"So you make a living by finding these things for people? There's enough demand for that kind of work?" He encouraged her to keep talking. Tired, Hunter rubbed a hand over his face. This had been a long day. The assignment he just finished had grown involved and exhausting before its successful completion. Then with no time to rest, he rushed out here to do this favor for Derek.
"More than you would think, actually. I'm beginning to build a reputation. Some jobs I won't take because of the legalities, of course, but I love what I do. I do seem to have a special gift for it." Dani stifled a yawn. She stepped away from the bathroom. "You need to go, and I need to get back to bed. I'm exhausted and it's late – or maybe I should say early."
Hunter followed her. "I'm not leaving. Not until I know for sure what's going on. I assured Derek I would keep you safe."
"Then pull up a chair or take the floor, but I get the bed," she yawned, slid onto the mattress, and pulled up the thick satiny spread.
"We could always share," her large protector offered.
"Let me think, hmmm ... -N-O-" Dani smiled to take the sting out of her rejection. "Look, I really need some sleep. There's an extra blanket on the closet shelf and here's a pillow. Goodnight," she finished firmly as she tossed him the other pillow from the double bed.
With a chuckle, Hunter caught the pillow. "Goodnight, Dani. Sweet dreams."
Chapter Three
After a quick room service breakfast and several phone calls, Dani's mouth curved into a smile.
"You found her," Hunter guessed.
"Yes, the editor at the Daily Star said she went out on a story, like I thought. She drove down to Olympia, but she'll be back this evening." Dani let out a relieved breath.
Hunter stood and stretched. "We need to go get my stuff from the motel. I need a shave and a change of clothes. Besides, it would be good to get out for a bit, don't you think?"
"We nothing. Maybe I have my own plans for today. Did you ever think of that?" Dani faced him with her hands on her hips and a mutinous look on her face.
"If you keep looking at me like that, minx, you'll be asking for a kiss," Hunter laughed. He could never resist a challenge and taking the starch out of her sails seemed too much fun to resist.
Oh, Lord. What to do now? The evil little imp inside her head prompted, Dare him to prove it. Instead, she looked into his deep brown eyes, crossed her arms over her stomach, and fought the idea. "Don't order me around and don't threaten me. Save that for my brother to do. You have to ask nicely."
Hunter frowned at her, but relented. "Would you like to accompany me to my room at the motel and lead your followers on a merry chase? Or shall we stay here and stare at the walls until we hear from your friend?"
"Since you asked politely this time, I'll go with you. But only so we can lead those creeps out there around by the nose. What do we do?"
* * * * *
A short time later, Dani caught a cab and gave the driver the address for Hunter's roadside motel. His room key rested safely in her pocket.
Hunter followed the green car which followed Dani's taxi.
Once in the room, Dani peeked out between the blinds. She hurried to open the door for him. "Did they follow me?" she wanted to know.
"Yes. They're parked over on that end of the parking lot where they can see the door. The license plate number is smudged out, but I'll call in the make and model and see what turns up." He grabbed some clothes and a Dopp kit then disappeared into the small bath.
Dani dropped onto the edge of the sagging bed and played with the TV remote until she heard the door open. From a small slit in one eye, she saw wisps of steam escape into the bedroom. Hunter padded in on bare feet, shirtless but with a thin towel slung around his neck. He wore a nice-fitting pair of black cargo pants.
She continued to peek as he went to his bag on the dresser. Droplets of water clung to his shoulders and the ends of his hair. Her mouth almost watered as she watched the play of muscles across his back while he stowed things in his travel bag. Strong backs always turned her on and he looked like he could lift a moose. Unconsciously licking her lips, she stretched and moved a bit to get a better view.
"See anything interesting?" Hunter wanted to know as he pulled out a neatly folded shirt. Looking in the dresser mirror, he could see her watching him.
"Oh, yeah." she murmured, without thinking.
He turned to face her with raised eyebrows. "What?"
"Well...uhm..." squeaked out. Quickly dropping her lashes to shield her gaze, Dani ogled his tight abs and decided his chest was just too good for words.
