Authors: Laurie Roma
In a word, the
ring was perfect.
She looked up
at him with drenched eyes when he cleared his throat.
“The ring
belonged to my granny. She and my grandaddy were married for sixty years. They
died within a week of each other, and the ring came to my dad after they were
gone.” He cleared his throat, looking slightly uncomfortable. “I know it’s an
old setting, but we can change it if you don’t like it—”
“No!” Zoe
clutched the box closer to her chest as if to protect it. “It’s beautiful. The
most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.”
“Okay, then.” He
smiled as he slowly reached for the ring. She allowed him to take the box from
her and watched as he slid the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly. Her hand
was shaking slightly, and he held it firm in his. “It looks good on you.”
“I’ll never
take it off,” she vowed as her body started to tremble. “Oh, God. Oh, God, I
can’t stop shaking. It’s real. It’s really real.”
Dante lifted
her onto his lap and kissed her gently. It made his heart swell with pride to
see her wearing the ring that his granny had cherished during her lifetime. His
father’s marriage to Dante’s mother might not have lasted, but Malcolm’s
parents had loved one another with a strength and vitality that had shown Dante
exactly what love was supposed to be.
And he wanted
that with Zoe.
Wanted years
of laughter and love with her. He wanted to raise a family with her, sharing
the good times and the bad, but most of all, he wanted to see her look at him
the way she was right now for the rest of his life.
But in order
to do that, they needed to be free of her past.
When she tried
to kiss him again, he held back. Damn, he wished he could just lose himself in
her. He wanted to carry her into the bedroom and make love to her until neither
of them could move, but he wasn’t finished with what he had to do tonight.
“Zoe, hold on
for a minute...”
“No, I think
we should celebrate,” she murmured as she began to nibble on his neck.
Shit, all the
blood in his head drained down to his dick. He was rock hard and aching, and
when she started wiggling on his lap, his eyes all but rolled back into his
head.
“Fuck!”
“Yes, please,”
she whispered primly against his lips.
He let out a
shaky laugh. Damn, he deserved a medal for stopping now. “Angel, there’s
something else I have to talk to you about, and I’m not quite sure you’re going
to be feeling so amorous after.”
She was
pouting now, and he couldn’t help but kiss her again. Damn, her lips were so
soft. It was inevitable to deepen the kiss when she opened for him, allowing
his tongue to stroke inside. He steeped himself in the taste of her, sealing
his mouth over hers as if he could just drink her in.
Fuck! Focus, Fox!
Dante took
hold of her shoulders and held her a few inches away from him. He had to or he
would end up losing control. It was better just to say it and get it done. “Sweetheart,
when I got the ring from my father today…we talked about your situation a
little.”
“You—what?”
She tried to jump off his lap, but he held her firmly in place. “Dante, how
could you? You put Malcolm at risk by telling him! I’ll never forgive myself if
anything happens to him!”
Dante had been
ready to face her anger and explain his actions, but he had no way to defend
himself when she buried her face against his neck and began to weep. He’d been
prepared for her to yell at him for telling his father, but hearing that her first
concern was for Malcolm’s safety made his heart simply soar.
God, he loved
her.
“I needed to
talk to him to help me put things in perspective. You know that I always talk
things over with my pops.”
“I know. But
damn it, Dante—”
“Listen. I
just posed a hypothetical situation to him and asked him what he thought, but
he figured out it was about you and demanded an explanation,” he hurried to
explain. “My father loves you, Zoe. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt you and
won’t say anything. I promise. He wants to help.”
“How can he?”
Zoe glared at him as she pulled back to wipe at her cheeks. “You had no right
to tell him without talking to me first.”
“I know, and
I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I should have. But I wanted to talk to him about a
plan I came up with to see if it was doable before I talked to you about it and
got your hopes up.”
Zoe blew out a
deep breath as she tried to control her temper.
She knew Dante
and his father were close, but damn it, he should have talked to her before he
went to his father. Logic told her that Malcolm Fox had a right to know that
she wasn’t who she said she was, especially if his son wanted to marry her, but
she was still pissed. Dante knew better, and she wasn’t going to let him get
away with his protective, caveman bullshit. If she married him, they were going
to have a real partnership. He couldn’t just do whatever the hell he wanted to
without dealing with the consequences.
