Causing Havoc (22 page)

As soon as he'd left. Eve retrieved her underwear and dashed into the connecting laundry room to

refresh herself. It shook her. how easily he turned her on. Like he had a magic switch he flipped. A

button that he knew exactly when to push.

If she were smart, she'd put some distance between them.

Dean reappeared. He managed to look both cocky and vulnerable. "So. Nine tonight is good for

you?"

Secret places in her body quaked at just the thought. "You stil want to? I mean, after we've just done

.. . this." Surely he was satisfied now.

"Yeah. I stil want to. Maybe more now than before."

Because that was exactly how she felt, Eve let out a sigh of relief, and smiled. "Okay then."

His mouth twitched into a grin. "You realize that means I win the bet."

Her confusion turned quickly to comprehension. "Now wait a minute—"

"Can't. You're going to be late." With two big steps, he reached her. "But don't worry. You'l enjoy paying up."

"Dean—"

He kissed the denial from her lips and left her standing there, mute, annoyed, and fil ed with scalding

anticipation.

* * *

knew the way, because his brain sure as shit wasn't on directions.

When he'd gone to see Eve, it hadn't been for a quickie. Just the opposite. He'd planned to cancel

on her, and leave it at that. Whatever happened, happened.

But he'd taken one look at her, heard her, breathed in her fresh-from-the-shower scent, and his

plans went haywire.

He didn't know if he should be annoyed, bemused, or embarrassed. Jesus. If he kept up like this,

she'd think he was a sexual control freak. Not that he minded control ing her. Hel no. He loved it.

And that was the problem.

After leaving her the night before, he'd thought of her at least a hundred times. Jacki said something

ridiculous, and he thought about tel ing Eve. Cam climbed up on a roof in a rainstorm, and he wanted

to rail to Eve about it.

Lorna treated him like a damn parasite, and he wanted to go to Eve to ...

No.

He didn't. He wouldn't.

So why the hel had he told Eve that he intended to fix the roof? Come to that, why was he fixing the

goddamned roof? It wasn't his problem. It had jack shit to do with him.

Stopped at a red light, Dean squeezed his eyes shut and purposeful y cleared his mind. He'd fix the

roof and be done with it. Period. As he'd told Eve, it wasn't a big deal. He could afford it, and then

when he left again, he wouldn't have to think about a woman-—didn't matter if the woman was his

sister—
any woman
standing on a roof that was in dangerous need of repair.

He pul ed away with the flow of traffic and, minutes later, arrived at the car lot. On his way in, he

noticed a used Ford Focus. Clean. Good tires. And the price was reasonable. ...

Damn it.

Keeping his stony gaze straight ahead, Dean stormed into the office and completed his business

with no questions asked about the other car. He had his Sebring; he didn't need another car.

And fixing a roof was more than enough charity on his part.

After the storm the night before, the fresh morning air felt good. Dean put the convertible top down

and drove to the address Eve's mother had given him. He wanted to stop in to let Crystal know he

couldn't look at any property today after al . Soon, though.

Crystal's workplace had an upscale feel to it. The building was new and professional y landscaped.

As Dean opened the etched glass entry doors, he pushed his mirrored sunglasses to the top of his

head. A friendly receptionist directed him down the hal to Crystal's office.

Hal way there, he heard a man's raised angry voice.

"This is absurd. It's a waste of her money and you know it."

Crystal said, "Look, Roger, it's none of my business. You'l have to take it up with Cam."

Roger. Great. Someone else Dean didn't want to see.

"Sel me the damn property now, and Cam won't have to bother with repairs."

'"Sorry," Crystal said. "It's not mine to sel ."

An angry silence crackled in the air before Roger bit off, "Do—the damn—paperwork."

Dean reached the end of the hal just in time to see Crystal come out of her chair and around her

desk. Her pose showed obvious annoyance. "I wil when Cam tel s me to, and not a second before

that."

"I've tried to cal her, but she's not answering her home phone or her cel ." When Crystal shrugged, Roger took a step closer to her. "You know damn good and wel I'm her only buyer, and I don't want

the roof fixed."