When he loudly cleared his throat, she raised her eyes again, this time to meet his. She felt the warmth of embarrassment flood her face at her thoughts.
"I meant on TV," Hunter explained. The appreciation in her eyes definitely gave him ideas about how he would like to spend the rest of the day, Derek or no Derek.
"Uhm, what? The TV? No, you only get a couple of local channels. Reception is bad and no cable." His eyes reminded her of deep pools of melted chocolate. She definitely felt like melting into them.
"Dani, you know what I want, don't you?" he asked quietly and moved slowly toward her. His jaw set, his eyes watched her intently.
Her breath caught in her throat and she couldn't tear her eyes away. She couldn't speak, so she just nodded. Yes, she knew he wanted to kiss her. Make out, fool around, whatever you call it – sounds wonderful right now.
"If you don't want me, you'd better stop me now," Hunter warned. He stood beside the bed and looked at her. "If I touch you…"
A thrill ran through Dani's body. This sexy, handsome man wanted her – badly. Here and now, in a cheap motel room. That made it even more exciting, somehow. She couldn't believe what was happening to her, but she did want him to kiss her. Her tummy fluttered and a flush of heat covered her entire body. She forgot about scruples, never spared a thought for her brother, and pushed away the doubts trying to nudge their way into her mind.
Without saying a word, she stood and took a step toward him. She let him wrap his arms around her. Expecting hot and heavy, harshly demanding kisses, what she actually received were tender, teasing nibbles on the outline of her lips.
Hunter coaxed her to kiss him back, and then slowly, oh so slowly, he asked for more.
Dani couldn't prevent the soft little whimper which bubbled up from her throat at the unexpected desire he evoked.
The sound made Hunter groan and draw back. When he saw the awakening passion in her eyes, he palmed her delightful face between his hands and placed gentle butterfly kisses on her cheeks and forehead.
Dani had never been kissed like this. Her few boyfriends, who'd made it past Derek's eagle eye, had always been demanding and careless of her feelings in the process. She'd decided long ago she was one of those women without a lot of passion, except for her job.
But when Hunter's mouth moved to her throat, she tangled her fingers in the hair at his nape to tug him closer instead of pushing him away as she should.
Hunter slid his hands around her waist and leaned back slightly to study her. She looked so beautiful with her lips slightly parted and a pink blush staining her cheeks. He gazed deeply into her green cat eyes and said, "Dani, I..." then his head began ringing. Man, that never happened before.
"The – phone... Hunter – the phone is ringing," she whispered.
"The phone?" he groaned. With a stifled curse, he stepped away from her and picked up the receiver.
"Hunter? Did I catch you at a bad time?" Derek asked.
"You could say that. I..." he stopped and glanced at Dani, then shook his head to clear away the unaccustomed emotions she stirred in him. Derek's timing was lousy. "I just got out of the shower. What do you need?"
Derek laughed at Hunter's unfriendly tone. "I know you're not alone. You're there to protect Dani and that's all. Understood? Is she okay?"
"Yes, and yes." Hunter snapped. How Derek knew these things was beyond him. "She's waiting f
or her friend Abby to get back into town tonight to learn what's going on. She has a tail, but so far she's been in no danger," Hunter assured him.
"Did she give you any trouble when you told her who you are?"
"You know Dani better than I do. What do you think?"
Laughing again, Derek asked him, "That bad, eh?"
"Well, it would have gone better if you had called her and told her to expect me. But we're – working it out." Hunter didn't want to tell Dani's brother just how much better they might be getting along if he hadn't interrupted. But then, that was probably the reason for the interruption. Derek did know.
Dani smoothed her clothing nervously, trying to gather her scattered wits. "Is that Derek? I want to talk to him," she finally managed and held out her hand.
"I have to go. Tell Dani I love her and I'll see her soon." Derek hung up.
"He's gone," Hunter chuckled and replaced the handset.
"And he loves me and will see me soon. That's always his message when he's avoiding me. Darn his hide— And you," she insisted, "put some clothes on." Frustration always made her grumpy.
