“So am I. If I didn’t get this loan, I think my wife was on the verge of leaving me.”
“Speaking of which, where is Lucy?”
“Gone to complain about me to her mother. I’m afraid it’ll only be you and me this morning. I hope that won’t be a problem.”
She sat on the edge of the bed, a smile that said too many things on her lips. “Of course not.”
I grabbed the chair pushed under the desk and turned it around, straddling it as I studied Rita’s face.
“So, now what?”
“You sign these papers and I file them with the bank.”
“What about Lucy? Do we need her signature?”
“Yes. But she’s welcome to come down to the bank later to do that.”
I inclined my head. “Okay.”
She pulled a pile of papers out of her narrow attaché case, setting them out across her lap so that I was forced to look at her wide hips as she explained them to me. We went through the papers quickly, her hand brushing mine each time she handed me a paper or a pen. She made sure that she had to hand me something often.
Rita was the kind of woman I could have easily. No work to get this one into bed. But she was also the kind of woman who didn’t respect herself, making it hard for me to respect her.
I didn’t want that kind of thing anymore.
I walked her to the door and she pressed her hand to the center of my chest, moving close, pushing out her full lips so that I couldn’t miss how sexy they were.
“You and Lucy ever decide to call it quits…you should give me a call.”
I tilted my head just slightly, my most charming smile shining down on her.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
She reached up and touched my bottom lip. It took everything I had not to recoil.
“You do that.”
She walked out, her hips again doing that seductive little wiggle that made it pretty clear what she was hoping to happen if I ever called her.
Not going to happen.
I gathered up my things as my cellphone rang again. I assumed it was Dominic, but a glance at the screen told me it wasn’t. Department of Corrections. I groaned, adding that call to the list of things I simply didn’t want to deal with today.
I rushed out of there with only one thing on my mind. Finding Sam.
The small office was crowded with Dominic, Megan, and me inside. Megan was beaming, clearly pleased with the phone call she was currently taking.
“Yes, sir,” she said firmly. “I’m glad we could come through for you.”
A minute later, she set the phone back in its cradle.
“Well, Rita O’Neal no longer works for that particular bank. And they plan to take our evidence to the DA to see if they can prosecute her for falsifying financial information.”
“Awesome,” Dominic said, knocking me in the arm with his shoulder.
“Yeah, that’s great.”
Megan’s eyebrows rose as she studied me. “What’s up, Hayden? This is one for the victory column. Not only did you get the perp, but the president of the bank has asked that we come down and take a look at their security set up. This could potentially be a big deal for us.”
“Always glad to be of use to you, Megan.”
She smiled. “That’s the Hayden I know.” She reached behind her and grabbed a bottle of sparkling cider. “Not as good as the real thing, but since we’ve got a full day ahead of us, I thought this would have to do for now.”
“Shouldn’t Sam be here for this?” I asked. “She was an important part of the sting.”
Megan tensed a little, nearly spilling some of the cider. “She had a meeting this morning.”
“What kind of meeting?”
She looked up. “The personal kind.”
Obviously, I wasn’t supposed to ask anything more, so I didn’t. We shared the bottle, toasting to our success, then Megan kicked us out, demanding that we get to work on our reports.
“What do you think is going on with Sam and Megan?” Dominic asked.
“What do you mean?”
Dominic shrugged. “They took a week off together last week and they’re headed to New York next week. And there’s all this whispering…do you think they’re working on Peter’s case without us?”
“I doubt it. It’s probably just about the holidays.”
“True. I keep forgetting they’re coming up, but then I go home and it looks like a Christmas elf exploded all over my little apartment. Christmas is a thing for Amy.”
“Yeah? Are you going up to Denton to spend the holiday with her parents?”
“Probably. What about you? Going home, too?”
If I had a home to go to.
“Probably.”
I sat at one of the desks in the bullpen—the wide, open room where the girls who monitored the security systems we installed worked at their computers—and pulled up a blank document to write out my report on last night’s sting. I found myself having trouble concentrating, though, because I was sitting in clear view of Sam’s desk and Sam wasn’t there. I could count on one hand how many times she wasn’t there.
Where had she gone? And what did that damn note mean?
I was halfway through the report when she finally breezed in, dressed as usual in a long, black skirt, a white blouse, and a delicate pink sweater. She blew right past me, as if I weren’t there, marching to Megan’s office. I sat back, straining to hear what they were saying, but all I caught was Sam saying she was back and Megan asking how it’d gone. Then Sam went into Megan’s office and closed the door.
“Better finish that report, brother,” Dominic said, throwing a balled up piece of paper at the back of my head.
“Knock it off,” I said, tossing it back at him. “We’re not in preschool.”
I got up and strode off down the long hall past Sam’s desk, slipping into the small room we used as a break room. I poured myself a cup of strong coffee, taking my time stirring a little cream and sugar into it.
“I thought manly men took their coffee black.”
