Big Easy Temptation

  someone on the force might be, but they didn’t need it to be official. “All right. Let’s go.”

  He squeezed her hand and they lost themselves in the crowds as sirens filled the air.

  As they crept out of the Quarter, Dax had to wonder about that woman who’d screamed a warning for them to move.

  Her identity was a mystery, but one he intended to solve.

  * * *

  Holland frowned at the text as Dax turned off the highway and straight into bayou country.

  Worried about you. Call me when you can. And watch your back. Trouble is following your old boyfriend everywhere. He’s not to be trusted.

  Her uncle. She’d managed to convince him not to send a SWAT team her way, but he wasn’t convinced she was safe. Of course, since it looked as if she was headed into Deliverance territory, she wasn’t certain, either.

  “Do you know where you’re going? Are you sure this is where Connor told us to hide out?” Because she’d just seen an alligator lazing on the roadside and that didn’t give her a warm fuzzy.

  Dax grinned as though this was all just one big adventure. “What’s wrong, city girl? Can’t handle a few critters? I thought you were raised in New Orleans.”

  “Exactly. New Orleans. I was raised in the city, not the swamp. My aunt always told me the swamp was for gators, tourists who wanted to get eaten by gators, and criminals who knew no one wanted to hang out with gators. Which of those categories does your friend fall into?”

  If anything, his lips tugged up higher. “He falls into the crazy motherfucker category.”

  “You’re awfully happy for a man on the run.”

  He turned back to the road with a shrug. “I wouldn’t say I’m happy. I’m just content that we’re going to solve this thing. Now that we’re on our own, we’re going to focus.”

  “Focus? You think I haven’t been focused? I’ve spent years trying to figure this damn mystery out.”

  “How about this, then?” he said. “I’m optimistic because we’re together. We’re a good team. The last time we worked a case together we were so damn good the Russian mob came after us.”

  “And that was such a plus.” He was infuriating and yet she found herself smiling at him.

  “Call it what you like, but we’re perfect together.”

  He focused on the road again and she fell silent. She should probably disagree . . . but she didn’t.

  The minutes rolled by as she looked out on the moonlit bayou. Silvery beams illuminated the still waters of the swamp. Every now and then it reflected off the light from creatures’ eyes. She shuddered.

  “Can we talk about us now?” Dax asked softly.

  She wasn’t ready, though she’d started to believe that at some point she might be able to discuss that with something other than sarcasm and cynicism. “Not yet.”

  He was quiet for a moment, the only sound between them the pounding of the Jeep against the pavement. “All right. Let’s talk about the fact that someone warned us today. Any idea who?”

  She’d heard the same thing he had. “It was a woman. I don’t know. It was chaotic and she didn’t yell out after that. From what I can tell, they were both across the street from my building.”

  “Why would they have two agents across the street from us and why would one sell the other out?”

  It was a question she’d been asking herself. “I don’t think they were together. One of the buildings across the street is a good two stories taller than the other. Whoever called out to us must have had the better vantage point. I suspect she’d positioned herself on that taller building. She took multiple shots at him, I’ll bet with the handgun. The guy with the rifle was directly across the street from us, so his perch was closer to my window. That’s why he had an easy time throwing those Molotov cocktails into my place. The competing gunfire had ceased by then.”

  “She obviously wasn’t there to kill us.”

  “Agreed. I wish I’d gotten a look at her. Unfortunately, that whole running-for-our-lives thing got in the way. That really rankles.”

  It did. It made her restless that she’d been so vulnerable, that not one but two people had been watching them. If Dax hadn’t been there, she would have hauled off in hot pursuit. With him by her side, she’d had more than herself and her pride to think of.

  She’d sat quietly in the bar of one of the larger hotels while texting her uncle and trying to figure out who would have warned them. While they’d waited for the Jeep Connor had arranged she’d come to terms with the fact that her only real concern in that moment hadn’t been herself or her apartment or even the files.

  It had been Dax.

  At the end of the day it didn’t matter how tough she was. She was a stupid girl at heart. She was still foolishly pining for a boy. No, a man. She could trust him with her life, just not with her heart.

  “According to the directions, we’re not far now,” Dax said as he turned again, this time onto a one-lane dirt road so narrow that trees brushed the sides of the Jeep as though reaching out to pull them into the thick gloom of the swamp. Wherever they were headed, it was isolated.

  “Did your uncle mention how much of the building was lost?” Dax asked.

  “The good news is the fire department got there quickly. Uncle Beau thinks there’s no real structural damage. He was there when the fire department arrived, and he signed all the paperwork for me. He’s going to send in an engineer to make sure. He’ll keep in touch by e-mail, but at some point he’s going to want to see me.”

  “Let’s give it a day or two.”

