Dared by a Dangerous Man

by Cleo Peitsche

  “If they start construction next week, we’ll need to pick which three days to shut the office,” he said. His crooked smile was a little sheepish. “I know we were gonna call Dad together, but I already did,” he said.

  “Me, too.”

  “I left a message.”

  I grunted. I hadn’t left a message. I had, in fact, hung up before voicemail kicked in, and I’d been relieved that Dad hadn’t answered. It was probably how Corbin had felt the night before when I hadn’t answered.

  “We should give everyone those days off,” Rob said. “Paid. It’ll make them more forgiving about the noise and inconvenience afterward.”

  “Yeah.” What would I do with time off? Mope, probably. I sighed and turned back to my work.

  A few minutes later, Rob tapped the end of his pen on the desk. “You remember that woman who was talking to you at the deli?”

  “Nope.”

  “Don’t be a pain, Audrey.” He drummed faster.

  Frustrated, I grabbed his pen and lobbed it across the room. “Can we please work?” All I had left was my job, and I wanted to lose myself in it.

  “What am I supposed to write with?” Rob helped himself to my pen, and I opened a drawer and found another one.

  He was quiet for another forty-five minutes, but when I stopped to check my email, he picked up right where he’d left off. “Who is she?”

  “Who is who?”

  He just stared at me.

  “One of Corbin’s friends,” I said, bending over the keyboard to make a point. Just saying his name made me want to sob.

  “Really?” He considered. “With secret powers?”

  “Mm,” I said noncommittally.

  “It only makes her hotter.”

  I swung to face him. “She’s married.”

  “Didn’t see a ring.”

  “She forgot it.”

  “Didn’t see a tan line.” Now he was grinning.

  “She wears it on a chain around her neck so she won’t accidentally lose it.”

  “Trust me, there wasn’t anything dangling against her chest.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

  With a scowl, I closed my email. “She was in a gay bar last night.”

  “Maybe she likes the drinks,” Rob said. He leaned back on his chair.

  “She was meeting a woman.”

  “You, obviously.”

  I sighed. “She’s allergic to redheads.”

  “Wouldn’t be the first time I taught a woman that redder is better.”

  Obviously the only way to deal with this was to ignore him.

  But he wouldn’t shut up. “Is she seeing anyone? Do you know what kind of guys she likes? I think we had a connection—what do you think?” There were several minutes of blissful silence, then, “Will you at least tell me what she wanted?”

  “Sharing the office isn’t working,” I said. “Today would be my day, so you need to leave.”

  He poked me. “Don’t be so grumpy. You think you’re having a bad day, but it could be worse.” He was serious, straight faced. “Having a tapeworm. That would make for a crappy day.”

  “Fine. Having a parasite would make my day worse. Can I work, now?”

  “Being a tapeworm. Objectively, that would suck more.”

  “You would know.”

  “Suppose you had worms for arms?” He kept at it, getting more and more ridiculous until I laughed. Then he sat back, pleased with himself.

  No way could I work if he was going to be in one of his moods, goofing off. I went out to get two sodas from Erin. When I returned, I shut the door behind me and handed a can to Rob. “Her name is Jennifer. Don’t know her last name. She wants me to work for her.”

  “Really? Doing what?”

  I shrugged. “Some kind of consulting. Probably the same thing Corbin had in mind. It’s only part time and probably very boring. We’re meeting tonight to talk about it.”

  “Maybe I should be there,” he said. “Maybe I want to be recruited.”

  “Not.”

  He cleared his throat. “Here’s the deal. Let me come tonight, and I’ll call you to assist on all my cases just before I catch them. I’m close on five. That would put you far ahead of Martin.”

  My eyes narrowed. “Why are you smirking?”

  His spread his fingers wide, all innocence.

  “Pain in my ass. If you’re so desperate to have Jennifer shut you down, fine. Be at my place at 6:00. But so you know, I think the job has a ton of paperwork.” I gathered my stuff. “The office is all yours.”

  Rob stopped grinning long enough to ask, “Where are you going?”

