When You Dare (26 page)

“I owe you anyway, for driving into town for me today.”

Dare poured his egg mixture onto a hot griddle. “You going to sign one to me, too?”

Why Dare’s question made her blush, Molly couldn’t say. She looked down at her hands. “If you want, I’d be happy to.” The thought of Dare reading her both pleased and worried her. His opinion mattered, a lot. “Molly?”

When she looked up at him, he said, “I’m going to pick up your other books, too.”

“You don’t need to do that.”

He flashed her an intimate smile. “You’ve got me curious.”

Aware of Chris watching them, Molly cleared her throat. “What I meant is that I have my own stash of author copies, so you don’t need to buy them. When I get back to my apartment, I can package some up and mail them to you.”

Dare sent her a look. “I’ll have brunch ready in a few minutes.”

All she’d had was the cold cereal earlier, and the crepes smelled delicious. “Thanks.”

Then Dare said, “We’re heading up to your apartment today, but no need to mail the books back. We’re only going for a short stay.”

A short stay.
Molly stared at Dare in disbelief. She had assumed they’d go up and back. She needed to see her sister and check her messages, but she didn’t want to stay there, where she’d been grabbed off the street, knowing that whoever had arranged for her to be taken was still out there somewhere, maybe just waiting for another chance at her.

“I can wait,” Chris said. He asked Dare, “Do you want me to forward your calls and emails to you?”

“Just the important ones. Everything else will wait. Trace will know to call the cell.”

At a loss, Molly rose out of her chair. She felt like running away.

Dare glanced at her, then said softly, “I met your father yesterday.”

Her breath strangled in her chest. “You did
what?
”

“I tracked him down at a club in Kentucky. He was there to play golf with some business associates.”

She couldn’t believe this. What had her father said to Dare? Oh, God, she could only imagine, and shame burned her.

Folding his arms over his chest, Dare leaned against the counter and stared at her. “When we get to your place tonight, you’ll call him and set up a dinner with the rest of the family for as soon as possible. I need to meet all of them.”

Molly shook her head, blindsided and dumbfounded by his audacity.

Concerned, Chris turned his chair to face her. “Molly?”

She ignored him, giving all her attention to Dare. “I don’t believe you.” Her voice was raspy and faint, and that irritated her even more. She spoke up, adding strength to her words. “Don’t you think you should consult with me about these major decisions?”

His brow went up.

Hurt clenched her heart, and she moved toward him with anger. “Especially when I’m the one paying for this!”

“It was off the clock,” Dare told her, and he watched her so closely that she felt exposed.

“No, absolutely not.” She pointed at him. “I’m paying you for
everything
. We agreed.”

He said nothing.

His silence drew a harsh contrast to her raised voice, making her feel foolish. “Damn it, Dare, you can’t just spring these things on me!”

He remained calm. “Do you object to seeing your family?”

“Well…” She wanted to see her sister, and she knew that sooner or later she’d have to see her dad and Kathi again. “No.”

He slanted a look at Chris and said again, “We’ll be staying at her place for a few days.”

“Ooookay,” Chris said, emphasizing the tension in the room. “Do I need to pack your suit?”

“No, but something nicer than jeans, okay?”

“Got it.”

Molly still stood there, so Dare gave Chris a telling look, and he said, “Yeah, I’ll just… Yeah.” He deserted the computer and left the room.

Dare watched Molly a second more, then carried a plate over to her. He set it on the bar and turned to face her. “You okay?”

“I’m—”

“Fine.” He sighed in clear frustration. “Why did I bother asking?”

“I
am
fine.” But she felt compelled to admit, “It’s a subjective term, Dare. Compared to a few days ago, I’m better than fine.”

“Got it.” He pulled her into his arms, and despite her annoyance at him, it felt so good that Molly wanted to stay there, just like that.

But of course if she did, she wouldn’t be able to write, or reassure her sister, or direct her agent on negotiations.

Life continued, and she wanted to move along with it, not hide forever.