And it was
time that she let him know it.
Zoe surprised
him when she made a fist and thumped it hard against his chest. The impact made
her hand hurt with a satisfying ache.
“Ow! Damn it,
Zoe. That hurt!”
“Good. You
deserved it…you jackass. Now, tell me about the plan.”
* * * *
Zoe was
claiming her life back.
Dante hadn’t
realized just how nervous he was about it until he surveyed the people gathered
in his living room for the meeting they’d called that afternoon.
The bar was
closed today, but he knew that everyone else had busy lives of their own and
couldn’t afford to spend the day chatting it up at his house. Still, when he’d
called them and told them he needed help, no one had hesitated to drop
everything and come.
They had all
congratulated them on their engagement after noticing the ring on Zoe’s finger,
but no one had seemed surprised. They were still waiting on Malcolm Fox and one
other person to arrive, and he was glad that there was an unspoken agreement
from the group not to ask questions about why they were there until everyone
had arrived.
Hunter sat on
one of the couches talking with Nikita and Sam, while Hammer was discussing
some issue with Hunter’s father, Tony, and Sheriff Storm Wyatt in the kitchen
as they hovered near the box of baked goods that Hammer snagged from Kali
before coming over.
Dante glanced
over to where Brix was speaking with Zoe, grateful that the big man was distracting
her with how his meeting with the gallery in Houston had gone the previous day.
Dante had figured that he and Brix could take care of letting the others from
the bar know what was going on later, and Hammer could decide whom from his own
crew he would inform.
It wasn’t a
matter of whether or not their friends would help them. No, that wasn’t what
had Dante on edge. He had no doubt that everyone in Breakers would do what they
could to help Zoe. What hadn’t occurred to Dante before this moment was that
Zoe could possibly leave him once she was freed from the nightmare that was
haunting her.
It was a
selfish thought, but hell, he’d never claimed to be a saint.
On impulse,
Dante headed toward her, needing to touch her, to calm down before he made
himself crazy with thoughts of losing her. He’d only taken two steps when he
heard the sound of a Harley pulling down the driveway. A few seconds later, the
front door opened and Daryk “Dare” Nyght walked in wearing a pair of hospital scrubs.
Dare had been
an Army trauma surgeon when Dante had met him. He hadn’t seen him for a few
years until Dare had come to Breakers a few months ago to visit Hammer, since
he was one of the partners that owned Fight Hard. Dare hadn’t been planning to
stay in town, but all that had changed when he’d fallen in love with Evie
Beaumont.
Women certainly
did have a way of changing a man’s plans.
Now, Dare
worked at Evie’s rescue center with her, but he’d also started putting time in
at the hospital in town. He didn’t work too many hours because—surprisingly
enough—he enjoyed working at the animal shelter with Evie, but the hospital
staff knew they could call him in if there was an emergency.
“Sorry I’m
late. I wasn’t on call today, but a man had an accident with a weed whacker
this morning when he was doing some yard work. I managed to save his toes, but
I think he’s learned not to get distracted by female joggers when he’s holding
a machine in his hands.”
“Ouch,” Sam
said with a wince.
Dare grinned
at her. “It was a valuable lesson.”
“So, what’s
with the scrubs?” Hammer asked. “I thought you hated wearing those out of the
hospital.”
Dare grimaced
as he looked down at himself. “I arrived at the same time the ambulance got to
the hospital, and some idiot intern messed with the dressing as I walked up to
inspect the injury. Blood spurted out everywhere.”
Tony made a
disgusted noise, then said, “Did you bring your clothes home? Maddy can get the
blood out,” he said, talking about his wife. “Not that she’s going to want to
touch them, but you’re better off taking them to her rather than to Evie…because
that girl will just burn them.”
“I know,” Dare
laughed. “One of the nurses was kind enough to offer. She’s had plenty of
practice getting blood out of clothing. I’m damn glad, because I really like
those jeans.”
“Salt water
and toothpaste or meat tenderizer would work.” When everyone in the room turned
to Nikita, she just shrugged. “What? I know things.”
“You know very
strange things,” Sam commented.
“Thanks for
coming,” Dante said to Dare. “We’re just waiting on my dad.”
