Handsome Hero

by Lori Wilde

  As soon as Hal was out of hearing range, Max said to Paige, “Sounds like one of those guys who come in here all the time just to flirt with you.”

  Paige didn't seem convinced. “I wish I knew for certain who it was.”

  Max would call Travis in a couple of minutes and see if anything new had happened in the last few hours. But if photographers were still trying to break into their office, that meant they didn't know where Paige was. Max had serious doubts that they could have figured it out since last night.

  But he couldn't take any chances.

  “Don't worry,” he told Paige, hoping to comfort her. “I'm sure it was nothing serious.”

  She nodded but seemed completely unconvinced. “I guess I'll get to work.” But she'd only taken a couple of steps when she turned back toward him and asked, “Can you come home with me tonight?”

  “Sure,” he said, trying to be casual in front of the other employees.

  Max glanced at his watch. He had a couple of minutes before his shift started, so he slipped into the stockroom and called Travis.

  When Travis finally answered, he sounded distracted. All he said was, “Nine. Later.” Then he hung up.

  Max stared at his phone. Something was wrong. Really wrong. Nine was their code word for everyone was okay but that something had happened. It also meant the other person couldn't talk right now. So now Max had to wait until the promised “later” to talk to Travis and find out what was wrong. Things had been fine a couple hours ago. What had changed?

  He knew better than to rush his brother. Trav would do what he had to do, then the second he could, he'd let Max know what was happening.

  But Max had never been good at waiting. He was an action kind of guy. He wanted to take charge and handle the problem. Sometimes in this business, though, waiting was the best course of action. Now was one of those times.

  Knowing it probably would be some time before Travis called back, Max headed to the bar.

  “I need four beers and a cola,” Paige said, bypassing Hal and bringing her order to him.

  “Sure thing,” Max said, getting to work. He glanced at Paige, and as usual, he felt happy just to be near her.

  He knew he was becoming a sap, but he couldn't help it. “How's your night going?”

  She was jotting down some notes, but now she looked up at him and smiled that sweet, sexy smile of hers he really liked. She seemed to be over her concern about the caller.

  “I'm great,” she said. “I'm making a few more notes about the festival. How's your night going?”

  “Since we just got here, my night’s going great.” He couldn't tell her about Travis and how much that had rattled him. Instead, he said, “Always is when I’m around you.”

  She rewarded him with another smile. “I feel the same way. Always brightens my world.”

  As she walked away, Hal wandered over and slapped Max on the back. “She's in love with you, buddy boy.”

  Max froze and stared at Hal. “What?”

  “Paige. Loves. You.” Hal said each word slowly, his grin so wide it was almost too big for his face.

  “No, she doesn't. I mean, we're involved, but that's all.” Max moved away from the other man, shaking his head as he went. Hal was wrong. Dead wrong. Paige wasn't looking for anything long term any more than he was. She knew this wasn't going anywhere. They were just enjoying each other's company. That was it.

  “She's not in love,” he repeated. “We care about each other. But it's not love.”

  Hal narrowed his eyes. “Maybe not yet. But soon, and you're fooling yourself if you think you're not falling, too.”

  Max knew Hal was hoping he'd confide in him, but there was zero chance of that happening, so he just moved farther away.

  “You're wrong.” Max started refilling the snack bowls.

  Hal wasn't easily discouraged. He came over and stood next to Max again. “Do you always delude yourself this way because it isn't healthy. You need to face reality, Max.”

  “Not funny.”

  “Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you.” He gave Max a look that could only be described as paternal. “I feel responsible for her because I hired her and then convinced her to stay on when she wanted to quit about two weeks later.”

  That was news to Max. He hadn't realized Paige had thought about running from Honey. “She wanted to leave?”

  He nodded. “Yep. Said she couldn't stay in one place too long.”

  Max knew that Hal was fishing for information. He was trying to figure out what Max knew, but Max didn’t want to tell him. “Huh,” was all he said.

  Hal nodded. “Alma and I, along with the rest of the employees, all hounded her to stay until she finally changed her mind. I think she didn't realize how many friends she had here. It seemed to really mean a lot to her.”

  Friends. Yes, Max could understand how much that meant to Paige after she'd spent so much time on her own trying to get away from Adam and her father.

  Max also knew she might think that the press wasn't after her anymore, which unfortunately he knew wasn't true. Someone had broken into his office looking for information on Paige. Of that he was certain.

  He’d have to tell her. Later. Once he spoke with Travis and knew what was wrong.

  “It’s nice that you convinced her to stay,” Max said when he realized Hal was watching him closely.

  “I recognize good people when I meet them.” Hal kept his gaze fixed on Max. All trace of his usual humorous personality was gone. This was a man with a mission, so Max let him talk.

  “For instance, take you. You're a good guy. Oh, I know you're not quite who you say you are but—”

  Max cut him off. “What do you mean by that?”

  Hal sighed. “Please. Don't bother to protest. And I don't care what it is that you're hiding. All I care is that you take care of Paige. I know you wouldn't hurt her yourself. But now I need something more from you. I need you to promise me you'll keep other people from hurting her as well. In return, I won't pry into whatever deep dark secret it is you're hiding.” Hal extended his right hand. “Deal?”

