Fierce Shadows: Shadows Landing #4

by Kathleen Brooks

  The drive was filled with conversation and sometimes just holding each other’s hands. When they pulled into Gavin’s driveway, she didn’t cling to Dare like she did with guys in college. The difference was this time she knew she could trust Dare when they were apart. This time she simply held out her hand and waited for him to take it as she smiled at him. He had an important job to do and she was going to support him in it because she cared for him.

  18

  Dare held the door to Gavin’s clinic open for Harper. It looked to be part of his house but with its own entrance. The Shadows Landing sheriff’s SUV in the parking lot had Dare preparing for a battle. He’d liked Granger Fox, and it wasn’t any offense to him, but local cops always got their Kevlar in a bunch when they weren’t involved in federal investigations. First time meeting Granger, they’d been fine. The second time, however, had been tense, and Dare wasn’t one to back down over jurisdictional pissing matches.

  However, when he walked inside, it wasn’t Granger he saw, but a younger deputy with warm brown skin, a tight haircut, and a huge grin on his face. “Finally! I thought I was going to be the last to meet the famous Mr. More Than One Date.”

  Dare chuckled as the deputy stood up and held out his hand. He was just as tall as Dare, but leaner.

  “Dare Reigns.”

  “Kordell King, but everyone calls me The King.”

  “No, they don’t. We all call you The Ego.”

  There was the man Dare had been expecting. To the left, a door had just opened and out walked Granger Fox. He was rolling down his sleeve, but not before Dare had seen the Barbie Band-Aid.

  Granger saw that Dare had seen it and narrowed his eyes. “What? Real men wear pink and play Barbie. Are you not man enough?”

  “I’m so manly I bought my niece a cowgirl Barbie and then the three of us had a right nice tea party together.”

  “Okay,” Gavin cut in. “Let me get my sister checked out while you all measure your dicks.”

  “I’ll be the judge!” A young nurse beamed as she pulled a ruler from the front office desk.

  Dare thought he heard Harper growl, but when he looked she was already in the exam room with her brother.

  “I heard what danger you put her in,” Granger said tightly. “I liked you at first, but then knowing you’re a Fed, that explains so much. Y’all only think about yourself and your precious case. You have no regard for putting a civilian in danger. A civilian who happens to be my friend.”

  Dare took the poke to the chest and he also took in the way Kordell’s smiling face fell as he asked, “You did what?”

  “I don’t care what you say about me, but you should know one thing. No one can make Harper do anything. She’s her own woman and if you think I want to put her in danger or if you think I wasn’t dying inside as I raced to find her, then you take that ruler the nurse has and shove it up—”

  “Okay,” Granger bit off. “I get what you’re saying. I don’t like it, but I know Harper well enough to know she wouldn’t be with you if there wasn’t something good about you.”

  “Gee, thanks.” Dare tried not to be offended as he watched the two men. Granger seemed to be trying to stare into his soul as if he could see all his answers about Dare deep inside him. Kordell seemed conflicted as he tried to determine if Dare was evil or if he should be admired for being Harper’s boyfriend: a title Dare didn’t think anyone in town had ever held before. He found himself liking that title more than anything else.

  As much as he’d like to be Harper’s boyfriend, he would have to be it from a distance with his case ramping up. Which meant . . . “I’ll need a ride to the Palm Meadows Ferry after I know Harper’s okay. You think you could give me that?”

  Granger looked so shocked it was almost worth the long car ride with someone trying to decide whether to like or hate him.

  The door opened and Harper came out smiling with her brother. “I’m all good.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short. You’re so much better than good.” Dare kissed her lips quickly before turning to her brother. “So?”

  “She’s back to normal. The treatment worked. I still want her to stay hydrated, but she won’t need any more medication.” Gavin spoke to the room, but he kept his eyes on Dare. “She’s in the clear. For now.”

  Dare got the hint. “I have to get to work. I’m sorry to say that I probably won’t be seeing y’all for a while.” Dare shook Gavin’s hand and then pulled him in for a hug with their hands clasped between them. As Dare thumped Gavin’s back with his free hand, he lowered his voice. “Take care of her for me.”