Dare nodded,
then his eyes widened as he looked toward the kitchen. “Hey, are there brownies
in there? Later.”
Dante shook
his head as Dare pushed past Hammer and Tony to get at the bakery box. Turning,
he started over to Zoe again when he heard the sound of a car pulling into the
drive. He walked over to the front door and his eyes narrowed when he saw there
was a passenger sitting in his father’s truck. Both men got out and Malcolm
lifted several pizza boxes out of the bed before walking toward the house. When
the other man rounded the side of the truck and came into view, Dante swore
viciously.
“What is it?”
Zoe asked, hurrying over to him.
Her gaze
followed Dante’s and she let out a startled gasp. The front door opened and
Malcolm shoved the huge pizza boxes into Dante’s hands as soon as he walked in.
“Thought we
could eat.”
The other man
that walked in was older, but age hadn’t affected his solid frame. He took off
his Stetson, showing off a full head of thick salt and peppered hair.
Dark-green eyes warmed as they zeroed in on Zoe, and when he spoke, he had a
deep voice that sounded like he’d gargled with serrated glass. “Hey there,
little lady.”
Zoe flung
herself at Jessup Carter, who welcomed her with open arms.
Chapter Eleven
“What the
hell, Dad?”
Malcolm’s eyes
narrowed as he turned toward Dante. “Watch that tone, Son. Don’t make me slap
you upside your head in front of everyone.”
Dante ignored
the threat. “Why didn’t you tell me you invited Jessup?”
“Because I
didn’t know he was coming until he showed up.” Malcolm shifted so he could
watch his friend holding Zoe as a father would a long lost daughter. It warmed
his heart, and made him damn glad that he’d sent a message to Jessup using
another one of their friends. Zoe’s situation was dire, and they needed all the
help they could get to put a wall of protection around her so no one could get
to her.
When Jessup
Carter had shown up at his doorstep this morning, he’d been caught off guard.
Malcolm’s message had been simple enough, using a code that only he and his
friends understood to say that he wanted Jessup to get in touch, but he’d never
expected Jessup to drop everything and head straight to Breakers.
Whatever her real
name was didn’t matter to Malcolm. She owned his son’s heart, and that was
enough for him to do whatever it took to keep her safe. Not to mention, one
day—hopefully soon—she would give him grandkids. That thought had a grin
spreading over Malcolm’s face, which only grew wider as Dante stared at him
incredulously.
“What the hell
are you grinning at?”
“I’m just a
cheerful guy,” Malcolm said, earning a snort of derision from his son.
With his arm
around Zoe’s shoulders, Jessup Carter smiled at Dante. “Surprised to see me,
young Fox?”
“Shit,” was
Dante’s reply to the nickname all of his father’s old friends called him.
Jessup laughed, but Dante wasn’t in the mood to be amused. He shoved the pizza
boxes back at his father, then jerked Zoe away from the older man to hold her
close to his side. “Did you take precautions coming here?”
Jessup nodded,
sobering. “Yep. I got Malcolm’s message yesterday, and I immediately flew down
to Oklahoma to have a nice visit with a friend there. This morning, he had an
associate fly me down to Houston in a private plane, then I drove here. I’m not
on the flight manifest and I paid cash for the car, so I doubt anyone can track
me here.”
“But why did
you come?” Zoe asked. “You know it’s dangerous for you to be anywhere around me.”
“If we’re
going to talk about this, we might as well sit down and eat.” Malcolm shoved
the pizza boxes back at Dante, who took them into the living room. While
everyone took their seats, Malcolm reached out and wrapped his arms around Zoe.
“Welcome to the family, sweetheart.”
“Thank you,
Malcolm,” she whispered as she hugged him back.
Hammer grabbed
the stack of napkins and paper plates that Zoe had set near the bakery box in
the kitchen and carried them into the room with him. “So, does someone want to
fill us in?”
Dante sat down
on one of the leather chairs and pulled Zoe onto his lap. “Do you want to eat
something first, angel?”
Zoe shook her
head as she curled into his hard body. She found comfort and security in his
arms that she’d need to get through this. “I don’t think I can.” Gathering her
courage, she looked over at the group of people devouring pizza and said,
“Thank you for coming today. I know I have no right to ask for your help,
especially after I’ve been lying to all of you.”