Lounging in the doorframe, Dean asked, "Why not?"

Roger spun around, first startled and then, when he recognized Dean, furious. "What the hel are

you doing here?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm here for the same reason you are."

Anger colored Roger's face, until Dean clarified. "I'm thinking of buying some property."

He took an aggressive step forward. "The Conor home?"

Dean sent him a
hell no
look, then said to Crystal, "Good morning."

Crystal greeted him with relief and a hearty hug. "You're early."

"Sorry about that. My plans had a few changes." And to Roger, he said, "Cam is probably stil sleeping. She was up late fighting roof leaks."

Eyes narrowing, Roger asked, "And how would you know that?"

"I helped her fix them."

Again Roger started forward, and Crystal said, "I take it you've met Cam's brother, Dean?"

That brought him to a standstil . "Her brother?"

"That's right." And with a puzzled frown, "You didn't know?"

Roger was so transparent that Dean could see his every thought and intent.

"No," Roger said. "We met, but I didn't realize . . ." Undecided on which tack to take, Roger waffled between bul ying anger and a slicker facade that might aid him in prying.

He decided to try slick.

"I understood from Eve that you weren't sticking around." Hands in his pockets, Roger avoided

offering a friendly handshake. "She was wrong?"

"No." Dean turned back to Crystal. "If you have any addresses for me, I'l take them now and check them out when I can."

"Sure thing. I have them right here." She handed Dean a multipaged printout, safely tucked inside a folder for the sake of privacy.

Frustration darkened Roger's eyes, though he tried to keep it out of his voice. "If you're not sticking around, why are you buying property?"

"Investment." Dean glanced at the addresses, nodded, and said to Crystal, "Thanks. I owe you."

"After the way the men chewed your ear the other night? I'd say I'm stil behind."

Roger again tried to gain Dean's attention. "You're into real estate? Me, too. It's a smart man's

move." He watched Dean with speculation. "I don't know if your sister told you, but I own quite a few enterprises here in Harmony."

"Actual y Eve told me."

"I see." A muscle ticked in Roger's cheek. "So you two are an item?"

Rather than answer. Dean closed the distance separating him from Roger. When he stood only a

foot away, he smiled. "It's my turn."

Roger's gaze shifted to Crystal and came back. "Your turn for what?"

"The interrogation. I'l start with asking why you don't want Cam to have the roof fixed."

It was a struggle for Roger, but he didn't back away. At six-two, he probably wasn't used to anyone

standing over him. But Dean not only topped him by a couple of inches, he had a more powerful

physique and a lot of practice intimidating people.

He used both to his advantage now.

Why he wanted to break Roger down, he didn't know. But he had an instinct on some things, and on

a basic gut level, he loathed and distrusted Roger.

Keeping his annoyance under wraps, Roger shrugged. "Your sister and I are engaged."

'"Real y? I heard that was stil up in the air."

Roger's expression tightened. "Cam and I have yet to finalize our plans. In the meantime, I don't

want to see her stressing about unnecessary things. I'm buying the house, and I don't give a damn

how the roof is."

Dean slowly nodded, but he didn't trust a single thing Roger said. "You claimed you're her only buyer.

Why is that?"

"Who else would want it?" Roger laughed. "You've seen the roof, but maybe you don't know that the plumbing is faulty, too, and the windows are so warped that they're nearly useless. On any given day,

half the damn circuits wil overload or short out. The heat pump is shot and needs to be replaced. The

—"

"Strange," Dean interrupted. "It seems the pool is in perfect working order. Why would Cam let the house fal apart, but maintain the pool?"

Crystal snorted. "Lorna uses the pool, that's why."

Dean couldn't credit such a thing. "Lorna wears a swimsuit?"

"No." Crystal actual y shuddered over the thought of that. "But she does a lot of entertaining out there. Little club parties and such."

That explained why they had such nice outdoor furniture, too.

"When the pool pump broke at the beginning of the season, Roger fixed it for Lorna." Crystal stared between the two men. "At his own expense."

