Nyght's Eve (10 page)

“No. This can’t happen again,” Evie said as
she stood back up, that impassive mask back in place on her face. It didn’t
bother him, as he found he got great pleasure shaking her up and getting past
that guard of hers.

“Sorry, princess. Now that I got a taste of
you, I want more.”

“Stop calling me that!”

“Like that’s any better than Dr. Hottie?” Dare
laughed as her cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment. “I figure now we’re
even.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she said coolly. “I
didn’t give you that nickname.”

He grinned as he shrugged, her prickly temper
not bothering him in the least. “Oh, well. I know the people at the center call
you boss, but that ain’t happening. So, you’re stuck with princess. If I have
to deal with it, so do you. Now, are you going to lie and tell me you don’t
feel this attraction between us?”

“I—it doesn’t matter. We can’t be doing this.”

“Too late.”

“You stubborn, idiotic...” She shot him a
furious glare then spun around to leave. Her exit lost its effect when she
nearly tripped on one of her dogs. “Boys, we’re going home.”

“Is that an invitation?” Dare called out, his
voice teasing as her dogs bounded after her.

“No!” Evie whirled around and pointed her
finger at him. “You...you stay right there!”

Dare bit his lip to keep from laughing, and
stuck his hands in his pockets as he watched her stomp away. He kept his pace
slow as he followed her in the direction of her house and waited until she was
safely inside before he let a laugh rumble out.

Things would be interesting now that the
gauntlet had been thrown down. As far as he could tell, both he and Evie were
controlling personality types. It was going to be so much fun to see who came
out on top. Grinning, Dare walked back toward his bike and got on.

God, he felt good.

Dare started up his bike and drove the short
distance to the parking lot next to the boarding house. Instead of going inside,
he walked onto the terrace and sat down on the porch swing. He sat there for a
few minutes, simply enjoying the quiet night. Something Evie had said early kept
weighing on him until his curiosity refused to be denied any longer. He
hesitated for a moment, then pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number he
knew by heart.

“Yo,” the deep voice said upon answering.

“Toro? It’s me. Dare.”

“How you doing, buddy? Ready to come back to
work already?”

Dare scowled into the dark as he pushed the
swing into motion. “I told you, I’m out.”

“Yeah, we all say that at least once a day.”

“I mean it. I...can’t do it anymore.”

There was a long pause over the line, then Toro’s
voice grew serious. “I’m sorry to hear that. It’s a shame we’re losing you, but
you know we’ll always have your back.”

“Thanks, man. About that...I was hoping you
could pull some background intel for me.”

“Sure thing. Might be a few days until I can
get back to you. Is it urgent?”

“Nope. A few days is fine. You at home?”

“No, I’m out on recon right now.”

“Anything hot?” Dare stopped the swing from
moving and sat up straight.

Toro’s chuckle was clear over the line. “Not
yet. I’m actually pretty bored right now, but things should be heating up soon.
I’ve been stuck out near Vancouver for two weeks now. People are just so...nice
out here in Canada. It’s starting to freak me out a little.”

Dare laughed at that. “I’m sure you’ll be
dealing with plenty of assholes soon enough.”

“True. So, what do you need?”

“Any background info you can pull on Evelyn
Beaumont of Breakers, Texas, and her immediate family, now deceased.”

“She a suspect for something?”

“No.” Dare paused for a moment before he
admitted, “This is personal.”

“Got it. I’ll get back to you. Is your phone
still secured?”

“Yep. This is the phone I took with me when I
left.”

Toro let out a snort. “You know we can track
you with that, don’t you?”

“I figured as much. You’d be able to find me
if you wanted to anyways. It’s a nice phone, plus I don’t have to pay for it
this way.”

“Good point.” Toro said with a laugh. “Think
of it as an insurance policy in case you are ever in trouble. We take care of
our own. It’s how we roll, brother.”

“Speaking of, you know who is living in
Breakers? Nikita Nuria. You know her?”

“Shit, Flame is there? Dude, try not to piss
her off if you wanna keep your balls attached to your body.”

“Yeah, I’ll try and stay on her good side.”

“Smart. I’ll be in touch.”

Dare put his phone away, then pushed the
swing back into motion. Talking to his old friend made Dare miss him, but he
realized that he didn’t have to break ties with anyone just because he longer
wanted to do the work. He felt a moment of guilt about digging into Evie’s
past, but he needed to know what she was hiding. It was better to do it this
way then to involve any of her friends and ask them to betray her trust. Hell,
he knew he’d probably end up apologizing for it later, but it was better to
know. He was a man who worked better with a plan. Now that he had one, it was
just a matter of time before he had her in his bed.

Operation Seduce Evie was a go.

Chapter Six

Dare found himself back at the rescue center early
the next morning.

He liked helping out and spending time with the
dogs, but the truth was he was really there to see Evie. His excitement stalled
when he discovered she was out on an adoption for the day. He was told she
should be back later that day, but no one knew exactly when. After a few hours
of work, Dare saw a large school bus pull up in front of the center. He watched
in horror as a small group of kids bounded off the bus, gathering in a group
around two adults who were obviously their teachers.

“Fuck. I forgot the field trip was today,”
Hunter muttered as he came to stand besides Dare.

“Field trip?”

“The local middle school has a class that’s doing
a volunteer project. They’re here to help socialize the puppies.”

“Ah...I think I’m going to—”

“Yeah. Me, too.”

Without another word, both Dare and Hunter
turned and walked away from the center, heading back toward the boarding house.
Pulling out his keys, Dare got on his bike once they reached the parking lot. “I’m
heading into town. Maybe get something to eat, then over to Fight Hard.”

