Out of the Darkness: a Hope Valley novel

by Prince, Jessica

  With that, I turned and walked away.

  “You were wrong about something, honey,” Tempie said to me the moment we reached the table.

  “Yeah? What’s that?”

  She cast her gaze to the ugly woman I’d just told off, telling me she’d heard the whole exchange. “More booze is totally unnecessary. I already love you.”

  I threw my head back on a loud, full belly laugh that the rest of the members of my new tribe joined in on.

  Approximately ten seconds after that, I completely forgot that Sue Ellen even existed.

  Fifteen seconds after that, I heard someone bellow my name from across the bar. I whipped around to find Bryce glaring at me with those pale eyes as he lifted a hand with a long piece of paper in it. Looked like he’d closed his tab.

  A second after that, my table burst into laughter all over again.

  * * *

  Xander

  I didn’t know why I told the guys I’d meet up with them at The Tap Room. I could count on one hand the number of times I’d been there. The rare times I went to a bar, it was Rebels, and it was for the sole purpose of picking up a woman I could bury myself inside in the hopes of finding that small bit of relief from the darkness.

  I didn’t pick up women at The Tap Room. Ever.

  So why I was currently parking my bike in one of the spots in front and to the side of the building at that very moment was beyond me.

  My boots thudded against the wooden planks of the walkway as I made my way past the windows, showing a raucous crowd dancing to the music the band was playing, and toward the doors. But something from the corner of my eye caught my attention and made me stop.

  Through the glass, I saw her. Arms raised, hips moving, a huge, beautiful smile on her face. A swath of skin showed between the waist of her jeans and the hem of her shirt, and my fingers itched to go in there and find out if it felt as soft as it looked.

  Sage was a goddamn vision as she danced with abandon, and as it always seemed lately, I battled against going hard right there on the sidewalk.

  It was bad enough I had to see her every day, but there was no way in hell I could handle this.

  Turning on my boots, I stomped back to my bike, climbed on, started her up, and took off.

  I could have gone to Rebels. Or hit the gym back at the office until I wore myself the fuck out. If I’d been smart, I would have done something to try and beat down the fire that had been building in my blood the past five days.

  But I didn’t do either of those things. Instead, I went home to suffer in the dark silence alone.

  Chapter Seven

  Sage

  I’d been in a meeting with Linc, Hunter, Xander, and our new client for all of ten minutes, and already I knew I did not like Missy Kline.

  If I had to guess, I’d have put her somewhere in her mid-thirties, but it was hard to tell with all the cosmetic surgery she’d had done.

  She’d come sauntering into the office fifteen minutes ago, wearing tan heels at least six inches high, a pair of winter white slacks with a matching see-through button-down with a gold camisole beneath. She had a pair of flashy diamond studs in her ears, and the rock on her finger was so big I could have ice skated on it.

  She had money, no doubt about it. The woman wore it like a badge of honor, but that wasn’t the source of my dislike.

  That came five minutes after we entered the conference room and Linc started detailing the plan we’d made for how this was going to go down. As soon as he finished talking, she looked over at me, curled her lip, and declared, “I’m unsure your plan will work, Mr. Sheppard, seeing as my husband has a taste for the finer things in life. I’m not sure your employee is up for the task.

  Okay, so my jeans were tight, my top had a faded Harley logo on the front, and I’d opted for a pair of brown cowboy boots—old but still awesome—instead of heels. If I had to guess, just one of her fancy shoes cost more than everything on my body, but for god’s sake, it wasn’t like I was a troll.

  “I can assure you, Ms. Winthrop is up for the task, you don’t need to worry about that.” He cocked one brow, lifting his chin to look down his nose at her. “You’ll be hard pressed to find a better team than mine, but if you’d like to try your luck with another private investigator, I’d be happy to make some recommendations. As it is, we only agreed to take your case as a courtesy to a long-standing client who referred you to us. We have plenty of other jobs we’re currently putting aside to handle yours, so if you aren’t sure my people are right for the job, please say so now so I can stop wasting their time.”

  Ooh, BURN.

  She quickly backpedaled after Linc skillfully put her in her place, and we continued from there.

  Several more times throughout the meeting she made subtle jabs at the professionalism and ability of each of us. She questioned and re-questioned our plan, made completely ridiculous suggestions, and acted like she could do a better job than the men in the room who had been at this for years and were the baddest of the badasses out there.

  But hey, money was money, and as long as her check cleared, I was willing to let her snooty behavior slide.

  What should have been a thirty-minute meeting, tops, dragged into an hour and a half by the time she was done making us repeat ourselves over and over again.

  I was about ready to start pulling my hair out by the time Linc escorted her out of the room.

  “I need coffee,” I muttered as I moved out of the conference room with Hunter and Xander.

  “Hell,” Hunter grunted, “I need bourbon. Woman’s gonna be a serious pain in the ass before all this is through.”

  I had no doubt about that.

  He broke off from our little circle and moved away and I turned to Xander, tipping my head back to look up at him as I asked, “Are all the clients like that?”

  “With fees like ours, most of the people who can afford us are rich, entitled assholes.”

