by Tawny Weber
His grin was more wicked than charming as he leaned across the console to rub his thumb over that temptingly plump bottom lip of hers. Even without the shiny gloss, it still looked tasty.
Who knew uptight could be so cute?
Before he could do anything stupid—or stupider, since that mouth was what had got him into this mess in the first place—Gabriel pulled back.
“Let’s get this over with,” he snapped, losing patience with himself, and with her. He wanted done. If possible, before he had to see anyone in his family.
He’d left this town eight years ago, determined to prove himself. After years of trying to prove himself a worthy partner for his old man, Tobias had chosen someone else. That’d been the last straw for Gabriel. In the ugly, accusation-filled fight on the night of his departure he’d vowed not to have anything to do with his father until he’d proved he was better than the old man by outearning and outconning him. Caleb had called him a stubborn ass. Maya had told him to get over himself. Which had cemented his determination to prove himself.
And now he was back. As a failure. How freaking fabulous. He’d have to find a special way to thank Danita, he mused, giving her a hard look before storming up the walkway.
He didn’t know how she kept up with him given that she was wearing those do-me heels, but Danita was around the car and had her hand curled over his before he was halfway up the cobblestone walk toward the manor.
They didn’t make it two feet through those wide doors before a goon stopped them. Dressed in an ill-fitting suit, ugly shoes and an uglier expression, the guy hulked inches over Gabriel’s six foot two.
“The manor’s closed,” the guy grunted.
“Where’s Ham?” he asked, ignoring him. Instead he addressed the other guy, this one just as ugly but with a better suit. “I’m an old friend with an open invitation to stay here anytime. So why don’t one of you boys run out and find him. He owns this place, and he’ll vouch for my welcome.”
“There’s no vacancy right now. Private event this weekend,” the taller guy said. With a jerk of his chin, he indicated they get the hell out.
Even though a foot separated them, he could feel Danita tense. She glanced at her fingernails as if inspecting her manicure, then gave him a bored look. But her hand edged toward her purse.
“Ham’s an old buddy,” Gabriel said, irritated at having to repeat himself. “I’m sure he can squeeze us in.”
Before he could blink, the guy by the door shifted. He took two giant steps forward, grabbed Gabriel by the bicep and shifted, pulling his cheap jacket aside. At his waist was a gun. A big, ugly one that looked like it’d make an equally big, ugly hole in someone.
“You were told the manor is closed,” the man growled.
Shit.
Every nerve in his body screaming run, Gabriel forced himself to grin as if being threatened with a gun was an everyday occurrence.
That, and a quick glance at Danita assured him that this was some serious shit.
His mind raced, perceptions adjusting at the speed of light. Suddenly this bullshit situation was a high stakes game.
And his father really was in trouble.
Gabriel was a lot of things. A con, a thief and a liar topped the list. But despite the disappointments and problems over the years, he was also a son with an unshakeable love for his father. And he’d be damned if he was going to let a gang of thugs drag his dad down.
“Gentlemen, is this necessary?” he asked with a charming smile that hid his fury. Despite his hatred of all things violent, he reached up and with two fingers, lifted the goon’s hand off his own arm.
“I’m Gabriel Black. I’m here for the meeting.” He waited a heartbeat, watched the goon and his keeper exchange looks. Then, with a quick, painful thump of his heart, Gabriel committed to the game. Reaching out, he curled his fingers around Danita’s wrist and pulled her tight against him.
“My understanding is that we’re welcome to bring our own entertainment.” Gabriel didn’t take his eyes off the taller guy in charge. Ignoring the gun, and Danita’s tension, he lifted her hand to his lips. “She’s my entertainment.”
The guy’s eyes slid over Danita with a look so oily, Gabriel was surprised it didn’t leave a grease slick.
“She available to entertain anyone else?” the guy asked with a smirk.
A possessive sort of anger that he refused to call jealousy surged. It was all Gabriel could do to keep from punching the goon in the face.
