Dared by a Dangerous Man

by Cleo Peitsche

  “That a yes or a no?” the woman persisted.

  “Sorry, I’m saving the seat for someone,” I said, and this time I did look up.

  And then Jennifer was sliding into the chair across from me. I hadn’t seen her in months, and all I could do was stare, partially because she was the last person I expected, partially because of how she looked.

  If someone had asked me to describe her, I would have said, “Very pretty.”

  She was so much more than pretty, though. She was stunning. Her dark, chin-length bob had grown out, the ends now dusting her shoulders. She had bangs, too, side swept just enough to draw attention to her perfect cheekbones.

  It was humid outside, yet her hair looked like she’d had it professionally blown out two minutes earlier. Talk about unfair. On top of that, she was tall, toned, and had boobs.

  Jennifer was a genetic freak of nature. Based on looks, she was the sort of woman Corbin should have been dating, not some short, muscular chick with crazy hair like me.

  She was also fun and kind, despite her associations with spies and assassins. For all I knew, she was an assassin as well. I didn’t think so, though. A darkness clung to Corbin, even now, and I suspected it would never leave him. Jennifer could do no-nonsense with the best of them, but there was a sunniness about her that was utterly charming. No darkness.

  “You look well,” she said, smiling. The faint lines that appeared at the corners of her eyes only made her more attractive. I wondered again how old she was. Twenty-seven? Maybe twenty-eight. Definitely not more than four years older than me and Rob.

  “Thanks,” I said. I didn’t bother returning the compliment because unless she hadn’t looked into a mirror lately, she already knew she was perfect. Corbin swore nothing had ever happened between them. I didn’t see how that was possible. He was a man with a strong sexual appetite, and she was… She was Jennifer. A real-life Bond girl, but with brains.

  Rob entered and went straight to order without looking for me. That would buy us a few minutes, depending on what he chose and how long it would take me to send Jennifer away.

  “I assume you didn’t happen to be getting lunch, happen to look over and see me,” I said.

  She shook her head.

  “And I also assume you didn’t come here to make comments on my appearance.”

  She smiled, and I remembered again how much I liked her. Even if it was her job to lie to me and manipulate me and get me to do what her boss wanted.

  I wondered who her boss was these days.

  “Any more assumptions?” she asked.

  “Sure,” I said, grinning wolfishly. “You want me to talk to Corbin, tell him to answer your calls. Well, I can’t get that man to do anything he doesn’t want to.”

  Now she shook her head. “You don’t have to tell me how stubborn he is,” she said. “I know. Anyway, I talked to him two days ago.”

  I felt the smile freeze on my face. He hadn’t told me.

  Jennifer knew it, too. She didn’t bother to pretend otherwise.

  “Then what do you need from me?” I shoved potato chips into my mouth to stop myself from saying anything more, from being rude.

  Her arms crossed on the table, she leaned forward, pinning me with her intelligent gaze. “He wants to work with us. You’re the only reason he won’t.”

  She said it gently, and that made the impact a thousand times worse. The mouthful of chips stuck in my throat. Jennifer pushed my soda toward me, and I chugged down a few gulps.

  “Did he say that?” My words rasped out, and I drained the rest of the soda.

  She shook her head. “He doesn’t need to.”

  I took a long time trying to process that, but I couldn’t seem to get my brain working. I’d always liked Jennifer, but suddenly, I hated her. “I still don’t see what you want me to do about it. I didn’t make him promise anything. This is a free country. He can do whatever he wants.”

  “I know he tried to hire you in the past,” she said. “Join us. We’ll train you, and you can work however much or little you want.”

  “Why?”

  “Because then he won’t have to choose.”

  “You must be crazy. Never gonna happen.”

  Jennifer tilted her head and studied me. She was trying to decide if I was serious.

  “Never ever ever going to happen. Ever. Never.”

  “Uh, hello?” Rob stood there, staring at Jennifer. A stranger would have known what he was thinking, and I definitely knew.