Sam moved up beside me, pushing against me as she reached for the coffee pot.
“Where were you this morning?”
She shrugged. “I had a meeting.”
“I thought you’d be there when I woke.”
Her blush was deep enough that I could almost feel heat coming off of it. “Did you find my note?”
“Yeah. But I have no idea what it means.”
She glanced up at me. “Last night was—”
“Fantastic.”
She nodded, her eyes bright before they fell to the floor. “But it can’t happen again.”
“Why not?”
“Because…”
She picked up her mug and started to walk around me. I stepped back into her path, blocking her way to the door.
“That’s not a good enough answer.”
“We work together, Hayden.”
“So?”
“And I…I just, I can’t.”
“Why?”
She looked up at me and I swear there were tears in her eyes before she blinked. She stepped back a little, putting more space between us.
“Dragon Security is important to me, Hayden. I can’t screw it up.”
She walked a wide circle around me so that I couldn’t touch her before she left the room. I just watched her go, a ball of emotion growing in my chest until I had to let it out somehow. I slammed my fist on the corner of the counter, watching my coffee cup jump and spill half its contents.
What was it about that woman that I never knew what to say or do when I was around her?
“You look like you need a drink,” Vincent said, shoving a beer across the bar at me.
“Thanks.”
“I thought you guys had a successful sting yesterday.”
“We did,” Dominic helpfully announced. “But he’s been going around like he got his pecker caught in his zipper all day.”
Vincent paled a litt
le at that image.
I shook my head. “I think I’ve been in a great mood.”
“Yeah, if moping around and nursing bruised knuckles is a great mood.” Dominic gestured toward my hands. “How’d that happen, anyway?”
I looked down at my hands. “That Rita chick got a little too frisky. Had to put her in her place.”
“Sure.” Dominic laughed. “I saw that footage already. She was pretty ripe, but looked like she left fairly easily.”
“Have you gone over yesterday’s footage?”
“Most of it.”
I lifted the beer and took a healthy gulp. I could feel Dominic watching me.
“Anything on it I won’t want to see?”
I shrugged. “You turned them off after you left the van, right?”
“No. Not till I got back to the office.”
I glanced at him. He frowned, but he didn’t say anything.
“Are we here to drink, or what?” Vincent suddenly asked. “I could be home with Quinn and Olivia right now.”
“What is it about women?” I suddenly asked. “The two of you have someone waiting for you at home. Did they ever play games with you?”
“What do you mean?” Vincent asked.
“I mean, did Quinn ever push you away? Did she ever try to pretend that what was happening between you wasn’t happening?”
Dominic leaned over the bar toward me. “Are you and Sam…?”
I looked up at him and he started to laugh.
“Man, you’re walking into trouble. Anyone who comes between Sam and Megan better look out.”
“I’m not trying to come between them.”
“Yeah, well—”
“What about Dante?” Vincent asked. “He and Megan are together, aren’t they?”
Dominic and I exchanged a look.
“Megan’s relationships are her business,” I said.
Vincent’s eyebrows rose, but he didn’t say anything.
“Maybe she’s just scared, Hayden,” Dominic suggested.
“She probably is. Quinn was like that when we first got together,” Vincent added.
I sat back and surveyed the small bar. It was the end of the business day, so most of the customers were men and women in business suits, enjoying a cocktail before they headed home for the evening. There were half a dozen women scattered through the room, their short skirts revealing their long, shapely legs. The expressions ranged from curiosity to desire to desperation on their attractive faces, all of them looking at us.
I could have any of these women, but the one woman I wanted was too afraid to get involved with me.
Go figure.
“Talk to her,” Vincent recommended. “I bet you can get her to change her mind.”
I swallowed the last of what was in my beer mug.
“I think I will.”
Chapter 6
Megan
“We’ll be there Sunday night, so if he can get us in first thing in the morning, that would be great,” I said to the woman on the other end of the line.
“The doctor has an opening at seven.”
“That would be perfect.”
“Of course, Ms. Bradford.”
I set the phone down, going over the schedule in my head. I could hear Dante moving around in the kitchen, making us something for dinner. I kept telling him he didn’t have to spend so much time at my place. I even offered to go to his place once in a while. But he insisted that he liked my house. He liked me. And he liked spending as much time as possible with me.
I should be pleased with that information. I wasn’t. I was beginning to feel as though I was going down a road I didn’t want to go down.
We never went out in public together. I wouldn’t admit to being with him to anyone but Sam—only because I don’t lie to Sam—even though I knew that Hayden and the others at the office knew, and Cole probably knew. My parents might even know. But I couldn’t bring myself to that mental place where it was okay to start introducing him to my family and friends as my boyfriend.
He wasn’t. He was Dante. He shared my bed. End of story.
I ran my fingers through my hair, thinking about this trip Sam and I were taking. I wanted it to be fun. Just because we were visiting a couple of doctors and getting a few tests done, didn’t mean we couldn’t go shopping or do a little sightseeing. I was trying to iron out all the details, making sure there was time for everything. This was important.
