A Little Dare (42 page)

“We
want
you
to
know
that
we’ll
do
everything
we
can
to
help
you
with
AJ,
Shelly.”

Shelly
nodded
at
Stone’s
offer
and
then
felt
her
cheeks

grow
warmer
when
another
one
of
Dare’s
fingers
wiggled
its
way
inside
her
shorts.
“I
appreciate
that,
Stone.”

“He’s
my
responsibility,”
Dare
spoke
up
and
glanced
at
his
brothers,
keeping
a
straight
face,
not
giving
away
just
what
sidebar
activities
he
was
engaged
in.

“Yeah,
but
he
belongs
to
us,
too,”
Thorn
said.
“He’s
a

Westmoreland,
and
I
think
that
you
did
a
wonderful
job
with
him,
Shelly,
considering
the
fact
that
you’ve
been
a
single
parent
for
the
past
ten
years.
He’s
going
through
growing

pains
now,
but
once
he
sees
that
he
has
a
family
who
cares
deeply
for
him,
he’ll
be
just
fine.”

She
nodded.
She
had
to
believe
that
as
well.
“Thanks,
Thorn.”

“Well,
although
I
truly
enjoyed
all
your
company,
it’s
time
for
me
to
get
back
to
the
station,”
Dare
said,
finally
removing
his
hand
from
between
her
legs.
When
he
stood
she

glanced
up
at
him
knowing
that
regardless
of
whether
it

was
a
dark,
cozy
corner
on
her
porch
at
night
or
in
a

restaurant
filled
with
people
in
broad
day
light,
Dare

Westmoreland
did
just
what
he
pleased,
and
it
seemed
that
nothing
pleased
him
more
than
touching
her.

“So,
what
did
you
do
next,
Sheriff?”

Dare
shook
his
head.
When
AJ
had
shown
up
after
school,
he
had
brought
Morris
and
Cornelius
with
him
and

explained
that
the
two
had
wanted
to
tag
along.
Dare
had
made
it
clear
that
if
they
had
come
to
keep
AJ
company

then
they
might
as
well
help
him
with
the
work,
and
he
had
just
the
project
for
the
three
of
them.

He
had
taken
them
to
the
basement
where
the
police
youth
athletic
league’s
equipment
was
stored,
with
instructions

that
they
bring
order
to
the
place.
That
past
year
a
number
of
balls,
gloves
and
bats
had
been
donated
by
one
of
the
local
sports
stores.

Deciding
to
stay
and
help
as
well
to
supervise,
he
had
not
been
prepared
for
the
multitude
of
questions
that
Morris

and
Cornelius
were
asking
him.
AJ
didn’t
ask
him
anything,
but
Dare
knew
he
was
listening
to
everything
that
was

being
said.

“That’s
why
it
pays
to
be
observant,”
Dare
said,
unloading
another
box.
“It’s
always
a
clue
when
one
guy
goes
inside
and
the
other
stays
out
in
the
car
with
the
motor
running.

They
had
no
idea
I
was
with
law
enforcement.
I
pretended
to
finish
filling
my
tank
up
with
gas,
and
out
of
the
corner
of
my
eye
I
could
see
the
man
inside
acting
strangely
and
I

knew
without
a
doubt
that
a
robbery
was
about
to
take
place.”

“Wow!
Then
what
did
you
do?”
Morris
asked,
with
big,
bright
eyes.

“Although
I
worked
for
the
Bureau,
we
had
an
unspoken

agreement
with
the
local
authorities
to
make
them
aware
of
certain
things
and
that’s
what
I
did.
Pretending
to
be

checking
out
a
map,
I
used
my
cell
phone
to
alert
the
local
police
of
what
was
happening.
The
only
reason
I
became
involved
was
because
I
saw
that
one
of
the
robbers

intended
to
take
a
hostage,
a
woman
who’d
been
inside

paying
for
gas.
At
that
point
I
knew
I
had
to
make
a
move.”

“Weren’t
you
afraid
you
might
get
hurt?”
AJ
asked.

Dare
wondered
if
AJ
was
aware
that
he
was
now
as

engrossed
in
the
story
as
Morris
and
Cornelius
were.
“No,
AJ,
at
the
time
the
only
thing
I
could
think
about
was
that
an
innocent
victim
was
at
risk.
Her
safety
became
my
main

concern
at
that
point,
and
whatever
I
did,
I
had
to
make
sure
that
she
wasn’t
hurt
or
injured.”

“So
what
did
you
do?”

“In
the
pretense
of
paying
for
my
gas,
I
entered
the
store
at
the
same
time
the
guy
was
forcing
the
woman
out.
I

decided
to
use
a
few
martial
arts
moves
I
had
learned
in
the
marines,
and—”