Deadly Dancing Read online

  I didn’t want to make Brett nervous at my brochure ogling, so I quickly passed the brochure to the lady next to me. His eyes were on me. I ignored the heat of his gaze.

  His breath was warm on my neck. “Just say the word and I’ll take you there.” He placed a soft kiss on my neck.

  I turned to him. His eyes were warm and chocolaty. My lips crushed to his. I couldn’t even move or breathe. What am I doing?

  Brett pulled back, resting his forehead on mine. “Keep doing that and I’ll never bring you back.”

  Kym caught my eye. She had witnessed the whole thing. Her jaw hung open. I flushed and peeked around. No one else seemed to have noticed, or if they did, they’d already looked away.

  “Omigod,” she mouthed to me.

  I shrugged and tried to do a palms up, forgetting Brett was still handcuffed to me. I clothes-lined a wine glass with the cuffs, knocking it into his lap. Red wine soaked his jeans and ran down the sides. I gasped and grabbed for a napkin to dab off the wine. Brett smirked at me as I was about to dab his privates. I threw the napkin at him.

  * * *

  We ducked out a little early. I wanted to go see the Stevensons’ party while it was still happening.

  “Brett,” I said with extra sugar. “I have to go see the Stevensons’ party. You don’t even have to let me out of the car, just drive me there.”

  He sighed. “You obviously don’t comprehend the word no. I’ll take you there, but you have to promise not to pull anything.”

  “I promise,” I said sweetly. “Anyway, what could I possibly do? I’m still handcuffed to you.”

  He didn’t look convinced.

  He parked on the side of the road by a rolling prairie. The tent glowed softly as guests danced to the gentle music.

  Flower Power had made wildflower leis and crowns for the guests to wear. Everyone looked like overdressed hippies. I smiled at the sight. Small lanterns lit a path that meandered through the prairie and down to a stream.

  Before dinner, the Stevensons had renewed their vows at the edge of the stream. In the event request form, they stated Mr. Stevenson had proposed by a stream in a prairie field.

  “Can we go to the stream?” I asked Brett.

  He studied my face and caved. “Yes,” he said, stepping out of the car. I slipped out after him.

  The string quartet’s enchanting melody floated from the tent, carrying through the night air.

  “Everyone looks like they are having a good time,” I said.

  I’ll have to thank Flower Power. It must have taken an enormous amount of time and love to put all these wildflowers together and create such beautiful pieces. Adding flowers to a table is ordinary; adding flowers to a person is extraordinary.

  “There you are,” Jocelyn cooed to Brett, grabbing his left arm.

  I breathed in a sigh of relief since I was still attached to his right. I didn’t want to have to explain the cuffs. Thankfully, she was too focused on Brett’s mouth to notice.

  “I was going to have to get very mad at Mars if she didn’t have you come here tonight.” She laughed at her so-called humor. Unfortunately, it was the truth.

  “Why don’t we take a walk down the path?” Jocelyn urged Brett. Her finger played with a button on his shirt.

  Brett looked at me for help. He wasn’t going to be patient for much longer, not when he was in cop mode.

  “Uh, he can’t,” I stumbled for an excuse. “He’s allergic to the wildflowers out here. He just came by to see the event, but he has to leave now.”

  “Wonderful!” Jocelyn exclaimed. Her eyes lit up. “Why don’t we stop to have a drink?”

  Ugh! I didn’t foresee that. Brett looked to the sky like he was praying for a miracle.

  “He has to go to Longhorn’s,” I attempted another lie. “He still works there.”

  Jocelyn deflated a little. “I wasn’t planning on going there tonight. I guess I could stop in for a few minutes.”

  “Perfect,” I said. “Why don’t you go home and change. You can see Brett later.”

  Jocelyn winked at Brett before she smacked his ass and sashayed to her car.

  Brett looked at me. “I’m not going to Longhorn’s. I already quit and there’s no way I’m taking you there.”

  “You quit?”

