Bound by Danger (4 page)

Hanging his wet trunks inside the shower, he vowed to get his mind back on business. She wouldn’t be at all pleased with him.

***

Deidre studied her appearance in the mirror. The long blue dress’s gored skirt swished when she walked and danced in perfect form when she’d worn it before. It hugged her hips lightly revealing her trim waist. Her bodice was cut low enough to tempt the viewer, but not overly so. The ensemble would be perfect for dinner and dancing.

She walked into the kitchen where Charlie stirred a glass of ice tea. She raised her brows. “Pretty spiffy.” She studied his black slacks and pinstriped black and white shirt. No tie though. Even for his own wedding, he wouldn’t sport a tie. Then she smiled. For his new job as a real estate agent, she imagined he’d have to wear one. Her twin brother had finally grown up…a little.

“Pretty dress,” Charlie said back. “Could’ve been a little tighter and a little lower cut above and higher cut on the leg, but okay.”

She folded her arms. “I’m not trying to catch some guy’s eye.”

“You already caught Dave’s.”

Deidre shook her head. “Where have you been the last two years? Mom and Dad were worried sick about you.”

“To tell you the truth, I got myself in a bit of a pickle and—”

The doorbell rang.

“And?”

“That’s probably Dave.” Charlie bolted for the door.

Charlie always got himself into predicaments…naïve on the one hand, and too willing to jump into the unknown on the other. Usually Father scolded him. Mother worried incessantly. But Deidre was tickled to no end to see her brother alive and well.

Dave walked into the living room and his gaze gravitated to her. Seeing his eyebrows and lips raised slightly as he considered her figure, she assumed he was pleased to have met his new neighbor.

His appearance made her catch her breath in response. She’d never imagined he could look any better than he had in his swimming trunks earlier.

Unlike her brother, Dave wore a tie—plain black with a pink shirt and black trousers. She smiled to see a man brave enough to wear a pink shirt. Her smile must have amused him as he beamed in response.

“So, Charlie, have you called Mom and Dad to tell them you’re here?” Deidre couldn’t help but notice Dave’s hand stretching slightly to her as if he wanted to hold her hand or her arm or something to show she was his date.

She turned her attention to her brother, ignoring Dave, as they left the apartment.

Charlie nodded. “Called them as soon as I got in. Mom couldn’t stop crying, and Dad started in with the scolding right away. They seemed pretty pleased I already had a job lined up for Monday morning, and I planned to stay with you for the time being. However, I got the impression they thought you’d keep me out of trouble.”

Deidre chuckled. “They ought to know better.” They walked across the parking lot to his new pickup truck, and Deidre shook her head. “Where’d you get
this
rig? Going to rope steer or something?”

“Hey, it’s perfect for the three of us to sit together up front. Super cab, you know.”

She’d noticed. She’d figured Dave would have to sit in the back seat of whatever kind of vehicle her brother had owned. He had never owned a pickup before as far as she knew. She wondered what he’d been doing to earn enough money to pay for the new vehicle.

She ran her hand over the new leather as she climbed in and he said, “It’s paid for.”

Deidre, not wanting to venture further into Charlie’s past misadventures with Dave present, considered the phone hang-ups again. The calls totally frustrated her as she felt helpless to stop them. Dave temporarily distracted her as his shoulder pressed against hers though he had ample room to give her some breathing space. His fingers rubbed the seat next to her thigh, and she watched them bump into her playfully. The spicy scent he wore intoxicated her while the heat from his body warmed her. She was powerless to stop the visions of them dancing, their bodies touching, moving as one.

“How did you know I had phone hang-ups?” The look on Dave’s face, one of fleeting astonishment, made her suspicious.

“Have you?” Charlie ran his hands over the steering wheel.

“Just assumed it.” Dave shrugged. “You had a perturbed look on your face, wrinkled brow, a slight scowl. You didn’t say anything further and hung up the receiver. If it had only happened once, you probably wouldn’t have pursed your lips so.”

“Oh.” She wasn’t certain she believed Dave’s answer, but she couldn’t pinpoint what made her suspicious.

Several minutes later, they pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot. Charlie jumped down from the cab as Dave helped Deidre out.

