the community, to help those in need. In Dana’s world, though, she’d learned to look for the ulterior motive.

  Jason had no idea how to break through that kind of instinctive self-protection except to give her time. Since she was about to start working full-time for the Lansing Agency, and thus for him, on Monday, he didn’t want to do anything that would scare her off. Once they were locked into a day-in, day-out pattern, he could look after her the way he wanted to without arousing her fiery streak of independence.

  That didn’t keep him from calling as many times each day as he could justify. It was astonishing the number of excuses he could manufacture. If Dana suspected his motives on this too, she never let on. On most occasions, she actually sounded glad to hear from him, at least until he tried to delve into anything personal. She dodged those questions with the skill of a shady politician. When he brought up Sammy, who’d refused any more boxing lessons, she turned downright testy. Jason wondered if they would ever be able to agree on anything having to do with her brother.

  That didn’t stop him from trying, though he was rapidly reaching his wit’s end. Not even the lure of tickets to a Celtics game had improved Sammy’s mood, which seemed surlier than ever. He’d refused the invitation. As a result, Dana had begged off, too. Jason had gone to the game with his father, hoping that the night out would lead to confidences that would help him understand what was going on with his parents.

  To his frustration, he’d struck out on that as well. The only thing his father seemed remotely inclined to discuss was the basketball game, and even then he’d kept his comments terse. Jason was more convinced than ever that things weren’t right between his parents. On one level he realized he was no more ready to deal with that aloud than his father was.

  It was after midnight when Jason finally got home, too late to call Dana. After the tense standoff with his father and the close Celtics’ victory, he was too wired to sleep. Disgruntled as well by his lack of progress with Dana, he tried to read over the marketing and advertising plan he’d been finalizing in preparation for Dana’s first day on the job.

  No matter how hard he tried, though, he couldn’t seem to concentrate. For some reason he felt this odd sense that Dana needed him, that she was in trouble. He tried valiantly to ignore it, but time and again he glanced at the phone, debating with himself. He’d finally convinced himself to call and was already reaching for the phone, when it rang.

  “Yes, hello,” he said, instantly convinced that his instincts had been accurate. No one ever called him this late unless there was a problem.

  “Jason,” Dana said in a voice that sounded sandpaper husky from crying.

  His heart slammed against his ribs. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Sammy. I know I shouldn’t call you after the way he’s acted, after the way I’ve acted, but I didn’t know what else to do. There isn’t anyone else who could help.”

  “What’s he done?” To his regret, his antagonistic tone sounded as if he were anticipating the worst.

  “He hasn’t done anything,” she said, clearly bristling. “He’s just gone. I came home earlier and he was out. I didn’t think much about it until a couple of hours ago. He knows he has an eleven-o’clock curfew on weekends unless we discuss a later one. He always calls if he’s going to be late,” she said staunchly, as if to defend him from an attack she knew Jason was likely to make.

  “I’ll be right there,” Jason said, already reaching for his clothes.

  “Thank you.”

  Dana sounded so tired, so vulnerable. Jason felt something tear lose inside his chest as he considered the state of panic she must be in. This time he was going to shake Sammy until his teeth rattled. Dana didn’t deserve this kind of treatment from a kid she’d spent years protecting and nurturing, a boy whose needs she’d always put above her own. If Jason had anything to say about it, Dana was through making sacrifices that went unappreciated.

  He reached her apartment in record time and raced inside. At the sound of his footsteps pounding up the stairs, she had the door open before he reached the top. Her expression wavered between relief and disappointment when she saw it was him. Jason could understand the ambivalence. Obviously she’d been praying it was Sammy. Jason’s help came in at a distant second best.

  Jason took one look at the tears tracking down her cheeks and swept her into his arms. For some reason she felt almost fragile, as if fear alone had robbed her of her usual strength. There was no hint of the famed Dana Roberts spunk.

  “Any news?” he asked gently.

  He felt the subtle shake of her head, the sigh that shuddered through her.

  “Let’s go inside and think this through.”

  “I want to go look for him,” she insisted stubbornly.

  “Running around the streets at this hour won’t accomplish anything unless we have a plan. Come on. Make some coffee and tell me every single place you think he might be.”

  In the kitchen she scooped up the coffee, then spilled it from a spoon that shook uncontrollably. Jason retrieved the spoon, urged her into a chair, then wiped up the coffee and started over. When the pot was on the stove, he pulled a chair close to her and enfolded her trembling, icy hands in his.

  Looking downright miserable, Dana met his gaze and said, “He’s never done anything like this before—never. What if he’s hurt?”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll call the hospitals and the police. We’ll find him.”

  She looked thunderstruck. “The police?”
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br />   “To see about reported accidents.”

  She nodded reluctantly. “Okay. Wouldn’t they have called me, though? He has ID with my name and number for emergencies.”

  Jason could think of several reasons, all of them bad, that no one had called Dana. He evaded. “Not necessarily.”

  She started to get up. “Shouldn’t we be doing that now?”

  “As soon as you drink a little coffee. Have you eaten anything tonight?”

  “A sandwich.” At his skeptical glance, she added, “Honest. I really didn’t start worrying until eleven when he was due in.”

  “Okay, then. Drink the coffee and let me make a few calls. Where’s the phone book?”

  “In the living room by the phone.”

  “You stay here and try to relax. I’ll be right back.”

  Naturally she didn’t stay put. Though Jason worried that listening to question after question would only add to her stress, she weathered the next hour fairly well. In fact, she seemed to grow calmer, more determined. That strength in a crisis was an admirable trait, but Jason almost wished she would cry or scream—anything to wipe away that increasingly bleak, stoic expression.

  The police had no record of Sammy either being picked up or in an accident. After the last futile call to a hospital, Jason sighed. “No luck.”

  Dana’s expression did brighten slightly then. “That’s good, though, isn’t it? It means he’s not hurt and we already know he hasn’t been arrested.”

  What it meant to Jason’s way of thinking was the kid had absolutely no excuse for not calling. None. If he did turn out to be okay and just exercising his selfish independent streak, Jason very well might put him in the hospital himself.

  “You’re right. I’m sure there’s no reason to worry,” he found himself saying, hoping to put a little color back into Dana’s pale, drawn face.

  She wasn’t quite that easily consoled, however. The next thing he knew, she was on her feet and reaching for her jacket. “I’m going to look for him. He has to be someplace.”