Love In Focus

by Anna J. Stewart

  “We’re closed on Tuesdays. Family dinner.” She grinned. “Scared?”

  “Of course not.” He almost expected his voice to squeak. “Oh, Nissa, yeah, no. I don’t think this is such a good—”

  “Ah, there you are!” Eileen Lafferty pushed through the swinging door, a smile not unlike her daughter’s sparkling one curving her lips. “There’s my girl.”

  “Hey, Ma.” Nissa hugged her quick then stepped back as if Dante was the object of her mother’s attention from the start.

  “Mrs. Lafferty. Nice to see you again.” He held out his hand but found himself wrapped in an Irish mother’s hug suitable for family.

  “It’s Eileen, remember? Brady and Flynn will be out in a bit. And you’ve met Sabrina the last time I believe.”

  “Yes, hello.” As Celtic featured as the Lafferty clan was, Sabrina Lafferty exemplified her Basque heritage right down to the curly black hair and dancing dark eyes. “You’ve been so great helping with Nissa and the kids, we wanted to make sure to thank you properly. Can I get you a drink?”

  A drink or maybe ten. “Yes, please.” He wasn’t sure if he should be amused or offended when Nissa pushed him toward the bar.

  “This should help.” Sabrina offered an amused grin as she set a glass of the Guinness he’d had his first night here in front of him. “You’ve made the mistake of putting a smile on Nissa’s face, so consider yourself in.”

  “Thanks. I think.” He drank half the beer and forced himself to remain standing. There weren’t many situations Dante didn’t deal well with, but he could now add family gatherings to the list. Not that he had much experience with them. “The, uh, whole family coming?”

  “Flynn’s wrapping up a call with his former business partners and Trevor is finishing dinner. Quaid isn’t back yet. You heard he’s coming home I take it?”

  “Trevor mentioned it.” All the more reason to get gone before Quaid Lafferty hit town. He’d done enough research into the oldest Lafferty brother to know the man could blow Dante’s entire story out of the water. The muted fluted music echoed out of the speakers, casting him across the sea to Dublin, one of his favorite places on earth. Dammit, he really needed to find something to hate about this town not to mention the Laffertys, otherwise he was never going to pull completely free. “So you and Flynn are the newlyweds, huh?”

  “Not sure when the time expires on that phrase, but I’ll take it.” She tucked a thick curl behind her ear. “Funny thing about the Laffertys. They seem to attract those of us not used to family.” She inclined her head. “You can relax you know. No one’s going to bite.”

  “Speak for yourself.”

  Dante watched as Sabrina turned toward her husband. Flynn Lafferty folded her into him as effortlessly as walking through air, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her soundly.

  “Don’t embarrass our guest,” Sabrina teased and patted his chest in much the way Nissa had patted Dante’s. He lifted a hand to his heart as if he could still feel Nissa’s touch. “Dante, this is Flynn. Flynn, this is your sister’s white knight.”

  Dante almost choked on his Guinness. “Hardly,” he managed as his eyes burned. “Just doing the right thing.” Yeah, that sounded so much better. He held out his hand to Flynn. “Nissa needed help and I was there. Simple as that.”

  “Not for everyone.” An older man came out of the kitchen, tall and sturdy, and most definitely the progenitor of the family. “Brady Lafferty. Welcome to Beatha. Although I understand you’ve been here before.”

  “Yes, sir.” Lord, he was meeting the parents. Less than a week and he was…

  “Sir.” Brady’s craggy face stretched into a wide grin. “I like the sound of that, but please, it’s Brady. You’ve been kissing my Nissa so that erases any formalities.”

  “Dad, please don’t embarrass him. He’s already on the verge of bolting.” The second Nissa appeared at his side, his nerves faded. Without even thinking about it, he slipped an arm around her and tucked her into his side. She fit. Pefectly.

  “Takes a real man to step up and help a woman and her kids,” Brady continued. “Nice to see you found one after all.”

  “Please let’s not talk about Lance.”