  “I can’t protect you and work at the same time. We found that out the hard way,” he said, kissing my forehead. “The only reason I started Longhorn’s was to find the Hammer, which I did, thanks to you. Now I just have to bait her to come out and show herself.”

  We strolled, hand in handcuffed hand, down the path. The lanterns let off a warm glow that lit the path.

  “How are you going to bait her?”

  “She’s going to be mad I quit. I’m sure she’ll blame you and come looking for you.”

  “So, I’m the bait?”

  “In a way, yes. I didn’t want it to happen this way. Are you going to be okay with this?” he asked. “I’m going to stick close to you so she doesn’t have a chance to attack.”

  “If she can’t attack, how will you catch her?”

  “I’m hoping she’ll become desperate and slip up.”

  “What if you uncuff me and let me bait her?”

  “It’s not worth the risk.” He brushed a finger against my cheek. “If I don’t catch her this time, I’ll catch her later. I’m not risking your life. You’ve already used up at least three lives so far.”

  “What if I’m willing to risk it?”

  “Sweet thing, I don’t gamble with anyone’s life but my own.”

  We reached the stream. Without the sun’s light, the water pooled like black silk. Sounds of water moving gently against small, shiny rocks and the far-off string quartet played in my ear.

  “We need to get back to the car,” Brett said. His voice had an edge to it, jolting me from the romantic moment. “Someone’s out here.” He drew a gun that was tucked into the back of his jeans. He placed his hand at the small of my back, steering me quickly back up the path. His eyes scanned the darkness.

  I crawled into the car firs and he followed after me. The engine revved to life. Brett floored the car.

  “How do you know someone was out there? I didn’t see or hear anything.”

  “She was too far away for you to see or hear.” He pulled a tranquilizer dart from his pant leg. He had been shot, but the dart had caught in the loose fabric. “Which is why she missed.”

  “Are you okay?” I squeaked.

  “I’m fine,” he gritted.

  “How do you know it’s the Hammer?”

  “The Hammer has used tranquilizers before to stun the victim.”

  “Why not just shoot them with bullets and get it over with?”

  “She’s not sane,” Brett explained. He sounded calm, but his jaw was clenched. Fierce. “After shooting the victim with a tranquilizer dart, the Hammer abducts the victim to a remote location and waits for them to gain consciousness. She tortures them with initial blows from the sledgehammer. She’ll finally kill them with the final blow when they’ve nearly hemorrhaged to death. The crime scenes are gruesome. The victims are almost always unrecognizable.”

  I stared blankly out at the empty road before me. My stomach churned.

  “Brett, stop the car. I’m going to be sick.”

  Brett looked over at me and decided I wasn’t joking. I opened the door and heaved. My huge dinner erupted from my stomach.

  Brett winced and handed me my leftover fast-food soda to rinse my mouth. It was watered down but better than nothing.

  Brett slipped out his cell phone. “I need a different car,” he said to the person on the other line. “Something that will blend in.” Brett was about to hang up the phone. “Hey, T? Make sure it has tinted windows. You know where I am, right?”

  “Ow,” I whimpered.

  Something jabbed me through my purse. I reached in my purse to see what it was. There wasn’t anything pokey on the inside. I flipped the purse around.

&n
bsp; “Uh-oh.”

  Brett glanced down, focusing on the dart that had penetrated my purse . . . that I had unwittingly stuck in my leg. I yanked it out with a wince. A spot of blood beaded at the spot.

  “Don’t worry,” Brett said gently. “You’ll sleep for a little while and wake up in my arms. I promise, sweet thing”

  I placed my hand in his, and he squeezed it reassuringly.

  I could see he was talking to me, but my ears stopped listening. I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer.

  * * *

  Brett kept his promise. I awoke to find his arms around me. We were lying on the bed in the little stone house. The bedroom was drenched in sun.

  My neck tickled with Brett’s sleeping breath. I slipped from his arms and struggled to stand. The tranquilizer left my body heavy and rundown.