  “I believe I should be saying that to you,” Gavin said quietly back.

  “Maybe someday.” He didn’t have time for regret. Not when he had a job to do.

  “I’ll be here when you’re done.” Harper reached up with her hand and cupped his cheek. “However long.”

  Dare wanted to tell her how special she was. How much she meant to him. Instead, he leaned down and placed a lingering kiss on her lips. “Take care of yourself and save me a date.”

  “The second you’re done, you’re all mine.”

  Harper dropped her hands and Dare did the hardest thing he’d ever done. He walked away.

  “Well, shoot. I didn’t even get to measure anyone,” Dare heard the nurse say as the door closed behind him.

  Dare and Granger didn’t speak until they were out of Shadows Landing. Dare was looking straight ahead as he tried to wrestle his feelings under control. Granger sighed and the noise caused Dare to turn to the lawman.

  “I guess I need to say I’m sorry. It’s clear you really care for Harper and weren’t just using her for cover.”

  “I’d never use Harper.” Dare must have said it harsher than he intended because Granger held up one hand in surrender.

  “No, I don’t believe you would. That makes us friends. There was a reason you wanted me to drive you. What’s up?”

  “Agent Castle likes you. He said I could trust you.”

  “I thought you were ATF,” Granger said with surprise.

  “You know us Feds, we know everyone,” Dare said dryly and earning a chuckle from Granger. “I want you to keep an eye on Harper. I haven’t been able to narrow down my case as much as I’d like, so I still have a suspect that Harper will be in contact with.”

  “Why on earth?”

  Dare held up a hand to stop Granger’s rant. “She did it herself and is keeping it up for two reasons. One, the man is a liquor distributor and he got her a really good deal. Two, she’s insisting on sticking with it to keep my cover. I know, I know, it won’t blow my cover if she didn’t take the order, but she wanted to draw as little attention to me as possible.”

  “Who’s the guy?” Dare recognized the tone of Granger’s voice. He was in full cop mode. Dare got the same tone when he was working.

  “Not so much one man as a company. BGM Distributors and the head boss, who is now my boss, is named Manny. BGM will be here tomorrow for a delivery.”

  Granger was quiet for a moment, and then Dare saw the slight nod of his head. “I’ll keep her safe. I promise,” Granger finally vowed.

  “Thank you. You’re a good friend to her.”

  “Yeah, I am. While Gavin’s the nice one who has sworn not to hurt anyone, I haven’t sworn that. I know where Bubba likes to eat. You be a good boyfriend to her or I’ll serve you up as dinner.”

  “Understood.” Dare just hoped he’d live through this and be able to come back to Harper.

  Dare got out of the car a block from the ferry. He thanked Granger and then it was game time. When he walked onto the ferry he was no longer Dare Reigns, ATF, or Dare Reigns, boyfriend. He was Darrell Young, a down-on-his-luck construction worker who needed a job and who was looking forward to getting to know his new co-workers very well.

  As the ferry cut through the water, Dare cut off his emotions, his past, and his heart. It was time to do his job.

  A week later, Harper slammed her hip
into Terry Clemmons III, sending him careening into his son, Terry Clemmons IV, whom everyone called Quad. It didn’t matter to Harper that Quad was a top high school basketball prospect. This was war and the split second it took him to recover gave Harper her chance to gain the lead.

  “Go Tinsley!” Harper yelled as her cousin surged ahead.

  She looked behind her and saw that Quad had recovered and his face was set with determination. His short dreadlocks bounced as he ran, well, sprinted like a world-class athlete.

  “Crap!” Harper tried to block him, but his athleticism was far superior as he faked to the right and then spun around her. That’s when Harper heard it—the sound of the deep vibrations of engines with their throttles fully open. They were coming.

  Harper sprinted closer to the Pink Pig BBQ diner for her family’s after-church lunch. The Pink Pig’s special had won the collections today during the service and everyone from the town was running down Main Street toward the winning barbecue restaurant.

  The vibrations grew louder as Harper saw her cousin Trent up ahead of them turn his head to look. His lips thinned with determination and Trent found a burst of energy at the sight of the two old men on Rascal scooters racing toward the Pink Pig. Trent was trying to block Quad as he ran while Tinsley used her small size to advantage and weaved in and out of the crowd.

