Dance Away, Danger (4 page)

“I don’t want the car.” He wouldn’t be able to drive it while seeing three of everything.

“W-what do you w-want?”

He kept the gun by his side. “You. Inside.”
Please.

Hands shaking, she slipped behind the steering wheel and dropped her bag and purse on the passenger side. Cold air floated around the interior, bringing with it a whiff of gasoline.

“Shut the door and start the car.”

“P-please don’t h-hurt m-me.” Tears broke her voice and threatened to bring up his dinner.

Her keys jingled, and the engine roared to life.

Jason braced his weight on his good shoulder and propped himself up, but not without a teeth-grinding grunt.

She gasped again.

“Turn around.”

She eased to her side. Immediately, she glanced at his gun. A crapload of emotions swam behind her eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks. Her teeth grazed her bottom lip.

No, he wasn’t cut out to be a villain. There had to be a better way to gain her cooperation. His conscience won. He pushed the weapon into his coat pocket. “Look, what’s your name?”

“Brenna.”

“Brenna, I’m a cop and I need your help.”

****

After close to an hour spent calling Jason’s numbers, checking her own messages again, and waking up any of his non-cop friends who might know something, Tessa slammed her cell phone on the coffee table, jumped off Matt’s couch, and began pacing. Nobody knew a damn thing. “Relax,” she whispered. She’d be no good to Matt or Jason if she couldn’t keep her head together.

Waiting was a bitch, though. She had to do something.

But what in her life experience qualified her to handle the situation? She had crunched numbers for her boss, helped get the dance studio in the black. She’d kept at-risk kids out of gangs by teaching them dancing was better than any drug. But their evening tossed her completely out of her comfort zone. Building an amateur marketing plan to steer the dance studio away from bankruptcy never prepared her to deal with her current situation. What if Jason never made it home? Would she have the courage to pick up the pieces on her own?

The quiet voice of the local TV newscaster babbled on about some strike happening at one of the plants downtown. Nothing about her missing brother or the chaotic events of the evening.

Tessa pivoted and caught the faint odor of recently burned wood from the ashes in the stone fireplace. A neat pile of logs rested next to it. A box with a fake Christmas tree sat in one corner of the room with a few more boxes marked “ornaments” sitting nearby. Who did Matt share his holidays with? Or did he spend them alone?

Would Jason be home in time for Christmas?

Another pivot by the opposite wall. She glanced around the living room with its wood furnishings, casual appeal, and deep, rich colors. Like Matt’s eyes. A girl could easily lose herself in those...and eventually lose everything that mattered to her—common sense, individuality, family.

She slapped her palm against her forehead. Having Matt for assistance was important, but
noticing
him was not. They were not on a date. He wasn’t boyfriend material. He unnerved her whenever he drew near, and Tessa only dated men she could...manipulate. From the few hours she’d spent in his presence, she knew Matt Rylan would be a thorn in her side, a very fascinating one, but a thorn nonetheless.

Besides, she had to think of her brother. Jason’s situation required all her attention, every last stitch of concentration. She could not afford to get distracted by the six months of self-imposed celibacy since her last breakup. Or the different ways Matt could put an end to it.

He reappeared from the kitchen with his cell and a notepad. “He’s not in any of the hospitals.”

“I got nothing either.” She slipped her hands into her back pockets again and continued her pacing.

“How about the news?” Matt tossed his head in the direction of the big screen TV.

“Nothing.” Another pivot by the fireplace and her gaze found him again.

Average, she’d called him, but peering at him, all confidence and surety, she dismissed the unsuitable word.

No, she couldn’t think that way. Imagining six-pack abs hidden behind the soft material of his sweater or how taut they would be under her fingertips would do nothing to save her brother. Not since Gavin had she allowed her hormones to snatch away her common sense. Of course, she’d spent so much time blocking out her emotions after her parents’ deaths, she’d been vulnerable when the handsome college freshman flirted with her. But he’d murmured sweet phrases in her ear and then left her to die in an unfrozen pond.

But Matt wasn’t Gavin, and Tessa was no longer an attention-starved sixteen-year-old. Matt Rylan would be a means to an end, nothing more. He’d help her with the danger surrounding her brother’s disappearance and then he’d be gone. And she’d be able to think clearly again.

“Hey, you okay?” He caressed her elbow and sent a spark up her arm.

“I’m fine.”

“Why don’t you tell me how the Jinx code came about?” He sat in his beautifully carved rocking chair.

Tessa took a seat on the couch, pressed her palms together, and locked them between her knees. “Jason and I weren’t very close when our parents were alive. Grief actually drove us further apart for a while. I was an emotional teenage girl made more emotional by my parents’ deaths, and Jason was determined to hate the world.”

“They died in a car accident, right?”

“Yeah, a drunk driver hit them. I was twelve, Jason was fifteen. Afterward, he and I moved in with my Mom’s aunt who really didn’t know how to raise kids. I needed Jason so much then, but he pushed me away until a few years later when one of the guys he used to play football with....” Seduced her with his lies? No, dredging up intimate portions of her past wasn’t going to happen. “Caused us a lot of pain. He claimed Jason had sent him to pick me up from school. Jason hadn’t.”

“Did he hurt you?” Matt gripped the chair arms so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Tessa gave up a smile. “No.” Gavin hadn’t hurt her the way Matt was thinking, but his swift defense touched her. “He made me realize you can’t count on anyone, but family.”

The rocking chair stilled. Matt’s knuckles remained white.

What was that about?