  One side of my mouth came up in a grin. “So that’s a yes?”

  He didn’t answer right away. Those inky eyes slid down to my mouth, and his frown grew more severe, like the sight of my smile pissed him off. And when he finally did speak, it was to issue a warning. “Don’t fuck this up.”

  My grin fell and my hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. “You know, since meeting you, for the first time in my life I’ve been having extremely vivid fantasies about committing murder. Maybe one of these days I’ll give in and act one of them out.”

  Then I spun around and stormed off.

  * * *

  The butterflies floating around in my belly were due more to excitement than nerves. As I took the elevator up to the third floor, it felt like I was coming out of my skin. Hunter and Xander were already waiting for me, and while I wasn’t necessarily thrilled that the Bearded Bastard was in tow, I was too busy feeling like a badass Jennifer Garner in Alias to let him bring me down.

  Alpha Omega booked a room in the swanky hotel where my mark liked to pick up his nightly entertainment. From there, they’d track and record all my movements, and it allowed them to be close enough to intervene if things went tits up. It would have been cooler if they were camped out in a van outside—that was how they did it in all the spy movies—but Linc had looked at me like I’d lost my mind when I suggested as much.

  The doors to the elevator opened, and I headed down the hall to what I’d dubbed the “Control Room” for no other reason than it sounded cool as hell. After all, I was a badass private investigator now, and I wanted a freaking control room.

  “You know, it would be a lot cooler if we had a code word to get in here,” I said the moment Hunter opened the door for me.

  “Talked about this already, Sage. This isn’t a TV show. Truth is, most of these jobs are boring as hell.”

  “How about you don’t rain on my parade.” I pushed into the room and dropped my duffle bag on the bed as I took in the setup. Xander had three laptops open on the desk, each projecting images of the bar do
wnstairs from different angles. Definitely a control room vibe. Yay.

  “How’d you get those images?” I asked, pointing to the computer screens.

  He turned from where he’d been typing at warp speed on one of the laptops and regarded me with all the warmth of a Siberian winter. “I hacked into the hotel’s security feed, so as long as you’re in the bar we’ll have eyes on you to make sure you don’t screw up.”

  “I’m not gonna screw up,” I bit back, flipping him the bird for added effect.

  “Christ. Knew Linc was punishing me for somethin’ when he teamed me up with you two,” Hunter grunted from across the room, and I turned to see him staring up at the ceiling as if searching for divine intervention.

  “I’ll behave if Sasquatch does,” I said, throwing my thumb out in Xander’s direction before looking back at Hunter. “So where are we?”

  “Client turned on the GPS to the mark’s phone, so we’ve been able to track him. Looks like he’s about ten minutes out.”

  I turned to the computer screen that looked like a digital map of downtown Richmond with a blinking red dot moving across it. I moved closer, squeezed in next to Xander, and leaned in to get a better look, ignoring the way the big man’s entire body went tense at my proximity. “You know, I don’t get it. If this woman’s so certain her husband’s cheating, why not just leave him instead of paying our crazy fees to find proof of something she already knows in her gut?” Xander’s head turned in my direction, his features almost surprised at my question. “What?”

  “You make it sound so easy,” he said, his voice gentler than I’d ever heard it before.

  “It’s far from easy,” I replied earnestly. “But aren’t the people you love supposed to add to your life? I mean, the people you surround yourself with are supposed to bring you joy, not take it away, so if there’s someone who makes you sad more than they make you happy, you should cut them out. No matter how hard it is. Life’s way too short to be unhappy all the time.”

  Something I couldn’t read flashed in those deep, dark eyes, and for a moment, I thought, just maybe, we could start to get along.

  Then, as he was so prone to doing, the jerkoff opened his mouth and ruined it. “The mark’ll be here any minute, so you better get yourself ready.” He took in my boots, jeans, and tee that read “Single and Suspicious” before sneering. “This dude goes for high class pieces. I hope to fuck you brought somethin’ to change into, ’cause no way in hell you’ll get in there lookin’ like that.”

  Ignoring the biting sting those words caused, I stood tall and moved to my bag. The outfit I brought for tonight was going to make our target fall to his knees when he saw me. Hopefully, it would have the added effect of making Xander Caine swallow his own tongue as well.

  And I hoped he’d choke on it.

  * * *

  I took in my reflection in the bathroom mirror, pleased with the outcome. The slinky red dress I brought for tonight hugged me like a second skin, accentuating every curve. Two thick straps ran over the tops of my shoulders, and the neckline plunged into a deep V at the front, with an even bigger one at my back, making a bra impossible. The hemline reached all the way to my knees, but thanks to the slit in the back of the skirt, it was far more tempting than modest. But what I loved most about the dress was the shimmery gold appliqué sewn into the front left side by my ribs, giving just a hint of flash.

  I wore a pair of high-heeled gold sandals with a gazillion complicated straps from my toes all the way to my ankles. A pair of simple gold hoops graced my ears, and a thin gold chain wrapped around my neck before dipping into my cleavage. My eyeshadow was dark and smoky, and my hair hung loose in big curls with plenty of volume.

  There was no way the jackass was going to be able to resist. I’d make sure of it.

