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  He could keep a perfectly level head, see this quite rationally when Nicole wasn’t around. Why did the sight of her, the sound of her sweet voice cause him to lose it?

  He needed some serious help.

  Tomorrow, he’d call Ryan and ask his tough, ex-military friend for advice on how to combat his current foe. He needed some smart, tactical ideas on how to regain and maintain his edge.

  Chapter Eleven

  Xander walked into Caora Dubh late Thursday evening. Since Sam hadn’t been able to get away and Ryan was in town, he’d agreed to get a copy of the video from Sam and meet at Christian’s bar. Discussing his problems with Nicole and reviewing strategies over a couple of drinks sounded like a better idea anyway.

  The old-fashioned Irish pub boasted a large crowd by the time Xander arrived. Mahogany woods, golden walls and plenty of mirrors gave the place a warm, inviting feel. Most of the seats were taken, but Christian had promised to save them a couple of stools at the end of the bar.

  Xander found Ryan gazing out over the crowd, his eye on two hotties, and a glass of whiskey in his hand. Jameson Irish Whiskey to be specific. It was the bar’s best-seller, and the only thing Ryan ever ordered at their friend’s pub.

  “Hey,” Xander said in a semi-loud voice, competing with the raucous Irish jig the live band currently played.

  “Hey.” Ryan lifted his chin in acknowledgement. Even though his friend had been out of the service for more than four years, he still kept his dark hair military short and stayed in excellent shape.

  Xander claimed his stool. “Where’s Christian?”

  His friend tilted his head toward the other end of the bar, his gaze back on the pair of blondes, one of which had realized she’d gained Ryan’s attention. She leaned toward her friend and whispered before both of them turned their gazes to him and Ryan. His friend lifted his glass in a friendly salutation which made both women smile and sent them back to whispering.

  Xander turned and faced the bar, looking down the polished wood to see Christian building a Guinness. When he finished, he set the creamy-headed beer on the waitress’s tray, spoke to the female employee working next to him, and then walked toward Xander and Ryan.

  “Hey, man. What’s up?” Christian shook his long, dark bangs out of his eyes. “I haven’t seen you in this joint for a while.” He worked the tap in front of him, filling a glass.

  Xander gave his friend a warm smile. “Sorry. By the time I leave work, I’m pretty much done for the day.”

  “You’re going to dig yourself an early grave if you keep that up,” Christian replied. “You need balance. You need to socialize.” He placed the glass of red ale in front of Xander. “Man, you need to get laid.”

  Xander rolled his eyes. Therein lay the problem. “Yeah? You think?” He took a sip of ale, letting the smooth richness slide down his throat.

  “Hell, yeah,” Ryan commented as he semi-turned in his seat, still keeping an eye on the ladies. “I see a couple right now that might be agreeable to the idea. Being the good friend I am, I’d be willing to share and let you have one.”

  “Shit.” He shook his head and laughed. Getting laid with no strings attached had always been a priority for his buddy. “My problem isn’t how to get laid. It’s how not to get laid.”

  Christian narrowed his eyes in a what-the-fuck look. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Laugh all you want, but I’m in a seriously bad spot.”

  “How do you mean?” Christian asked. “Unless she’s some dog with a sexually transmitted disease, why wouldn’t you go for it?” Christian added.

  “Because she’s my target.” He rubbed the short whiskers on his chin, still not certain how he’d ended up in this predicament. “She’s my goddamn target.”

  Christian’s expression turned serious. “How the hell did that happen?”

  “She’s hot,” Ryan explained. “You weren’t there the day he got the assignment. She’s a real looker.”

  “How come I never get the cute ones?” Christian frowned. “Last dude I took down was a drug dealer who cheated on his wife and then tried to pin a murder on her.”

  Ryan snorted. “Yeah, well—”

  “Guys.” Xander cut off Ryan’s reply. “Do you think we could stay on topic? I’m taking her to Seaside for the weekend to see if I can get her to break loose with some information. But I’m worried she’ll think it’s a couple’s weekend. How do I get out of screwing her without it being suspicious?”