  Dante frowned at Nissa’s strained laugh, a tone that appeared lost on her family. He looked down at her, but she only flicked her gaze to his, as if afraid he’d see too much.

  “I’ve got the appetizers!” Trevor carried a large tray out of the kitchen, offered a quick nod to Dante as Caley and Wyatt swarmed around their uncle’s feet. “If I can make it to the table in one piece. Sit down, you guys. Geez!”

  “Nissa, you want wine?” Sabrina offered.

  “I’ll get it. You all go ahead and sit. Ma?”

  “My usual, please. Come on, Caley, up here—”

  “I want to sit next to Dante,” she announced.

  “Me, too!” Wyatt pouted.

  “He only has two sides and I get one,” Nissa scolded.

  “I can give you another side later,” he murmured in her ear and delighted in his power to turn her entire face pink. “If you’re interested.”

  “Ah, never mind.” She dug her fingers into the fabric of his shirt. “Ma, put Dante between them. Sit nicely, please!” She ordered her kids.

  “Hey, I know. Who wants to spend the night at grandma’s and grandpa’s tonight?” Eileen asked with a pointed look at Dante and her daughter. Dante felt his face go fire hot as he turned his attention to the wall of liquor bottles.

  “Me, me!” Wyatt yelled and bounced up on his toes. “I get the top bunk this time.”

  “Oh, gross. He’s going to wet the bed and I’ll get peed on.” Caley slumped in her chair and pouted.

  “You can’t do or say things like that in front of my family,” Nissa whispered to Dante. He let go of her so she could circle the bar.

  “Sorry. New territory for me. First time I’ve met mom and dad.”

  “Yeah, right,” Nissa snorted then stopped. “You’re serious? You’ve never met a woman’s parents before?”

  “Nope.” What he’d considered an embarrassment in the past suddenly felt like a badge of honor.

  “And you’re still here. Huh.” She set a bottle of white wine on the counter and looked at him. “Damn. Every time I think I’ve found something wrong with you, you prove me wrong.”

  “Don’t put me on too high a pedestal, Nissa.” He finished his beer and pushed it in front of her for a refill. “Neither of us will survive the landing.”

  “Yeah, but think of the fun we’ll have on the way down.”

  *

  “Appreciate the help cleaning up.” Flynn sent a cascade of bubbles into the air as he motioned for Dante to add his latest stack of dinner dishes to the pile on the stainless-steel workbench behind him. The former tech genius turned restaurant manager was one of the most easy-going guys Dante had ever met. Almost as easy going as his brother Trevor. “You best be careful, though. You keep this up and you’ll earn even more points with Mom. Next thing you know she’ll be humming the wedding march.”

  Dante would have tripped if he’d been walking. Wedding march? Marriage? Neither of those ideas had ever occupied his brain before let alone at the same time. But now? An image of Nissa in a practical, 40’s style white dress flittered in his mind. “After less than a week?”

  “She’s trying to beat her previous record. Took three weeks with me and Sabrina.”

  “How about with Nissa and Lance?” He scraped the plates into the trash.

  “None of us were humming anything with him,” Flynn said with an anxious glance at the door. “Not that Nissa needs to know.”

  “I don’t think it would come as a surprise.” Dante shrugged out of his jacket. “It’s hot back here. I know air conditioning isn’t necessarily a thing in St. Helena—”

  “Sure it is,” Flynn said. “Ours went out last night just before we closed. I’ve got a repair guy coming tomorrow morning. Weirdly hot summer so the few companies h
ave been jumping.”

  “That explains the van cruising through Nissa’s neighborhood earlier today. Vivaldi I think it was?”

  “Never heard of them.” Flynn frowned over his shoulder. “Maybe they’re new. There’s certainly enough room for them, but Mom and Dad like to stick with smaller companies, especially if they’re family owned.”

  “Maybe I misread the name.” The warning bells Dante had been trying to ignore clanged to life. He hadn’t misread anything. He never did. It was one of the reasons he was good at his job. Except he’d been more distracted of late and aside from focusing on the pictures, had pushed his instincts aside. “You good with this? I need to check in with my boss.” He retrieved his cell from his inside jacket pocket.