  “How’s your mom?” It was so much easier to talk about family than the elephant in the Jeep. They hadn’t talked about that kiss yet or the fact that if some asshole hadn’t started shooting, she very likely would have surrendered to Dax on the balcony. She would have spread her legs wide without a word of protest and welcomed him inside because she hadn’t cared about anything in that moment except being close to him.

  “So far, so good. I tried to get her to go to D.C., but she’s being stubborn.”

  All the Spencers were stubborn. It seemed to be bred into their DNA.

  Finally, a building came into view, illuminated in the twin lights of the Jeep. She couldn’t make out many details in the surrounding dark, but at least it wasn’t one of the small fishing camps that dotted the bayou. It looked like a cabin big enough to actually live in. The door opened and out stepped someone she hadn’t seen in years.

  “Is that Connor?”

  Dax stopped the Jeep and killed the engine with a smile on his face. “Asshole didn’t tell me he was already here.”

  “Maybe he came out this afternoon.”

  Dax shook his head. “Nah. He’s probably been here since I hit New Orleans, waiting for the minute I needed backup.”

  He hopped out of the Jeep. In the moonlight, she watched Dax point a finger at his friend, stalking closer. Then the two men did that manly hug, beat-on-each-other’s-back thing.

  Connor had come all this way because he wouldn’t leave Dax without backup. When was the last time she’d had a friend like that? Probably Joy.

  Or had she pushed away another true friend because the woman happened to be Dax’s sister? She brushed the thought aside and exited the Jeep. With Connor here, she was firmly in Dax’s world again and she would have to remember that they weren’t really alone. Only she was. He was surrounded by people who loved him. She’d lost those a long time ago.

  Even as she hopped out of the vehicle, she saw Connor size her up. Dax’s best friend had always been a deep one, the dark to his light. Dax always seemed so sunny while Connor obviously preferred the shadows. Sometimes she thought it would have been easier if she’d fallen for Connor. That man would never have pushed her for more than a good time in bed.

  She wondered what his wife was like. It was hard to imagine him married. Likely she was as dark and emotionless as Connor appeared.

  ??
?Holland,” he said, nodding her way.

  “Hello, Connor.” Yes, it was going to be an awkward reunion all the way around, but then what did she expect? Dax’s friends had spent years hating her for the way she’d hurt him. Just because she’d had good reasons didn’t mean they would stop. “If you’ve set aside a room for me, I’ll just go and get comfortable while you two catch up.”

  A faint hint of a smile creased Connor’s mouth. “That will have to wait. My wife decided to cook dinner. I’m so sorry, man. I hope you ate earlier.”

  His wife was here? So she would have to put up with some cold-as-ice chick who had likely been taught to hate her on sight. Awesome.

  “It’s not that bad,” Dax said. “It’s just very vegan.”

  The door opened and a slight figure stepped out. Lara Sparks was wearing a bright sundress, her dark hair piled in a messy, ten-pound updo of curls on her head. Even in the dim light, she could see the woman had huge blue eyes.

  “Holland!” Petite Lara came at her with a smile and pulled Holland into an embrace, her head resting on Holland’s shoulder. “It’s so good to meet you. You’re like the missing piece of the family.”

  Holland looked to Connor, utterly surprised by his affectionate, vegan bride.

  He simply shrugged. “Yeah, let her get it out of her system. She’s a hugger.”

  Lara’s head snapped up and she turned her husband’s way. “Human beings need physical affection, and after everything Holland’s been through, she likely needs a good hug, especially since she’s been exiled for so long for a crime she didn’t commit.”

  “She was in New Orleans. No one sent her away,” Connor pointed out.

  Lara stepped back. “She’s Dax’s one true love.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t say that.” Holland didn’t want to mislead Lara.

  “She’s right,” Dax said with a nod. “I’ve learned that Lara has a deep understanding of the people around her. I think because of all the yoga she does.”

  Lara glanced between Holland and Connor with a frown. “Connor, don’t you want to give Holland a hug to welcome her back into the family?”

  Holland shook her head. “He’s already said hello. We’re cool.”

  Connor’s face broke into the most open smile she’d ever seen on the man. He stepped forward, and before Holland could protest, he’d put his arms around her. “I never argue with my wife. I’m sorry it’s been so long, Holland. But you’re a dumbass who should have asked for help three years ago.”

  “Connor!” Lara protested.

  Holland laughed and hugged him back, feeling better than she had in forever. “You’re the dumbass, Sparks.”

  He nodded and stepped back. “Maybe. I definitely shouldn’t have listened to his drunk ass when he claimed you were the devil. Come on in, Kirk. I brought along some Scotch. Let’s all sit down and have a drink and figure out what the hell we’re going to do. Oh, and you can meet Freddy.”