  “To see a man about a dog.”

  I met Jennifer twenty minutes later, outside a convenience store. She held the leash of a shaggy golden-brown mutt that looked like it had come directly from the shelter. It was cute enough, with responsive ears and curious dark eyes.

  “What’s his name?”

  “Her name is Millie.” When Jennifer said it, the dog raised her muzzle and pricked her ears expectantly.

  “I’ll give her back tonight. And my brother is coming.”

  “Your brother?”

  “Guy with red hair—”

  “I know who he is. God knows I followed you around long enough. But why is he coming?”

  “He says maybe he wants to be recruited.”

  Jennifer smiled. “Really?”

  “Or maybe he just thinks you’re hot,” I said. It didn’t have the effect I’d wanted because instead of looking irritated, Jennifer blushed.

  I loaded Millie into my back seat, and I drove off, leaving Jennifer standing there, her hands on her hips.

  When I’d booked the appointment online, Massimo hadn’t been available. Upon arriving, I practically begged the woman at the front desk to squeeze me into his schedule.

  “I’ll wait,” I said. “My dog walker says he’s the best groomer for Millie. If it were just me, I wouldn’t care, but I love Millie. I only want the best for her.”

  The receptionist sighed, then magically found a way to make it happen.

  Millie and I waited for forty minutes, and I used the time to think of ways to get Massimo talking. Better that than to allow Corbin into my thoughts for even a second.

  I suddenly realized that I hadn’t seen any evidence of a dog at Neil’s place. No bowl, no leash, no photos, and certainly no pooch. Hadn’t they met because of Neil’s dog?

  So much for being perceptive.

  “I’ll take you back now,” the receptionist said. She led us to a room with pink everything: walls, floor, table, artwork, curtains. It was like being inside a pack of bubble gum.

  Massimo entered and washed his hands. Apparently he needed to be clean before touching an animal that had shown strong interest in a smelly, brown pile in the parking lot.

  “Hello,” Massimo said to Millie as he squatted down, getting eye level with her. “I’ll be taking care of you today.” He stroked her head, his eyes shining warmly. “It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.”

  “Nice to meet you, too,” I said, and he looked up at me. I raised an eyebrow.

  “I like to introduce myself to the canine person first,” he said. “It’s important they understand that I see them as equals.” While he spoke, he gestured between himself and Millie. She whined and thumped her tail.

  Canine person. “Oh…” I hadn’t expected Massimo to be so new agey. “Do you have a dog?” I asked, going directly into recon mode.

  He nodded. “My boyfriend and I have the most adorable Pomeranian,” he said. “She’s a bundle of joy. Right now she’s on vacation at a doggie spa. I can’t wait until she comes back. She was my boyfriend’s, but I fell in love with her. He likes to say I loved her before I loved him. Between us, he’s right. If we broke up, I’d beg to keep her. Good thing we’re not about to break up.” As he talked, he led Millie up a ramp and into a sink. There, he clipped her collar to a ring on the side. “Does she have any problems?”

  “Um… S
he’s pretty normal,” I said, hoping Jennifer hadn’t given me a dog with major issues about having her nails trimmed.

  “Yeah, I can tell she’s a real sweetie,” Massimo said. “I’ve got a sixth sense about dogs.” He glanced at me. “Didn’t you order the dual package?”

  I shook my head. “Just the shampoo.” Because it was cheapest.

  He turned on the water. “That must be my next client, then. You should try the dual next time. Diane, who does the massages, has talented hands. Then you and Millie will both be relaxed and ready for your weekend.”

  “Where did you meet your boyfriend?” I asked.

  “At a club,” he said. “The first time. He was pretty drunk and he doesn’t remember, but I slipped him my card. He brought Pooksie in for a shampoo and I made sure he remembered me.” He seemed to catch himself. “I gave Pooksie the deluxe treatment, I mean.”

  “That’s really sweet,” I said. If all my private investigations were going to involve people who were so talkative and easy, it was going to be the best job ever. So far, no one had tried to stab me, or run away, and no one had laughed at me.

