The Risk-Taker

by Kira Sinclair

  The hell they would. Anger—where had it been before now?—suffused her, sending a ripple of heat through her.

  Reaching behind her, Hope grabbed her chair and carefully sank into it.

  “Sources. You said you had sources. Who are they?”

  “One of our brightest writers has been in Sweetheart for days.” The man cackled. “Get this, somehow he’s managed to convince Gage Harper’s sister to talk to him. Something about Cupid or couples. I didn’t get it. I don’t care how he’s doing it, but the girl has been spilling her guts for days. Intimate details about their family, how their father was hard on him growing up. Until he told me you had an in with Gage himself, I thought Brandon’s position was genius.”

  Rage blinded her. Her hand gripped the edge of the phone so tightly she was surprised it didn’t crumble to pieces.

  “I have to admit, you surprised me, Ms. Rawlings. I honestly didn’t think you had it in you to get the job done. Journalism can be a dirty business. You didn’t strike me as ruthless enough.”

  Oh, she could be ruthless all right. And Brandon was about to figure out just how much.

  Hope had no recollection of ending the call. She could have offered Mr. Rebman her firstborn child and she wouldn’t remember. Her brain had been spinning with options on how to handle the situation.

  She was going to have to tell Lexi. And Gage.

  “Crap.” Hope dropped her head into her hands. How was she supposed to do that without revealing how she’d gotten the information? Without telling them both that she was supposed to be writing a story about Gage.

  It wasn’t the same.

  Yes, she’d maneuvered things so that she could be paired with Gage, but...she hadn’t exactly done anything to get the story, had she? What little he had told her she wouldn’t have been able to use, not without talking to him about it first.

  And that was the difference between her and Brandon. Yes, she’d manipulated the situation for her own purposes, but she’d never intended to be truly underhanded. She’d always meant to convince him to give her the story, not steal it from him without his knowledge.

  Hope rubbed her palms against tired, gritty eyes. Suddenly, she was exhausted. She hadn’t exactly been spending the past few nights sleeping. Just thinking about how she’d left Gage this morning, mumbling grumpily into her pillow, made her insides turn to hot, achy goo.

  God, she didn’t want to tell him about Brandon. She knew he wouldn’t handle it well. Obviously, she’d have to tell Lexi. And for a brief moment she fantasized about just telling her friend and leaving Gage completely out of it. But then the wary way he’d watched Brandon the previous night at dinner surfaced and she realized this wasn’t information she could keep from him.

  He deserved to know he’d been right about the other man.

  But she’d definitely tell Lexi first.

  At least that was the plan until soft lips pressed against the fingers covering her eyes.

  “Rough day?” his warm voice asked.

  Hope bolted upright in her chair and nearly cracked her forehead against his chin.

  Gage stumbled backward, his hips landing on the edge of her desk. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  A bouquet of flowers hung by his side. She knew from the pretty cellophane wrapping that he’d picked them up at Petals. And since four huge stargazer lilies—her favorite—dominated the bright bouquet, she knew Tatum had been fully aware they were meant for her.

  And that she approved of Gage. If she hadn’t then her friend would have sent him in here with a handful of red roses—the flower that required no imagination.

  Hope’s chest tightened. It took a lot to win over Tatum.

  “Oh, hell,” she breathed out, staring at the happy flowers bouncing back at her.

  Following her glance, Gage held them out to her.

  Slowly, she dropped her hands to her lap, then sat on them and looked up at Gage with wide, beseeching eyes.

  “What is wrong with you, woman?” Gage grunted, reaching for her hand and hauling it out from beneath her. The long, thin wire-wrapped stems were stiff against her palm when he pried her fingers open and shoved the bouquet into her hand. “I think it’s a little late to start that ‘no’ crap again, don’t you?”

  Not if she wanted to keep any part of herself safe and protected. Sex she could handle. Sex with him was rough and wild. For those few hours she could be reckless right along with him.

  Flowers were...not wild. Too sweet. Just the cloyingly thick scent of them made her chest ache. Terribly.