  Harper felt the vibrations from the scooters rumble up her legs and they flew past her. The elderly Mr. Gann on the right and equally old Mr. Knoll on the left. Gann had built race cars for dirt tracks all around the South, while Knoll had had a competing race team. While they were no longer competing on the track, they were now competing with their motorized electric scooters.

  Just last month, Mr. Knoll had traded in his electric wheelchair for the brand-new Rascal. As they raced ahead of Harper, they slammed into each other and flipped each other the bird while yelling insults. Harper smiled at them. The competitive spirit kept them young at heart. However, it didn’t matter that she was taught to respect her elders when it came to the sprint to the winning barbecue restaurant. During this weekly after-church run to either the Pink Pig or the Lowcountry Smokehouse, all bets were off. Canes were used to trip people, threats of exposing secret casserole and pie recipes were shouted, and alliances were formed.

  “Wade! Block the OTMs!” she yelled using the initials for the nickname they’d given Gann and Knoll, which stood for Old-Timer Motors. The Faulkner family had their own alliance with Edie, Granger, and Kord. Kord was usually the fastest, but he was stuck on duty this afternoon.

  Wade zig-zagged back and forth as he blocked the OTMs. He was doing well until Knoll pulled out his cane from where it was strapped down. Then, working with Gann, they corralled Wade toward Knoll who was holding his cane like a jousting stick before hitting Wade right in the butt with it.

  “No!” his wife, Darcy, yelled, but it was too late. Wade’s arms flapped and down he went. The OTMs were rivals in the race, but allies for the table. It was a dangerous combination.

  However, Wade’s sacrifice had been worth it. During the time he’d taken to delay the OTMs, Tinsley had made it into line at the Pink Pig with Quad right behind her. Trent was only two people behind Quad, having lost out to a high schooler who was on the track team. She was sticking out her tongue at Trent until he smirked and moved up to stand with Tinsley. Alliances mattered.

  Harper slowed to a walk as she cut into line to stand with her cousins. The OTMs filled in behind the high schooler and were trying to play the senior card to move up in line, but she held firm. Wade limped up with Darcy as the rest of their group slowly joined them while they were being shown to their table.

  The restaurant filled in less than five minutes and the people who didn’t get a table either had to wait or head over to Lowcountry Smokehouse, which had been last week’s winner.

  Harper set her phone face up on the table as they all ordered the special. Tamika, the teenage granddaughter of the owner, Darius Foster, took the order in seconds before heading to the next table.

  “Expecting a call?” Tinsley teased from across the table as she and the rest of the women there all made sickeningly romantic cooing noises. Gavin and Granger sat on each side of Harper and looked uncomfortable with this line of questioning.

  “No,” Harper lied. Trent and Gavin shared a look that clearly said they weren’t happy about something. Harper had an idea of what that something was. It had been a week since she’d heard from Dare. No texts. No calls. Nothing.

  Her small sampling order of liquor had been delivered and was a big hit. A big enough hit that tomorrow she was having another order delivered. Harper hoped it would be Dare bringing it, but last week it hadn’t been. It had been two guys she’d never met before. They were nice enough. They loved hearing about the history of Shadows Landing. Skeeter held them captive with stories about the town’s pirate past as he “tested” the delivery to make sure it was “up to scratch.”

  “Where is that fine young man of yours?” Harper was drawn from her thoughts to see Miss Ruby and Miss Winnie standing next to her.

  “I’m right here,” Trent teased as he sent them a wink.

  “We haven’t seen him around and we thought you’d kicked another one to the curb,” Miss Ruby said after to Harper she patted Trent on the cheek.

  “He ain’t been around for a week,” Gator called out from the neighboring table.

  Miss Winnie clucked her disapproval, which had a smile threatening to form on Harper’s lips. When an old woman who resembled a plucked chicken clucked, it would make anyone laugh. “I had such high hopes for this one. I thought he was made of sterner stuff.”

  “I could make you a special batch of brownies, dear. That always put a smile on our faces when we were younger,” Miss Ruby said with a wink. The special ingredient in Mis Ruby’s brownies was marijuana.