“For the moment, she’s exclusive.”
“And later?”
“Son, I don’t think you can afford her,” Gabriel said with a shrug. “Now if you don’t mind, check the guest list or confirm it with Ham, and give me my room key. I’ve got a few things to do before we get started.”
“You got some attitude on you,” the goon said, obviously not appreciating being told what to do. The guy was clearly loyal to whoever was in charge.
And just who was that?
Time to get the game going so he could find out.
“Watch it, son” Gabriel warned. “Before this weekend’s over, I’m gonna be your boss.”
3
DANITA DIDN’T BREATHE easy until the hotel room door closed, leaving the goon who Gabriel had charmed into carrying their bags locked on the other side. She’d been in shoot-outs and hostage situations before, and hadn’t broken a sweat.
But getting through the front door of a quaint small town manor, past two gun-toting goons with a cocky guy like Gabriel? Between the cold February air and the sweat soaking through her sweater, she’d be surprised if she didn’t catch a darned cold.
As soon as this case was closed, she was telling Hunter that she never, ever wanted to work with a civilian again. Especially not a cocky, criminal one who made her palms sweat and her knees weak.
Although maybe she’d keep that last little bit to herself.
She gave the room a quick glance as Gabriel set their bags next to the dresser. One bed. She knew it was a necessary part of their cover. But, she mentally fanned herself, oh man, this was going to be tricky.
“Well, isn’t this the prettiest room I’ve ever seen? And so expensive, Gabriel. I like expensive,” Danita said in a husky tone. She gave him a bland look before adding, “I can’t wait to show you just how much I like it.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
The look he shot her was a combination of irritation and confusion. She held up a finger to silence him before he could put either into words, though. Without much hope, she tapped one finger to her ear to indicate listeners.
Brows drawn together, he gave the room a sweeping glance. He grimaced, then leaned one shoulder against the wall next to the door, rolled his eyes, then said in a natural tone, “Blondie, you prove to me you like it enough and I’ll buy you a flashy piece of glitter before the weekend’s over.”
Clever. Danita kept her face angled to hide her grin. So he wasn’t just a pretty-faced liar. He was a smart pretty-faced liar. Who knew?
“What’ll it take to get me two bits of glitter?” she asked, her words low and teasing. As she asked, she carefully unzipped the outer lining of her purse to show a clever array of electronic toys. She chose a wand the size of a ballpoint pen, sliding it from its case.
“Maybe the two of us on that bed with a bowl of whipped cream and cherries, followed by a hot-oil tango in the shower,” he deadpanned, not shifting from his spot holding up the wall.
The image was so easy to imagine. The two of them, naked on that four-poster bed, rolling over the wedding-ring quilt. Their bodies slick and hot. Desire was like a wave, hitting her hard and fast and damned near sweeping her feet out from under her. Since opening the window to let in cool air would tip him off, she sucked in a discreet breath and forced herself to focus on the job.
And to pretend her hand wasn’t shaking.
Like a phone addict looking for cell reception, she ran the tiny wand around the room. It wasn’t until she reached the
bedside table that the light on the end flashed red. With a warning look at Gabriel, she crouched down and ran her fingers along the side and back of the rich wood. Underneath, she found it. A tiny round bug. She aimed the wand at it and pushed a button. The red light turned green.
Deactivated.
She found two more. One in the phone. And disgustingly, the other in the bathroom just behind the toilet lid. And deactivated both.
She slipped the wand back into its felt case.
Gabriel, still leaning against the wall like he was bored, arched one brow.
She shook her head. She had complete faith that the FBI was a few technological steps ahead of whatever criminals were coming to party this weekend. But it didn’t hurt to be careful.
So she pulled out a small device that looked like an MP3 player. Looking around the room, she decided the dresser was about as central as they’d get. She flicked a button on the device. The light glowed white for one second before flashing off. The room filled with a buzzing, then silenced.