  She opened her mouth to say thank you. But the words wouldn’t come. Not past the tight lump in her throat.

  “Tell me what’s bothering you,” Gage demanded in a hard voice.

  Oh, shit. How could she explain that she didn’t want him to be romantic? That she could handle this—whatever this was—as long as she kept some distance between them. Last night had cut too damn close. But she could handle that. Somewhere in the light of day she’d convinced herself what had happened was nothing new. She’d always cared about Gage. So they’d added sex to the mix. They were both adults. It was hormones. Biology. Nothing more.

  Flowers. His lopsided smile. Popping in unannounced at her office. Those were part of something they didn’t have. Couldn’t have.

  She must have looked dumbfounded because he pressed her. “Why were you rubbing your eyes? Do you have a headache? Did something happen?”

  Yes! She grabbed desperately at the excuse. “I had a phone call.”

  “Okay,” he said slowly. “Everything okay with your dad?”

  She waved away the conclusion he’d jumped to, but not before noticing that his first concern had immediately been her family. “As far as I know. No, this had nothing to do with me. Actually, it was about you. And Lexi.”

  Gage’s eyes clouded with confusion.

  Hope sucked in a deep breath. Stalling, she leaned forward and straightened the file folders spread across her desk so they were perfectly in line.

  “For God’s sake, just tell me.”

  “Brandon isn’t a nurse. He’s a reporter for the Atlanta Courier.”

  “What?” Gage vaulted away from her desk. Every muscle in his body tightened. His hands fisted, the white bandages glaringly obvious. “He lied.”

  “Apparently,” she said dryly.

  He stared at her, his eyes dangerously dark. She’d never seen him this...quiet and deadly. This was not good.

  “Where is he?”

  “How should I know?”

  “You know everything that happens in this town, Hope. Find him. Now.”

  Her back stiffened. She resented being ordered around like some private. “We are not on a battlefield,” she growled. “You might want to temper your authority issues and try again.”

  He squared off with her. Before, even though she could see it, all the seething energy that was clamoring for an outlet had been directed at someone else. Now it was pointed straight at her. And she didn’t like it.

  His jaw was so stiff she could have cracked pecans on it. His hand whipped out and ripped the flowers from her hand. She’d forgotten she was still holding them. Cellophane crinkled accusingly.

  “Never mind.”

  He stalked out into the hallway. Her heart kicked hard against her ribs. She could have stayed there and let him go, but she didn’t. Instead, she snatched up her cell phone and started dialing. “Lexi, where’s Brandon?”

  She shot into the hallway. “Damn, he’s fast,” she breathed when she realized he was already halfway across the bullpen to the back door. Dread bubbled through her blood.

  “Here with me,” Lexi answered.

  Gage’s palm hit the door with a metallic thud. Every pair of eyes in the place popped up to watch him stride angrily out the door, strangling a bouquet of flowers between his fingers.

  Great. Everyone in town was going to think she’d just sent him packing.

  “Tell him to run,” Hop
e yelled into the phone, not bothering to wait to hear her response.

  Two things became crystal clear. First, she’d never catch up to Gage with these damn heels on. Hope didn’t even pause, but flicked her ankles and let each shoe clunk against the wall and fall drunkenly to the floor.

  Second, Gage was going to kill someone.

  “Call Sheriff Grant and tell him to go to Sugar and Spice right now,” she said to Erica as she breezed past her cubicle.

  The alarm at Sugar & Spice beeped a warning when Gage opened the back door. From the alley Hope could hear Lexi’s confused exclamation. And the sickening thud of flesh on flesh.

  Here they went again. Hope sighed. Was it only several days ago that she’d watched him let that guy beat the crap out of him? Brandon’s image swam across her brain. Poor guy didn’t stand a chance. At least the gym rat had known what he was getting into.

  Not that she had much sympathy for Brandon. She just didn’t want him to press charges. Or write an exposé on Gage going berserk.