  “She’s just leaving,” I said.

  Jennifer pushed to her feet but kept leaning on the table. “Think about it, Audrey. You have to respect who and what he is. And what you are. What you really are.” She glanced at Rob, and I thought I saw her cheeks color slightly. “Excuse me.”

  He stepped aside, and Jennifer walked away. Rob was still watching her leave even as he sat.

  “No,” I snapped.

  Grinning, he helped himself to some of my chips. “What did I do?”

  I snatched my chips back even though my appetite had vanished. “Let’s get this over with. I’ve got things to do.”

  He nodded, his face going instantly serious. “Barry is retiring, and we can have his employees and contracts.”

  “As a satellite office?” Barry dealt with the northwestern corner of the state.

  “Yeah, but it’s gotten slow up there. He’s got two full-timers, but there isn’t always enough work. We could bring them down here as needed. I don’t know either of the people we’d get, but they’re single men, no family, and he vouches for them. They won’t mind traveling back and forth if the alternative is being jobless. Or so he says.”

  “Hm.” The stacks of files on all our desks said we could use the extra help. “Space is an issue.”

  “It’s time to expand,” Rob said as he ripped into a packet of mustard and squeezed it onto his sandwich. “Having everyone on top of each other like that is bad for morale. You and I need our own offices.”

  That was putting it mildly, and Rob was being diplomatic. Bounty hunting didn’t attract people who knew how to get along with others. Our father was a prime example. So was Henry. Come to think of it, so was I. Rob was the exception.

  “So we’ll talk to Dad when he’s back,” I said.

  Rob shook his head. “We’ve got the bids.”

  “But not the money. Or the permission.”

  He smiled and leaned in. His smile grew cockier. “I’m a man, Aud, and that means I get shit done. I handle my shit. We need money, I get money.” He stuck out his jaw. “Know what I meeeeeeean?”

  I stared at my lunatic twin. “Crack kills,” I said.

  Straightening, his face went serious. “I decided to take the first step. A few hours ago I met with someone at the bank, and I think we’ve got a way to finance the expansion.”

  I wondered for the millionth time how the hell this ambitious guy had emerged from my unreliable, lazy brother. “A way without Dad having to put more money into the business?” I asked.

  “Yes…” he said slowly.

  “Ok…” I said even slower. “What’s the catch?”

  “I’ll borrow money against my condo.”

  I shook my head. “No way. If something happens to the business, you’re unemployed and homeless.”

  “Here’s the thing. I ran the numbers, and with the increase in business volume, the expansion could pay for itself in a couple of years.”

  “But sometimes business gets slow. Then what?”

  His smile turned cocky again. “Excellent point. I was thinking we could reserve a separate area for your private investigation business. We could lease the space in the interim. So really it would be making two businesses where there’s currently one. Corbin wouldn’t mind sharing an office with you, I’m sure.”

  At the mention of Corbin’s name, I flinched. Rob narrowed his eyes slightly, but he had other things on his mind. “So what do you think?”

  “I think you’re trying
to buy me off.”

  “Is it working?”

  I toyed with my empty cup and thought about going up for a refill. “How much money do I have to come up with?”

  “As much as you can.” He pulled off his glasses and wiped the lenses on his shirt before returning them to his nose. “You don’t need to keep your apartment. You’re at Corbin’s place all the time anyway, so—”

  “No.”

  He stared at me. I stared back. Then I went to refill my soda.

  When I returned, Rob said, “What’s the big deal? The two of you are basically living together. Why pay rent on a place you never use?”

  “I’m not moving in with Corbin to save money.”

  “If you two weren’t so obviously together forever, I wouldn’t even suggest it.”

  “We could break up tomorrow,” I said.

  His grin faded. “What happened?”

  “Nothing. There’s nothing that says we have to be together the rest of our lives. I don’t even know why he wants to get married again.”

  “He wants to get married?” Rob blinked, frowned. “He was married before?”