“White noise,” she said, mentally slapping her hands together as she finished up. “If they have other bugs this’ll scramble them. The only way someone’s going to hear anything in here is if they are in the next room with a drinking glass against the wall.”
“Don’t you worry that they’re going to be pissed that you broke their toys?”
“I didn’t break them. I turned them off.” She thought of the welcoming goon squad and shrugged. “They’ll be irritated, but probably not surprised. Criminals are notoriously mistrusting.”
“You don’t say.”
Danita turned away, making a show of checking the view out the leaded glass window to hide her smile at his dry rejoinder. Smart, sexy and clever. That added up to an almost irresistible combination.
Before she could decide whether or not to share the smile, though, she saw two new goons patrolling the edge of the forest just beyond the manor’s emerald expanse of lawn. Even from this distance, she could see the outline of the submachine guns under their jackets.
She was on the job. Partnered with a criminal. And instead of focusing on the task at hand, she was trying to think of excuses to give in to the hot attraction flaming between them.
It wasn’t the same as blowing off her responsibilities for a fifth of Jack and an ounce of weed, but it was too close to that line for Danita’s comfort.
What a time for family resemblances to surface. Biting back a furious snarl, Danita pinned her gaze on the largest goon as if she could kick his butt just by glaring. Because her fury was aimed at her own past, and not the man standing behind her, she took a few seconds to get it under control.
Because while she’d happily skewer Gabriel for being a cocky criminal who was crazy-lucky to not be in prison, she wasn’t willing to take her own issues out on the guy.
Instead, she took three deep breaths and focused on the reminder that she wasn’t her past. Life was about choices, and she’d chosen to close the door on selfish irresponsibility.
And no cleverly sexy criminal was going to make her open it again.
With that in her mind and steel in her spine, she lifted her chin and turned back to the room.
“I can see why you’ve been such a success as a criminal,” she said, her words closed as tight as her expression. “You must be the best liar I’ve ever watched in action.”
“Blondie, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Anytime you want to see what’s beneath that tip, you just say the word.”
She didn’t even bother to sigh. “Men like you just can’t resist pulling out your double entendres to play with, can you?”
“You have no idea what kind of man I am.”
“One of a kind, I’m sure,” she said in a deliberately bored tone. She was nice enough to turn away before rolling her eyes, though. Needing, desperately, to be busy, she pulled a tiny transmitter and a video camera the size of a safety pin out of yet another cubby in her purse.
“Not quite.” Apparently tired of waiting for her to finish her room inspection, he strode over to drop onto the bed. Kicking off his shoes, he spread out, arms crossed behind his head as he rested it on the whitewashed iron headboard.
“I’m a chip off the old block,” he said as she surveyed the room. “Not so much in looks, although my brother, sister and I do take after my dad quite a bit. We have our mother’s eyes, though. But in personality? Talent? Skill? I’m my old man’s son, through and through. But you already know that, don’t you?”
Danita paused in the act of running her fingers along the top of the bathroom door frame to stare at him. “You sound like you’re proud of that.”
“Of course I am.”
“Your father is a known criminal. His FBI file is so thick it requires its own drawer. He’s rumored to have been involved in scams and cons on five continents, to have had his hand in three major art thefts and to have actually sold some idiot the Golden Gate Bridge.” Even though she was the one reciting the list, she still shook her head in wonder. It was hard to believe someone could be suspected of all of that and so much more, yet nobody had ever been able to bust him. Ever. She gave Gabriel a baffled look. “And you’re proud of your similarities?”
“The man’s the best there is. Why wouldn’t I be proud?”
Proud. She thought of the door closed tight against her own past and cringed. Why would either of them want to be aligned with their legacies?
“So why aren’t you partnered up with him? Why have you been estranged for the past eight years?”
His eyes narrowed with a frustrated fury that surprised her. Then he blinked and the fury was gone. But Danita wasn’t surprised that he changed the subject.
