Dark Heat

by Donna Grant

  “You think they wanted her to be a part of whatever they were doing?”

  Jane blew out a long breath. “I don’t know anymore. I had this weird feeling Richard might do something to me for overhearing his conversation. I had work to do. I never leave it.”

  “Then why did you?”

  Her large eyes shifted to him. “Something told me to run. It was like something was behind me urging me out of the building as quick as I could. I even took a taxi home because I didn’t want Richard to come down and find me.”

  Banan simply stared at her, wondering how much of what she said was the truth.

  “That’s silly isn’t it?” Jane said with a forced laugh. “I mean, why would he come after me? I’m just his secretary.”

  Banan glanced out the window to see the man still staring their way. Banan sighed and made a decision he prayed didn’t backfire on them. “Jane, Arnold did chase after you.”

  “What?” she asked breathlessly, her voice full of shock.

  “I saw him. You’d just gotten into the cab when he came out.” Banan paused and looked her way. “I think the man at the street was sent by Arnold.”

  “Oh, God,” Jane said, and slid to the floor so that her knees were against her chest. Suddenly she frowned at him. “You saw me leave work?”

  “Aye, I—”

  “And then you came here asking me to dinner,” she said over him. “You continued to bring up work. Why? Why are you following me? Why do you care what happened to me?”

  He clenched his jaw when he heard the hysterical rise in her voice. “Jane, I’m no’ following you. I’m a driver for PureGems, remember? I was there.”

  “No,” she said angrily. “There’s more. I know it. I thought … It doesn’t matter what I thought.”

  He inwardly cringed as he realized she was going to say she’d thought he was interested in her. And the kink in the whole situation was that he was interested.

  “Who are you, really?” she demanded, her eyes shining brightly.

  Banan had opened his mouth to reply, when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He held up a finger to her and quickly answered it.

  “Well?” Rhys asked on the other end of the phone.

  Banan looked out the window. “How close are you?”

  “Close. Why?”

  “There’s an unwanted visitor waiting for Jane. He needs to be taken care of.”

  “Where?”

  Banan saw a form move out of the shadows just a few doors down from the man. “He’s the one staring up at Jane’s window. I’ve a feeling he’s going to try to force his way in once I leave.”

  “Why tell me? Why no’ take care of him yourself?”

  Banan found Jane staring at him with a mixture of trepidation and fury. “Rhys, when you get done, come up to Jane’s.”

  His answer was a click that ended the conversation.

  Banan nodded his head to the window. “My friend is going to take care of your watcher.”

  He’d expected Jane to get up and watch, but she stayed where she was. Banan didn’t need to see if Rhys did his job. Rhys was a Dragon King. And Dragon Kings always succeeded.

  “Who. Are. You?” Jane asked again, her voice growing angrier with every word.

  “Rhys is a friend. He willna harm you.”

  “Right,” she said as she jumped to her feet. “Which is why you asked him to come up here.”

  “Nay. I asked him up so we could both talk to you.”

  She leaned to the side and grabbed her purse. Banan knew she was searching for either the can of Mace or the knife he’d found while searching her purse the day before.

  Neither would do much damage to him.

  There was a soft knock on the door, and then it opened. Banan glanced behind him to see Rhys fill the doorway.

  “Whoever that was willna be bothering you again,” Rhys said to Jane.

  There was a pause as Jane pulled both the knife and the pepper spray from her purse. She released the purse and flipped the knife open so that she held a weapon in each hand.

  “Ah … Banan, what’s going on?” Rhys asked as he softly closed the door behind him.

  Jane lifted the Mace toward Rhys. “Stop right where you are. I didn’t invite you, and I don’t want you up here.”

  “I’ve made a muck of things,” Banan answered Rhys.

  Rhys grunted and folded his arms over his chest. “Obviously. I gather Jane isna in on whatever Arnold is up to?”

  Banan said, “Nay” the same time Jane shouted “What?”