  “Dishes are my life, just ask Sabrina.” Flynn nodded at him. “You can use my office if you want. Door’s unlocked.”

  “Thanks. Appreciate it.” Dante did just that, casting a cursory glance at the table of Nissa and her family as he ducked into the office and closed the door. A few seconds later he had Jack on the phone.

  “Where the hell have you been?” Jack blasted. “When you tell me you’re going to be in touch it’s supposed to be for more than asking me to dig up dirt on your mark’s ex-husband?”

  Hearing Jack call Nissa a mark had Dante gnashing his teeth. “Yeah, well, this case is getting more complicated. Vivaldi Air Conditioning. You ever heard of it in connection to Banner?”

  “He’s been known to use composers as names for his businesses. Let me check. Hang on.”

  Dante’s pulse hammered in time to the key clicks echoing through the phone. The detached calm that had kept him alive and successful shifted into place, but not solidly. It was as if the shield he kept in place had hairline cracks that were growing with each passing minute.

  Dante looked around the small office and tried to relax. The space was barely large enough for a scarred desk, filing cabinet, and a recently updated computer system. He heard a muted conversation on the other end. Frustration rushed through him. “Jack, come on. What’s the hold—”

  “Banner’s cut off communication with us. He’s gone dark.”

  “Shit.” He knew it. Dante rubbed a hand hard across his forehead. “He’s sent someone himself, hasn’t he?”

  “Probably. This air conditioning business is a good front for surveillance and I’m not finding a record of them anywhere in the U.S. Also fits with the information that’s coming in through our contacts in South America. All hell is breaking loose now that the Feds are focusing their attention on human trafficking rings. That tour guide you said Nissa dealt with on her expedition? Local police picked him up, but he was dead before agents could talk to him. Banner’s probably closing everything down before someone else in the area cracks. He’s cleaning house, Dante. You need to leave St. Helena. Now.”

  Jack’s order crossed a line Dante didn’t know existed. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “If this is a ploy for more money—”

  “I don’t give a shit about the money. This is about Nissa and her family.” Dante had to stop himself from reaching through the phone and choking the life out of his boss. “We don’t even know if she has any pictures, Jack. This could all be for nothing.”

  “You think Banner cares about the truth? Whether she has evidence or not, she saw what happened out there, Dante. If Banner wants her gone there’s nothing we can do to stop him.”

  “There’s nothing you can do.”

  “Dante, think this through. You don’t want to go up against this guy.”

  “But you have no trouble pitting Nissa against him, do you?” He scrubbed a hand down the side of his face. Screw it. He didn’t want to live forever anyway. Better he go out fighting for something—someone—important. “It’s time to pick a side, Jack. You either back my play or you don’t. Now what are we going to do?”

  Chapter Ten

  “I thought you were taking me home.” Nissa rolled her head against the back of the SUV seat and looked at Dante. She didn’t think she’d ever tire of looking at him; how could any woman let alone one who had watched him interact with her family and children the way he had this evening. Even the panic attacks seemed to have taken an extended leave of absence. The Dante Thanos cure maybe?

  “I am taking you home.” His smile was quick, as if it were an afterthought as he glanced in the rear-view mirror. “I thought maybe I’d pamper you back at the Grand Napa.”

  “Your hotel?” The bubbles of anticipation that had been growing all night popped. “Oh, no, no, I can’t be seen going into a man’s hotel room this late at night.”

  “Because there’s a scarlet letter waiting for you at registration?”

  “I have to live here.” She turned in her seat and grabbed hold of his arm. “I’m still new and it’s a small town and can you imagine how fast rumors will fly if the wrong person—if Lance were to find out—”

  “But you’re okay with me staying at your home.” He cringed as if her house was the last place he wanted to be.