  Lara nodded. “Give me a minute. I need to make sure he’s not in firing position.” She jogged back into the cabin. “Freddy, it’s all right. They’re not feds. Or aliens. Just Dax and his one true love.” A low, masculine voice rumbled before Lara spoke again. “Okay, so she’s kind of a fed, but the good kind. Yes, there is a good kind, mister. There is good in everyone, damn it. Well, all right, you have a point. There’s no good in Reticulan Grays.”

  Connor sighed. “Sorry, we let Freddy watch a documentary on ancient aliens. He’s all about abductions now. You’ll have to forgive him. He’s actually quite brilliant.”

  “He’s a fucking maniac,” Dax said. “And I’m having a talk with him about his paranoia.”

  Holland lingered outside with Connor. “Will he really shoot at me? Because I’ve already had that happen once today.”

  “Freddy, no. I’m not going to, either. I’m sorry, Holland. I should have followed my instincts.”

  “Your instincts?”

  “When Dax told me what you had done, my first thought was fuck no. I should have followed that thought through, but I was scared to.”

  “Scared?” Was Connor afraid of anything?

  “Because Dax was already married.” He took a long breath and stared out over the water. The cabin was roughly twenty feet from the bayou. She could see what looked like a pier and a boat at the end of it. “I worried that if I discovered I was right, I would have to tell him he’d fucked up his whole life. And yours.”

  “I’m good, Sparks,” she lied. “I did what I had to do, and I’ve made my peace with it.”

  Connor scoffed. “You’re so full of shit. He won’t give up, you know. He’s missed you.”

  “He was married to Courtney for two years, so I question that assessment.”

  That truth was the hardest pill to swallow. Dax hadn’t woken up, realized he’d made a colossal mistake, and gotten a quickie divorce. He’d stayed married to Courtney until the woman had left him.

  “He was embarrassed. His decision to stay with her was more about you than anything else. He didn’t want to look foolish or like he couldn’t move on. Deep down I think he decided if he couldn’t have the woman he wanted, he might as well give it a try with someone else.”

  If Holland could have removed herself from the scenario, Dax’s actions made sense. But she couldn’t. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

  “It does. I would have agreed with you on this a few months ago. I would have told Dax to move on and find someone else if he absolutely had to get married and do the family thing. But I figured something out.”

  “What’s that?”

  “People aren’t interchangeable. There’s only one Lara in the entire world. She’s the only one who could . . . I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Complete me. Just saying that makes me feel as if I have a discernable estrogen level, but it’s true. Dax can’t move on because you’re the one woman in the world for him. You have been for a very long time. I remember the day he met you. He called me and told me he’d met the future Mrs. Spencer. I told him he was insane. But he was right.”

  “I seriously doubt I’m the one woman for him, Sparks. He’s just feeling guilty about not fighting harder three years ago. But I didn’t want him to fight. He did exactly what I intended him to and I don’t regret it.” Even as she said the words, Holland knew she was lying to herself, but she couldn’t lay her feelings bare to Connor or Dax or anyone. She couldn’t tell anyone how she’d mourned him. “We weren’t together very long. It was brief and intense, and at the end of the day, it was a good thing we broke up because it wouldn’t have worked.”

  Except he’d said he was going to leave the Navy for her. She would have happily moved to D.C. if he’d been there.

  But he wasn’t and the time had passed. Now she knew what it meant to be without him, and she couldn’t let herself fall in love with him again.

  “If you say so. But you should know that Dax is pretty good at getting what he wants, and there’s no doubt he wants you.”

  “And what if I told you I’m just going to use him? I’m going to sleep with him and get him out of my system. And at the end of all this, I’m going to walk away.” She’d thought about it the whole drive out here. She wasn’t sure she could stay away from Dax physically. The heat between them was far too strong. Maybe if she gave in, she would realize that her memory was faulty. They couldn’t be as good together as she remembered.

  It would help her if Connor told Dax to stay away from her. Dax might actually listen to his best friend.

  Connor grinned. “I’m going with my gut this time, Kirk. You can talk all the smack you want, but you loved him then. You can tell yourself that you’re getting him out of your system, but you love him now. That’s all that matters. You’re the type of woman who gives her heart away once. It won’t ever happen again. Oh, you might fool yourself into believing you could be content with someone else. You might be able to date another guy and sleep beside him, but when it comes down to reall
y committing, you won’t be able to. You’ll always say no because deep down, you will always be waiting for Dax. Like that cop found out. Bet he wants to strangle whoever uploaded that sucker to YouTube. Let’s get inside and see what fresh horror my wife has created with tofu.”

  Holland watched as Connor ducked inside, worried that his words would prove all too true.

  FIFTEEN