  Rhys laughed softly and walked into the kitchen. He leaned over the leftover bowl of pasta and inhaled. “Smells good,” he said as he found a fork and began to eat.

  Banan ignored Rhys as he focused on Jane. “We work for Dreagan, Jane. We knew there was some kind of plot to learn more about our—” He stopped because he searched for what to tell her.

  “Your whisky?” she offered. “I know it’s good, but is it that good?”

  “It’s a moneymaking industry,” Rhys said around a mouthful of food. “People have killed for less.”

  Banan watched her digest the information and wondered if she believed them.

  “This has to do with Sloan and Elena caving on your land, doesn’t it?” she asked.

  Banan leaned against the back of the couch and nodded. “The area of Dreagan land they were on is private. The road going to that part of the mountain is hidden and known only by few. We need to know how Sloan discovered it.”

  “Why didn’t you just ask me?” Jane asked wearily. She dropped the weapons and walked around the couch to sit down. “No lies, no snooping around. I’d have told you all that you wanted to know.”

  “True.”

  She gave a snort. “Oh. I see. I was a suspect. Why? Because I work directly with Richard?”

  “Aye,” Rhys said.

  Banan always trusted his instinct, and it had been telling him Jane wasn’t a part of the plot. Or was that just his cock leading him around?

  Never had he been more unsure, and never had he prayed more to be right.

  Because Jane Holden was quickly becoming someone he wanted to be around.

  CHAPTER

  SIX

  Jane couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her. A suspect. She turned to glare at Banan. “How could any of you think I was part of it?”

  “We knew nothing about you. We had a strong hunch Arnold was involved, but we didna know how deep it went in PureGems.”

  “Have you questioned Elena? I mean, I don’t know where she was after Sloan died, but it was a few days before she returned to London.”

  The silence that followed her statement made a shiver race down her spine.

  “You’ve already spoken with Elena,” Jane said with a nod as it all clicked into place. “And you believe her?”

  Rhys picked up the large pasta bowl in his hand and continued to twirl his fork in it as he walked to the edge of the kitchen. “Aye, we believe Elena. She nearly died in that mountain, for one. And another, she and Guy fell in love.”

  Jane blinked. Then looked first at Rhys, and then Banan. “She fell in love?”

  “Aye,” Banan answered softly.

  Jane knew Elena had looked different, but she thought it was the near-death experience that had caused the change.

  “So, Elena wasn’t part of Sloan’s plan,” Jane said as her mind tried to sort it all out. “I gather you know Sloan’s plan.”

  Banan and Rhys exchanged a look before Banan said, “Aye.”

  “That’s why Richard wanted Elena back so urgently,” Jane said as recalled him desperately trying to get a hold of Elena. “He wanted to know if she and Sloan had found anything.”

  Banan moved to sit on the couch. “That’s why Elena is back.”

  “Do you trust that I’m not involved, or are you seeing if I run back to Richard with any of this?”

  Rhys said, “A good question. Banan, I’d like to know the answer as well.”

&nb
sp; Jane wanted Banan to believe her, needed him to believe her. She wasn’t sure why it was important, only that it was. It seemed impossible that she had spent so much time with him and been completely at ease. They had talked and laughed and shared stories.

  She frowned then because she had been the only one sharing stories. Banan hadn’t said much about his own life.

  “I believe you,” Banan finally said.

  She nodded and ran her thumbnail down her jeans. “Richard knows I heard something. If he chased me yesterday, and then sent someone to watch me, what will he do next?”

  “We’ll be there whenever he makes his next move,” Banan said.

  But Jane was already shaking her head. “You can’t be in the office with me. What are you going to do? Hide under my desk?”

  “If I have to.” His voice had dipped low, a hard edge to it.

  Rhys set aside the now empty bowl. “If you can get into Arnold’s office and snoop around, that would help us out.”

  “I can do that,” she said. “He’s always gone for lunch, and I’m in and out of his office all the time. No one will notice. There’s just one thing.”

  Banan met her gaze. “What’s that?”