  I shrugged. “It was a long time ago.” I really didn’t want to get into explaining Corbin’s first wife, who had also been named Audrey. She’d been the spy, and Corbin had been a chef. Then she’d been kidnapped and killed, and Corbin had turned into a vigilante before being recruited.

  “If you don’t want to talk about it, fine.”

  “Good.”

  We ate in silence, and I stared out the window at the bright day. From inside, in the air conditioning, it was hard to believe that it was blistering hot just on the other side of the glass. My car would be baking.

  “Who was that woman sitting with you earlier?” Rob asked suddenly.

  I shrugged again, glanced at my watch. Mistake. It made me think of Corbin; he’d bought it for me.

  Anyway, it was time to see Frances. “I have to go.”

  “There’s nothing at the office that can’t wait fifteen minutes,” Rob said, baffled. “Are you mad at me?”

  “I’m meeting someone, that’s all. You can have the rest of my chips if you take my tray back.” I walked away before he answered because I knew Rob, and he wasn’t going to pass up a deal like that.

  Long before I reached my car, I was damp and sticky all over. Winter needed to hurry back to town. Blizzards were far better than feeling like an ant seared under a magnifying glass.

  As I backed out of my parking space, I saw Rob hunched at the table, scrolling through his phone, and I felt more than a twinge of guilt. I’d planned to tell him about Frances’s call, but his interest in Jennifer had changed my mind. I was irritated with him. His prank in the morning hadn’t helped, either… It didn’t feel like he was on my side at the moment.

  It was like he was part of the plot. Audrey shall never be free of Corbin’s past.

  Nobody was on my side, especially Corbin, who had talked to Jennifer but said nothing about it to me.

  Now that the shock had worn off, and now that I wasn’t sitting in a room full of people, the betrayal hurt, a throbbing wound. I could already hear his excuses. He’d say he hadn’t wanted me to worry, he was just being courteous, he had no intention of going back, so why upset me?

  But I still felt hollowed out. I hated his secrets. They’d almost torn me apart so many times before, and when it came to Corbin, I had nothing. No resilience, no reserves. I’d burned through it all long ago.

  Chapter 4

  Frances wanted me to investigate her grandson’s new boyfriend.

  “Why?” I asked. “You must have told me a thousand times you wanted him to find someone special.”

  The septuagenarian pursed her lips, which were painted bright red. “Exactly. It was too easy. Neil is handsome and smart, but he’s had terrible luck, and I’m a realist.” She pulled out a piece of hard butterscotch candy, unwrapped it and popped it into her mouth. “It’s sugar free,” she said. “You want one?”

  “I’m good. About Neil?”

  “There’s probably a reason he couldn’t find someone. Maybe he’s a bad kisser.” She looked at me meaningfully, and I wondered if she was thinking the same thing about me, that I was cute and smart but there was a damned good reason I’d been single most of my life.

  “Ok,” I said uncomfortably.

  “And now, all of a sudden, the guy who grooms his dog is the love of his life, and they’re living together. No way, José.” She shook her head so sharply that I wondered what kept her short wig from flying into the ceiling fan.

  “From everything you’ve told me, Neil sounds like a catch,” I said. “Maybe you’re selling your grandson short.”

  She gave me her Frances look. The one that was often followed by, I didn’t fall off the turnip truck.

  “Love is unpredictable?” I suggested.

  Her snort made a passing deputy look up in alarm. Frances leaned in. “Something’s not right. Now, you know I can’t legally look him up here, but if I did and failed to turn up anything, maybe someone else could dig deeper. It so happens that I’m part owner of his home, and I’m giving you permission to have a look-see. If you think it’s necessary.”

  She reached into her white blouse, which was unbuttoned low enough to give me a glimpse of what time could do to the skin on a woman’s chest, and pulled out a folded index card. She pushed it across the counter.

  I hesitated. Obviously she’d looked the guy up. Knowing what I knew about her grandson, the boyfriend was surely a partier. Frances had been the one who’d wanted Neil to get settled down. I’d always assumed he was happily single.