She pushed on with her story. “The boy and I were skating, only the pond wasn’t frozen. I fell in, and he bailed. Jason came along and saved me. He fell in, hit his head, and ended up in the hospital for a couple days. I almost lost him, too. The whole situation brought us closer, which we needed, and once he recovered, he gave new meaning to the words ‘big brother.’ I suggested a code word as a way for me to know who I could trust.” She stared at the TV, but her brain stayed locked around her memories. “When Jason joined the police force, we decided to keep the code word in place since his job is dangerous and somebody could potentially try to get to him through me.”

Matt kept quiet but resumed his rocking. A rebel yawn wrestled through her mouth. “What about you and your family?” she asked.

“Two older sisters and a mom who forgot she was supposed to be the parent.”

The pain and regret seeping into his voice made her want to reach out and wrap her arms around him. Instead, she cupped her knees. “You’re not close then?”

“I did what I had to do for them, but no.”

“Do you keep in touch? See them occasionally?”

“Not if I can help it. I’m perfectly happy on my own.”

His contempt struck a chord inside her, like a guitar with an untuned string. How could anyone throw a relationship like that away? Her brother was the only one she trusted completely.

“Do you at least have some close friends you can lean on?”

“I don’t need anyone else.”

“I’m sorry.” She covered his hand with her own. The warmth of his skin tingled against the pads of her fingers.

He stopped rocking. “For what?”

For all his relationship with his sisters could have been if he’d given it a chance. “For whatever makes you look so sad.”

“I’m all right.” For a second, a wave of little boy vulnerability paraded through his features. Then it was gone, replaced by the guarded suspicion of the man he’d turned out to be. “But I’d be even better if I could figure out what’s going on with your brother.”

Right. Jason. She had no business concentrating on Matt’s hurts when her brother was missing and injured. Someone else would have to restore Matt’s faith in relationships.

Tessa pulled away, stood, and resumed her pacing.

“I think you should get some rest.”

“I won’t be able to sleep,” she said even as she covered another yawn.

He stood. “Take the rocker. I guarantee it’ll knock you out inside of five minutes. I’ll wake you if there’s any news.”

“Oh, I know about the magic of a chair like this.” She stopped next to it and studied the intricate carvings. What an absolutely beautiful piece of furniture. “I have one just like it. Jason got it for me for my twenty-first birthday.”

“Yup.” He grabbed a comforter off the couch, unfolded it. “I made it.”

“You
made
my chair?”

The deep, rich sound of his chuckle soothed her.

“Don’t sound so surprised. I told you I left soldiering a long time ago.”

She stroked the smooth hardwood instead of his muscled arm. “You have an amazing talent.”

He watched her for several seconds, then said quietly, “Thank you.”

“How have you and I never met?”

Matt glanced past her with distance and regret in his chocolate brown eyes. “Friends drift apart.” He tightened his grip on the comforter.

“But why?”

“Jason stayed in the Army. I left to start my business. We’ve traveled in different circles ever since.”

And yet, there he was, taking care of her to repay a battlefield debt. “I’m sorry Jason gave you the duty.”

“I’m not.” Matt held her gaze hostage.

Warm fuzzies swirled in her belly. If she let him, Matt Rylan could be her rock.

But she wouldn’t let him. She couldn’t place her faith completely in him because she thought him handsome. Not with so much at stake. Engaging in impractical emotions had almost cost her brother his life once before. Was she willing to risk making the same mistake again?

A commercial jingle pierced the quiet of the room. Tessa crossed her arms and resumed her pacing. She needed to keep her brain on the right track, no matter the distractions.

****

Matt sank to the rocker and swore at himself for his unprofessional behavior. Tessa was a temporary responsibility. It was a mistake to foster any kind of bond between them. Okay, the Afghanistan story had helped win her trust.

But the touching? Unnecessary. Discussing his family? Stupid. Having some heavy ball of crap get stuck in the middle of his gut when she complimented him? Foolish. She was a brief burden, nothing more. Just because she was different from his mom and sisters didn’t change anything. He still resented the duty—despite his protests to the contrary—and the sooner he got rid of her, the sooner his world would return to normal.

But Tessa
was
different from any woman he’d been involved with.

Matt’s plane to the beachside resort would leave in—he peeked at his watch—five-and-a-half hours. His chance to forget about work for a while and enjoy cold beers, hot beaches, and bikini-clad babes. With one F-word,
favor
, Jason had grounded his flight indefinitely.

Tessa turned by the fireplace and moved gracefully across the room. Knives sliced through his midsection. She had no one else to help her. As much as he would rather get on the plane, his life could be put on hold.

His conscience wouldn’t allow him to walk away.

Sucker.

“Matt, be honest with me.” She stopped short in front of him. “Do you think my brother’s still alive?”

The heat kicked on and sputtered through the vents. Music from a commercial played behind her. A fruity scent drifted off her curls. When Tessa looked at him with unshed tears shimmering in her eyes, his stomach knotted, and he wanted nothing more than to run in the other direction.

He couldn’t lie to her. “I honestly don’t know.”

Would the waterworks start? She’d probably collapse in a heap of emotion and leave him to pick up the pieces.

And yet, he wasn’t sure. Tessa Gage behaved oddly for a woman in need. So far, she hadn’t allowed the despair to overpower her. He remembered when his mother got word of his father’s heart attack, she’d started wailing and shoved him into the role of the man of the house—on his ninth birthday.

A sheepish grin curved her lips. “Thanks for not sugarcoating it.”

At a heavy thumping on the front door, Matt jumped to his feet. Tessa jerked around to face the door, her curls bouncing around her shoulders.