“I’m going to head down to the car,” he said. “How long do you think you’ll be here playing Jane Bond?”
“Why are you going to the car?” she asked slowly.
“To get the rest of the luggage, of course,” he said, slipping his feet back into shoes before giving her a smile that was part charm, part exasperation. “What’s the worry? You’ve got the keys right there, it’s not like I can go anywhere.”
Eyes narrowed, Danita gave him a long look before nodding slowly. “The head goon said your fellow criminals were all out and about, but just in case, try not to talk to anyone.”
“If anyone dares say more than hello, I’ll brush them off. You know, tell them I’m in a hurry to get back upstairs for a hot nooner,” he tossed over his shoulder with a wicked grin.
With that smile seared in her mind and a gurgle of reluctant laughter lodged in her throat, he was gone.
GABRIEL REVELED IN the power of the Corvette’s big block as it tore down the quiet country road.
It was crazy to be disappointed, but he had to admit, he was feeling a little let down. He’d just walked right out of that room, ditching Blondie with hardly any effort at all. You’d think a government-trained agent would be a little smarter. Her car had been in full view of the window, yet she hadn’t noticed when he’d boosted it. Or maybe she had and didn’t want to blow their cover by chasing him down like an obsessive girlfriend.
He grinned at the image and wondered how long she’d wait for him to return with the bag before she came looking, then shrugged. Didn’t matter. She was pretty enough, and surprisingly not boring. But still, she wasn’t his type.
Although he’d love to know how a woman so uptight ended up playing the floozy. And damned if she didn’t play an excellent one. Those big blue eyes wide and just a smidge vacant, her lips slick and glossy and that sexy body poured into just enough fabric to make a man sweat. All the while she gave the impression that she was worth every penny in the man’s wallet she was grasping.
The memory of her lips under his flashed through his brain like lightning. And through his body like a raging thunderstorm. God, she’d tasted good. Just thinking about her got him hot and hard.
Which was the last thing he needed, he reminded himself as he turned off the highway onto Main and downshif
ted the ’Vette to something closer to the speed limit.
Ten minutes—and one quick sentimental drive around the town—later he parked his borrowed car in the town square and, one arm across the steering wheel, he looked around with a sigh.
It was the same. A tiny part of him, a part he rarely let see the light of day, relaxed as the warmth of his childhood hometown enveloped him in a welcoming hug.
Damn, he’d forgotten how simply lovely Black Oak was.
Cobblestone walks and brick buildings. Antique lampposts and planter boxes just waiting for the warmth of spring. In the center of the square was a statue of town founder, Gabriel’s great-great-grandpa, Andrew Black. Curved iron benches surrounded the square, and in honor of the season, Valentine’s hearts decorated the flags waving from various buildings.
A man who rarely allowed sentiment to take hold, he had to smile at the beauty of it all. It was as though he’d never left home.
Before he could get too gooey and emotional, there was a quick rap of knuckles on metal. His gaze flashed to his side-view mirror. A grin, wicked and wide, spread as he swung out of the car.
“Well, well,” he said as he leaned one arm on the doorjamb. “What have we here?”
“Trouble, from the look of it,” the other man said. Besides an extra inch in height and the really lousy haircut, it was almost like looking in a mirror. That fact had bothered Gabriel growing up.
It was damned hard to stand out within his family. Between his father’s rep, his brother’s looks and his sister’s brains, Gabriel had often wondered what was left for him. Part of why he’d run, he knew. He’d never felt he measured up. Away, he’d been able to find his own strengths, to choose his own priorities.
“You’re still sneaking around pretending to be a bad guy?” Gabriel asked, trying to keep the grin from splitting his face at the sight of his brother. God, it’d been close to five years since he’d laid eyes on Caleb, and that’d been a quick, accidental meeting since his brother had been undercover at the time.
“I quit the DEA,” Caleb said, leaning his hip against the ’Vette and crossing his arms over his chest and offering one of his long, intense looks.