  I’m getting really sick of people drugging and tranquilizing me, I thought as I was finally able to stand without falling back to the bed.

  I looked down to find myself in sweatpants and a T-shirt. Considering I didn’t have underwear on last night, Brett must have seen the full showcase. Should I kick him now or later? I glanced down to see his relaxed, sleeping face. He was peaceful. Too peaceful to kick.

  I’ll do it later.

  I picked up Brett’s phone from the nightstand to look at the time. There was another text message on the phone. I wasn’t sure if I should read it, but he had stripped me down last night. I believe that entitles me to see a message.

  You didn’t show up last night! We made a deal.

  I carefully set the phone back down. With everything that had happened last night, I had forgotten Brett was supposed to meet someone at eleven. He must have brought me back here and stayed with me.

  I leaned over the bed, giving him a small kiss above his brow. His arms reached out like tentacles grabbing their prey. He pulled me back into bed.

  I stuck my hand between our mouths before he could kiss me. I wiggled to free myself.

  He didn’t ease his grip. “Kiss me, or I won’t let you go.”

  I gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

  “That doesn’t count.”

  “It counts,” I said. “You didn’t specify what kind of kiss.”

  “Mars, if you don’t kiss me right now, I’ll have to skip the kiss and move on to unbelievably mind-blowing sex.”

  I paused. “You just lay it out on the table, don’t you?”

  “I don’t play games . . . unless you’re the prize.”

  “If I kiss you, will you answer a question for me?”

  “Maybe. It depends on the question and how good the kiss is.” A devious smile crept on his face.

  “Who were you supposed to meet last night at eleven?”

  “Hmm . . . to answer that question, the payment would have to be made in the French variety and make it extra dirty.”

  I glared at him. “You would have made that the payment for any question asked.”

  “You want to argue or pay up?”

  Hell, I’ll pay up. I won twice on this deal. A question gets answered, and I kiss Brett. No brainer there.

  I moved in closer, our lips parted as they touched gently. I grazed his lips with my tongue. He tightened his hold, pressing me into his firm, bare chest.

  I pushed back, trekking down to his stomach, kissing his muscles that swelled under his tan skin. I drew a path with the tip of my tongue back up his chest.

  He moaned, grabbing my arms to yank me back up. I brought my mouth down to his. His lips were hard and demanding.

  Propping myself up to look in his warm cocoa eyes, I said, “Answer the question. I paid.”

  He nuzzled into my neck while he answered, “Karina.”

  My first reaction was to kick him, but instead I asked, “Why?”

  “That’s another question. I believe the payment for answering that question will be big.”

  “How big?”

  “Give me your shirt.”

  “I changed my mind. I don’t want to know your business with Karina.”

  “Trust me, you want to know.”

  “You want my shirt? You’ll have to take it.”

  Brett’s lips curled with amusement. I turned to jump off the bed, but his arms wrapped around my waist. I pivoted to escape his grasp and landed on top of him.

  His strong hands slid up my back, taking the shirt with it. He stripped it off over my head. Our skin touched, smooth and heated. He rolled over, pinning me down with his weight. I inhaled sharply as he brushed his finger against my nipple. His mouth took possession. His tongue swirled and flicked against the hardness. I moaned as he sucked gently. My back arched from the touch of his lips.

  I pushed him back again. It was getting more difficult by the second.

  “Talk,” I said between breaths.

  “T said he could help me get evidence that the Fenwigs were paying for sex and not informing the person that they were being filmed. I could get them on soliciting at the very least. Hopefully it’d stop them and get them off our backs.

  “When Karina called and made me an offer, I asked the police for assistance. But it didn’t happen. Since you were tranquilized, I didn’t want to leave you.”

  Brett nibbled on my shoulder, his thumb mindlessly stroking. Concentrating was nearly impossible.

  “Who is T?”

  Brett grinned. “If I had any idea I could get payments like these for answering your questions, I’d have made you pay up on Saturday.”