"Yes, ma'am. Guess the mood is gone," Hunter grinned. "Of course, you could get me into it again without much effort." He raised one brow suggestively. Teasing Dani could quickly become one of his favorite things to do.
She didn't even bother to answer, but stomped into the bathroom, slamming the door so hard it flew open and she had to close it again. Splashing cold water onto her face cooled some of her anger, but it didn't help get rid of the new feelings coursing through her body. That dratted brother of hers. He knew whenever she was up to something and, just as he had since they were kids, he always messed it up. Now, she would never know what Hunter was going to say after he kissed her. She would see Derek get his just desserts one of these days.
* * * * *
They ate seafood near the harbor and then drove around town, stopping when something caught their interest. Hunter got a kick out of taking sudden turns and narrow side streets to see if the car following them could keep up.
Dani began to understand and even appreciate his slightly odd sense of humor and eventually relaxed enough to enjoy the day. When the sun came out for a short time in the late afternoon, they walked through one of the many public marketplaces.
The men following them had a tough time keeping them in sight in the crowds, but Hunter was careful not to lose them. He preferred to know where they were and what they were up to. As the sun began to set, he drove back to his dump of a motel, retrieved his bag from his room, and turned in his key at the small office.
"Just where are you going to stay?" Dani asked when they returned to the SUV.
"You know where I'm going to stay." He started the vehicle and checked traffic before pulling onto the street.
"Not in my room, you're not. Besides, Derek knows to call you here. What will he say?" She wanted to know.
"Don't get all wound up. Derek can find me anywhere. I never told him where I was staying in the first place. He expects me to keep you safe. I can't do that from across town." Checking his mirror to make sure the tail was still behind them, Hunter drove to her hotel.
"I don't want to share my room. I like privacy." Dani avoided the real issue and he knew it. After he gave her a pointed look, she added, "And – well – I don't think I... Well, we just shouldn't stay together, that's all. It's not proper." She refused to look at him.
"A while back, you seemed as if you wanted to get to know me better." Hunter received mixed signals from her. She'd been as attracted to him as he was in her, but now, she shut him out.
"I know... I'm sorry. I got carried away. I don't do that kind of thing ever. It wouldn't work out." She fidgeted with a snap on her neon-pink, rainproof poncho.
"It might work out very well, if you give it a chance. But I won't force you, if that's what you're worried about. You don't need to be afraid of me."
Dani raised her eyes and glared at him. "I'm not afraid of you. Not the way you mean, anyway." She was more afraid of what she could so easily feel for this man. "Besides, Derek would kill you if you take advantage of me." Turning away, Dani stared out the window in silence until they arrived at the hotel.
"I'll see if I can get a room near yours," Hunter quietly offered as he took his bag from the SUV. It would make his job harder, but so far, there had been no aggressive moves from her watchdogs, and she was right. Developing any feelings would get in the way and he definitely wasn't looking for anything permanent.
"Thank you. I'll pay for it, of course." She followed him into the lobby.
"No, you won't. This goes on Derek's account." Hunter gave her a slight smile and walked to the desk.
Hunter registered and was given the key to the room across the hall. He left her at her door after making plans to meet for dinner once he made a few calls.
Locked safely in her room, Dani berated herself. She truly regretted she couldn't just relax and have a fling, live in the moment, but it wasn't her. Abby maybe, but not her. If nothing else, she had to be true to herself. But, Lord-have-mercy, he made her want to...
Dani chose an outfit to wear to dinner from her meager clothing supply. While dressing, she heard the phone ring.
"Hi, Dani, I'm finally back. I'm so sorry, but I totally got roped into this assignment at the last minute and..."
"I know it was work, I called the paper. Don't worry about that right now. Abby, I'm being followed. What's going on?" Dani asked urgently.
"Oh my gosh. Are you okay? I didn't think anybody would find out I sent for you so soon. Look, I really don't want to talk about this on the phone. When can we get together?" Abby sounded flustered.
"I'm fine, and Derek sent a friend to hang around with us, if you know what I mean. We're going to eat at seven. Why don't you join us and we can talk about everything then? You're not in danger, are you?" Dani needed to know.