  “Why would you want to?” Ryan looked at him as though he were seriously off-balance. “Same rules apply here. She’s not ugly, and unless she’s got some kind of disease, why not sleep with her? It’s not like she’s an innocent.”

  “Yeah.” Christian took Ryan’s shot glass and refilled it. “I don’t see a problem unless you really don’t like her.” He narrowed his focus on Xander. “She got bad breath or something?”

  “No,” Xander growled. “But it seems unethical.”

  “Fuck.” Ryan barked out a laugh. “Everything we do is unethical if you really look at it. We play dirty. We play to win. If you can’t handle that, maybe this isn’t the right case for you.”

  Ryan’s barbs hit home. Xander had no doubt his friend knew exactly what his passive-aggressive challenge would do. It implied he was weak, that he couldn’t manage his assignment, and it pissed him off like no other. “So, I should do whatever the hell I need to do to extract information, even if it means sleeping with her?”

  “This is war, man.” Ryan shrugged. “Protecting the innocent always requires a sacrifice.”

  Christian nodded. “You gotta do what ya gotta do. Just make sure you use a condom.”

  That was the problem. Sleeping with Nicole wouldn’t be a sacrifice. Holding her in his arms, kissing her lips, discovering what made her scream in ecstasy, that’s what he wanted to do. Every minute he spent with her made it harder and harder to want to see her behind bars.

  But that was his problem. He’d let her under his skin, but he still had a job to do regardless of his personal cost. He owed it to his father. Owed it to society.

  There was no question that he had to man up. That’s all there was to it. He wouldn’t seduce Nicole to extract information. They both deserved better than that. Even if she was guilty of theft, there was still a part of her that was a good person. He could sense it.

  That didn’t mean she shouldn’t have to pay. But he’d find a more honorable way to get what he needed.

  “I need a favor, Chris.”

  “What’s that, man?”

  “Can you give her a job? She’s looking, and I know you need some help. I figured if she was here, then we’d be able to keep tabs on her more often. She’s good with numbers.”

  Ryan snorted. “Yeah, like 10 mill good.”

  Christian frowned. “Are you crazy? You want me to give her access to my accounts?”

  “No.” Sometimes the two of them were fucking dense. “You can put her in charge of ordering, and she can waitress. Hell, make her scrub the floors. She’s acting desperate, so I’m playing along, trying to use it to our advantage.”

  His friend sighed. “Fine. I still owe you for taking that punch for me last summer.”

  “Damn straight.” Xander grinned. “I’ll have her stop by after we’re back in town.”

  * * *

  Nicole turned on the main light in her bedroom, followed by the one on her nightstand, trying to cast a bright enough glow to chase away the cloudy evening. Janie came in behind her and sat on a corner of her bed while Nicole pulled a suitcase from the closet and placed it on the opposite side.

  “What’s he like?” Janie asked. “Is he a good guy?”

  “I think so.” Nicole tried to keep the smile on her face from growing too big. “He’s into finance, has a nice house, and he’s super sweet to me. Oh, did I mention gorgeous? And he just bought a puppy.”

  “He sounds too good to be true.” Her friend patted the bed, and Stormy ju
mped up next to her. “Wait until you’re with him for a couple of months, then you’ll see the real guy.”

  Nicole dropped a couple pairs of jeans into her suitcase before eyeing her friend. “Not everyone is like Paul, Janie. There are good guys out there.”

  Her friend bit her lip, giving her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry.”

  “Why do you stay?”

  Her friend’s expression turned to bleak despair. “I’m going to leave him.”

  “You keep saying that.” She only wanted the best for her friend.

  “I know, but it’s not as easy as you think.”

  Nicole was sure it wouldn’t be, but to her, it didn’t take a whole lot of consideration. If a man hit her, she’d pack and be gone. That was that.