  “Yeah, well, it’s more private, isn’t it?” She released his arm and dropped an uncertain hand on his thigh. Oh, boy. She was venturing into unknown areas here and as scared as she was to traverse this road, she was determined not to be deterred. “I don’t think my mother expected you to take me to a hotel to have your way with me.”

  “Please don’t bring your mother into this.”

  She pulled her hand free, only to gasp when he reached out and captured her hand with his. “Is there something wrong with the house? Why don’t you want—?”

  Dante pulled the car into a parking space across the street from the hotel and slammed it into park. In a move he had to have practiced dozens of times—probably with dozens of women—he clicked free of his seatbelt and reached for her. She barely felt the gear shift hit her hip as he hauled her against him and kissed her.

  She clung to him as she surrendered. There was nothing else she could do as he plundered her mouth, demanding and devouring even as she clutched at his shoulders. The whimper that escaped her throat emboldened him and she held on. Not because she needed to or even because she wanted to. But because for the first time, she could feel his need for her. Desperate. Frantic. And the passion of it zinged through her like a bolt of lightning.

  “Don’t you think we’d be more comfortable in my bed?” She whispered when he drew his mouth free. She caught his face between her palms and held him still, pressed her forehead against his as she reveled in his uneven breaths.

  “Sorry. Needed to do that.”

  Nissa bit her lip, hard enough to bring tears to her eyes, tears that had already exploded and blurred her vision. “Dante—”

  “No.” He smoothed his hands down her bare arms. “No, don’t say anything. Whatever happens from here, I want you to know how much these last few days have meant to me. How much I—”

  “If you’re trying to convince me you’re terrible in the sack, sorry, but I’m going to need some proof.” He kissed her again and when he released her this time, she could only stare at him and marvel at the dull passion glistening in his dark eyes. “What’s wrong, Dante?”

  “Nothing. Just…you never know when things are going to get ripped away from you, you know?” He pressed his lips to her forehead and held her there for a moment longer than she thought necessary. “Promise me you’ll trust me. Whatever happens from here, please trust me that I’ll make sure you’re okay.”

  “Okay, now you are scaring me.” She planted her hands on his shoulders and shoved him back. “What on earth is going on?”

  “Hopefully nothing we have to worry about. But you’re right. Let’s get you home.”

  *

  Nissa’s hope that whatever was playing with Dante’s head would dissipate was quickly dashed as he parked in her driveway. He leaned over her, but as she reached for him she realized she wasn’t the object of his attention: the gun in his glove compartment was. “Dante?”

  “I’ll
be back in a second.” He screwed a silencer onto the barrel. Nissa almost laughed at the absurdity.

  “Are you kidding me? What are you playing—?”

  “Nissa!” He caught her chin in his hand. “Listen to me. If you hear anything out of the norm, you get down on the floorboards and don’t move, you understand me?”

  “No.” She shook her head and reached for him, but he was already out of the car. His gun gleamed in the rays of the nearby street lamp. Terror she hadn’t felt since the jungle crawled up her spine. “No, I don’t understand. What—”

  He closed his door and locked the car remotely. Nissa sat, dazed, as her plans for a night of pleasure with Dante vanished in front of her eyes. While in her head…

  Nissa hugged her arms around herself and squeezed. Hard. The haunting screams erupted in the back of her mind, pushing in on her and as she blinked, determined to keep the panic at bay. For as long as she could.

  Dante circled out of sight, into the darkness surrounding the house. Had she thought he possessed the penchant for practical jokes—or maybe even role playing—she might have considered this some odd game, but the way he prowled, weapon drawn, moving deliberately and silently, told her otherwise.

  The hell with this. She grabbed the handle of the door and almost opened it. Then changed her mind. He was a professional. If he’d decided she needed to stay in the car, she should stay in the car.

  She ducked down, slammed her eyes closed and wished for the screams in her head to stop. In the darkness she couldn’t tell if her vision was blurring, but she knew her stomach was churning in that familiar, unwanted way. She started counting in her head to block out the past pushing in on her. One minute. Two. Five.