  Hope ignored the bite of pebbles against her bare feet. She raced inside in time to see Lexi standing between the two men. Blood flowed down Brandon’s face from his already-swollen nose. Gage was trying to move Lexi out of the way, but she was fighting him.

  Every time Gage found an inch, Brandon, coward that he was, would scoot back behind Lexi, perfectly content to use her as a human shield. Hope really didn’t like the bastard.

  “Lexi, get out of the way,” Gage growled.

  “Not until you tell me what’s wrong.” Lexi shot her a wild-eyed glance. “Hope, help me.”

  “As much as I abhor physical violence, trust me, he deserves whatever Gage wants to do to him.”

  “But—” Lexi began.

  Hope cut her off. “However, you staying right where you are is probably the best way to keep your brother out of jail for murder.”

  Brandon’s eyes widened to the size of silver dollars.

  “Or maybe just assault with a deadly weapon.”

  “He doesn’t have a weapon,” Lexi cried.

  “Have you seen his biceps and thighs? Trust me, the man is always packing.” A shudder that had nothing to do with dread raced down her spine. Damn desire. Such inappropriate timing.

  The dark glare that Gage sent her said he knew exactly what thought had crossed her mind and didn’t like the timing, either.

  Hmm...maybe she could use that. Channel that aggression down another avenue.

  Gage reached over Lexi’s shoulder and grasped Brandon’s collar. He gathered the material into his fist and squeezed. The other man’s skin turned bright red and his chest rose and fell on strangled breaths. Gage wasn’t holding onto him that hard...it was pure adrenaline-fueled terror that had him close to hyperventilating.

  “This as— Prick lied to you, Lexi. He’s a reporter.”

  “What?” Her friend spun between the two men.

  “He’s using you to get to me.”

  “Is that true?” Lexi asked, her tone every bit as harsh as Gage’s now.

  “No.”

  Hope snorted. Gage growled. The man changed his mind about keeping up the lie. “Yes, I’m a reporter.”

  She’d never seen her friend ready to kill. But the way she leaped up off the floor and went straight for his throat... Apparently bloodthirstiness ran in the family. Not that she blamed Lexi. If the situation didn’t require someone to keep a level head, she might have been in the thick of things right with them.

  Gage strangled a startled laugh. Before Lexi’s hands could connect, his strong arm wrapped around her waist and hauled her backward. Lexi flailed for several seconds before coming to the conclusion that she couldn’t fight Gage’s strength. Who could?

  She stilled, her arms and legs dangling like loose, useless noodles, Gage’s arm and hip keeping her off the floor. With as much dignity as that position would allow, she ordered, “You have thirty seconds to get out of my store or I’m going to have you arrested for trespassing and disturbing the peace.”

  “And I’ll have him charged with assault.” The idiot had pulled a backbone out of somewhere. Hope really wished he hadn’t bothered, because it was only going to get him hurt worse.

  Sighing, Hope leaned against the doorway and crossed her arms over her chest. “Good luck with that. Sheriff Grant is my godfather. Gage is a town hero. Do you really think they’re going to arrest him? Especially when Lexi and I tell them that you swung first.”

  “He doesn’t have a mark on him.”

  “That can be remedied,” Gage promised ominously.

  “Oh, and if one word of this—” Hope waved her hand around the kitchen “—finds its way into print, Lexi will be filing charges of stalking, professional misconduct and sexual harassment.”

  “And I’ll tack on a suit for libel against you and anyone who runs the story.”

  Hope knew that wouldn’t stick, and if Brandon was any kind of reporter he would, too. But she had a feeling the Courier wouldn’t appreciate that kind of publicity. And she knew even the whiff of misconduct could ruin the man’s career.

  He spluttered, snapped his mouth shut and glared at them. Hope grinned evilly. Apparently, Brandon knew that, too. Maybe he wasn’t as stupid as she’d feared.

  The second the front door chimed his disappearance, Lexi crumbled. Bravado and anger had been holding her together and now that Brandon was gone...