  Stormy rolled near Janie’s curled knees, exposing her belly. “I know what you want.” She ruffled the dog’s white belly fur.

  “She’s so spoiled,” Nicole said, folding a hoodie. Bruises on Janie’s wrist caught her attention, and she haphazardly dropped the jacket into her suitcase and walked toward her friend.

  She grabbed her hand, holding it between them. “God, Janie. You can’t let him do this to you.”

  Janie pulled away. “I know.”

  Up close, Nicole spotted another concealed bruise on her jaw and touched it.

  Her friend met her gaze with defiant eyes. “Don’t start pitying me. I’m not one of those battered women.”

  She gave her a kind smile. “You look like it to me,” she whispered, pain welling inside her for her friend.

  “Well, I’m not.” She went back to petting Stormy’s belly. “Yes, I’ve stayed longer than I should have, but I have a plan. I just need some time.” She met her gaze again, this time a touch of fear lurking in her expression. “Paul’s not an easy person to walk away from.”

  The fright on her friend’s face blossomed inside Nicole. “What do you mean?”

  “He’s not a nice person.” She paused, returning her gaze to Nicole. “His friends aren’t either.”

  “What are you saying?” How much danger was she actually in?

  She shrugged. “He’s not who I thought he was when I first met him.”

  “You have to get out, Janie.”

  “I told you. I have a plan, but it’s going to take a little time.”

  “You should come stay here.”

  She shook her head. “When I go, it’s going to have to be somewhere he’ll never find me.”

  “God, Janie. How am I supposed to leave now, knowing what kind of danger you’re in?”

  “You have to. There’s nothing you can do here anyway. Right now, I need things to appear as normal as possible. It won’t be for long.”

  She sagged on the bed next to her friend and put an arm across her shoulder. “I’m here for you. Anything you need.”

  Janie wrapped her arms around her, leaning into her as her fear turned to sobs. “Oh, Nicole. How did my life ever get this messed up?”

  * * *

  Xander left work early Friday afternoon to rent a vehicle large enough for the four of them to fit. He stopped by his house to change, grab his weekend bag and Apollo. Nerves and excitement twisted inside him, and he could no longer discern which were from the prospect of spending the weekend with Nicole and which were from the possibility he might finally break her. Keeping a façade going every minute of every day was a difficult feat, and he intended to seriously push her this weekend.

  It was the only way to extricate him from the sweet torturous hell he currently existed in. Busting her would be difficult, but it would be more difficult to continue to allow their relationship to develop, knowing damn well that despite her guilt, he was falling for her.

  Apollo alternated between whining and barking as Xander approached Nicole’s building. He’d phone ahead to let her know he was on his way. When he pulled up to the curb, she stepped out of the door, Stormy’s leash in one hand, her suitcase in the other.

  He jumped out of the Rogue to help her with her load. “Hey,” he said, taking her bag from her.

  Her return smile kicked him in the gut. She wrapped her free arm around his neck and pulled him to her for a kiss. “I know it’s only been a couple of days, but I missed that. I missed you.”

  He pulled her to him, pressed his lips against hers, savoring the taste of her, suddenly considering the number of times he’d be able to do that before she was taken away. “Yeah. It will be good to get out of town, won’t it? No job for me, and you can leave your worries here. We’ll escape for a while.”

  “It’s exactly what I need.”

  Apollo barked from inside.

  “Whose car?”

  “Rental.” He opened the back and put her suitcase inside. “I figured you might not appreciate riding with two dogs on your lap.”

  “Honestly? I wouldn’t care. Whatever it takes to get out of town and spend the weekend with three of my favorite people.”

  “People?”

  “What? You don’t think Apollo and Stormy think they’re people, too?” she teased.

  He snorted, heat rushing through him. He should be focusing on work and not flirting with her, but he couldn’t help how good she made him feel. “Fine. Let’s get the rest of you people inside and hit the road.”