With Dare’s scent filling her head and his warm embrace around her, she whispered, “You want to know how I really feel?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “I’m achy all over, especially in my shoulders and neck, but it’s not too bad, considering. Mostly I’m uncertain, and I’m still scared. I’m anxious to get my life back to normal, but then I think about what was normal and how naïve I was, and I don’t know if I really want that or not.”

His fingers threaded into her hair, kneading her skull, caressing her. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Molly could tell that he meant it, but what if it proved impossible to find the one responsible? She couldn’t expect Dare to put his life on hold for her.

He was the most capable man she knew, more capable than she could ever have imagined, but he wasn’t invincible. What if he got hurt trying to protect her?

She pushed back from him a little. “Maybe I should just go to the police.”

A gentle tug on her hair turned her face up to his. “You know that’s not the answer.”

Did she? True, the police would never have looked for her in Tijuana. But if she took extra precautions now to ensure no one else could get to her, then maybe they could—

Dare bent down and kissed her. It was a hard kiss, surprising Molly. She started to pull away, but he lifted her right off her feet and continued to take her mouth until she softened, until she warmed and reciprocated.

Positioning her to sit at the edge of the bar, he stepped between her legs. With his hands braced at either side of her hips, he leaned down to her. “You will not go to the police.”

He looked harsh and possessive. And a little turned-on. It excited her.

“My dad…”

“Was a total prick. You know him, so you can imagine how he reacted without me laying out the details for you. But if you want them, I’ll share every word on our drive into Ohio. For now, though, I want your agreement that you won’t veer off the plan.”

Molly put her hand to his jaw. So many awful possibilities came to her, all of them centering around Dare’s safety. “I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

“Christ, woman.”

“You’re not Superman, Dare, and you’re not a psychic. Even if you could dodge bullets, you can’t know about conspiracies or ambushes—”

“From your father, you mean?”

He sounded scornful, discounting the danger. “Or from whoever is after me.” The number of threats out there left her shaken.

“You need to have a little faith.” Scooping one big hand against her backside, he dragged her forward, hard against him. “Do exactly as I say and we’ll both be okay. Understand?”

Her legs were around him, leaving her flush against his hard abdomen. His hand on her bottom kept flexing, feeling her, keeping her close.

Molly nodded. “Okay.”

His expression heated. Slowly, he bent to kiss her again, softer this time. Against her cheek, he breathed, “Soon as we’re done eating, we’ll hit the road.”

“Okay.” She tipped her head back.

He put a gentle love bite to her throat. “And tonight…”

Molly’s heart pounded. “Tonight?”

He touched his tongue to her ear, and whispered, “I’m going to be inside you, and I can’t fucking wait.”

In the next instant, he lifted her off the counter and onto a stool. Before she could catch her breath, Chris peered back in. He looked from Dare to Molly, and seeing them separated, walked on in.

“Glad you two worked that out, because I’m hungry again.”

Through a haze, Molly watched Dare. He acted like nothing had happened, like he hadn’t just made that provocative promise to her. He poured a glass of milk and set it before her, then sat down to eat while he and Chris talked.

In more ways than one, she was out of her league.

She picked up her fork with a shaking hand, and as she dipped her crepe in the dollop of whipped cream, she let out a pent-up breath.

Dare had managed to balance her apprehension about going home with an urgency to get there. Even knowing that he couldn’t feel the same as she did, she wanted to cherish every second with him.

She believed that he’d protect her from threats. It was up to Molly to protect her heart.

A
T CLOSE TO SIX THAT
evening, Dare pulled down the street to Molly’s apartment building.

He could feel her nervousness growing, but there was no help for it. On the drive, he’d told her about meeting her father, leaving out some of what Bishop had said. Not that it mattered. Molly knew her father, and, as Dare had suspected, she filled in the blanks on her own.

Because she didn’t socialize in her father’s circles, she hadn’t met many of his business cronies. She knew nothing of Warwick or Sagan. Dare told her about the connections because she needed to know. If it turned out that her father was responsible in some way, better that she had the facts early on.