  Max briefly considered protesting but finally realized why bother. Hal was right. He had good people instincts. He had sized up Max and Paige really well despite neither of them telling him the whole truth.

  Max shook the other man's hand. “I guarantee I won't let anything bad happen to Paige. You have my promise.”

  For a moment, Hal studied him. Then he nodded.

  “Good. I knew she could count on you for more than merely amazing sex.”

  With a groan, Max walked away. “Jeez, will you let that go?”

  Hal was back to his old self again. “Never,” he said with a laugh. “In fact, I think I'll go tease Paige about it. Man's got to find diversion where he can.” He hollered at Paige and headed across the restaurant.

  Max watched as the other man followed Paige around, teasing and asking questions, which only made her laugh. He liked listening to the sound of her laughter. Paige had a great laugh, full and rich.

  The vibrating of his cell phone pulled his attention away from Paige. Since it was slow, Max signaled Hal, who nodded and came over to watch the bar.

  “Be right back,” Max said, heading outside. He wanted to make certain no one overheard this call.

  He headed toward his truck. There he could talk in private and still keep an eye on the café.

  “What's up?” he asked his brother.

  “Someone broke in again,” Trav said. “I left for a short meeting, and when I got back, the place was trashed.”

  “You okay?”

  “I'm fine, but Max—”

  “Paige's file was stolen, right?” Max sighed, already knowing the answer.

  “Yeah.”

  Max drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. Okay, so they'd gotten the file, but that didn't mean they knew where Paige was. There was no real information in that file. Just a list of dates he’d met with Roger.

  A su
dden thought hit him. “Trav, eleven,” he said, resorting to another of their codes.

  “Max, I don't think...” Travis stopped talking. “You think eleven is the right time? Seems kind of late.”

  Max sighed and ran one hand through his hair. “I think eleven is exactly right.”

  “Okay,” Travis said, and then he hung up. Max waited impatiently for his brother to call him back, but it took some time for the phone to ring. Travis would head outside and stand next to the noisy construction site so he could call on his cell phone without worrying about being overheard.

  “The office phone may be bugged,” Max said as soon as his brother called back.

  “I already thought of that, so I took the office phone apart and ran a scan around the office, but I didn't find anything. Sure you're not giving them more credit than they deserve? They are photographers, not the CIA. Plus, they tore the place apart, which wasn't smart. It let me know they'd been there. If they'd been smart, they would have tried to make it look untouched.”

  Max only wished these guys were dumb, but he knew better. He knew not to underestimate them. Roger Delacorte had talked about his daughter just last night at a fundraiser. He’d deliberately stirred up interest in the story once again. Every time he did that, he automatically increased the value of photos of Paige, not to mention how much a freelance reporter could get for an exclusive story.

  Although he understood why Paige wanted to wait, the sooner she told her story, the better.

  “You still would have known they'd been there, and they know that. They also know that this way, the cops will think it was random smash and trash. Let me guess, they took some office equipment. The police probably said whoever had broken in had done so because they wanted something to hock for drug money, right?”

  Travis laughed, but it wasn't a joyful sound. “Yeah. Of course, I denied that we were working on a case that would result in this sort of thing. That left them with no other conclusion to draw than it was a routine burglary.”

  Max studied a group of tourists entering the café. Now it came down to him. He was positive the office was bugged, and Travis had mentioned he had driven before he'd stopped him. They probably figured he hadn’t gone far and was still in Texas. That meant they knew a lot more than they'd known this morning. It wouldn't take long to find Paige.

  He knew he needed to tell his brother what was happening. “Paige knows who I am.”

  Travis was silent for a few seconds, then he said, “How?”

  “I told her.”

  “You told her?” He laughed for a moment, then said, “So what’s the plan now? Bail on the case?”

  “No,” Max told him. “She wants us to keep working for her father and continue to not tell him anything. Then after the festival, she’ll let a credible paper or magazine interview her. That should make things die down.”

  Travis was silent for a couple of seconds. Then he said, “So you just told her who you are. Seems like a heck of a confidence to share with a co-worker. Want to tell me what's really going on over there?”

  Max might be lots of things, but he wouldn't lie to his brother. They'd been through too much in their lives. All those Army bases. All those new schools. They'd always been each other's best friend. The one who always understood. He could tell Travis anything.

  But not this. Not what was happening with Paige. Trav wouldn't understand because frankly, he didn't understand, either.

  So he told his brother the only truth he could. “I have everything under control.”

  He expected Travis to make a comment. His brother was smart and probably knew exactly what was happening. If he'd been in Trav's place, Max imagined he'd let his brother have it. He'd warn him about the danger of getting involved with a client. He'd warn him about losing focus and not giving one hundred percent to the job.

  Max was thankful Trav was a different type of person. All his brother said was his usual, “Stay safe.”

  But that was enough.

  Paige spread the plans for the festival on her dining room table and looked at Max. “What do you think?”

