“You’re just another man under Isabella’s spell,” Dare spat at Vella. “Don’t you know she’s sleeping with everyone here?”
Now Harper’s anger had steam coming out of her ears. Everyone? That better not include her man.
“Yuck,” Vella and the man with the gun said at that same time.
The woman leaned forward and placed a kiss on Dare’s lips and Harper took a chance and reached around the curtain to grab a bottle of cherry vodka from the middle shelf. She was going to kill her and then possibly castrate Dare. With one hand wrapped around the bottle, Harper felt to make sure her dagger was in place and ready if she needed it.
“Oh, darling. You wish you’d taken me up on the offer to sleep with me. Now, Benny’s had that pleasure, haven’t you?” The woman reached over to the staffer and caressed his ass. The staffer looked like a cartoon teenage boy with heart-shaped eyes gazing down at Isabella. “But George and Cristian? I’d never sleep with them.”
“Why?” Dare asked as his eyes went from right to left.
“We’re family.” Isabella cocked her head and laughed at Dare’s surprised look. “We’re the bastard children of Roberto Coronado. I’m the oldest. George is six months younger and was raised by his mother, Eloise Vella, in New York City. Cristian is almost seven years younger and grew up in Texas. Our father’s legitimate sons, along with his wife, will inherit his South American kingdom. After a cancer scare, he tracked me down. He visited me when I went to college. He told me I wasn’t alone. I had two younger half-brothers, who were also American. While he couldn’t give us his South American kingdom, he could give us the North American kingdom and we’d build it up further.”
The man who must be Cristian looked over at his half siblings. “We were brought into the fold when each of us turned eighteen. We started this resort first. We’re almost done building another one in Las Vegas. Then Los Angeles, Toronto, and New York. The locations have all been bought and construction has started. In three years, we’ll each lead our own resorts.”
“So you make tainted alcohol from methanol to earn cash on the side while you wait for the keys to your own kingdoms?” Dare might have asked it, but it was more of a statement.
“I told you he was smart.” The bitch leaned forward and kissed Dare’s lips again. When she pulled back, Harper could see that she had Dare’s lower lip between her perfect white teeth. “Kill him.”
Isabella leaned back as Cristian raised the gun and pointed it right at Dare’s heart. Harper didn’t wait. She sprang from behind the curtain and swung the cherry vodka at Cristian’s head. The bottle hit, but not before Cristian fired.
“Dare!” she screamed as Cristian went down, his gun skittering under a storage shelf.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Dare yelled as Benny lunged at him. He knocked them both to the ground. Dare was on his back as Benny landed a punch to his face.
“I’m saving your ass so that you can grovel for whatever the hell you’ve been doing with that bitch!”
Harper looked around and the woman was gone.
Dare head-butted Benny. His eyes rolled back and out went Benny.
“You think I was with her?” Dare yelled from the ground as Harper rushed over and shoved an unconscious Benny away from him. “Untie me, Harp.”
Harper put her hands on her hips and stared down at him. “Did you kiss her?”
“You saw that she kissed me.”
“Would you have kissed her or more to keep your cover?”
Dare was quiet then and Harper seriously thought about smacking him with the vodka bottle. It appropriately had cherry red lips on it.
“I was doing everything in my power—and succeeding, mind you—to not have to touch her. I didn’t have any kind of sexual relationship with her. I love you so much that the idea of being with someone else and not having you in my life is worse than the gunshot I have in my shoulder right now.”
Harper gasped and looked down at his shoulder. She didn’t see it on his black shirt, but she did see the blood pooling on the cement under him. “Dare!”
“No, Harp. You wait one minute. Dammit, I love you, woman. I love you to stupidity. My heart about stopped beating when I saw you swing that bottle at Cristian. I’m going to say this and you’re going to listen. You’re the one for me, Harper—the only one for me for now and forever. I want to spend the rest of my life letting you turn my hair gray. Just as long as you’re by my side. I never want to tame you. I love your wild, foul-mouthed, bar-fighting self just as much as I love the part of you that is kind, fiercely loyal, loving, and sweet. I want all of you, Harper Faulkner, every day for the rest of our lives. Harper, will you marry me?”