  “True love, then,” I said.

  “Oh, yeah,” Massimo said. “He’s the one. He wants to start making it official. Shared bank accounts, make me his emergency contact, all that jazz. I told him absolutely not, but it touched me. Sometimes, you just know.” He slanted me a look. “What about you? Any special someone?”

  “Not sure,” I mumbled, but I was thinking I knew why Frances had called last night, panicked. Neil trying to merge finances would do it.

  “Messy relationship?” He shook his head. “Things are only as difficult as you let them be. It took me a long time to figure that one out.”

  “Yeah.” I thought of Corbin and how it had felt to wake up alone that morning, and then I was blinking away tears. Luckily, Massimo was concentrating on Millie and didn’t notice.

  “Take my boyfriend, for example,” he continued obliviously as he massaged shampoo through Millie’s fur. “He never wanted to settle down. Some guy broke his heart years ago, and he decided no one can be trusted. We had to fight to get through that, and there were some ugly times, but he’s worth it.”

  I wanted to hear more about that for purely selfish reasons. Not that I expected some stranger to give good love advice, but I was kind of desperate. However, I forced myself back to my script. “Have you met his family?”

  “Just his granny. He doesn’t have much family, but she’s more than enough.”

  Interesting. “More than enough?”

  Massimo grimaced.

  “That bad?”

  “Maybe I wasn’t what she expected. I think she would have preferred someone with a desk job, someone more conservative. At the time, my hair was dyed hot pink because I had a part in my friend’s movie. I told Neil it wasn’t good timing, but he always gets his way.” He sighed dramatically.

  I’d stalked Neil and Massimo, had broken into their place, all because Frances expected Neil to date… a banker type?

  My first case: closed. Disappointing results, too. I suddenly wanted a nap.

  “I think she’s lonely,” Massimo was saying. “She’s been living vicariously through her grandson. She has this image of Neil settling down with a sophisticated man. Someone who wears nice sweaters. That they’ll adopt a few kids, vacation in expensive resorts. That’s so not me. Well, expensive resorts, that I could get on board with.”

  He suddenly turned to face me, and I smiled guiltily.

  “I’m sure she’ll fall in love with you just like—” I’d almost said Neil’s name. “Like her grandson did.”

  “Why’s your situation so messy?” he demanded.

  After he’d told me so much, I felt obligated. “My boyfriend might be getting back with his wife.” After I said it, I wondered why I hadn’t made something up.

  Massimo’s lips formed an O, and his eyebrows hiked halfway up his forehead. “That is messy.” He reached for a hair dryer on a hose.

  I felt my face coloring. “It wasn’t like that. They’d been apart for years when I met him,” I said defensively. “She just popped up.”

  “And he wants to go back to her?”

  “I guess so.”

  He put down the dryer. “You mean you don’t even know? Either he does or he doesn’t.”

  “At a minimum, I think he feels responsible,” I said. “She was, uh, going through some things, otherwise they never would have broken up.”

  “Oh, hon. That blows.”

  I found myself nodding. “You know the worst part? He’d been looking at engagement rings before she showed up!”

  “That’s awful. I can’t imagine the hole in your heart. Well, you have two courses of action. Either que será será,” he said.

  “Yeah.”

  “Or you fight for what’s yours.” He picked up the dryer and pointed the nozzle toward Millie, who was wagging her tail. “I think you should fight. And then have faith that things will work out.” He switched the dryer on, and I took the opportunity to slip out of the room.

  Chapter 11

  By the time Massimo had finished primping the dog, it was too late to stop by the sheriff’s office and talk to Frances, so I took Millie home.

  Then Jennifer called to apologize and say she couldn’t make it, so Rob suggested we hit the gym. He probably didn’t believe the meeting had been canceled and wanted to make sure I wasn’t being sneaky.

  Millie seemed calm enough, so I left her in my apartment and hoped she wouldn’t eat my shoes.

  After the gym, I took Millie for a walk. When I returned, I saw a huge black SUV parked in front of my building.