  “This is about more than stealing a recipe for scotch, isn’t it? I need to know, because I’ve this feeling that this isn’t just my job on the line.”

  “You’re no’ wrong,” Banan said.

  “Damn. Have you gathered any information on who could be in it with Richard?”

  Banan leaned forward so that his forearms rested on his thighs. “Nay. Elena is making her way through those closest to Arnold. So far, she’s found nothing.”

  “If I’m going to do this, how do I contact you if I find anything?”

  “I’ll give you my, Rhys’s, and Elena’s mobile numbers. And wherever you are, I’ll be close by. I can reach you quickly if you’re in danger.”

  Jane grabbed for her wine and drained it in three swallows. It burned as it slid down her throat, but she needed something to steady her after all she’d learned.

  “The fact you just said that, Banan, tells me how dangerous this is going to be. Richard is connected to influential families. Money, politics, and God only knows what else. He’s not a man to be messed with.”

  “Let us worry about that,” Banan said with a smile that promised Richard would suffer.

  Jane just wished she knew what was so important that Banan, Rhys, and Elena would risk their lives to protect Dreagan for it.

  Rhys touched her shoulder, and she turned, startled, because she hadn’t heard him move.

  “You are doing a brave thing, Jane,” Rhys said.

  Jane swallowed, wishing she had more wine in her glass. “Stop talking now or I might chicken out of this whole thing.”

  Just as she was about to get up, Banan leaned over and placed his hand atop her. “Thank you.”

  Her heart skipped a beat at his husky timbre. It hurt that he wasn’t attracted to her, but the letdown wasn’t anything she wasn’t accustomed to. She was Plain Jane after all.

  Jane managed a small smile. “Don’t thank me yet. I’m not exactly brave, Banan, and Richard has a way of making me feel an inch tall when he talks to me.”

  “So doona allow him to speak to you that way,” Rhys said matter-of-factly.

  Jane looked down at Banan’s large hand, his warmth sinking into her. She liked his hands, liked how it felt to have him touch her. “Easier said than done.”

  * * *

  Banan settled into the shadows as he watched Jane walk into PureGems the next morning. He had followed her from her flat, and it was pure hell. All he’d wanted to do was walk beside her and listen to her amazing voice. Instead, he had to keep his distance.

  “Arnold hasna arrived,” Rhys said from beside him.

  Banan nodded. Rhys kept watch on PureGems while Guy stayed with Elena, and Banan did his best to ignore the growing need to kiss Jane.

  The disappointment in her eyes when she thought he’d only wanted information about Arnold had been like a kick in the balls. He hadn’t liked the feeling, but nothing could make it go away.

  Banan had given Jane everyone’s number except Guy’s. He had purposely left out Guy’s name. Just in case. Not because he thought Jane might be working with Arnold, but if she was put in a position where she had to give information in exchange for her life, she wouldn’t know everyone from Dreagan who was in London.

  “She’ll be all right,” Rhys said.

  Banan leaned a shoulder against the brick of the building. “I hope so. I also hope we uncover who it is that’s giving Arnold intelligence about us. The sooner we can find that wanker, the better.”

  “Aye. No’ to mention being around all these humans makes my ass twitch. I long to return to Dreagan.”

  Banan did as well. The only thing that helped to calm him was Jane. Beautiful, intelligent, amazing Jane.

  * * *

  Jane couldn’t stop shaking as she walked into PureGems and rode the elevator up to her desk. When she discovered Richard hadn’t yet made it into the office, Jane was able to breath a little easier.

  She didn’t waver from her normal routine and hastily got to work, rarely looking up. It wasn’t until she was coming back from the copy machine that she found Richard’s office door open. Her knee gave out, and she nearly dropped her papers as she tripped.

  “I got you,” Elena said as she steadied her.

  Jane looked at Elena and smiled. “Thank you.”

  “I’m here, just two offices down, Jane. If he does anything, give me a shout, and I’ll come running. So will Banan and Rhys.”