  Angry tears streamed down her face. She pushed against her brother’s hold on her, but Gage didn’t put her down. Instead, he shifted her in his arms, cradled her against his chest and walked across the room to a chair.

  How could a man as big and broad as Gage Harper be so gentle? Hope had never seen this side of him, although she shouldn’t have been surprised. He’d always been protective of the people he cared about—especially Lexi.

  “Don’t,” he whispered into the crown of her hair. “He isn’t worth it.”

  “You don’t think I know that?” she lamented through her tears. “But that doesn’t stop it from hurting. I thought he liked me. All he wanted was dirt on you.”

  Realizing she needed to give them some privacy, Hope walked into the front room, flipped the sign to Closed and headed Sheriff Grant off at the pass.

  12

  EVERYONE AROUND HIM KEPT getting hurt. Tanner. Lexi. Because of him.

  The look on his sister’s face had crushed him.

  Gage paced restlessly around his childhood bedroom, searching for something that would make the churning sensation in his belly stop. Nothing did.

  Where was a plane when you needed one to jump out of?

  Growling in frustration, Gage spun to head out on the Harley—as close as he was going to get to an adrenaline rush in Sweetheart. But the sight of Hope standing in the doorway stopped him.

  The door was closed behind her, one shoulder pressed against the jamb. How long had she been there?

  Her arms were crossed beneath her breasts, pushing them against the tight curve of the jacket she’d worn this morning. From a prone spot on her bed he’d watched her put it on.

  What really bothered him was that he hadn’t even heard her come in. God, what was wrong with him? A few weeks ago that kind of lapse in awareness could have cost lives—his or someone else’s. That made the agitation jangling through him worse.

  The idea of losing his edge did not sit well.

  “How did you know?” he asked, warily. It was a question that had been plaguing him for hours.

  She ignored his question. “I came to see how you’re doing. I’ve already been by Lexi’s.”

  And that wasn’t going to work for him. “How did you know?”

  She glanced away, her gaze darting around the room. “Let’s just say I received an anonymous tip.”

  The fact that she couldn’t look him in the eye said differently. “Anonymous my ass. Who was it?”

  Tiny lines crinkled the space across the bridge of her nose. Gage wanted to step up to her, press a kiss there and smooth
out the evidence of her upset. Why? What was wrong with him that even as he realized she was keeping something from him, his instinct was to say it didn’t matter?

  It did. So he stayed right where he was.

  Finally, she looked at him, serious and solemn. “I’m not going to tell you, Gage, so you might as well drop it. It doesn’t matter.”

  Something in the set of her mouth made him think otherwise, but short of employing some of the torture tactics he’d gotten firsthand knowledge of, he couldn’t make her tell him.

  “No question, Brandon’s a self-serving jerk, but don’t think that excuses what you did, Gage.”

  He sucked in a deep breath and wished it hadn’t been full of that spicy and decadent scent that was solely hers. He pressed both hands against the door behind her and leaned closer, anyway.

  “The only thing I did was defend my sister’s honor. And I’d do the exact same thing again if I had to.”

  A single, red-tipped fingernail flicked down his nose. “I know. And give him a sensational story. Before all he had was secondary information from your sister about your childhood. Easy to find most of it without getting her involved. What Brandon wanted, and couldn’t get because Lexi didn’t know, was a firsthand account of your capture and rescue. What you gave him was even more than he expected—scandal.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because I run a newspaper. It’s the story we want to publish.”

  “The story I won’t give you.”

  She nodded, slowly.

  “What was I supposed to do?”

  Sadness clouded Hope’s green-gold eyes. “Stop for thirty seconds and take a deep breath before leaping off into the abyss. Something you’ve never been real good at.” Her voice was full of resignation and disappointment.

  He hated that just as much as the pain on Lexi’s face.

  Wanting to wipe the expression away, he did the only thing guaranteed to accomplish the goal. He leaned down and kissed her, filling the connection with all the churning restlessness and energy that filled him.

  He half expected her to reject him, had been waiting for the moment when the past met the present and she crushed him yet again, but it didn’t happen.