  “We could hunt him down and skin ’em,” Skeeter offered as he, Turtle, and Gator all nodded.

  “That’s not necessary,” Harper said quickly. This was getting out of hand. “He’s just working.”

  “Wait,” Tamika said as she approached with a pitcher of sweet tea in each hand. “You mean y’all are still together?”

  “Yes,” Harper confirmed. “He’s just busy.”

  “We could go hog-tie him and bring him here if you miss him,” Gator finally said as everyone was quietly processing the fact Harper was still with Dare.

  “As sweet and tempting as that is, I think I’ll pass.” When Gator, Turtle, and Skeeter looked disappointed, she hurried up and told them, “But you’ll be the first person I call if I need him hog-tied or skinned.”

  The guys beamed at her from their nearby table as Tamika made her rounds with the sweet tea. “I still think it’s amazing you’re still dating him. This is the longest one yet.”

  “He’s a good guy,” Gavin said before turning the tables on Miss Ruby and Miss Winnie. “I heard there was a woman seen sneaking out of Mr. Knoll’s house late last night.”

  “Who?” Miss Ruby asked.

  “When?” Miss Winnie asked at the same time.

  “I don’t know. I heard it was at eight-thirty last night.”

  “Hussy!” Miss Ruby gasped. “To be out that late.”

  “And at a single man’s house,” Miss Winnie clucked again, and the table about lost it.

  Granger took advantage of the commotion and leaned over to Harper. “You know it’s all part of the job, right? He’ll get in touch with you when he can.”

  “I know. Doesn’t mean that I don’t miss him, though.”

  “It doesn’t mean he’s not missing you either.”

  Harper looked at Granger with a sad smile on her face. “I thought you didn’t like Dare because he’s a Fed.”

  Granger shrugged. “Any man who makes sure you’re taken care of while he’s gone is a good man in my book. The man is totally in love with you.”

  Harper felt the air whoosh from her lungs as if she’d taken a hit to the chest. �
�Love? Did he say that,”she managed to squeak.

  “He didn’t need to. His actions said it,” Granger whispered as her brother leaned over to join them.

  “Totally loves you. The question is, do you love him?” Gavin asked.

  Harper tried to pretend her whole world hadn’t just been shaken. Love? She’d never been loved by a man before. Desired? Sure. Used? Sadly, yes. But loved? Not romantically.

  Harper knew she liked Dare a lot. She knew there was something she’d never felt before between them. When he touched her, everything seemed to calm within her at the same time her whole body came alive. She missed him, yet her heart was full of pride that he was out doing his job. The only question was if she was brave enough to put her heart on the line again.

  19

  Dare had been working for ten days straight. The men had hazed him a bit during the first week, but he’d been through a lot worse in his life than some practical jokes and miserable working hours.

  For all the work he did at Palm Meadows and for BGM, he never met or talked to anyone more senior than Rudy, the head bartender for the resort, and Manny. But even Manny hadn’t been around much. He had been around enough to show him the ropes, though, and Dare had been busy ever since.

  For all that Manny had shown him, there wasn’t a single whiff of anything illegal going on with BGM. For all the talks he had with Rudy, there wasn’t a hint that they would cheat their customers with tainted alcohol. And for all the walking he did around the resort, he hadn’t seen the staff member Harper said had handed her the tainted drink. The one with the scratches down his face she had given him.

  It was too dangerous for him to start the conversation about tainted alcohol, the assaults, the robberies, or even the possibility for a single bartender to do this as a way to skim money. As the new guy, he already stood out from the rest of the employees. The last thing he wanted to do was draw attention to himself, which meant he had to bide his time.

  They had him working such long hours that by the time he got home, he simply crashed. Two nights before, he’d managed to not fall asleep on the ferry and had sent Harper a text telling her he missed her and was thinking about her constantly. She’d replied back that she missed him too. It made his heart twist in agony. He wanted nothing more than to be with her. His job, one that had always given him such fulfillment knowing he was getting bad guys off the streets, was no longer enough. Not if it meant he couldn’t have Harper in his life. Tonight Dare was determined to find some time to do more than send Harper a text.