  If I agreed to this, what would I find? Coke habit? Orgies?

  The problem with investigating the boyfriend was that I’d find out things about her grandson. And I wondered if Frances knew that, was counting on it.

  I slid the index card into my back pocket without looking at it.

  Having someone at the sheriff’s office recommending my services was too good an opportunity to pass up. I’d just have to hope I’d find something dirty enough to make her feel justified in being concerned… but not so horrible that she’d want to break them up.

  Whatever that would look like.

  “Give me a piece of paper,” I said. I scribbled down my cell. “Call this number for the personal stuff.”

  It disappeared into her shirt. “Did you hear about Henry Heigh?”

  “Hear what?” I asked, terrified she’d say he’d hacked his way through the prison walls and was now roaming the city, looking for me.

  “His trial got moved up to next week.” She peered closer. “You going to go?”

  “Yeah, I knew. And no.”

  “You still won’t testify?”

  “Haven’t changed my mind,” I said.

  “You’re a brave girl, Audrey. You shouldn’t let him get away with what he did.”

  “He’s not getting away with anything. He’s going to spend the rest of his life in prison. Whether I testify or not,” I said, getting irritated.

  “Of course, you have to decide what’s right for you.” But she said it in her Frances voice. The one that meant I didn’t know what was right for me, so I should listen to her.

  And this was why I hadn’t been by.

  All these things I hadn’t thought of in months had to pick today to pop up and remind me how out of control my life had been. It was starting to feel like a series of warnings, harbingers of something awful waiting around the corner.

  Chapter 5

  As I drove back to the office, I thought about Rob’s plan. It was insanity for him to even consider risking his condo. But if the situation had been reversed, I would have done it in a second.

  That’s how we were. In the end, we shared things.

  Rob only had the condo because Dad had lent him the money. Theoretically, I was entitled to a similar loan. Except Dad had confessed that giving Rob the money hadn’t gone over well with Martha. Sure, I could still
ask, but best case scenario, it would put stress on the marriage.

  Worst case scenario, Dad was broke and would have to tell me no. That would be humiliating for him and me both.

  If only Henry hadn’t gone crazy, spending money, hiring people, leasing cars, buying goddamn whiteboards, none of this would have happened.

  I remembered to park my car in a shady section of the lot.

  Other than Erin, everyone else was out. That was fine with me. I went into Dad’s office and gently kicked the door shut.

  I took out the index card and realized that Frances hadn’t mentioned a word about paying me. She probably expected me to work for free. Oh well.

  The boyfriend’s name was Massimo Swann. It sure sounded like an alias.

  The address where the two men lived was on Holbrook. It wasn’t far from my place. My real place, not where I shacked up with Corbin, aka Keeper of Secrets.

  A quick online search showed a two-story building. Apartments or condos.

  Frances had said that Neil worked at a bank, and from what I was seeing, he wasn’t the guy sweeping the floors.

  I didn’t know her grandson’s last name, but a little more looking online and I had it. Neil King.

  He was all over social media. I learned that he liked to smoke cigarettes after a “long, stiff, throbbing drink.”

  There was even a photo of him with his new boyfriend, and I immediately knew why Frances was suspicious. Neil was average looking. The tight shirt he wore wasn’t doing him any favors. I guessed he was my age, maybe a few years older, but he was well on the road to bald. Still, he had a nice jawline, warm eyes and a bright smile. Cute but not hot.

  Massimo, on the other hand, looked like a model, head to toe. Good genes, and I doubted he ever skipped a day in the gym. I didn’t need to be an expert on designer fashions to know he liked expensive things. Everything on him, from the silk Hermès scarf around his neck to the LV man-bag under his arm, was stamped in logos.

  A dog groomer with expensive taste.

  Yeah, I’d be suspicious, too. But unless he had a history of killing his boyfriends and cleaning out their bank accounts, I didn’t see what Frances expected me to do about it. If the guy was after Neil’s money, Neil likely knew, or at least suspected.