by Tara Randel
Guilt settled heavily on Eloise’s shoulders. She was pushing it if she called her folks once a month.
“How about you and Dan? Any plans for little ones in the future?”
Eloise swallowed hard. “Um, we’re in no hurry. We still need to get used to living with each other day in and day out.” True. Oh, so true.
“I enjoyed raising my three, but it isn’t for everyone.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean I don’t want any.” Did she? It hadn’t been a bullet point in her five-year plan. Not even a ten-year plan. “I just mean I’d like some time with Dan before the family grows.”
Martha cocked her head, a knowing gleam in her eyes. “It was love at first sight, wasn’t it?”
“Excuse me?”
“With your husband.”
Had it been? Eloise wasn’t sure. All she knew for certain was that one day Dante was in her orbit and, after that, she only had eyes for him.
“I suppose you’re right, but how on earth could you tell?”
Martha sighed and sank back against the chair. “The whole short engagement thing, and when you talk about him, you become animated. You practically glow.”
Sounded like a bad medical condition. She hoped no one else noticed.
“And you?”
“It took a grand gesture on George’s part to finally convince me we were meant to be together.” She heaved a self-satisfied sigh. “He was a very special man.”
“It wasn’t love at first sight?”
Martha shrugged. “Not exactly, but when you know, you know.”
Unfortunately, Eloise understood exactly what her new friend meant. She’d run in a mud race because of Dante. How much worse could she have it for the guy?
A companionable silence fell over them. When Eloise glanced at Martha, the woman’s eyes were closed. Had she fallen asleep? Eloise cleared her throat to test her theory.
Martha jerked. Her face turned pink. “Sorry, dear. I doze off easily these days.”
“Are you okay?”
Martha rose, hand shaky on the cane. “Just the result of rising at 4:00 a.m.”
Eloise wrinkled her nose.
Martha let out a crackly chuckle. “I should get back. Thank you for the visit.”
“Anytime,” Eloise said as she rose, as well.
She followed Martha to the gate. Once there, Martha turned. “Coffee tomorrow morning?”
Why not? The case had just started, she wasn’t terribly busy and, honestly, she enjoyed Martha’s company. “It’s a date.”
The gate closed behind her with a gentle snick. As Eloise turned to head back to the house, a blur of orange appeared on the fence, moseying his way back to the gate. “Hungry?” she asked, then laughed. She was talking to a cat? And what was worse, she could have sworn the feline nodded at her question.
At three, Dante walked through the garage door into the kitchen. Eloise was at the counter, thumbing through a cookbook she’d found in one of the cabinets, trying to decide what to make for dinner.
“Hey,” he said, leaving his work boots in the garage.
She flipped the book closed. “How’d it go? Your thumbs-up text was cryptic.”
“Passed step one. Rico put me to work—I guess like a tryout—then he’ll give me his decision by Friday.”
“They believe you’re who you say you are?”
“After I fixed an engine no one could figure what was wrong with, yeah, I think I impressed the guys.”
“Guys?”
“Got some names for you to run.”
She nearly sagged with relief. “Thank goodness. My search into Battles proved interesting, but ultimately a dead end.”
“In what way?”
She explained Battles’s tax situation. “He got the money somewhere, Dante. And since I can’t find the source, I’m betting it’s illegal.”
“I’d take that bet.” He sauntered into the kitchen in his stocking feet and opened the refrigerator to extract a cold bottle of water. “Once you’ve got information on the employees, let’s hope we have something solid to build on. Could you also check on Marcus King’s dealerships? Apparently Rico made some kind of deal to handle overflow repairs from King’s lots.”
“That’s odd. Don’t they usually keep that kind of work in-house?”
Dante took a swig. “Usually. Most folks take advantage of the automaker warranty. But King does have a vast car empire. Could be legit.”
Eloise rested her hip against the counter and crossed her arms over her chest. “When Parson’s Auto Mall was robbed, I contacted other dealerships in the area. Everyone reported problems.” Her mind clicked on a thought. “With as many locations as King owns, the odds of him having a problem with thefts would be significantly higher than a one-lot owner. Don’t get me wrong, he’s being hit, but not as severely as the other businesses.”
Dante went quiet for a long moment. “You might be onto something. Using an outsourced garage can benefit a theft ring with their insider connections.”
“And vice versa. If a dealership is a little shady.”
Dante drained the last of the bottle and tossed it into the trash can. “Definitely an angle I’ll keep an eye on. Good call.”
Eloise tamped down her pleasure at his praise. She was doing her job, for Pete’s sake. “I know it’s probably too soon, but were you able to learn anything else? Or get a feel for the shop?”
“First of all, the owner’s office is a pigsty. Once I’m in I’ll suggest he hire you to straighten out the mess.”
“Aw, honey, thanks. We’ll be working together. How cute.”
He rolled his eyes. “Secondly, the man’s record keeping doesn’t look very effective.”
“I can fix that.”
Dante winked. “I have no doubt.”
Her pulse rate shot up. Would she ever be able to control her reaction to him?
