Damsel in Danger (Danger Incorporated Book 1) (22 page)

“That wasn’t why I was upset,” he admitted. “It was when you talked about moving back to your house. I like having you near me. I don’t mind your stuff at all.”

A slow smile crossed her pretty face. “Not even the clutter in the shower? I have shampoo, two kinds of conditioner, a soap for my body, one for my face, a razor, and body exfoliator.”

“Don’t forget that stone that you use to smooth your feet,” Jason laughed. “And no, I don’t mind. I’m kind of fascinated by it all, actually. I had a sister, but we didn’t share a bathroom so I didn’t know what half that stuff was until you told me.”

He’d asked her about the stone that sat on the edge of the tub after wracking his brain trying to figure out what the hell it was. The only thing he could come up with was a weapon to throw at someone’s head if they intruded on her bath time.

“I just didn’t want to be in the way. In your way, I mean.”

“You could never be that. I’d let you stay just for your cooking alone. But we probably need to have a talk about things eventually. About what happens when this is all over.”

“That sounds ominous.” Her smile wavered slightly. “Am I going to be thrown out of the Homeowner’s Association?”

“No way.” Jason leaned down and pressed a kiss to her tempting lips. She tasted like coffee and maple syrup. “But things will change at some point. We don’t need to talk about it now though. Tomorrow or the next day is soon enough. Have fun with Logan today. I’ll call you later this morning, okay?”

“Okay, drive careful.”

Jason climbed into his truck, his gaze still on Brinley standing on the steps, an uncertain expression on her face. He’d fucked this up royally but he’d make it right. This was about his deficiencies, not hers.

He waved as he headed down the road. It was time to get back to the one thing he knew how to do.

Find a criminal.

‡

“J
ason’s running scared,
isn’t he?”

Brinley and Logan had spent the last hour debating the merits of blinds versus shutters and were now sitting at her kitchen table as two men from the flooring company measured each room and scratched the number down on a clipboard. They’d already finished the upstairs and only had the living and dining areas left to do.

“Yes,” she sighed in resignation. “He’s pulling away from me and I can’t stop him. Maybe it’s for the best if he really doesn’t want me.”

“He wants you,” Logan laughed. “Trust me, he does. He’s just confused. Kind of like my mom used to say. He doesn’t know whether to scratch his watch or wind his butt. You’ve got him all turned around and he’s going to go down fighting.”

Logan’s poetic way with words had her laughing right along with him. “What if he doesn’t get himself straightened out? Maybe I should help him.”

“Jason is a hell of a lot like I was, darlin’. Love and commitment snuck up on me. Sure, I fought it, but Ava just quietly hung around and waited for me to remove my head from my ass. No pushing. No yelling. She just carried on with life as if I was smart enough to figure it out on my own. And I did. Jason will too. Give him love and space and he’ll figure out he wants a bunch of the former and none of the latter.”

She hoped so because her feelings deepened with every day that she spent with him.

“I’ll try and relax. No worrying over tomorrow.”

“What Jason is going through – and what I went through – didn’t have a damn thing to do with a female. This is about Jason’s demons, Brinley, and only he can fight them.”

Logan was right but it wasn’t easy to sit back and pretend not to care about the outcome. She cared more than she was ready to admit.

A banging on the front door interrupted them and she apologized and excused herself to answer it, leaving Logan to finish his coffee. She pulled open the door and almost slammed it closed immediately.

It was Greg. He wasn’t giving up. What did it take for the guy to get a clue? She didn’t want to be a bitch but he couldn’t keep showing up here uninvited. And unwanted.

“Hey, Brinley. How have you been?”

Greg’s charming smile did nothing to soothe her ruffled feathers. His habit of showing up out of the blue and trying to charm her was wearing on her nerves. She kept the screen door shut between them, not wanting him to think there was a chance in hell she was going to ask him inside the house.

“What do you want, Greg?”

She didn’t bother to temper the annoyance in her voice and her mother would have told her she sounded rude. Good. Apparently Greg was the kind of guy who needed a brick wall to fall on him before he realized what was going on around him.

That smile she once thought was charming but now just seemed smarmy crossed his pretty boy face. She didn’t know how she ever could have been attracted to him or his type. Jason was a million times more handsome and sexy with his rugged looks and godlike physique.

“I was passing by and thought we might visit for awhile. Maybe have a cup of coffee and talk. You know, catch up.”

“No.” Brinley shook her head, her lips pressed tightly together. “I told you the last time I saw you that this is not going to work out. You need to leave.”

“Trouble, Brinley?”

A deep voice right behind her had a look of dismay crossing Greg’s face. Logan stood to her right but even Greg could see the wide shoulders and powerful muscles on the former sheriff. It wasn’t even a question who would come out on top if there was a scuffle.

“He was just leaving, Logan. Right, Greg?”

Red-faced, Greg took a step back on the porch. “If that’s how you really feel then I will go.”

“Do that. It’s not going to work out. I’m sorry.”

She wasn’t all that sorry really but she was sorry that she was having to deal with this again. The whole situation creeped her out, and that was saying something after what had happened to her in Chicago.

Greg turned on his heels and strode to his non-descript sedan, climbing in and gunning the engine. Dirt flew behind the wheels as he backed out of the driveway and onto the main road. Brinley turned to Logan who was wearing a sour expression as he watched the other man hightail it out of there.

“Thank you. I could have gotten rid of him eventually but you being here made it much easier.”

Brinley closed the door and took another peek out of the front window to ensure Greg was gone. “Who is that and what’s his deal? I know first impressions don’t count for much, but I think he’s an asshole.”

