“Thanks.”
Rena draped the strap of her small black purse over the back of her chair and sat down. The leather leggings she wore squeaked on the seat as she scooped up her shot glass with shaking fingers. Her body was still humming after the visit from the mysterious Zander Lorens, and she suspected it would be for a while. A shiver rushed up her back when she recalled the way he looked at her. It was like the guy saw right through her. As if he knew her. But that was crazy, because she had never set eyes on him before today.
“Here’s to another twirl around the sun and many, many more. Happy birthday, girl.”
The two friends tossed back the shots, which were quickly followed by sucking on a sour slice of lemon. Patricia giggled and turned her shot glass over on the small, round table, placing it next to the two others she’d had before Rena got there. Patricia loved to party, and if she kept going, Rena was going to be babysitting her later that night.
“You okay, doll? You look weird. Like freaked out or something.”
“Yeah.” Rena laughed shakily. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting but—”
“Come on.” Patricia giggled and playfully slapped Rena’s arm. “I’m not pissed at you for being late if that’s what you’re worried about. Dino kept me company. So what gives? Why do you look like you seen a ghost or something?”
Rena fiddled with the lemon rind and bit her lower lip, debating just how much to tell her friend. She knew it was better to keep her gift a secret, but every now and then, Rena longed to be able to share it with someone, to have somebody tell her she wasn’t a total freak. Patricia didn’t know about her gift or whatever you called it, so how could Rena tell her about the supersexy dream guy?
Easy—she couldn’t.
There were moments, like this one, when the burden of keeping her power a secret weighed on her more than the gift itself.
“Some guy came into the office and said he wanted to pay me thirty grand to go with him to Montana to find his brother. Can you believe that? Sure. Pull the other leg. I mean, the guy looked like he didn’t have two cents to rub together, let alone a small fortune.”
“Thirty grand!” Patricia pulled out a cigarette and lit it. “Honey, for that kind of money, I’d go almost anywhere.”
“Tell me about it. That would pay for Vito to stay at Sunnyfarm for the next year and then some! It’s not like I’m hurting for cases, far from it, but it would be nice to have some extra financial wiggle room.”
“You gonna take it? That’s a lot of dough.”
“There’s no way his offer was for real. I’m telling you, there is no chance this man has that kind of money.” Rena waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “I’ll believe it if he shows up with the cash. Until then, I’m not counting on anything.”
“Are you sure? I mean, like, why would some random guy come to your office and make something like that up?”
“Who knows? Maybe he was casing the place to see if there was anything worth stealing. Maybe he’s plain old crazy. I’m leaning toward the crazy option. This is Vegas, and we’ve got plenty of whackos lurking in the shadows.”
Rena wasn’t sure if she was referring to him or herself.
“I guess you didn’t get one of your infamous hunches about him, huh?”
Rena shook her head.
She could have found out more about him the same way she saw the truth about her other clients. If she’d given him a pen and the clipboard with the client sheet to fill out, all Rena would have had to do was take those items back. Two seconds later, she’d have gotten a bird’s-eye view into the guy’s mind.
But she hadn’t done that.
She had been so freaked out by his arrival, she hadn’t even wanted to shake the guy’s hand. In hindsight, it had been a stupid choice, but her head had been spinning, and the cut on her hand had hurt like hell. It was all she could do to keep her game face on and maintain some kind of composure.
“No,” she whispered. “No hunches.”
“Hey.” Patricia pointed at Rena’s bandage. “What the hell did you do to yourself?”
“I broke a glass. Right before Mr. Fake Client barged into my office.”
“No way. He just, like, stormed in?”
“He said he heard glass breaking and, well, supposedly he thought there was trouble and wanted to help. If you want to know the truth, he’s the one who looked like trouble.”