"No, I don't think so. The ever-protective Derek strikes again, eh?" Abby laughed softly. Derek's obsession with protecting Dani ended many of their teen adventures, but he'd also come in handy to get them out of a few scary scrapes. "I look forward to meeting this friend. Where will you be?"
"We're dining in the restaurant downstairs. Just meet us there."
"Sounds good. You know me, as long as I can get a decent drink and a steak, I'll be happy. See you at seven."
Dani rang through to Hunter's room, but the line was busy. Moving to the window, she peeked to see if her tail was still out there. The car was gone, but a beat-up pickup truck that once had been white caught her attention. Dani wondered if the guy in the car was getting some time off. Hunter led him on quite a chase today and he probably deserved it.
Hunter knocked on her door at ten 'til seven. As he stepped into the room, Hunter noticed Dani's accented eyes seemed wider and more almond-shaped. Her full lips curved in a slight secretive smile and he wanted to kiss the glossy shine right off them. The clingy, green silk, v-neck blouse hugged her breasts lovingly and the black slacks she wore showed the curve of her hips. Medium heels added an inch or so to her height.
"I think our escort may have changed," she greeted him. "The car is gone and there's a truck out there now. Would they use an old truck like that to follow someone?"
Hunter moved to the window and barely lifted the edge of the drape. "Possibly." He studied the street for several minutes. "Looks like you're right." Letting the curtain drop, he told her, "I'll take a walk later and see if I can get the tag number on this one."
"Abby will be joining us for dinner. I tried to call, but your line was busy. She's meeting us in the restaurant at seven, so we should go," Dani informed him and grabbed her purse.
In the elevator, she filled him in on Abby's call.
He told her the results of his discussion with his contact at the police department. "No vehicle matching the car was stolen or has a warrant tied to it, so we'll just have to be careful and stay alert."
* * * * *
Abby
sat in the vestibule of the restaurant and stood when they entered. Her eyes ran appreciatively over Hunter before she smiled at Dani with a wink. "He'll do. Maybe you should keep this one and let Derek get a new friend."
"You have to ignore Abby," Dani said with a frown, wishing she could hold back the tide of pink she felt flooding her face. "She says whatever pops into her head regardless of how it sounds. Anyway, Hunter, this is my former best friend, Abby Somers. Abby, this is Derek's friend, Hunter."
Hunter reached out to grasp the slim hand of the laughing redhead. She was an eyeful in a bright yellow suit with a pencil thin, mid-thigh length skirt. A lacy white camisole peeked from beneath her partially buttoned suit jacket and showed off her lightly tanned skin. At five-eleven and model slim, she stood a head taller than Dani.
Hunter knew right away these two women together spelled trouble with a capital T. Derek really must have had his hands full with this pair over the years. I wonder how he hung on to his sanity.
Chapter Four
The three of them were shown immediately to a table and once they ordered, Dani turned to Abby. "Okay, time to spill it, girlfriend. Why am I here, and why am I being followed?"
"It's really interesting. I stumbled into this very innocently, I swear. But it's kind of a long story."
"Well, tell all," Hunter told her. "We need to know the details."
Dani nodded her agreement.
"Okay, I did an interview with this elderly man at a nursing home a few months ago. His name was William Spencer and the story was about an old legend involving Underground Seattle. With Halloween around the corner, the editor thought some odd human-interest, filler articles might be needed."
Abby paused as their food arrived and they hungrily began to eat, but then she went on with her tale.
Dani stared resentfully at her friend. Abby was one of those people who could chew and talk at the same time without looking like a slob or spitting food.
"Well, William was connected to the legend of a treasure in Old Seattle. The Lovely Lottie Legend has been told for years about a treasure lost when parts of Seattle burned in 1889. It's supposedly protected by ghosts. Seems William's grandmother was Lovely Lottie, a soiled dove at one of the largest bordellos in Seattle. Willy's mind was still sharp, despite his failing health. He told me several stories about her. We had a good time and I promised to visit him again, but with work and all, I just never got around to it." Abby shook her head sadly, thinking about the sweet old man.
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