Laughter bubbled from her lips at Logan’s bald statement. “Greg is an asshole. He’s a guy I kind of dated. Coffee dates and stuff like that. Apparently he doesn’t like the word no.”

“Greg, huh? I hope he keeps his damn distance from now on or Jason and I might have to have a chat with him. Man to man. Some guys just don’t get the whole ‘no means no’ thing. I know because I put more than a few of them in jail.”

“He’s harmless. But a nuisance. He keeps showing up uninvited. I have to admit that’s a hot button issue with me.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for Romeo.” Logan crossed his arms over his chest, his blue eyes like ice. “The flooring guys are finished, by the way, and waiting for you in the kitchen. I gave them some coffee. I hope that’s okay.”

“Perfect. Now cross your fingers that their estimate to refinish these floors isn’t an arm and a leg. I’ve only budgeted for one limb. Two is out of the question.”

Shaking off her anger and frustration, Brinley crossed into the kitchen. It was sadly ironic that Greg wouldn’t leave her alone and Jason was looking for reasons to bolt.

All she needed to do was make sure she didn’t give him any reason to do so.

*

Jason entered the
elevator and punched the “4” button on the panel. He’d struck out at Damian Barnes’s home. There’d been no one at the house and the place looked deserted with a pile of newspapers on the front porch. So now Jason was giving Barnes’s workplace a try but wasn’t optimistic about his chances of meeting the elusive man.

The doors slid open and Jason walked down the hallway of the office building. There wasn’t anything special about the place, just the typical gathering of companies that didn’t have anything to do with one another. Some fly by night and some more established. According to Jared’s research Damian Barnes’s software company was a successful one. He had twelve full-time employees and was a member of the local business association. An upstanding citizen by all accounts.

Jason found the door with the plaque next to it that read, “Barnes Financial Software, Inc.” Pushing it open, he took a cursory inventory of the room behind it. On the small side, it had a few chairs for guests but most of the space was taken up by a receptionist desk that was currently empty. A glass wall behind the desk revealed even more offices and people but none of them seemed to notice his arrival.

Waiting for someone to greet him, he examined the photos on the walls. There was a large one with two men, one holding an award and the other older, maybe mid-sixties. The younger man was probably what women called handsome, but then Jason wasn’t much of a judge regarding male attractiveness.

“Can I help you?”

Jason turned quickly to find a middle-aged woman standing there with a disapproving look on her face. He gave her his most charming smile, hoping to make a better impression and perhaps learn something about the elusive Damian Barnes.

“I hope you can. I’m Jason Anderson. I was hoping I could speak to Damian Barnes if he was available. I only need a few minutes of his time.”

The woman sniffed, not moved at all by his debonair display. “Mr. Barnes does not see people without an appointment. Are you selling something? You can leave a business card if you like.”

“No, I’m not selling anything.” Jason cleared his throat, hating to reveal all the details of why he was there to someone he’d never met. He dug a business card out of his wallet and handed it to the woman. “I’m working with the Tremont Police Department to investigate a crime. We have reason to believe that Mr. Barnes might have been a witness and may have some important information.”

That was kind of the truth. Damian Barnes might know much more than he realized.

The woman looked at Jason, looked at the card, and then looked back at him. “He’s not here, actually. He’s on vacation. He went to visit a friend in San Francisco.”

Jason could believe that Barnes wasn’t at home after seeing the piles of newspaper on the front porch, but he wasn’t about to give in that easily.

“Does he call in? It’s very important that I talk to him, ma’am. I’ve left messages at his home and here–”

“Yes.” The receptionist nodded and placed the card on her desk. “I was the one who took those messages and I did pass them on to Mr. Barnes. He calls in every other day. I’m sure he’ll contact you when he gets back into town.”

Fighting his rising frustration, Jason tried one more time. “Would it be possible for me to talk to him when he calls in? Does he call at the same time of day?”

More disapproval. The dragon lady clearly didn’t like being questioned.

“No, he doesn’t. I’m afraid you’ll just have to wait until he gets back.”

Effectively cornered, Jason admitted defeat. At least for the battle but not the war.

“I’d appreciate you letting him know again that I’m anxious to speak to him. Do you know when he’ll be back?”

The first crack in the woman’s armor. Her smile faltered and she seemed unsure. “That I don’t know. He left a few weeks ago and hasn’t given a return date.”

Jason whistled. “Lucky man. Thank you for your help.” He turned to leave but then pointed to the framed picture on the wall. “Is that Mr. Barnes?”

The receptionist beamed with pride for her boss. “Yes, it is. He was receiving the very prestigious Alliance Award for excellence in interface design. Mr. Barnes is a brilliant man.”

Barnes sure as hell didn’t look much like his childhood photos. The skinny, geeky boy with thick glasses had grown into a confident man despite what he’d experienced as a youth. It was good to see he hadn’t let the trauma of his past affect his future.

“I’m sure he his. Thank you and I hope to hear from him very soon. Good day.”

Jason exited the office and strode down the hall, punching the down arrow with too much force. The case was frozen in place and going nowhere fast. He’d promised Brinley he’d find this guy but things were not looking good.

Time to go back to the beginning and start again.

‡

“I
didn’t think
a half wall of wallpaper would be this much work.”

Brinley wiped at her damp forehead, the summer heat still blazing despite the sun beginning to set in the west. The old air conditioning unit was struggling to keep up and she’d have to look into replacing it eventually.

Right after she won the lottery or inherited a fortune from a long lost uncle.

This house was costing her every penny of her savings and she wasn’t sure she even wanted it anymore since finding out her living room had hosted a dead body from an unsolved murder. She wasn’t a superstitious person but it still gave her the willies. She was glad that she spent nights at Jason’s house, although she’d never admit it out loud to him.