Harper tried to say something, but for once she was speechless.
“The town says you should say yes.”
Harper spun around with the bottle raised to find Granger standing there with his phone. “For someone who doesn’t like social media, you sure have been busy with the live-streaming lately. Now say yes to the man or the town will kick you out.”
Harper turned back to Dare, dropping to her knees as she did so. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you. I love you!” Harper leaned forward, her heart full, and kissed him. She was going to wipe off that bitch’s taste.
Harper jumped up, grabbed her vodka bottle, and shoved past Granger. “Untie him and call a medic!”
“Where are you going?” Dare yelled after her.
“I need to have a word with a certain woman.”
“Harper!” she heard Dare bellow.
“You love me!” Harper yelled back as she sprinted from the storage area.
“She’s headed to her office! Second floor over the lobby!” A voice called out as she sprinted past the bar.
“Thanks, Rudy,” Harper shouted back as she almost plowed into Trent and Kord at the door. “Trent, help Granger with Dare and tie up Cristian and Benny. Rudy will show you. Kord, you have to find the doctor. His office is down that hallway.”
“Saw him in the live stream,” Kord said as he was already spinning around and sprinting like the athlete he was toward Vella’s office.
Harper didn’t bother with the elevator as she took the stairs two at a time to Isabella’s office on the second floor.
Harper found the office easy enough even though the door didn’t have a name on it. Isabella liked her privacy. “Knock, knock,” Harper yelled a second before she put her boot to the latch and kicked the door open.
31
Dare groaned as Granger rolled him over onto his side and slashed the bindings with his knife. He needed to find Harper. Isabella was dangerous. “Dammit, Granger. That hurts.”
“Miss Winnie says to stop being a wimp and that I should take off your shirt to examine the wound,” Granger said dryly after getting Dare into a sitting position.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Damn, his shoulder really hurt.
Granger didn’t say anything; he just pointed. Dare followed Granger’s finger. It took him a second to find it. “Is that Harper’s phone?”
“It’s live streaming. Wave to your fans in the Shadows Landing group.”
“Darrell!”
Dare looked up to find Rudy standing there with a surprised expression on his face as Trent pushed by him. “Are these the guys I need to tie up?” he asked, pointing to Cristian and Benny’s unconscious bodies.
Granger grabbed some of the leftover rope and then tossed Trent the rest and a pair of cuffs. “Put these on them and hand me a bottle of vodka. Not the fruity shit either.”
“Do you really think now is the time to drink? Would you please save Harper for me?” Dare ground out.
“I’m cleaning your shoulder and then I’m tying it off so that we can go get Harper,” Granger told him as if he were a big brother annoyed with his little brother.
“Oh, then you’ll want this. It’s cheap as all get-out but has the highest alcohol content we carry.”
“Thanks, Rudy,” Dare said dryly. “And you can
call me Dare. I’m undercover with the ATF.”
“Seems fitting. I wouldn’t worry about Miss Harper. She’d make the devil shake with the mood she’s in.”
“Granger, Trent, this is Rudy. The second best bartender I know.”
Granger chuckled as he peeled off Dare’s shirt. “Miss Winnie’s getting her wish.”
Trent busted out laughing as he looked at his phone. “Hey, Dare. You’re bringing the vapors back in style in Shadows Landing. Half the knitting group is having fits.”
“Bite me . . . Damn!” Dare yelled as the vodka was poured on his shoulder. It felt as if his whole shoulder was on fire as the alcohol entered the wound. Sticking a red-hot poker into it had to feel better than this.
“Here,” Rudy said to Granger. “These are clean.”
A bar towel was pressed to each side of his shoulder and then tape was used to hold them in place with so much pressure that Dare’s vision temporarily blurred. “Come on,” Dare snapped as he grabbed the bottle of cheap vodka from Granger and stormed after Harper.
Harper felt deep satisfaction as the door was ripped from the frame and flung open. Isabella’s head popped up from where she was scooping money from a wall safe into a gift shop bag. There was already one full bag on the floor at her feet.