  When I stepped out of the bathroom, I knew I’d chosen wisely by the sound of Hunter’s appreciative whistle and his rumbled, “Damn, sweetheart. Don’t know where that dress came from, but I’m puttin’ the designer of it in my goddamn will.”

  I let out a laugh before turning my attention to Xander, and when my eyes landed on him everything in me froze. The muscle in his jaw ticked, and the strong column of his throat bobbed on a hard swallow. The stoniness of his features made it appear he was pissed off, but the look in his eyes could only be described with one word. Predatory.

  Oh yeah, I thought with a tiny smile. This dress is a winner.

  “All right, let’s get this done so we can get home,” Hunter said, breaking the tension swelling in the room.

  Xander cleared his throat and stood from his chair, moving in my direction as he opened the lid of what looked like a jewelry box. “This is an ear piece,” he explained, pulling out one of the two small devices inside. “It’ll make it so Hunter and I can hear everything being said between you and our target. We can also communicate back to you, and I’ll be recording all the audio from this room.”

  “No way,” I cried, snatching up the tiny piece of flesh-colored plastic. “I get gadgets? This is so freaking cool!”

  Disregarding my excitement, he pulled out the second device. “This is a wide-lens camera. Same deal as the earpiece, only we’ll be able to see everything.”

  I looked at the teeny-tiny camera with a frown. “Where exactly am I supposed to put that?” I asked, waving my arms up and down my frame.

  At my question, Xander’s eyes went straight to my cleavage—I gave really good cleavage—and the skin just above his awesome beard began to flush. For the first time since I met him, the big man actually looked a little nervous. “Uh . . . well, maybe . . . I don’t . . .”

  “Oh for Christ’s sake,” Hunter groused, taking the camera from Xander. He reached for the front of my dress before pausing and getting the exact same expression on his face as Xander. “Shit, where the hell do we put this?”

  “You guys are pathetic,” I said, snatching the device from him. “You said this is a wide lens, right?” They both nodded mutely. “Then that means it doesn’t need to be up top.” I tucked the tiny camera into the appliqué and pinned it in place.

  Hunter clapped his hands once and stated, “All right, we’re set. Let’s check the feed and get this rollin’.”

  We moved back to the computers, and Xander tapped a few buttons on the keyboard, making one of the screens split in half. One side was still of the hotel bar while the other was the view from the camera attached to my dress.

  “So freaking awesome,” I breathed.

  “Put the earpiece in so we can check it.”

  I did as Hunter ordered and spoke, “Test. Test. One, two. One, two.” Then, just for the hell of it, I lowered my voice and said, “Luuuuke. I am your faaaatherrrr.”

  “Sounds good,” Hunter stated with a roll of his eyes. “Your mark’s there,” he continued, pointing to a guy on one of the screens. The middle-aged man in question was sitting on one of the barstools, sipping a drink. With a head full of patchy, thinning hair, and at least two spare tires around his waist, he was a living testament that a man didn’t need looks to get laid as long as he was flushed with cash.

  From my one meeting with her, it was easy to see his wife was at least three and a half decades younger and had used her husband’s bank account to surgically enhance anything on her body that a doctor was willing to touch. I’d tried giving her the benefit of the doubt at first, but her cold demeanor in our office last week coupled with what I was seeing of the man now made the truth clear. She hadn’t come to us because she was concerned the love of her life was having an affair. She’d hired Alpha Omega to tail him because the prenup he’d had drawn up before they married was iron-clad, and she wanted to make damn sure she got half of everything before she divorced his ass and set up on an island resort somewhere.

  My top lip curled up in repulsion. “Okay, so maybe this isn’t gonna be as fun as I thought.”

  “Welcome to the job, Shortcake,” Xander chided. “Tried tellin’ you. What you see on TV is all bullshit.”
He turned to look at me, a shit-eating smirk tugging at his lips, making the insufferable dick even sexier. “Feel like backin’ out now?”

  My face scrunched up in a scowl. “Not a chance in hell. Let’s do this.”

  With that, I turned on my heel and stomped out of the room. It wasn’t until I was riding alone on the elevator that I started to have my first niggling of doubt.

  “You got this, Sage. You totally got this,” I whispered, giving myself a much-needed pep talk.

  All of a sudden, Xander’s voice was in my ear, causing me to jump and let out a little squeak. “You remember I said we could hear everything from that earpiece, right?”

  I frowned at my reflection in the mirrored elevator doors, knowing they could see me through the camera attached to my dress. “Were you born such a miserable bastard, or was it a skill you honed over years of practice?”

  His deep chuckle reverberated through my ear and into my entire body, making my skin heat and my heart pound. Damn, the man had such a great chuckle I was sure if he ever laughed outright I’d spontaneously come on the spot. “You can quit at any time, you know. Everyone fails once or twice in their lives. No one’ll hold it against you if you don’t have the stomach for this kind of work. Not all women have it in them to seduce a man.”

  Oh, this mother fuc—

  The dickhead was just daring me to quit. Smiling sweetly into the elevator doors, I replied, “I’ll be just fine, thanks, but I appreciate your concern. Now shut up and let me do my job.”