Rogue Alliance (11 page)

             
He was still looking at her harder than she liked.
She was under his scrutiny.
It was time to turn the tables.

             
“
So Brennan, how do you know Victor? You don’t look alike so I’m gues
sing you’re not brothers. But I’ve been wrong before.”

             
If it b
othered him that she was
asking questions he didn’t show it.

             
“
No. We’re not brothers.
He and I are business partners.”

             
“Oh yeah, what kind of business are you in?”

             
“
Jewelry. We buy and sell gems from all over the world.”

             
I
t was Shyla’s turn to raise an eyebrow.

             
“Oh, really? How interesting. And Victor said that he just moved to town. Did you move her
e
too
? Or are you a local
?”

             
Brennan propped himself on the edge of the back of the sofa and cocked his head to the side.

             
“
I’m fairly new in town as well.”
H
is answers were short. He looked uncomfortable talking about himself.

             
“Oh, yeah?
I
only just moved here last week from Seattle.
Where are you from?”

             
Something very brief but very intense flickered over Brennan’s face. It was enough to pique Shyla’s interest.

             
“No
where special,” he answered.

             
“Oh, come on. We all come from somewhere,” she prodded.

             
“Shouldn’t you be saving the twenty
questions for your date?”

             
Shyla heard the dark warning in his tone. He was done talking about himself.
She held his gaze. She would not be intimidated.

             
He stood.

             
“Make yourself comfortable. I’ll let Victor know that you’re here. It’s not nice of him to keep you waiting.”

*

             
Brennan was glad to get out of that room and away from her searching gaze. Her questi
ons had been fairly innocuous, b
ut there was something about her penetrating stare which unsettled him. It was more than just inquisitive curiosity. It was
an instinctive knowing that he was more than met the eye.

             
He knew she
knew it,
even if it wasn’t on a conscious level. She was watching him
. But he was watching her
,
too.

             
He took the stairs two at a time and glan
ced over the banister when he reached the landing
.
She was standing at the window
,
looking out. Her outline was trim. Her dark hair was pulled back into a
long pony tail. There was something about the way she held herself that was familiar to him. She looked like a feral cat; gu
arded, wary
,
and ready to pounce, ready to defend.

             
He understood that all too well. What he didn’t understand was why a girl like her would need to feel like that.

             
A small twinge crept into his gut when he thought of the possibility of Victor an
d Shyla’s date becoming intimate
. It made him uncomfortable. He didn’t wa
nt Victor to touch her at all and t
hat thought shocked him.
What did it matter to him
?
It would likely happen whether he liked it or not
.

             
Still, he didn’t like the idea at all. He wanted to touch her. He had since he
’d spotted
her at the shooting range. It was a reaction he had chalked up to simply being deprived of
the touch of a female
for much too long.

             
He knocked softly on Victor’s door then poked his head in.

             
Victor waved him in.

             
“Is she here?”

             
Brennan nodded.

             
“G
ood,” Victor said,
“
I’
m nearly done here. You shouldn’t have left her down there alone. That’s not nice.”

             
“That’s funny. I just told her that it wasn’t nice of you to keep her waiting.”

             
“True, true,” Victor smirked,
“
I’ll be right down. Thanks, Brennan.”

             
Brennan walked out
of
the door but he didn’t go back down and join Shyla. He figured he’d better keep his distance for the time being.

TWELVE

             
“So
,
Brennan says that you two are business partners,” Shyla said
,
sipping on her glass of Chardonnay
. She’d have preferred to stick with the tequila
,
“
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone in the gems industry before. What can you tell me about it? I bet there’s a lot of traveling to exotic places.
”

             
“There can be, at times,
” Victor chuckled,
“
but I
don’t travel over
seas too much these days. I did that back when I was younger and establishing business relationships. Now, mostly, I deal with the distributors I
trust via the convenience of e-mail and cell phones. When I travel, it’s usually just up and down the west coast since the majority of my customers are located there. I’m afraid it’s not very exciting.”

             
“The west coast, huh, like Los Angeles?”

             
The cook walked i
nto the dining area and set out two large casserole sized dishes.