There had been darkness layered within his distinctly unusual spirit stream that was unlike any she had encountered before. It was fuzzy. Unclear and muddled somehow but, at the same time, stronger, thicker, and more powerful than any other person she had ever met. Of course, that only intrigued her more. The truth was, everything about her mystery visitor piqued her curiosity.
Maybe it was because she couldn’t figure him out. After all, with her power, nobody on earth could hide from her. But this man could and did. That was it—it was her inability to read him like an open book that turned her on. He challenged her, and when was the last time anyone had done that?
Rena’s body warmed as she recalled the fierce expression stamped onto his ruggedly handsome face. The shaggy dark hair had drifted over his eyes, partially obscuring her view of his piercing, green stare. There was something savage about him and dangerous that lurked beneath his calm exterior. She sensed it in his spirit stream, but she could also see it in his eyes.
She told herself the shimmery heat whispering under her skin was from the tequila. But that would only have been partially true. Her cheeks heated as she recalled his unwavering stare and the way he had studied her with unsettling, quiet intensity. Had anyone ever looked at her so thoroughly before?
Nope.
Zander had turned the tables on Rena, and she had been the one under the microscope. For once, she was intrigued by the idea of letting someone see past her facade. It was terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. What would it be like, to allow another person to see everything and expose the most intimate aspects of her soul?
A rush of excitement fired through her at the thought of it.
“He was a hottie, huh?” Patricia gave her a sly smile. “I mean, he musta been. You’re blushing.”
“No. I mean, yes. I mean. Gah!” She was stumbling over her words, trying to explain it to Pat without blurting out the whole story. “He was totally strange. Add the encounter with him to the weird-ass dreams I’ve been having lately, and I can chalk today up to a big bag of crazy. Never mind. I’m exhausted, and my lack of sleep is starting to show.”
“I dunno, girl. Maybe you need a little crazy. All work and no play is no way to go through life. In fact, I met a hottie today myself. And I invited him to join us for a drink.”
“You didn’t.” Rena groaned. “I thought you were going to try the single life for a while?”
“I didn’t ask him here for me.” She arched her back and stretched her long arms over her head and winked at Dino. “Unlike you, I have no trouble getting laid.”
Rena glanced over her shoulder and caught the bartender staring at them before he turned his attention back to drying the glass in his hand.
“No way,” Rena whispered. “You and Dino?”
“Yeah.” Patricia’s eyes twinkled with childlike giddiness. “He’s sweet.”
“When and how?” Rena shook her head and leaned over the table toward her friend. “Let’s go. Start talking.”
“A couple of weeks ago, I ran into him at the grocery store by the butcher counter, and we started chatting about which cut of beef we liked best and, well, you know. Things just kinda went on from there. He’s not like the guys I usually go for, but he’s nice, and I could use a little nice in my life, you know? He treats me like a princess, and a girl could get used to that.”
Rena’s heart squeezed in her chest as Pat quickly swiped at her teary eyes. Pat’s track record with men
was less than stellar, and if anyone deserved a man to be good to her, it was Patricia Langan, Vegas showgirl with a heart of gold.
“Yeah,” Rena whispered. “She sure could.”
“Anyway.” Patricia sniffled and adjusted her boobs, which looked like they were about to pop out of her top. “You shoulda seen this guy I met today. Holy cow. I seriously think my ovaries almost exploded when I saw him. We’re talking melt-your-panties hot. The fact he was riding a big-ass Harley didn’t hurt either. Sexy as all get-out.”
“A motorcycle?” Rena grabbed Pat’s hand, and panic shimmered in her chest. “Honey, where did you meet this guy?”
“Outside your office. Why?”
Rena licked her suddenly dry lips and fought to find her voice. She would say this was a coincidence, but Rena didn’t believe in accidents. In her experience, everything happened for a reason.
“Sh-shaggy, dark hair, Ray-Bans, and a leather jacket?” A knot of nerves curled in her gut along with a whisper of lust. “And really beautiful, light-green eyes?”