"Real generous of you." Dean wondered why Roger would assist Cam with one thing, but not

another. And why had Cam let him help? From what he'd seen of his sister, she was too independent

and far too proud for her own good.

"The girls like to swim, too," Roger defended. "And it didn't cost that much."

Of course they liked to swim. They grew up with a customized pool in their backyard. He could stil

remember his own days of summer, before his parents' deaths. Lounging in the pool al day,

swimming and playing until he was too exhausted to do more than eat and nap. Nothing, not even

hard work, tired a person more than sun and water. It was a good tired, though. The kind that took

away tension and made problems seem less severe.

Just like that, Dean made another decision. He refused to ponder it too long, to dwel on his murky

motivation. His dislike of Roger proved to be enough reason for anything he chose to do.

Turning to Crystal, Dean said, "Don't sel the house until you hear from me."

Roger snorted. "What are you talking about? You have no say in this."

"Actual y I have the final say."

Crystal's eyebrows shot up, so Dean explained to them both at the same time.

"Cam told me the house is part mine. The fact that I wasn't around much doesn't change anything."

He clapped Roger on the shoulder. "And I just decided I don't want to sel it."

"That's ludicrous."
Incredulity left Roger's face colorless. "Cam and I have a deal!"

' But you and I don't." Done with explaining himself, Dean saluted Crystal with the file of addresses.

"Thanks again. I'l be in touch."

Dazed by the turn of events, Crystal nodded. "Yeah, I'l be waiting with bated breath to hear from

you."

Dean strode out on Roger's swel ing tirade. He felt like he'd just tossed a heavy weight off his

shoulders. The whole day looked brighter.

Time to get things underway. Taking his cel phone off the clip on the waistband of his jeans, he

dialed Gregor's number.

On the third ring, breathing hard and fast, Gregor answered. "Yeah?"

Had he caught Gregor at an indiscreet moment? "I gather you're either screwing or working out."

"Havoc? How are you, you son of a bitch?"

"Breathing easier than you."

Gregor laughed. "It'l disappoint you, 'cuz it sure disappoints me, but you're not interruptin' anything more excitin' than a jog. What's up?"

Dean came right to the point. "I have a proposition for you."

"Interesting. Let's hear it, buddy boy."

To guard against the bright morning glare, Dean slipped on his sunglasses. He looked up at the

clear blue skies. Not a cloud in sight. But how long would it last?

"I could use a hand with something. If you help out, I'l spar with you."

"Spar? Shit man, I want a sanctioned fight."

"Sparring first, and then we'l see." Dean opened the door of his new car and slid behind the wheel.

"But the sparring comes after we finish up a job. For every day that you work with me, I'l spar with you for two hours. What do you think?"

"I think you've got me by the bal s, you bastard."

Excitement deteriorated Gregor's language. "But fuck, yeah, I'm your man. Whatever you need, you

tel me."

"For starters, I need you to clean up your language."

"What the fuck do you care?"

Gregor could be such an idiot. "I'm going to reshingle my sister's roof, and she'l probably be around.

She doesn't need to hear your foul mouth."

A heavy pause, ripe with anticipation, fol owed Dean's statement. Then, as if savoring the words,

Gregor murmured, "Oh, yeah. Little sister."

Dean rol ed his eyes. "Don't say it like that, you ass."

"Like what?"

"Like she's a buffet dinner, and you're a starving man." Wading into unfamiliar territory, Dean tossed out his first bit of brotherly caution. "Keep in mind that she's my sister, okay?"

Gregor laughed at that. "Hel , man, knowin' little sis wil be around, I'd have done this without the promise of a payback. Too bad for you, you've already given me your word."

"It's hard work," Dean warned him. "And it's going to take a few days."

"Yeah," Gregor said with satisfaction. "The longer, the better. Because I'm going to enjoy every second of it."

LATER that afternoon, when Dean walked around to the backyard, he saw Gregor's hulking form

already taking up a good deal of space on the deck. He must have raced right over, Dean thought, in