Sam chewed thoughtfully
on a slice of pizza, then said, “Depends on what the lie is.”
Holding on to
Dante’s hand, Zoe began to explain. “My real name isn’t Zoe…”
The group
listened intently to her story, no one saying a word to interrupt. When her
voice waivered as she began to explain what happened on the night Paul Wei had broken
into her apartment, Dante took over telling the story. Even thought he tried to
give the details clearly and concisely, his voice was harsh with barely
restrained rage.
Dante noticed
that as he told the story, everyone seemed to lose their appetite. Zoe took
over explaining how her friend had been murdered and how she’d made contact
with Jessup. Dante was proud of how she held herself together as she finished
out the tale. When she was done, they waited for everyone’s reactions, but the
room was as silent as a tomb.
“Well, holy
fucking shit,” Hammer finally said after a long minute.
“Yeah, what he
said,” Sam murmured.
Sheriff Storm
Wyatt leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. Dante and Storm had been
friends since childhood, even though Storm was a few years older. Usually, it
was difficult to tell the stoic man’s mood, but the anger in his dark eyes made
it clear he wasn’t pleased. “Hell, Zoe. You should have known you could come to
me with this. Maybe not at first, but as you got to know me, you damn well
should have known I would have helped you.”
Before she
could reply, Dante barked out, “Fuck that, Wyatt. She trusted the Marshals, and
look where that got her. You can’t blame her for being cautious, so watch how
you fucking come at her.”
Zoe touched
his arm lightly, and she felt the tension slowly ease under her hand. Dante
might be a loving, gentle man with her, but he was also a hard-bodied bad-ass
who would protect her fiercely, even if it meant going up against a friend.
Storm held up
his hand in a conciliatory gesture. “I’m sorry, Zoe. I didn’t mean to make this
harder for you. I just want you to know that the Breakers’ Sheriff’s Office and
Police Department will help keep you safe.”
“We’ve come up
with a plan to lure Paul Wei out of hiding,” Dante added. “We figured we’d have
a better chance of controlling the situation if we did it here in Breakers, but
we’re going to need your help to do it.”
“Of course
we’ll help, but am I missing something? Riddle me this…why would this asshole
come out of hiding to get to you if he’s safe somewhere?” Sam asked. “He’s
wanted for murder. Coming after you would just be stupid at this point.”
“Because
assholes don’t need reasons to be assholes?” Brix queried.
“True, but the
only thing that motivates someone like Paul Wei is money. Maybe he needs cash.
Could he be after your violin?” Nikita asked.
“Why would he
want her violin?” Hammer asked.
“Because it’s
a Stradivarius,” Nikita replied, earning a glare from Dante.
“How the hell
did you know that?”
She shrugged.
“It was in the background check I did on her. It’s insured.”
“You did a…”
Storm shook his head. “I don’t even want to know.”
“Time out,”
Sam said. “You have a fucking Stradivarius? Even I’ve heard of those. Isn’t
that worth millions?”
“The
Stradivari family made many instruments during the 17th and 18th centuries. One
of the most famous is the “Lady Blunt” violin, which sold at auction for approximately
fifteen and a half million dollars a few years ago. Another famous viola was
put on auction for forty-five million, but it didn’t sell. There are a lot of
Stradivari instruments that aren’t worth anywhere near that. Mine is only
estimated at about a quarter of a million.”
“A quarter—”
Dare choked out. He shot Dante a look. “Brother, we are gonna have to get you a
new security system out here, or you need to put that thing in a vault.”
“Trust me, I
know.”
Zoe wanted to
roll her eyes at Dante when he glared at her. They’d had an argument about this
last night, and she knew he was going to keep giving her grief until she locked
her violin away safely.
“Don’t you think I would be under more
scrutiny if I visited a bank vault every time I wanted to play?” Zoe argued.
“Besides, I don’t think Paul Wei’s after my violin since selling an instrument
like this is extremely difficult, even on the black market.”
“But it’s a
possibility,” Tony Savante countered. “The Wei family has connections all over
the world. And if what you say is true, a lot of those aren’t people who would
blink an eye at theft and murder to get what they want.”
