The Secret Brokers (26 page)

“Mr. Bordonaro wanted you to know that if there is anything else you require to let me know. My name is Evan,” the thick man said as stood before Dallas with his hands behind his back.

Dallas gave Evan’s round face a quick going over. “And the rest of your party?”

Evan nodded to the street. “One in the black Camry over there.”

Dallas saw a nondescript black Toyota Camry parked down the street. Far enough away to be missed, but close enough to the house to observe every one coming and going from the entrance.

“There’s a man on the back porch, and I get the front porch,” Evan announced with a nod of his baldhead.

Dallas walked around to the back of the car and opened the trunk. “Thorough, and more than the feds were willing to do.”

“The feds did the minimal to protect Mr. Pioth. Mr. Bordonaro made it quite clear that every effort was to be made to protect Mr. Pioth, and now Ms. Marsh.”

“Thanks, Evan.” Dallas began unloading his suitcase when Gwen came around to the back of the car.

“And what about my house?” Gwen asked Evan as she folded her arms over her chest, glowering at the man. “Will they be just as thorough with my house?”

Evan nodded. “Yes, ma’am. My guys went over there right after Mr. Bordonaro called. I promise when you return home, everything will be as it should be.”

Gwen seemed satisfied with his answer and uncrossed her arms. She reached into the trunk for her bag, but Evan grabbed for the overnight bag first. “Allow me, ma’am,” he said as he lifted her bag from the trunk. He reached over and picked up Dallas’s overnight bag as well.

Gwen gave him a slight smile. “Thanks,” she whispered.

Ed Pioth greeted them at the front door. He was dressed casually in blue jeans and a fitted Polo shirt, but his face appeared drawn and haggard. Dallas noted how Ed’s eyes had lost some of their previous sparkle and wondered if the stress of the trial had worn him down.

Ed waited as Evan stepped inside the front door and deposited the two overnight bags he was carrying on the floor. Evan gave one last nod to Ed and then quietly shut the door.

Ed looked Gwen over. “You all right?” He made no move to comfort his daughter, but stood there staring at her as if he were waiting for her to break down.

Gwen held her head high. “Fine. My house is a mess, but Evan said they would have it fixed by the time I get home.”

Ed turned to Dallas. “You look like hell,” he commented, taking in Dallas’s bruised right eye and cheek.

Dallas nodded. “Looks worse than it feels.”

“Bull,” the older man said with a grin. His face became somber as he glanced back at his daughter. “This reeks of Robertson,” he grumbled.

Dallas placed his suitcase down by the entrance as he stepped over to Ed. “Does it?”

Ed threw his hand casually into the air. “Who in the hell else could it be? After what happened at Carl’s, he was obviously out to get Gwenie.”

“You know as well as I do how associates of Carl Bordonaro’s operate,” Dallas asserted.

Ed’s eyes flashed with concern.

Gwen turned to Dallas, frowning. “What are you talking about?”

“Gwenie!” Ed raised his voice, distracting her. “Why don’t you trot on upstairs and get settled into your old room. I want to have a chat with Dallas.”

“Not without me present. Whatever you two have to say
,
it involves me and I plan on hearing about it.”

Ed turned to his daughter, the frustration brimming in his blue eyes. “This has nothing to do with you. There is something Dallas and I have to discuss.”

“Which is?” she asked, impudently.

Ed cleared his throat. “If you must know, sleeping arrangements. I want to know the man’s intentions.”

Gwen rolled her eyes. “Jesus, I don’t think that’s any of your business. I’m not sixteen anymore.”

Ed sighed, impatiently. “But I’m still your father and I want to know what’s going on under my roof.”

“Gwen, why don’t you go on upstairs,” Dallas suggested.

Gwen looked from her father to Dallas. “All right.” She picked up her overnight bag, as well as Dallas’s overnight bag, and swung them both over her shoulder. “But Dallas, you have my full permission to punch the crap out of my father if he gets out of line.” She turned from the men and climbed up the stairs.