“Yes!” Patricia’s face brightened, and a huge, red-lipped smile bloomed on her face. “His name is—”
“Zander,” Rena said quietly. “Zander Lorens.”
All the hairs raised along the nape of her neck when a now-familiar spirit stream wafted into the bar as his name slid from her lips like silk.
Rena turned toward the source just as the door of the bar swung open and a hulking, broad-shouldered silhouette filled the space. He stepped inside, and the door swung shut behind him. Even in the dim light, she couldn’t miss those strikingly pale-green eyes, which were pinned directly to hers. Rena’s heart raced, sweat broke out on her brow, and she was unable to move beneath the weight of his gaze.
Wearing the same outfit from earlier today but with the sunglasses notably absent, Zander Lorens strode into the club, which suddenly felt much more crowded. How could one man fill a room simply by stepping into it?
“And he’s here.”
“Oh my God!” Patricia shrieked. Tossing both hands in the air, she hopped off the chair and scurried over to Zander. “I’m so happy you showed up.”
Zander accepted Patricia’s bouncy hug. His glittering eyes peered at Rena between strands of dark hair, and her stomach somersaulted in response.
“Dino!” Pat grabbed Zander’s hand and brought him over to the table. “This is the guy I was tellin’ you about, baby. The one I wanted Rena to meet.”
Zander nodded at the bartender, and Rena quickly smoothed her long black-and-blue silk tank top. She crossed her legs and tried to look casual but was pretty sure she failed miserably. It was rare for her to be surprised once, let alone twice in a day, but this man sure as shit had done it.
“As fate would have it,” Patricia purred, “it turns out you two already met.”
“Hello again,” Zander murmured.
Rena gave him a tight smile but said nothing. She wasn’t used to being caught off guard, and it was beginning to feel like Zander was born to make her feel that way.
“Hang on a sec.” Patricia grabbed another chair and pulled it over. “Have a seat, Zander. What do you want from the bar? First round is on Dino. Right, baby?”
“Whatever you say.” Dino waved. “It’s your birthday, kitten.”
“You’re the best, babe.” Patricia sidled in behind Zander and patted his wide shoulders with both hands while making an oh-my-God face at Rena. “What’ll it be, my friend?”
“I’ll take whatever beer you have on tap.” His lips tilted up at the corners, and his voice was low and gruff. Rena could swear she practically felt it skitter over her flesh. “Thank you.”
An Elvis Presley song came on over the speakers. Rena wasn’t sure which one, because she was too busy trying to figure out what the hell was up with this guy.
He was different from anyone she’d ever met before. For starters, nobody else had ever appeared in her dreams before being in her actual life. And very few people surprised her or intrigued her. This guy did both.
“Nice to see you again, Ms. McHale.”
“Unexpected.” She narrowed her eyes and folded her arms over her breasts, hoping to quell her quivering body. “But you don’t seem all that surprised.”
He leaned back in the chair and his legs splayed out, taking up space the way only a cocky man could. His long fingers laced together in his lap as he studied her boldly. Rena had been hit on plenty of times, but there was usually some sly game that came with it. Not this man. He oozed confidence and something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Zander looked like he was maybe in his midtwenties, but he had a worldly air about him, as though he had lived several lifetimes instead of only one.
“I’m not.”
His voice was quiet and deep; most people wouldn’t even have heard him over the music, but Rena’s hearing was unusually acute. Even the steady sound of his breathing rose above the din of the club. It was more than that though. He was inescapable. Everything about him surged over and around her, like some kind of spiritual tsunami.
“Are you stalking me or something?”
“No. Your friend invited me here, and since I’m trying to hire you, I figured it couldn’t hurt to come by. You didn’t seem all that convinced by my offer earlier, and time is of the essence.”
“Right. It’s not every day someone walks into Fox Investigations and offers to pay me that kind of money.”
“Why Fox?”