             
“This here is roasted duck and
the other is garlic green beans,” she said,
“
There is peach cobbler on the stovetop cooling.”

             
She wiped her hands on her apron and stepped back looking quite pleased with herself.

             
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll just be heading home then.”

             
Victor gave her a beaming smile.

             
“No, that should do it, Emily. Thanks. I’m sure it’s delicious as usual. You’re an angel.”

             
Emily
blushed and waved him off before excusing herself.

             
“She’s incredible,” Victor said,
“
I’m so lucky that I found her when I moved to town.”

             
“Does she cook for you every night?”

             
“No,
she typically visits twice a week,
Tuesday’s and Saturday’s,” Victor said, lifting the lid from the duck, unleashing a tantalizing aroma,
“s
he prepares the next few days worth of dinners and freezes them for me to reheat. It makes my life a lot simpler. I hate to cook a
nd
,
to be honest
,
I couldn’t cook toast if I wanted to.”

             
Shyla
laughed.

             
“Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration,” he said, “but seriously, I’m terrible in the kitchen.”

             
He methodically cut the meat and served her a heaping plate of hot food.

             
“Now, what had you asked me before Emily came in…oh, yes, LA. Yes, I do frequently travel to LA, as I have many clients in that area, as well as San Diego, and San Francisco.”

             
S
he
took a mouth-watering bite of the duck. It was succulent and practically melted in her mouth.

             
“Do you like southern California?”

             
“Yes, I
actually moved up here from LA,
”
he said before taking a bite.

             
“Really? I’ve always wanted to see southern Cali. I hear the beaches are wonderful. Wow, this meal is incredible. Emily really out-did herself.”

             
Victor cocked his head to the side and gave her a sly smile.

             
“
I’m glad you’re enjoying it. As for the
beaches, they are pretty great. N
othing like
Hawaii, but they’re nice. Maybe
you’d like to go down w
ith me sometime?
”

             
“Maybe, I would,
”
Shyla smiled.

*

             
“I agree with Shawn,” Shyla said to Hal.

             
She, Hal, Shawn
,
and Jason were gathered in Hal’s office
,
debriefing. To observers it
would simply look
like Shyla was taking meeting minutes while Hal met with his top police officers. 

             
“This Brennan character mystifies me. There is definitely something about him and his relationship with Victor.
I’ve looked over the files. There isn’t a single photo, a single mention of him anywhere in Victor’s past dealings. He seems to have no connections within these circles
or any
other circle. He just appeared out of the blue. Not only that, but Victor appears to have full trust in hi
m. They are nearly inseparable
. He actually lives on the property in a building across the driveway
.”

             
Jason leaned
forward and rubbed the stubble
on his chin.

             
“
I think he’s a hired body guard. It makes sense to me.”

             
“I agree. The question is
:
who is he and where’d he come from?” Shawn said.

             
“Okay, so we all agree that Brennan is a mystery. And we should look into that. But let’
s not lose focus here,” Hal said. “Victor is the central guy. He’s the one running the show.”

             
Shyla nodded.

             
“Agreed,” she said, “b
ut everyone surrounding him is a possible lead, a possible weakness. It can’t be overlooked.”

             
“What else did you get out
of
this date?” Shawn asked, “a
nd by the way, none of us are too thrilled with the idea of you dating this guy. He’s dangerous.”

             
“What did you think I was going to do? Stalk him from a distance?”

             
Shawn
narrowed his gaze
.

             
“Look, I’m saying that you need to be careful. If he finds out
who you really are
, you could wind up in a shallow grave somewhere. Don’t let his easy charm fool you.”

             
“Hey
,
” Shyla scoffed, “
just because you two are n
ew to this under-
cover business doesn’t mean that I am. I know what I’m doing.”

             
“You know what…” Shawn said
leaning forward and jutting out his finger.
Hal interrupted before he could finish.

             
“Alright, you two, let’s stay focused. None of us like the idea of one of our fellow officers putting their life on the line. We’re protective over you, Shyla.

             
“And, Shawn, chill the hell out. She’s done this a few times. Give her some credit.”

             
Sh
awn leaned back in his chair and
folded his arms across his chest but kept quiet.