When Dante pushed away from the counter, Eloise didn’t miss how his muscles flexed at the motion. “I’m going to take a shower and then we’re going to get my tools and my baby.”
Everything in her went still. “Excuse me? Did you say baby?”
“A 1970 Dodge Challenger I’m restoring for a friend. It will help with our cover story.”
Right. A car. What was she thinking? That Dante had a child no one knew about? Eloise blew out a breath. Not that it mattered. If he had a child. Did it?
As Dante passed by, he nudged her shoulder.
She pushed him away, laughing. “Go take a shower.”
“As you wish, my wife.”
With a chuckle he strode from the room, leaving Eloise to catch her breath and rein in her daydreams. This crazy attraction had to end.
CHAPTER SEVEN
LOUD HEADBANGING MUSIC echoed off the walls in the garage as Dante, lying on a creeper, twisted an especially tight bolt on a shock absorber under the Challenger he’d hauled to the rental house. In the zone, he forgot about auto thieves and finding the culprits, instead dwelling on how the sunlight brought out the highlights in Eloise’s long hair and that once this op was over it would be work as usual between them.
He’d finally got the darn shock loose when the music suddenly went silent.
“How can you think with all that noise?” floated a voice above his head.
Dante rolled out from under the car. “It keeps me focused.”
Eloise shook her head, clearly stumped. “It gives me a headache. Not to mention what it must be doing to the neighbors.”
He rose, grabbed a towel from the tool chest and wiped his hands. “Okay. What do you listen to?”
A faint tinge flooded her cheeks.
“Hey, AC/DC or Led Zeppelin isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.”
“They’re classic. And so are the artists I like.” She pouted in such an un-Eloi
se way he couldn’t hold back a smile. They’d spent time together all week and if he was being honest with himself, he was totally enchanted. It went beyond her physical makeover. He was finally getting to know the real Eloise, not the person she usually showed the world.
He tossed the towel aside. “What’s up?”
“The block party starts in thirty minutes.”
“Just need to get cleaned up,” he answered, brushing dust from his jeans. He followed her into the house, admiring her lacy white top and pink shorts. He did not miss her business suits one little bit.
“So,” he said. “About the music... You’re a romantic?”
She shrugged, averting her face.
“I can appreciate a sappy love song once in a while.”
Rolling her eyes, she tore a piece of foil from a roll to cover the brownies she’d baked. The chocolaty aroma still lingered, making his stomach rumble. The advantages of having a roommate, he thought. Homemade treats to satisfy his sweet tooth.
“Sure we have to bring the whole pan to share with the neighbors?” he asked, reaching around her to try to snag a square. The jasmine perfume and subtle scent of shampoo drifted over him.
She playfully slapped his hand. “We have to make a good impression,” she reminded him.
Seconds later, Eloise reversed course and handed over a warm piece. It melted on his tongue. “Awesome,” he mumbled around the brownie.
Eloise preened. A shocker, since she was usually stoic when working a case. What other hidden delights would he uncover the longer they carried on the assignment?
“That’s it until we get to the party.”
He licked his fingers, nodding at her in the process. Was he affecting her as much as she was affecting him?
“About that.”
She finished covering the dish. “About what?”
“I have an idea to get more work hours at the garage.”
She leaned her hip against the counter, giving him all her attention.
“I told you the garage building is run-down, but what I learned from Ramsey is that Rico has been purchasing new equipment. Lines up with what you uncovered about Rico’s windfall to pay off his tax situation.”
The first week undercover had flown by. Dante’s gut feeling that Rico was up to his neck in illegal activity intensified each day. Having impressed Rico with his mechanic skills, the owner officially hired Dante on Wednesday. Cars came into the shop from King’s dealerships, just like Ramsey had told Dante, but it was rather anticlimactic. Just repairs and back they went. Legit.
“Learn anything else from the guys?” she queried.
“Mac is tight-lipped about the business, even though he and Rico have had many closed-door meetings.”
“Be careful around him,” she cautioned. “I don’t like the fact that he was arrested twice on assault charges.”
“I will.” That bit of information had made Dante supervigilant around the growly coworker. “At least Ramsey is clean.”
“Is he?” Eloise snorted.
“He might engage in a little illegal overtime, but he’s not so bad. At least he’s freer with me than Mac, even though it took until Friday for him to mention some kind of specialty work. When I pressed him on it, he clammed up, but it was enough to know we’re on the right track here.”
Eloise’s eyes flashed before she said, “The money is coming from somewhere.”
“Obviously.”
“We keep searching. And while you’re uncovering things at the shop, I’ll make sure I strike up a friendship with Rico’s wife, Stella. Share some wifely insider info on our husbands.”
Dante shivered. “Should I be afraid?”
“Very afraid,” she said in a spooky voice, making him laugh.
It was just the first week, Dante reminded himself. He knew the guys weren’t going to trust him right away, but keeping his sixth sense at bay made him antsy. He had to remain patient and wait for the opportune moment to gain more insight into the shady side of the business.