“Excuse me?” She blinked at the sudden shift in the conversation. Everything about Zander Lorens was throwing her off her game, and she didn’t like it one bit. She was the one who threw people off, making them uncomfortable. It had never been the other way around.
Until now.
“The name of your company. Why is it called Fox Investigations?”
“It was my friend Vito Fox’s business, and after I took it over, I never bothered changing the name. He trained me. It felt wrong to mess with it. He’s the closest thing to family that I’ve got. Besides, I’ve always had a thing for foxes. They’re cute.”
Rena crossed her legs and didn’t miss the way his gaze flicked over her with appreciation. He was studying her as closely as she was him, and it gave her the distinct impression she was being hunted. In the game of cat and mouse, Rena was used to being the cat, but Zander Lorens was no mouse.
He wasn’t prey. He was a hunter, just like her, and she hated to admit it, but it turned her on.
“You’re loyal,” he said quietly. “Good. I like that.”
“Yes, I am.” She draped her elbow over the back of her chair and leveled a challenging gaze at him. “Especially to Vito.”
“Why?”
“That’s an awfully personal question.” Rena let out a curt, incredulous laugh and shook her head. “You want to do business, so let’s do business. You have thirty grand you want to pay me, and if you have the cash, then we have a deal.”
“Actually,” he began slowly. “I think my initial offer was off the mark.”
“I knew it,” Rena said with a smile. “Let me guess. You are no longer offering thirty thousand dollars?”
“No.” He shook his head slowly. “I’m not.”
Rena glanced over to the bar to call Patricia over for a get-a-load-of-this-guy moment, but Patricia was taking her sweet time getting the beer and canoodling with Dino. Rena was on her own. She turned back, ready to lambaste him for being full of it, but her mind went blank when Zander slapped a huge brick of cash onto the table.
She blinked. Where the hell did that come from?
“Thirty now and thirty after we find my brother.”
His long, strong-looking fingers slid from the huge, crisp stack of hundreds, and Rena licked her suddenly dry lips. Focus, Rena. She kept her sights on the money while she sharpened her connection with his spirit stream. It pulsed slow
ly and steadily around her with the same cool confidence he exhibited on the surface. If he was a liar, then he was one of the best she had ever met. There wasn’t a hint of nervousness or uneasiness.
The man was as smooth as a razor’s edge.
She flicked her eyes to his, and her heart skipped a beat.
And twice as sharp.
Rena glanced back at the cash but didn’t make a move to touch it.
“Sixty thousand dollars?” she whispered. “Are you serious?”
“After our meeting earlier today, I realized that asking you to go with me on a road trip to find my brother was a bigger deal than I’d originally thought it was.” He lifted one shoulder in an oddly casual gesture. “You know how it is. Sometimes we get an idea in our heads that seems normal, but then when we say it out loud, well, it’s not.”
“Do you always walk around with a brick of hundreds?”
“No.” He smirked. “This is Las Vegas. Getting your hands on some cash is pretty easy.”
“Some cash?” She pointed at the stack of bills. “Did you hit the jackpot on the slots or something?”
“I earned it. Every penny.” All humor left his face. “Let’s just say I’ve invested well over the years.”
“Over the years? What are you? Twenty-five? Twenty-eight? Did you start investing when you were four?”
His spirit stream flickered, and his eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. The change was subtle, and if Rena hadn’t been looking for it, she may not even have noticed it. Like a record skipping or a hiccup, and gone as quickly as it came, but there was no mistaking the change when she challenged him.
She had obviously touched a nerve of some kind, and it didn’t escape her attention that he hadn’t answered her question regarding his age. Interesting. A slow smile curved her lips. It was something of a comfort to know this guy wasn’t infallible and that she’d rattled his cage for a change.
“Aren’t you going to count it and make sure I didn’t fill it with blank paper?”
“Did you?”
“Only one way to find out.” His eyes crinkled at the corners. “Go on. Count it. I won’t be insulted.”
Undiscovered Page 5