“I’ll take that under advisement,” Dallas called to her.

Ed Pioth waited until Gwen had turned the corner on the second floor landing before he finally spoke.

“So you think this is about her taking care of Earl Yeager?”

Dallas nodded. “Carl and several of his associates think Earl disclosed something to Gwen before he died; something that could put Carl and a whole lot of other men in trouble with the feds. Whoever went through her house and killed those two grooms was looking for that something.”

“Any idea what it is?”

“Gwen showed me a safety deposit box key Earl Yeager gave her. He wanted it to get to his family. I need that key. I’ll give it to Carl and then, perhaps, Gwen will be left alone.”

Ed stood for a moment and studied Dallas with his weary eyes. “You weren’t hired to protect Gwenie, were you?
Carl wanted you to get this information out of her, by any means necessary, I’ll bet,” he added with a look of disgust.

“I’m leaving first thing in the morning. I haven’t told Gwen, and if it makes you feel any better, I will not be seeing her again,” Dallas assured him.

“You
r
job is done here, eh? You’re leaving when there is still a big mess to clean up.”

“The decision wasn’t mine.”

Ed Pioth folded his arms over his broad chest. “You know, I might be a prime asshole but when it comes to my kids I want the best for them, especially Gwenie. She has always been a tough woman, but when she showed up here the other day with you, I thought I saw a change in her. She had a softness to her; something that I had never noticed before. When you leave, you will take all of that away.”

Dallas said nothing. He turned from Ed and walked over to the front door. He picked up his suitcase and asked, “Where do you want me to sleep?”

Ed pointed up the stairs. “There’s a guest bedroom across the hall from Gwenie’s.”

Dallas moved toward the stairs.

“I’ll explain to Gwen after you’ve gone. She’ll understand,” Ed stated behind him.

As he made his way up the stairs, Dallas knew Gwen would never truly understand why he was walking away. But how could he ever tell her this wasn’t something he wanted to do, but something he had to do
?

***

It was after two in the morning when Dallas finally tossed the covers aside. He had settled into his king-sized sleigh bed only an hour before, after spending much of the evening avoiding Gwen. But as he sat on the edge of his bed staring down at his blue pajama bottoms, he desperately wanted to see her once more. Images of her silky hair and slender body floated across his mind. He wiped his hands over his face and yearned for a drink, but then he remembered what Ed had said about not keeping any alcohol in his house. Itching for a distraction from his restlessness, Dallas decided to head for the kitchen. After putting on a T-shirt to stave off the cold, Dallas opened his bedroom door
and tiptoed toward the stairs.

As he passed the living room doorway on his way to the kitchen, the flicker of a fire in the hearth caught his eye. When he peeked inside of the room, he spotted Gwen’s blond hair resting on the back of a long, gold couch.

“Any particular reason you’re up?”

Gwen spun around and glared at Dallas.

When he saw the firelight dancing in her blue-green eyes, Dallas smiled. He came around the side of the couch and noticed that she was still wearing the long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans she had arrived in a few hours before. Her slender legs were curled beneath her, and then Dallas saw the bottle of Stoli vodka in her hand.

He snickered as he pointed to the bottle. “What did you do? Smuggle that in?”

“I put it in my bag back at Carl’s, in case you needed it when we got back to my place. You damned near wiped out the other bottle I had under the kitchen sink.” She held up the bottle. “I remembered it when I got up and couldn’t sleep”

Dallas settled on the couch beside her. “Want some company?”

She handed him the bottle. “Help yourself.”

Dallas took the bottle from her hand. He lifted it to his lips and took a long swallow. The alcohol burned the back of his throat as it eased its way down. He felt his body shudder with relief as the liquid hit his stomach.

“I guess you needed a drink, too,” Gwen reasoned.