Charlie opened the door to the restaurant and smiled broadly. “Here’s Marilyn.” He hurried to make introductions all around while Deidre studied the blonde whose blue eyes were definitely enhanced by contact lenses. Her dark red lips stood out from her ivory skin making them the most noticeable feature on her mousy face.

Deidre normally didn’t get a bad feeling about people from the first, but something about this woman irritated her. It might have been the way she wrapped her fake red fingernails around her brother’s arm or the way she tilted her small chin up to consider her as if she baited her adversary. The smile appeared faked, just like the eye coloring and nails.

The waitress’s arrival broke Deidre’s concentration. They followed as she led the foursome to a booth.

Deidre stared at the coziness of the burgundy leather seating arrangement. “Uh, maybe a table for—”

“Booth,” both Dave and Charlie said at once, countermanding her wishes.

Why did the men insist the women scoot first into the booth with their skirts shifting uncomfortably over their figures? So they could ensure the women belonged to them only for the evening? Sequestered in their corners—isolated from other males’ interest?

Dave smiled at Deidre as she straightened out her skirt. Before she could lift her menu from the table, he hurried to hand it to her. He tried so hard to please her. A twinge of guilt tugged at her. Poor guy, guess he was kind of lonely, being new to town and all. She smiled sweetly and thanked him. She knew she shouldn’t have done it the moment he scooted closer to her. His leg warmed hers, and she hoped her cheeks hadn’t turned noticeably red.

“My treat,” Charlie said.

“Charlie…”

Charlie shook his head at Deidre, and she closed her mouth. Maybe he could afford supper for four at a swanky restaurant. She had no idea what he’d been up to the last few months.

Charlie ordered a bottle of wine to start the evening off.

Deidre considered Marilyn and wondered if she thought she’d picked up a wealthy tycoon or something. No telling what her brother had told the woman.

After sipping her wine, Deidre turned to her. “So my brother hasn’t had time to tell me where you all met.”

The woman wrinkled up her face in another simpering smile. “
You all
, how quaint.”

Okay, now Deidre knew she didn’t like the woman. Used to her dad’s criticisms, she really never thought about it. But for a stranger to pick on her speech oddities, the notion really ticked her off. Deidre pushed herself back hard against the seat. Dave reached over and patted her hand resting on her lap. One thing Dave would learn if she had anything further to do with him, she didn’t need to be consoled. A woman like this, she could handle on her own.

Charlie finished his wine. “We met at the real estate office. Can you believe it? I’d just been hired and Marilyn walked into the office and wanted me to show her some properties. The boss fell all over himself and was going to assign another agent, but Marilyn said she only wanted me. We got to talking and well, she’s new here also and hadn’t met anybody so I asked her out. Isn’t she great?”

Deidre fought saying something catty. “Good, then you should earn a commission pretty soon on the property you sell to her.”

“He has to show me some properties first, dear.” Marilyn tilted her head back and drained her wine glass.

Deidre’s lower lip dropped. I might say ‘you all’, but I don’t guzzle wine like a drunk. “So what kind of work do you do?”

“Independently wealthy.”

Good, she could support her brother when he didn’t make any sales. Somehow, she didn’t buy it though. “Oil wells?”

The woman narrowed her eyes. “Kind of cliché, isn’t that?”

Deidre wasn’t backing down. Her brother was a softhearted dope that would fall for a woman’s lies if she made him think he was the only one for her. Deidre fingered her burgundy linen napkin. “I take it you’re not from Texas, though you don’t seem to have any particular accent.”

“You’re right.”

Charlie refilled Marilyn’s glass.

The waitress returned and took their orders, then departed again.

“So where are you from?” Deidre continued.

The woman played hard ball, but Deidre didn’t mind. If she could, she’d trip her up.

“California.”

“What part?”

“Sacramento.”

“Ah, Sacramento. Interesting place. Where in Sacramento?”

The waitress served the lettuce salad topped with tomatoes, black olives, and shredded cheese. When she left them alone again, Deidre watched Marilyn poke her fork around at an olive resting at the edge of her lettuce, trying to avoid the issue. Deidre smiled. She had the woman now.