“I just thought of something.” Molly kept one hand clamped on the seat, the other on the dash as she stared out the windshield, looking everywhere as if she expected the same goons to show up and make another play for her.

“Relax, Molly. It’s going to be okay.”

“I know.” She remained alert. “But how are we going to get in? I don’t have any keys with me. I left my purse in the apartment and…” With a groan, she turned her wide-eyed gaze on Dare. “I didn’t even have my door locked, because I thought I’d be going right back in. I didn’t remember that until now.”

“Then it’s probably still unlocked.” Either way, Dare wasn’t concerned about it. He could pick a lock in no time at all, and would, if it proved necessary. “Stop worrying.”

“You keep saying that.” She returned her attention to the area.

Through mirrored, aviator sunglasses, Dare glanced at her and saw her unease. He reached over and put a hand on her slim thigh. “Try trusting me a little, will you?”

“This has nothing to do with trust.”

It had everything to do with trust, but he could feel her trembling, so he let that go for now. “Where do you want me to park?”

She swallowed. “Across the street. If no one stole it, my car should still be over there.”

It didn’t surprise him that Molly had thought ahead. If someone wanted her absence to look uneventful, taking her car would have shored up that ruse. Folks would assume she’d left for a trip.

Dare turned where she indicated into a small parking lot. As Molly had claimed, there were floodlights mounted on poles to keep the area lit at night. He’d also noted some older people sitting on their porches, to take advantage of the warmer day. The area was a mix of stately, single-family homes and homes converted into apartments.

Typical of older structures, the buildings had a lot of character and structural details. The area was clean and well maintained and, as she’d said, quiet.

Hard to believe that no one had noticed her being snatched.

With relief, she said, “There it is.” She pointed to a sporty little Mazda Miata in cherry red.

Huh. So her captors weren’t concerned with appearances. “Cute car.”

“Cute?” Pretending offense, she glared at him. “That was my gift to myself from my last contract.”

“Personal reward, huh?” Glad to see her less focused on the danger, Dare said, “I like it.” It was a little small for him to fit comfortably into, but he could see Molly behind the wheel. “It suits you.”

After parking next to her car, he stored the sunglasses above the visor and turned to her. He hadn’t known her long, but already he could pick up on her moods. He wished he could somehow make this easier for her.

And maybe he could. Looking at her mouth, at the way she worried her bottom lip, he reached for her. “Come here.”

Surprise overtook the worry as he tugged her toward him. “Dare?”

Holding her face in his hands, he took her mouth in a kiss that started slow but quickly turned into a deep, soft distraction.

When she relaxed against him, he eased her back into her seat. Soothing her bottom lip with his thumb, he whispered, “Ready?”

Those beautiful, dark eyes of hers refocused and slowly filled with accusation. “You did that on purpose.”

“Yeah.” He bent forward and kissed her again, light and quick. “Just reminding you that you’re not alone. I’m here, and there’s no way in hell I’d let anyone hurt you.”

“You are so cocky.” She smiled when she said it, making it sound like a compliment instead of an insult. “I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” She turned and opened her door.

As she walked around the hood toward him, Dare took a minute to look over her car. Molly thought he was admiring it, but really he wanted to make sure that it hadn’t been tampered with. He’d have someone give it a more thorough going-over before she drove it again, but for now, it seemed fine.

Constantly scanning the area, Dare retrieved his duffel bag and a small suitcase for Molly’s clothes. His hand at her back, they started across the street to the building where she lived. Her next-door neighbors, sitting on their porches, made obvious note of the bags and Dare’s presence.

“I thought you said no one paid any attention around here.”

“All day long, you don’t see a soul, especially in the colder months. But I guess it was warm enough today to entice some folks out.”

He nodded to an older couple who stared at him, but said in an aside to Molly, “I take it you don’t bring many guys around?”

Molly refused to look up at anyone. “Just Adrian, but not even him for a while.”

She went in through the unlocked front door that let them into a foyer of sorts. Beyond them were two doors on either side of the building, presumably for apartments. On the right wall were four mailboxes.