  * * *

  The ninety minute drive across the top of Oregon to the coast was filled with laughter and dogs trampling over the backseat of the vehicle to see which side provided the better view. The sun dipped farther in the sky as they drew closer to the ocean, and everything felt right with the world.

  “I can’t believe I forgot to tell you,” she said as Xander passed a sign stating they were five miles out of Seaside. “I received a call from my attorney.” She’d been so happy to see Xander that all thoughts of real life had evaporated. “I’ve asked him to keep pressuring the police about my computer, and it worked. I can pick it up on Monday…and he doesn’t believe they have enough to charge me. I’ll probably remain on their suspect list, but at least now they might start looking at other people.”

  “Really?” He seemed more surprised, where all she’d felt had been relief.

  “That’s what he said.” She reached over and squeezed his hand. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am.” Now, she really could start looking forward to the future.

  He squeezed back. “That’s great. You won’t have to think about it over the weekend.”

  “Exactly.” Happiness coursed through her veins. She’d had to go through a long, dark tunnel to get to this point, but she’d made it. “I have to thank you for believing in me from the start. Not many people would have done the same.”

  The sun was nearly down when he turned off Highway 101 and headed over a bridge, crossing the Necanicum River. A minute later, he pulled into the drive of a quaint house covered with weathered cedar shingles which sat snuggled between two other homes. Tall beach grass grew in wild clumps around it.

  “Is this it?” There was nothing but the house sitting on a bluff and a long stretch of sand between them and the ocean.

  “This is it.”

  “It’s very nice.” Like vacation-getaway nice. “I’ll admit I’m a little envious. You have two beautiful homes, and all I have is my tiny apartment.”

  He studied her and then shrugged. “I inherited one, and I have a mortgage on the other. It’s the American way.” He shut off the ignition and exited the car, waiting until he’d helped Nicole out of the vehicle before he let the dogs run loose. Stormy and Apollo immediately ran circles around the car and then chased into the front yard.

  Nicole let Stormy have her way, knowing she wouldn’t go far. “You’re not worried about Apollo running off?”

  “Nope.” Xander closed the back of the SUV. “He seems to know his boundaries fairly well and comes when I call him. Whoever had him before obviously spent some time training him.”

  “I wonder what happened to make him end up in a shelter.”

  “I’ll probably never know.�
� He hefted both of their bags in one arm before taking her hand. “Shall we?”

  She snuggled her hand into the warm flesh of his and let him lead her to the front door. He released her and unlocked the place that would be their home for the next two days. Xander whistled, and the dogs raced in before her. When she did step inside, she loved it instantly. Light walls with sand-colored carpet made her feel like she was on the beach. Large, picture windows showcased the amazing view of the Pacific. Blue accents along with seashells and old-fashioned ships completed the décor. Even on a rainy day, she wouldn’t feel like she was cut off from the beauty outside.

  “This is amazing.” She walked to the back of the house and gazed out one of the windows. “How can you stand to go back to Portland when you could stay here?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve been known to telecommute before, but after a while, it gets kind of lonely. Besides, they need me at the office sometimes.”

  “Life always gets in the way, doesn’t it?”

  “Understatement of the year.” He set their suitcases near the stairs and headed back to the front door. “Make yourself comfortable while I get the groceries.”

  Nicole opened the back door that led out onto a raised deck, letting the dogs out with her. A cool, salty breeze blew in off the ocean, and she snuggled deeper into her sweater. Both dogs lifted their noses, trying to catch whatever scent clung to the winds.

  The chill still found its way through her cotton sweater, but the price was worth the view. Beautiful reds and oranges from the hovering sun collided with the deep purples and blues of the evening sky. To her left, a rocky point made its way into the water, but other than that, there was nothing marring her view of the endless ocean.

  She leaned against the wooden railing and closed her eyes, letting the stiff breeze blow her hair away from her face and clear out the cobwebs of anxiety that had been her constant companion for the past few weeks. It wasn’t like she was totally out of the woods, yet, but she sensed she was close. After all, it was hard to charge an innocent person.