“I’m going in to the shop,” Hunter said as he
got on his own Harley. “I’ve got some work to catch up on.”

“Seriously?”

“I’ll find something to do, damn it. I’m not
staying here with those kids.”

Dare laughed. “I don’t blame you. By the way,
I went into the shop yesterday.”

“Really? What did you get?” Dare raised the
sleeve of his shirt and Hunter nodded. “Nik does nice work. She matched it
perfectly.”

“She did.”

They started up their bikes and Dare followed
Hunter out onto the road. It felt good being with a friend on the open road, and
Dare realized how much he missed the company on a ride. They pulled into town
and both pulled into the parking lot next to gym. When they shut off their
engines, Dare turned to Hunter. “Sure you don’t want to join me?”

“Naw, I’ve got a late lunch thing with Nik and
the two other guys who work there to talk about shop business. Thanks, though.”

He and Hunter tapped fists and went their
separate ways. Dare walked the few blocks down to The Fox Hole, nodding to the
various people that smiled and said hello to him on the street. The people of
Breakers were a friendly lot, and he wasn’t exactly sure if that was a plus or
a minus in his book.

The fact was he didn’t seem to be sure about
much these days.

Dare pushed open the door to the bar and
walked inside, glad to see it was still early enough not to be too crowded. He
walked over to the bar and took a seat at the far end so he could see the
entrance and have his back to the wall.

Old habits die hard.

The man behind the bar turned and grinned
when he saw Dare. “Well, hell. I was wondering when I was going to see you.”

Dare returned the grin. Dante Fox was the
owner of The Fox Hole now that his father, Malcolm Fox, had retired. Dante was
a good man. They had met each other in the Army, and had stayed friends over
the years. Anyone looking at them could have thought they were related, since
they both had midnight black hair, but where Dare’s eyes were dark-grey, Dante
eyes were ice-blue, so pale they almost looked inhuman.

“I heard you were in town. Was wondering when
you'd stop by instead of hiding up at the boarding house.”

“I wasn’t hiding...bastard.”

Dante snickered. “Seemed like it to me. What
can I get you?"

“Burger and a beer.”

“I'll set you right up.”

Dante placed Dare's order into the system,
then turned back to ask, “Bottle or glass?”

“Whatever is on tap is fine.”

“Got it.” Dante held a glass under the tap as
he poured the beer. “Must be nice, drinking already and it's not even noon.”

“It's noon somewhere.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Dante laughed and set
the full glass down in front of Dare, then picked up his own glass and raised
it in salute.

Raising a brow, Dare said, “I see you’re
starting early, too.”

“If I’m here this goddamn early, I deserve a
beer.”

“I'm surprised to see you here. I thought you
usually close.”

“Yeah, I do, but I’m covering for Zoe. She
took the day off to go on an adoption with Evie. I think they’re doing some
girl spa thing on the way home.”

Dare couldn’t help but scowl as he took a sip
of his beer. There she was again, invading his thoughts when he least expected
it. Damn the woman. He was still annoyed she hadn’t told him herself that she
wouldn’t be at the center today.
 

Dante frowned at him. “Hey, you didn’t come
by to see Zoe, did you?”

Amused, Dare held up his hands. He knew Dante
had a thing for the pretty Asian bartender that worked for him. Last time Dare
had been in town Dante had all but pissed circles around her, and evidently
that hadn’t changed. “Dude, relax. I came to eat. That sweet lady of yours still
making you crazy?”

Dante’s expression darkened. “Fuck you.”

Dare laughed. “I take that as a yes.”

“Zoe works for me. That’s it.”

“So, you’re saying she’s available?”

“God damn it! No!”

Dare had to bite his lip to stop from
laughing. “Man, you’ve got it bad.”

Leaning his forearm on the bar top, Dante
huffed out a breath.
 
His big shoulders
slumped dejectedly. “I know. I’m a fucking mess. Look, I can’t talk to Hammer
about this. He’s just too…happy...”

“I know what you mean. But you’re pretty
fucking possessive of that woman despite the fact you say she isn’t yours.
You’re like a rabid dog when it comes her.”

“That’s because she’s not mine. Yet.”

Dare scoffed at that. “If that’s what has
your knickers in a twist, do something about it.”

“I tried.” Dante frowned down at his glass,
then picked it up and downed the contents.

They stopped talking as a waitress brought
out Dare’s food to him. He thanked her and the pretty brunette winked at him
before she walked away. “I told her to bump you up, so some other poor bastard
will have to wait for his food.”

“I appreciate it.”

“Seems like Cheryl is interested. I can
introduce you.”

“Naw, I have my sights set elsewhere.” Dare
picked up his burger and took a large bite.

Damn
that was good.

“You haven’t been here that long, who do you
have your eye on?”

“None of your fucking business.”

He picked up a fry as Dante looked around as
if to make sure no one could hear them. Lowering his voice, Dante said, “Damn
it. I have to talk to someone about this. But if I tell you, I’ll have to kill
you if you say anything to anyone.”

“I don’t talk to people.” And why the hell
did that make everyone else want to tell him shit, Dare thought with a sigh as
he took another bite of his burger. Clearly he needed to try and put off a
bigger fuck off vibe.

 
“I haven’t
touched a woman in two months.”

“You…” Dare choked. At a loss for words, he
just blinked. “Dude, I may be a doctor, but I don’t think I’m the right person
you should be talking to about this.”

“Fuck you, man. I don’t have
that
kind of problem. It’s just…I made a
bet with her.”