“We need to have a little chat.”
“Who the hell are you?” Isabella asked as she darted to stand behind her desk. The two-way mirrors that looked out over the lobby framed her as she reached for the knife-like letter opener on her desk.
“I’m the fiancée of the guy you just kissed and then ordered to be killed.”
“Oh, is someone feeling neglected? You could have joined us in bed if I’d known you were so spunky.”
Harper threw the bottle of vodka. Isabella ducked and it went sailing through the two-way mirror. Harper heard screams of surprise coming from the lobby below.
“That’s why men will always choose me. I’m smart. I didn’t throw away my weapon just because I was mad that someone else kissed my man. If you were good enough, you would have held his interest.”
“Lady, you have no idea how much I’m going to enjoy this.” Harper reached behind her, yanked up her shirt, and pulled the dagger free from where it was secured by her belt.
Harper expertly spun the dagger in her palm and enjoyed Isabella’s sudden look of fear. Then everything went sideways.
Isabella yanked open a drawer. Harper knew there had to be something bad in it, so she ran right at Isabella. Isabella backpedaled to get distance between them and that allowed Harper to see the small gun in her hand.
Harper leapt up onto the desk. Her booted foot made an echoing sound as it stomped onto the wood. She shoved off her foot and then she was flying through the air. Isabella raised her hand and fired her gun as Harper crashed into her. Harper’s momentum sent them both hurtling backward. Harper didn’t see it, but she heard the gun drop as they slammed into the floor.
They landed so hard that Harper was momentarily stunned. Her concussion was giving her a hell of a headache, but it wasn’t going to stop her from taking Isabella down. A single moment of pause gave Isabella time to shove Harper to the side and wriggle free.
Harper cursed ten ways to Sunday as both women struggled to their feet. Harper held her dagger at the ready. Isabella glanced at the gun. It felt like slow motion to Harper as Isabella ran and stooped over for the gun. Harper loosened her grip and threw the dagger.
The dagger sunk into Isabella’s shoulder and she cried out in pain. Isabella grasped the gun and moved to stand upright with the gun in hand. Harper had two options. She could run or hide, but hiding wasn’t her in her DNA. Two quick strides forward and Harper was there. Isabella was bringing the gun level to aim as Harper kicked. She landed her booted foot right in Isabella’s stomach.
The gun went off. Harper felt a small sting on her upper arm as she followed up the kick with an uppercut. Her fingers felt the familiar resistance of bone, but then it gave way as Isabella’s head snapped back. The woman’s arms pinwheeled as she stumbled back. Harper reached for her, but it was too late. Isabella tripped over her own feet and fell against the shattered glass. It gave way, and Isabella fell from sight.
“Harper!”
Harper turned just in time to see Dare burst into the room with Granger. She looked to the window and Granger rushed over to it. Dare ran to her, wrapping his good arm around her, and holding her tightly against him. “I’d say never do that again, but I doubt that you could live up to that promise.”
“She’s alive,” Granger said as he ran past them and back out the door.
She and Dare rushed forward to the window and looked down. The lobby was filled with men in ill-fitting suits.
“You may fallen from heaven or from a broken window, but the best way to fall, is to fall in love with me.” A man in his late fifties wearing an iridescent silver suit was sitting on the ground with Isabella in his arms.
“I don’t believe it. That actually works,” another man said to him. “I thought you were pulling my leg telling us about those pick-up lines, but she legit fell into your lap.”
“Out of my way!” Granger yelled. The men parted and Harper saw the sign reading Lowcountry Defense Attorneys Association Annual Convention.
“Well, that explains that,” Harper said, turning to Dare. “Now, tell me again that you love me.”
Dare pulled her tight against him and lowered his lips to hers. He kissed her senseless before lifting his lips from hers. “I love you, Harper.”
Harper closed her eyes and soaked it in. “I love . . . Dare?” Harper opened her eyes to find an empty room. “Oh! I will get the last word in.”