  He studied them closely, asking a few questions now and then. Finally, he said, “Wow, Paige, these are amazing. You’ve put a lot of work into the festival, and it looks great. You need to let me help.”

  “Oh, you will. Trust me. We are going to need a lot of help to set this up,” she said. Then she walked over and did what she’d wanted to do since he’d brought her home a few minutes ago. She kissed him.

  Not surprisingly, one kiss soon turned into another, and before she had a chance to say anything else, she'd pretty much forgotten what they'd been talking about.

  Max finished setting the last paper cup on the floor, and then looked at the crowd assembled for the self-defense class. This was his fifth class, and he was glad he'd done this. He might not have taught them any more than the basics of protecting themselves, but at least it was something.

  “One of the main ways you can hurt an attacker is to stomp on his instep,” Max told the group.

  “Or hers,” Alma piped in. “Not all attackers are men.”

  “Oh, puhlease. Most of them are,” Hal said, putting his hands on his hips. “I want to know how to kick the butt of some big guy.”

  “You can't,” Alma said. “The best you can hope for, Hal, is that you run faster than he does.”

  “I can't run very fast,” Krystal said. “I guess I'm out of luck.”

  “I'm fast, but I run funny.” Annie looked at Max. “Will that cause me problems?”

  Max bit back a chuckle and glanced at Paige. He could tell she was trying hard not to laugh as well.

  Clearing his throat, he said, “I'm sure each of you can run fairly fast, or you will if you're being chased. But what I'm going to show you right now is how to stomp on a guy’s—” He looked at Alma. “A person's instep with enough force to cause intense pain.”

  “Why the paper cups?” Hal nodded toward all the cups Max had spread around the room. “Why don't we practice stomping on each other's insteps?”

  “Because you won't stomp hard since you won't want to hurt them. And I want you to get used to putting all your weight behind it.”

  “So what do we do?” Hal grinned. “Does the person who stomps the hardest win a prize? Hey, you could have this at the Midsummer's Night Extrava—oops, Festival.”

  Max shook his head. “Not going to happen, Hal.”

  “What is going to happen at this festival?” Alma asked. “You and Paige are being very secretive.”

  “Because we want you to be surprised,” Paige said. “Now why don't we concentrate on our lesson?”

  “She's changing the subject,” Hal said. “Can't be good.”

  “I bet they're planning a tea party.” Alma sighed. “I can see it now.”

  “Hey, it's not a tea party,” Paige said. “For your information, it's going to be great.”

  “The flyers you had us post around make it clear it starts at six and that kids can come,” Alma said.

  Paige nodded. “Yes, it’s for everyone.”

  “It doesn’t sound very exciting,” Hal muttered.

  Max decided to stop this conversation before it got completely out of hand. He did the only thing he knew for a fact would work—he stomped on one of the cups hard.

  Pow!

  “Jeez, let us know when you're going to do something like that,” Hal said, his hand against his heart. “I could have had an attack.”

  “Stomp,” Max ordered.

  The class did exactly what he asked, and for the next couple of minutes, the noise level was deafening. Finally, once all the cups were smashed, Max walked them through some steps to break a hold, how to create a diversion, and how to lurch suddenly to surprise the attacker and get ready access to stomp on his instep.

  Despite all the joking and laughter, by the time class was over, he knew that they'd all learned some helpful maneuvers that should help keep them safe.

  Now if he
could only convince Paige to go ahead and put this whole situation behind her. He understood why she wanted to wait to give an interview, but as each day slipped by, he worried more about the press flooding into town and destroying everything. The festival. The town. Their friends.

  But he understood it was her decision, and he’d respect that. In the meantime, he’d do what he could to ensure things progressed the way she wanted.

  Max walked over to Paige and spent some extra time showing her how to break free from an attacker.

  “Hey, no fair groping your girlfriend while you're supposed to be teaching a class,” Hal said with a laugh that was more of a hoot. “Grope her on your own time.”

  “Ha, ha,” Max said. “Very funny.” He turned and looked at the class. “We're done here today, but always remember, the best thing you can do is avoid an attack in the first place. If you sense danger, or even if there's only the remote possibility of danger, you need to protect yourself.”

  Paige looked up at him and smiled. “I'm fine,” she said softly to him.

  “I think it’s risky waiting,” he countered.

  “We can talk about this after the festival,” she said. “We've put too much work into it to run away now.”

  “Who's running away?” Hal came over to stand next to them. “Does this have to do with Krystal not being a good runner while poor Annie runs funny? If it does, then I'd better admit I probably run funny, too.”

  “No one is talking about running,” Paige told him. “We're talking about the festival.”

  “Goody. Tell me what you're planning. I've noticed all the tables and chairs you've been stockpiling. Whatcha going to do with them?”

  Hal looked so needy for information that Max would have told him a little bit of the plans if Paige hadn't sworn him to secrecy. She wanted the festival to be a big surprise, so she didn't want to tell anyone anything.

  “You'll have to come to the festival and find out for yourself,” Paige told him.

  “I'm not sure I like you anymore,” Hal teased. “I always thought of you as sweet, but now I'm finding out you have a really mean side to your personality.”