  Elena squeezed her arm, and then she was gone. Leaving Jane to face Richard alone.

  She returned to her desk, waiting to hear him scream her name, but as soon as he saw her, he stared at her for several minutes before he shut his office door. Which was just fine by her.

  Jane didn’t see, or hear, from Richard until it was time for lunch. Once more, she was buried in work and saw him leave out of the corner of her eye.

  When he was in the elevator, she rose and walked into his office. She’d already sorted out how she would search it. She’d do it a bit at a time so no one noticed how long she was in there.

  She checked his desk first, and found nothing. A trip back to her desk, and fifteen minutes later, she returned to his office. This time she went through the credenza behind his desk.

  Again and again she repeated her process, but found nothing that didn’t pertain to anyone who wasn’t a client. She shut the last drawer in his filing cabinet and was turning to leave when she spotted the cell phone he’d been on the day before.

  With shaking hands, Jane picked up the phone and quickly scrolled through to the Incoming Calls. She matched the times from the day before and his calls and found the call she was looking for.

  Jane wrote down the number and had just replaced the phone when Richard walked in.

  “What are you doing in here?” he demanded.

  Jane jumped, and then forced a laugh. Thankfully, her tripping over her own feet wasn’t out of the ordinary. “Oh, Mr. Arnold, you frightened me. I was finishing up some research on the new mine we were looking to buy in Belgium. I was coming to leave the file on your desk, but since you’re here,” she said, and handed him the manila folder.

  His gaze narrowed as he took the file as if he wasn’t sure whether to believe her or not. “That’ll be all.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jane said, and hurried out of the office, cautious to keep the paper with the phone number carefully hidden in her hand.

  The rest of the day passed as slow as an eternity. When it was time to leave, Jane didn’t check with Richard as she usually did. She grabbed her stuff and left.

  Just as she stepped onto the elevator, Elena moved beside her. They stayed together until they walked out of the building.

  “Until later,” Elena whispered with a smile.

  Jane paused and scanned the area, hoping for a gl
impse of Banan. As if he knew she was looking for him, he stepped out of the shadows.

  She couldn’t stop the smile from pulling at her lips, or the relief in knowing he was there. His answering grin made her stomach flutter with awareness.

  Her gaze was locked with his, and she was about to cross the street to go to him when someone bumped into her shoulder, spinning her as it knocked her to the ground.

  Jane landed hard, scraping her knee and palm. She looked up to the cold, blue eyes of a man just before he pushed through the door of PureGems.

  “Jane,” Banan said as he gripped her arms and lifted her to her feet.

  “Did you see him?” she asked. “Did you see that creepy guy?”

  Banan’s body stiffened. “What man?”

  “The one that ran into me.”

  “There was a group of people who walked between us. I didna see who knocked you down. Come. Let’s get you home. I’ve got to keep my distance, even though I’d rather take you to your flat myself.”

  “It’s okay,” she said as she climbed into the taxi he’d hailed for her.

  Banan leaned in. “I’ll be right behind you.”

  He was true to his word. Jane had just gotten out of the cab when Banan came into view down the street. She walked up the stairs to her flat but left her door unlocked.

  It wasn’t but a few minutes later that his large frame filled her tiny flat. She wasn’t sure what to say to him, so she looked through her medicine cabinet for some peroxide and antibiotic cream.

  “You’re hurt,” he said from behind her.

  Her eyes closed at his nearness, at the pure maleness of him. “Just a little.”

  “Let me.”

  He took the bottle of peroxide and gently held her hand over the sink as he poured the liquid over the scrapes. Jane didn’t feel her cuts any longer. Not with Banan touching her.

  She couldn’t take her eyes off him while he dabbed a towel at the scratches. When his thumb stroked the sensitive skin of her wrist, she shivered with need.

  Breathing became impossible with him so near. She wanted to run her hands over his chest, wanted to comb her fingers into his hair. And she wanted to kiss him with a desperation that bordered on madness.