“Didn’t Charlie tell you we lived in Sacramento for many years?” Deidre asked.

Chapter 4

Marilyn’s face turned to stone.

Deidre had her now. For whatever reason, the woman had lied about where she was from and why she came here. And latching onto her brother the way in which Marilyn did, probably served as part of the lie.

Deidre took a deep breath as she fingered her wine glass. “So why did you want to relocate to Killeen? There’s nothing here but an old Army post.”

Charlie, leaning forward to hear about the new love of his life up until this point, now squirmed in his seat. “How’s everyone’s salad?”

“Great.” Dave hurried to fork up a portion from his chilled plate.

“Fine, sweety,” Marilyn said with a saccharine-coated tone of voice. She gave Deidre a hard side-glance.

Deidre smiled inwardly. Lady, you think you can wind my brother around your little finger, but when push comes to shove, it’ll be me he listens to. She shifted her attention to Dave. “So where are
you
from?”

He smiled broadly. “
Not
California.”

She chuckled. The night was not going well at all. This dinner conversation was too tense for her.

Dave swirled the remainder of his wine in his glass. “I’m from Florida.”

“Ah, where in Florida?”

Dave hesitated as she waited for his answer. She poised like a cat ready to pounce on a beetle if he made the incorrect move.

Charlie laughed. “Be careful. Deidre should have been a private investigator. She’s just waiting for you to say the wrong thing. I have to warn you we’ve lived in Florida, too.”

Dave grinned. “Merritt Island.”

“Near the space program.” She nodded. “What school did you go to?”

“Well, we moved before I started school.”

Deidre sat back in her seat. “Oh. So where did you go after that?”

Another pause.

Raising her brows, Deidre folded her arms. “Kind of hard to recall? I remember every school I ever attended from kindergarten on.”

“We moved a lot.”

“Military?”

He nodded.

“So were we. We moved three times when we were in the third grade even.” She glanced over to see Marilyn leaning her head against Charlie’s shoulder.

“I didn’t want to mention it as it’s kind of a long list, but we lived in Germany for a time, Washington, Colorado, even Texas.”

“Is that what made you join the service?” she asked Dave.

“Yep. But got tired of the regimentation.”

Well,
he
seemed honest enough.

Their crepes were placed on the table before Deidre could ask another question. While she ate her cheese and broccoli crepe, she saw Marilyn’s hand move underneath the table about the location of Charlie’s lap. Dave noticed, too, which made Deidre’s cheeks warm. She ate in silence while she contemplated the phone calls. She hadn’t had any more visions with the last premonition, yet. And she wondered how long it would be before they spilled into her thoughts again.

To her surprise, Dave reached over and took her hand in his and squeezed gently. She realized then she’d been frowning, and his gesture made her look at him in surprise.

“Is everything all right?” His words were spoken low with concern.

“Yes.”

Charlie and Marilyn were watching her. She hated how transparent she could be to others.

A musical melody played. Marilyn pulled a cell phone from her purse. “Hello?”

Deidre caught the funny look of annoyance on her face.

“I’ll call you later.” Marilyn shoved the phone into her purse, then smiled at Charlie as her hand snaked back into his lap.

Deidre couldn’t help herself. She fought the urge to say a word, but then it just tumbled out. “A local friend?”

Medusa couldn’t have turned a body to stone any quicker than Marilyn’s icy stare. “Business partner.”

This time Deidre felt Marilyn told the truth. “So the property you want to buy is commercial?”

Charlie shook his head. “Give me a chance to serve my client, Deidre.”

Deidre could have kicked him. Serve his client. Marilyn was ready to undress him under the table if she hadn’t already done so. Men were so vain.

Then Dave’s fingers intertwined with hers in an attempt to console her, she assumed. She didn’t mind. It had been a really long time since anyone had shown her any tenderness, and his fingers touched her gently, not forcibly. Dancing tonight could be just the kind of release she needed.

***

Dave admired Deidre’s handling of Marilyn. He hadn’t ever seen his partner react so quickly to another woman’s swordplay and lose her cool. Not that Marilyn would blow up or anything, but her under-the-table-maneuvers with Charlie indicated how Deidre totally surprised her.