Now, it was time to move to phase two of the assignment. Attend the block party. Maybe plant some seeds of financial discord in their marriage in front of Rico. “I’m thinking we have a little spat in front of my boss today over money.”
“You got the job. Why push for overtime?”
“Because I think that’s when the illegal activities are happening.”
She thought about it for a moment. He could just imagine the wheels turning in her head.
“Push the idea that I’m bugging you about money for, say...a second car, which makes sense since we don’t have one.”
He nodded. “I’ll keep an eye on Rico. When he’s in a position to overhear our conversation, I’ll lead us in his direction. Ask you not to keep nagging me about getting a second job.”
“Oh, dear. Are the Smiths in that much financial trouble?”
He couldn’t hold back a chuckle. He loved how she asked questions about the Smiths as if they were a real couple.
“As of right now they are.”
“You know it’s because you spend too much money restoring your cars,” she teased.
“Hey, a guy needs a hobby.”
She laughed, a warm sound tinkling the air around him and making his chest squeeze tight. Yeah, she was getting to him.
“Just improvise,” he said.
“Got it.” She pushed from the counter. “Let’s get moving.”
After a quick shower, Dante had finished dressing in a T-shirt and cargo shorts when his phone dinged. A text from Dylan saying he wanted a quick video chat.
Barefooted, Dante crossed the tiny hallway to the bedroom with the computers. “I need to make a quick call,” he yelled to Eloise. Within a few minutes, Dylan’s face appeared on the screen of his laptop.
“What’s up, Dyl?”
“Mom bested me again.”
Dante pressed his lips together to conceal a laugh. Mr. Serious hated to be bested. By anyone. But by their mother? Ten times worse.
“I missed her lunch date.”
“How did that happen?”
“She told Kady she was going one place, but when I got there, there was no sign of her or the new guy. I found out later they decided to switch up their restaurant choice last minute.”
“She’s onto us.”
Dylan nodded. “Yeah. She’s pretty much refused to talk about the guy with Kady. That’s bad for us because she loves Kady and they talk about everything.”
“What do you want to do now?”
“Resort to a background check.”
“Which none of us can do without getting into serious trouble.”
“I discussed this with Derrick. He suggested we hire a private investigator.”
“What about Deke? What does he say?”
If it was possible, Dylan’s face grew even more serious. “I wanted to call you, but knew you were setting up your cover.”
At those words, his stomach tensed like he’d been kicked in the gut. “Is he okay?”
“Yes. I mean, physically he’s fine. A close friend of his was murdered.”
Dante drew in a bracing breath. His brother Deke felt things deeply and this news had to have thrown him off-kilter. “I imagine he’s taking it hard?”
“Took a leave of absence. When I last spoke to him, he was planning to hike the Appalachian Trail. He needs to regroup. Clear his head. He said he’d go along with whatever we decide.”
“Then I say we move to the next step.”
“I’ll let you know what happens. Take care, Pretty Boy.”
Dante frowned and ended the call. When he rose to leave the room, he found Eloise loitering in the doorway, a smile curving her lips. “Pretty Boy?”
Great. He had some explaining to do.
* * *
A V
ERY UNUSUAL red stained Dante’s cheeks, astounding Eloise. She’d never seen him blush. Or lose his cool. By the dangerous glitter in his eyes, she guessed he didn’t like her hearing what his brother called him.
“Stupid family nickname,” he muttered. “And don’t you know it’s not polite to eavesdrop?”
“I only came to remind you the party started five minutes ago.”
“It’s fashionable to arrive late.”
“Ooh, someone’s cranky.”
Dante brushed past her to go into his bedroom. She followed, watching as he slipped into a pair of boat shoes. “You’d be cranky, too, if you had a nickname you hated.”
“Like you haven’t noticed you’re handsome?”
He stared at her, clearly tongue-tied.
She chuckled. “Well, everyone else has noticed.”
“I don’t like being judged by my looks.”
Eloise sobered. “I understand.”
He snatched his wallet off the dresser and shoved it in his back pocket. “My brothers never take me seriously.”
“Have they ever seen you at work?”
“No. They’re all big-time law enforcement guys. DEA. FBI. Forensics.” He paused a moment. “I can’t even get promoted to sergeant.”
Oh, dear. Seemed like this conversation had opened an old wound.
“They’d be impressed, I’m sure.”
When he didn’t answer, she moved to another topic. She knew all too well what it felt like not to have the support of your family, especially when you desperately wanted it. “What’s up with your mom?”
At the change in conversation, Dante’s entire body seemed to relax. “She’s a widow. Recently started dating.”
“I don’t see the problem.”
He sent her an incredulous expression. “She’s dating.”
“Did I miss the memo that states after your spouse dies you’re not allowed to date?”
He pressed his thumb and forefinger against his eyes, as if warding off a headache. “It’s weird. Thinking about my mom without my dad.”
“I suppose.”
He dropped his hand. “Wouldn’t you be concerned if one of your parents started dating after the other passed on?”