“You want a glass of wine?”
I glanced at Dante. “No, I’m good.”
“You sure? You look like you could use some.”
I shook my head again as the phone rang. I picked it up, reading Dominic’s name off the display.
“I should take this.”
I got up, but Dante took my hand and slipped the phone out of it, pushing it into one of his back pockets, muffling the ring tone.
“What are you doing?”
“Enough work for tonight. You look like you’re about as tight as a rubber band holding Dolly Parton’s bra closed.”
I laughed. “Where did you get that?”
He shrugged. “A guy I worked with used to have all these stupid sayings.” He tugged me into his arms, his hand sliding over the side of my face. “Let me take a little of the stress off your shoulders.”
“How do you plan to do that?”
“Good food, good wine. Maybe a nice massage later?”
I let him pull me closer, my hand moving slowly over the front of his chest. “Why are you so good to me? I treat you like crap.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Sure I do. I’m always using you and then pushing you away.”
“Maybe that’s what gets me off about you.”
I shook my head because I didn’t believe him.
I brushed my fingers through his hair, tucking a piece of it behind his ear. “Don’t fall in love with me, Dante. I’m a hot mess. And I’m not ready to love anyone else.”
“I know.”
“I don’t know if I ever will be.”
“I know that, too.”
“And things are about to fall apart again.”
He buried his fingers in my hair, twisting my head so that he was looking right in my eyes. “Tell me what’s happening. Is it about Sam?”
Tears burned in my throat, but I’d made a promise.
“No.”
He knew I was lying. I could see it in his eyes. But he didn’t argue with me. He simply pulled me closer and kissed me. I melted as I always did, moving into his arms like my body was meant to be lost in his arms. He picked me up after a minute and carried me into the bedroom, his touch the only thing that kept me from quite literally falling apart.
Dinner burned, but we didn’t care.
I was lost in a dream, laying with Luke on the beach, whispering to each other about our future and the promises we once made to each other. But this little song—just three chords playing over and over again—drowned out his words. I rolled over and realized I wasn’t actually on the beach, but lying in my own bed in my own bedroom, dozens of miles from Galveston. And it was Dante’s phone that was playing that irritating little song.
I could hear the shower. And his phone was on the side table, ringing like it had every right to be there.
I reached over and snatched it up with the intention of just silencing it. But then I caught sight of the name and number on the screen.
Honeysuckle Nursing Home.
Honeysuckle…I knew that place. Luke’s mother lived there. He’d had to place her there five years ago when she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. He was her only family and it was the safest place for her while he was off saving the world with the CIA. As far as I knew, she was still there.
Why would Honeysuckle Nursing Home be calling Dante?
They left a voicemail, and I so wanted to listen to it, but his phone was locked with a passcode I couldn’t figure out before he turned off the shower. I put the phone back and rolled ov
er, curling up against my pillows before he came into the room, sitting on the far side of the bed with just a towel around his waist. He picked up his phone and looked at me for a long moment. Then he got up and stepped into the hallway. I could hear his voice, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. Then he was back, dressing silently. He bent to kiss my temple, then he was gone, the closing of the front door vibrating through the entire house.
Whatever they’d called about must have been important. Did he have a family member there? Or was he moonlighting, doing some sort of security for them?
I suddenly realized I knew almost nothing about Dante. I didn’t know if he had family, and if they were old enough to be in a place like Honeysuckle. But the man was from New York. Wouldn’t his family be back there?
It was…odd.
Chapter 7
Hayden
It was late when I knocked on Sam’s door. I’d stopped at home to change, feeling like a fool in the suit that I’d been wearing all day. And then I found myself sitting out in front of Sam’s condo, watching her shadow move over the windows, trying to get up the courage to do something I’d been dragging my feet on for much too long.
I wanted her. I’d wanted her for three years.
I don’t know why I waited so long, but I was regretting it. Last night made it clear to me that she was everything I’d been looking for. I was just too stupid to know it before now.
I sat there in my car far longer than I was proud to admit. But then I realized that I was just wasting more time. With a deep breath, I climbed out of the car and charged up her front steps, determined to do this, to force her to give me a clear answer.
“Do you want to be with me?”
She stared at me, her thin hair pulled back into a simple, childish ponytail, her glasses magnifying her gorgeous green eyes. She was clearly not expecting company. She was dressed in a pair of men’s sweat pants, a stained and dirty tee pulled over her full—but clearly braless—breasts.
“Hayden—”
“I just want to know. Last night was amazing, but then you leave me this cryptic note”—I took it out of my pocket where I’d kept it all day, even transferring it into my jeans when I stopped to change, tossing it onto the floor in front of her—“and tell me it can’t happen again because we work together? I don’t buy that, Sam. And I don’t think you do, either.”
HAYDEN (Dragon Security Book 5) Page 5