She heard Dare laugh from the hall and with a smile on her face knew they’d never be bored together. She couldn’t wait to tell him just how much she loved him . . . and then handcuff him to her so he could never leave her again. She snapped her fingers and ran from the room. “Dare, I have something to tell you!”
Dare had his arm around his fiancée and the pain in his shoulder was being healed by the sweet and sexy words she was whispering in his ear. Alec Horn had been a couple buildings over as he, Agent Castle, and Detective Willie Chambers helped the girl Dare had found earlier. They had arrived to cordon off the crime scene, then search the resort with the warrant his boss was obtaining.
“C.J. is the only one I know who isn’t here. He left to go down to the boat and then wherever they doctor the illegal alcohol,” Dare told his boss.
“Wait, to the boat?” Harper grabbed his arm hard and Granger, Kord, and Trent cursed under their breath. Trent didn’t wait. He was already running for the door.
“What?” Dare asked, feeling as if he were missing something.
“Edie!” Harper yelled as she left Dare standing there and ran after Trent.
“She’s down at the boat we brought. They make the alcohol in Shadows Landing. They’re the ghosts,” Granger called out over his shoulder as he too ran out the back door.
Dare, his boss, Kord, and Agent Castle all followed.
“She stole my car,” Castle said in disbelief as he watched a car speed from the lot. Harper, Trent, and Granger were nowhere to be seen.
Dare didn’t stop. He vaulted onto his bike, kicked it on, and almost jumped with surprise when he felt very strong arms wrap around his waist. “Hurry, man. That’s my friend down there.”
Dare ignored Kord and peeled out as the man tightened his grip around Dare’s waist. “Faster!” Kord yelled into his ear and Dare pushed his bike into another gear. They were almost caught up to the car when Dare slid to a stop. Kord was off the bike in a flash and together they were running to where everyone was standing on the dock.
“What took y’all so long?” Edie asked in a remarkably calm tone of voice. Dare looked over Harper’s shoulder and saw Edie sitting on the side of her speedboat with her feet resting on a hog-tied C.J..
“Are you crying?” Edie asked Harper.
“I’m
so proud of you.” Harper stepped on C.J. and hugged her friend.
Dare couldn’t stop the laugh that burst from his mouth and noticed all the guys were similarly affected. “What happened?” he asked Edie. “Looks like you took first prize in calf roping.”
“Never mess with a woman in the knitting club.”
A small hatchback pulled up as various federal agents and someone who Dare guessed was the local detective climbed out as if it were a clown car.
“This is the boat they used to transport the illegal alcohol to and from the facilities under the cemetery in Shadows Landing. I’ll have Reverend Winston meet you at his church if you’d like to see where it’s made,” Harper told the group of agents gathering around. “But you better listen to Reverend Winston. You will be blindfolded and you can’t step from the room or the ghost of Anne Bonny will get you.”
Some agents laughed, some didn’t. Dare guessed the ones who suddenly looked nervous were locals.
“Do you need anything else?” Dare asked his boss.
“You’ve wrapped this up in a pretty present. All I need is a confession to top it off.” Agent Horn smacked him on his good shoulder. “Damn fine job.”
“What’s your phone number?” Granger asked.
Horn rattled it off and then looked down at his phone. “What’s this?”
Dare looked over his boss’s shoulder as Agent Castle looked over the other shoulder. Horn pressed the link Granger sent. “I’m not a resident of Shadows Landing,” he muttered.
“I’ll approve you,” Granger said and a second later a video popped up and his boss’s jaw dropped.
“Un-freaking-believable,” he said slowly as the confession unraveled.
“Where did you get this?” Castle asked with shock.
Granger pointed to Harper. “Our social media expert. There’s another video in the group showing where the bottles are mixed and who was there on behalf of the resort. So, shall I escort you to my little town?”
C.J. was hauled up and put in the back of a cruiser. Dare opened his arm and loved how Harper instantly rushed into it. Dare turned to Kord. “Take my bike back to Shadows Landing, will you? We need to see a man about some stitches.”
Fierce Shadows: Shadows Landing #4 Page 24