  I glanced inside and found it empty. That meant Corbin was waiting in the apartment.

  But he wasn’t in the apartment.

  I set a bowl of water on the floor and watched Millie lap it up, making a mess. Then I went looking through the refrigerator for something for her to eat.

  Unless she wanted ketchup, she was out of luck. After all, I hadn’t been living in the place. And now that I’d promised my rent money to Rob, I’d have to move somewhere cheaper. Most likely… back in with Rob.

  That was fine by me. Giving up my place had been his idea.

  There was knocking at the door moments before it opened, and Corbin walked in.

  He stood in the entrance, filling it with his broad shoulders. The room seemed too small to contain him. He wore a blue shirt and distressed, faded black jeans that were just tight enough to show off his muscular legs. Knowing what I did about his shopping habits, those jeans had cost over a grand.

  He nodded at me, his full lips closed, his square jaw tight. Millie came out of the kitchen and went right up to him. He stared down at her, then squatted.

  “Millie,” he said in his rumbling voice. “Why do you smell like a florist?”

  Of course he knew the dog. I wondered if she had a secret attack mode.

  I wanted to say something mean, something snippy, but I couldn’t. I wanted to hurt Corbin, but I didn’t want to. Both at the same time.

  Christ, I was so screwed up.

  “I assume you came by for something,” I said, my chest tight.

  Corbin straightened. “To talk to you. Can we do that?” He didn’t wait for my answer, just walked deeper into the apartment.

  I nervously followed him to the couch. It was actually a futon, the mattress always trying to slip off the wooden frame. Corbin sat on it like it wasn’t about to dump him onto the floor.

  “I’m sorry—” he began.

  “I forgive you for keeping secrets. You have my blessing for… the rest. If you came here to talk about this, all you’re doing is poking your finger in the wound.”

  “That’s not why I’m here. I want you to understand.”

  “Corbin, I get it. You’re married. She’s your wife.”

  He stood. “Actually, she’s not my wife anymore. When she was declared dead, that ended our marriage. Just because sh
e might be alive doesn’t mean the marriage is now valid.”

  “But you’d marry her again,” I said, suddenly understanding, and it was so awful that I was frozen in shock. I felt every single drop of blood drain from my face. It seemed to have vanished from my veins completely, and suddenly I was woozy.

  I’d been living with the certainty that Corbin had, if only for a brief time, wanted to get married. That under different circumstances, we would have been together forever.

  It hadn’t been much, but it had helped.

  In a flash, even that was ripped away from me.

  “You’re already planning it.” My voice fell to a whisper. “You were looking at engagement rings for her, not for me—”

  “Audrey…” His voice was taut. “You saw that? I didn’t mean to…”

  He tried to touch me, but I jerked away so hard that I almost fell over.

  Corbin held his hands up, and he took a step back. “If you would just listen—”

  “I knew there was a reason you were being so weird. It didn’t make sense. I’m a fucking idiot.”

  I angrily pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes because I would not cry. I wouldn’t. But I did, however, sit clumsily, and unintentionally, on the floor.

  Corbin grabbed my wrists and pulled my hands away from my face as he knelt in front of me. “You’re not an idiot. There’s never been any doubt about how I feel about you,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Not for a second.”

  “It doesn’t matter now.”

  “You misunderstood. I was looking for proof. The man has recent photos of her engagement ring. It looks like hers, but the picture is grainy, and it’s been years. I don’t recall the details, if it was four prongs or five holding the stone, for example, so I was trying to see if the jeweler still carries that style. For comparison.”

  “Leave me alone,” I said weakly. Because while his explanation was better than my assumption, it didn’t really help. I felt pathetic. I’d told a stranger that he wanted to marry me.

  Forget Massimo. I’d told Rob.

  And, of course, Corbin now knew as well. Couldn’t overlook that humiliating detail.

  “Please, just go. I want to be alone.”

  “But I can’t leave you alone,” he said as he gently lifted me. “I tried to do it your way. And I know you, that left to your own devices, you convince yourself of things that just aren’t true.”