Zoe nodded
slowly. “Yes, but the music world is smaller than you think, and the classical
community is even smaller than that. There’ve been instruments stolen or lost
over the years, but the majority of those have been found quickly. If someone
has bid or researched an item like a rare violin, they would be one of the
first the authorities would look at if one goes missing, and insurance
companies don’t let these things go lightly.”
“What happens
to the violin if you die?” Hunter asked. When Dante rounded on him, he hurried
to say, “Don’t bite my damn head off, the question has to be asked.”
“My parents
bought me the violin when I was thirteen. We’ve set up a trust so that if I
couldn’t play anymore, it would be loaned out to the New York Philharmonic to
use, but it would still belong to me. If I die, it goes directly to the
Philharmonic on permanent loan unless I change the terms of my will.”
“So, what’s
the end game, honey?” Malcolm asked gently. “What do you want out of this?”
“I want my
life back.” The words burst out of Zoe more vehemently than she’d expected. “I’m
tired of always looking over my shoulder, waiting to see if Paul will find me. Maybe
it’s a Chinese cultural thing, but Paul won’t let this go. I’ve embarrassed him
and his family, and now he’s on the run and he blames me. It’s a matter of
honor. He won’t stop until he finds me.”
“If he really
wanted to do the honorable thing, he wouldn’t be selling stolen shit on the
black market, just saying,” Brix muttered.
“I didn’t say
it made sense,” Zoe said sadly. “I just want to live my life in peace, without
putting the people I love in danger.”
She cast a
quick glance at Dante, and she knew he could see the fear in her eyes. She was
terrified that something would happen to him, and to the friends that were
gathered in the room with them.
“We’ll get
this done,” Dante assured her quietly. “Then we can get busy making a friend
for Hammer and Kali’s kid to play with.”
Her laugh was
slightly hysterical. “I thought you were kidding about that.”
“Nope, I’m
dead serious.”
Dante felt her
trembling as he leaned in and kiss her lightly. When he pulled back, he saw his
father grinning at them. The rest of the people in the room either nodded in
approval or smiled in return…all except Jessup.
“I hope by
that ring on her finger you plan to marry her first,” Jessup warned. “I’m
pretty fond of that little lady, and want to make sure you intend to do right
by her.”
“She’s agreed
to marry me. And I plan to as soon as we get this other shit settled.”
“Right then.”
Malcolm clapped his hands together. “Let’s take down this asshole so I can get
my grandbabies.”
Zoe blushed.
Feeling slightly dazed, she didn’t know what to say, so she decided not to
comment on the matter. She did want children with Dante, but she couldn’t even
think about that until she knew that it would be safe.
“I’ve been
following the news reports,” Jessup told them. “There’s been no sign of Paul, and
the parents haven’t had a problem shifting the blame onto their son, but it
hasn’t worked completely. Their business has taken a hit, and a lot of dealers
won’t work with them anymore.”
“Which has to
piss them off,” Sam commented. “But the authorities have to have more dirt on
them. After what happened to Zoe, there have to be reports about the
investigation they are doing on their company and the players.”
“There are,
but I can’t access anything without letting everyone in the Marshals service
know that I’m looking into it,” Jessup stated with a sigh.
Dare shot
Nikita a glance before he said, “Leave that to us. We can get the data without
anyone knowing.”
Dante knew
that Dare and Nikita had worked for some super-secret agency before they’d come
to Breakers. They both had skills and resources that few people had access to,
and he was grateful to count them as friends. “We want to leak that Zoe is
here. If we can lure Paul Wei here with his men, we can control the situation
better than if we took the fight to New York.”
“I can contact
someone at the Marshals service, tell them that Zoe made contact,” Jessup
offered. “If someone is monitoring the reports, that should get back to the Wei
family.”
Dante nodded.
“True, but I think we have an easier way to get the information out. During the
anniversary party at the bar this Saturday, we are going to have pictures
taken. We just have to make sure to post them.”
“So far, I’ve
been very careful not to have any pictures of me uploaded on the web. All it
will take is one, and Paul will be able to track me,” Zoe said.
“He has
resources to do that?” Hammer asked, surprised.
“No, but my
father does. And once he finds me, he’ll lead Paul straight here.”
“Your father?”
Storm asked. “Has he been looking for you? And why in God’s name would your
father lead that bastard to you?”