Dallas exhaled as he sat back on the couch. “Yes, I did
,
” he
said
softly.

“And what’s bothering you, other than your usual bullshit
?”

He looked over at her, surprised by her comment. “My usual bullshit?”

“All that stuff you carry around like a fifty pound weight.” She stared into his chilly blue eyes. “I can see it in your eyes, like some dark secret you can’t share with anyone. But I think you desperately need to share it.”

“I don’t need to share my secrets, Gwen
.
” He took another swig from the bottle.

She leaned back on the couch. “You’re a lost man, Dallas August.”

Dallas frowned as he mulled over her words. “How would you know that?” he finally asked.

She turned her head to him. “I recognize that look in your eyes because I see it staring back at me in the mirror every morning.” She gave a long sigh. “I’m just as lost as you, Dallas.”

“You’re not lost, Gwen. You know where you’re going and what you want.”

Gwen shook her head as she leaned forward. “You have no idea what I’m talking about.”

He reached over and lifted her chin. “Explain it to me.”

She removed his hand from her chin. “I can’t.”

“Try,” he urged as he put the bottle on the floor next to the couch.

“Why should I try? Why should I share any of my secrets or my hopes with you? I’m just an assignment to you
,
and when you leave you’ll forget about me.”

Dallas shook his ahead. “I’ll never forget about you, Gwen. No matter how hard I try.” He flopped back against the couch. “The real reason I came downstairs tonight was because I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

She sat back on the couch and stared ahead to the fire in the hearth. “You have been on my mind, as well.” She paused. “I keep thinking about us together in Carl’s study,” she casually added.

“I keep thinking about us in the shower,” Dallas whispered as his eyes were drawn to the fire’s glow.

“And how you were in my kitchen,” Gwen said beside him.

Dallas turned to her. “Your kitchen? What did we do in your kitchen?”

“I hate to admit it, but watching you cook was a real turn on for me.” She turned to him. “It is for most women.”

Dallas laughed out loud. “Now you tell me.” He rested his head against the couch and gazed into her eyes. “What are we going to do about this?”

Gwen rested her head against the couch inches from his. “How about a truce?”

Dallas pushed away a tendril of blond hair that had fallen into her face. “For how long?”

Gwen took his hand and stood from the couch. “I suggest you come with me.”

“Where are we going? The kitchen?” he asked with a grin.

Gwen nodded to the stairs.

Dallas stood up beside her. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure about you. I’m not under any false illusions about us. I want you for as long as I can have you
, whether
it is one
night or one
hour, I don’t care anymore. I just want you, Dallas.” She hungrily kissed his lips.

The fervor of her kiss made Dallas forget all about Carl, the safety deposit box key, and his job. In that instant, he only wanted her. He wanted to feel her next to him, and hold her for as long as fate would allow.

Gwen pulled away and led him out of the living room. When she got to the stairs, she let go of his hand and began to ascend the steps.

Halfway up the stairs, Gwen stopped, unbuttoned her shirt and tossed it on the walnut banister. Then she took of her bra and seductively draped it over the banister.

Dallas grinned as he watched her strip tease from the first floor landing.

When she reached the top of the stairs, she kept her back to him as she slowly slid the jeans from around her hips, dropped them to the floor, and kicked them away. Discreetly covering her breasts with her bandaged arm, she turned and looked down the stairs at him.

Dallas took in her slim figure and pale skin as he climbed the first step.

“Since you’re still technically injured I thought I would make it easier for you.” She ran her fingers along the elastic waistband of her white cotton panties and smiled. “Think you can handle the rest?”

Dallas felt a burst of energy charge through him as he took the stairs two at a time. Just as he reached the top, Gwen turned and headed toward her bedroom door. When he caught up to her, he grabbed her hand and pulled her inside of her bedroom. Dallas wrapped his arms about her as he kicked the bedroom door closed. He gently eased her body across the room to her wrought iron princess bed.