  “It wouldn’t have worked. I didn’t care about you then.”

  “And you care about me now?” He smirked, eyes assessing.

  I sighed. “It’s impossible not to.”

  His lips framed his perfect white teeth. “Pants,” he demanded.

  “What?”

  “That’s the next payment.” He cast his gaze down.

  He didn’t wait for a reply. His hands worked quickly to strip off the remainder of my clothes.

  I was naked next to him. He gazed at me hungrily but didn’t touch. He took in every detail. I made a move to escape his predatory stare. His hand pressed my shoulder back to the bed.

  Brett kissed me hard. His mouth slowly wandered down my neck, then to my breasts. He lingered there for a moment, but his tongue was on the move. It traveled down the length of my stomach. He devoured everything he came in contact with. My body ached with need. He held me down firmly, my body vibrating under his touch. His mouth traveled lower and lower and . . .

  “OMIGOD!”

  * * *

  “T is the guy with the tarantula tattoo.” Brett whispered in my ear.

  I draped on the bed unbelievably satisfied and content after his mouth had performed something that could only be considered supernatural.

  “He said he would assist the cops in exchange for reduced parole time,” Brett continued.

  I didn’t care about the questions anymore. I didn’t care about anything. Just being in bed with Brett took care of all my needs.

  As I lay in the crook of his arm, one question floated down and registered in my brain. “Why would Fenwig hire a convict?”

  “Finally,” Brett said.

  “Finally?”

  “I’ve been waiting for this question,” he growled. “Final payment.”

  Brett rolled on top of me, pinning my wrists down above my head.

  He searched my eyes. “All you have to say is no,” he said.

  I didn’t say anything. His eyes lit up with a seductive glow. “I’m going to make you scream my name,” he promised.

  Chapter 14

  Brett made good on his word. So good, in fact, that I screamed his name a half dozen times. I lay on the bed deliriously happy and unable to move. Brett brought me coffee. It’s a dangerous thing to do when you’re still naked. I looked at him, admiring his ample features that made me never want to leave this bed.

  “I’m guessing Fenwig hired T as a sort of bodyguard and driver. If Fenwig had shady deals going on, who better to have
at your side than a convict,” Brett said.

  “Huh?” I shook my head to clear out the Brett-induced coma.

  “The answer to your last question.”

  I smiled. “I forgot.”

  “That’s what I aim for,” he said, stealing a kiss. “But it’s time to get up.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “The wedding.”

  “Oh, geez!” I threw back the sheet and scrambled to the bathroom. “I forgot that too. What time is it?”

  “A few minutes after twelve.”

  “I need to be at the salon at one.”

  “I can get you there by then.”

  “Where’s my dress?”

  “Emmy took it to your house. T just went to get it,” Brett said.

  He watched me frantically circle the room. On my third pass, he caught me and steered me to the shower.

  “He’ll be here soon. Just take a shower and try to relax.”

  “But I need other stuff too.”

  “I told him to bring everything that looked girly.”

  “And have him bring the white bag that’s sitting in the closet. It has my shoes and . . . other stuff.”

  “Just shower. I’ll call him now.”

  Brett strolled out. I turned on the water and let it roll over me until he came back in and plucked me out.

  “Time for you to get out so I can get ready,” he said. He wrapped a towel around me, taking my place in the warm shower.

  “I was afraid you were going to try and stop me from going to the wedding.”

  “I was, but you’d never forgive me, and it’s easier to say yes to you. But,” he warned before I could leave, “I’ll be by you at all times.”

  “I don’t mind,” I said as I left the bathroom.

  My dress was draped on the bed. I slipped it on and let out a relieved sigh when it zipped. It fit snuggly, but my boobs didn’t bulge out like an inflatable raft. I still hated the dress. It might suit a Las Vegas wedding, but certainly not Kym’s romantic garden ceremony. I unzipped the dress and took it off, placing it back on the bed. Even though I despised it, I didn’t want it to get ruined at the salon.