A Perfect Storm(31)

Everything male within him froze before going red-hot. Not grabbing her  close was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. He settled his hands  on her narrow waist and relished her freely given affection. "It's not  too late-"

"Shh." Against his lips, she whispered, "Keep your powder dry, Spence.  It's going to be fine." She kissed him again, a light butterfly kiss,  and then she pulled away. "You have my word."

* * *

SITTING IN HIS TRUCK stewing, Spencer watched the entrance to the bar. Arizona should be showing up shortly.

He hated this.

Not once had he seen Dare, so he put in a quick call to the number given him.

Dare Macintosh answered on the first ring. "Problem?"

Spencer stared down the street, but the bus didn't show. "Do you see her?"

"Of course." There was a moment of silence, and then, half under his breath, Dare said, "She'd be hard to miss."

"I know." Spencer rubbed his forehead. "The outfit wasn't my idea, believe me."

"Not sure we can blame the clothes. On another woman, that skirt and top  would be no big deal. On Arizona, it spells a lot of trouble."                       
       
           



       

Suffering his own twinge of jealousy, Spencer growled, "I know."

"Do you?" Dare went right to the point. "You're going to have your hands full tonight. I suggest you get yourself together."

What the hell did that mean? "You have something to say to me?"

Lacking any real inflection, almost as if he was sharing the weather  report, Dare said, "You're personally invested and that's not a good  thing."

The censure cut. "I know what I'm doing."

"When it comes to Arizona? I doubt it. You're letting her screw with your head."

Instead of trying to deny that, he pointed out the obvious. "You were  personally invested when you went after Alani, and when you rescued your  wife, Molly."

"I'm not you."

Hell, no denying that. Spencer knew he could hold his own, but Dare was in a special league, shared only by Trace and Jackson.

"Right." It occurred to Spencer that he sounded bitchy. He drew a deep  breath, then another. It didn't help. "If it was any woman other than  Arizona-"

"You could be detached and calculating. I know. Arizona doesn't exactly make it easy to stay uninvolved."

Finally seeing the bus, Spencer wrapped it up. "She's here."

"I know."

Of course he did. Cutting back a growl of frustration, Spencer said, "If  you see anything, if you even suspect something might be going down-"

"I'll send you one of the codes we went over. Don't mix them up."

Spencer ground his molars together. He looked around again and still saw  no sight of Dare anywhere. Stealthy bastard. "I've got them memorized.  Later."

The second he disconnected the phone, he saw Arizona step off the bus  and look around as if she'd never seen a lighted, flashy, busy bar  before. Already two guys were hitting on her, one who looked around  forty, one probably closer to her own age.

They both appeared charmed by her shy smiles and reserved manner.

Flexing his hands on the steering wheel, Spencer forced himself to sit  still in the truck cab and observe without seeming to stare. That he'd  pulled up across the street, in the shadows, helped him to go unnoticed.

Watching Arizona with the men, he had to admit that she just might be  able to pull this off. He saw her as others would; her air of confidence  gone, a show of vulnerability masking her bravado. A deliberate ruse,  but still, he couldn't stop staring. His chest hurt, his nostrils  flared.

Despite her lack of invitation, the older man kept trying to look down  her top, and the younger guy leaned back to check out her ass. Bastards.

But he'd expected no less. She looked amazingly hot while playing the innocent.

Not good.

Not good at all.

Damn, maybe he liked the helpless female act more than he'd ever realized.

For sure, he liked it on Arizona.

After giving her a minute to sidle away from the men and enter the bar,  he drove up the block and around the corner to park. Later, when she  called it quits for the night, they'd be able to leave together in his  truck with no one the wiser.

Even knowing Dare watched over her, Spencer found it difficult to hold  back, to give her time to get settled in the bar. With awful scenarios  prominent in his mind, he locked up and strode along the sidewalk  quietly, constantly scanning the area for any nosy onlookers.

He saw none.

Flickering white neon lights, shaped like a goose, wrapped around the  words GREEN GOOSE. Beneath that, red neon spelled BAR AND GRILL, though  no one would mistake the priorities of the establishment. Thick bars  secured the windows, but given the area, it looked like the norm.

Above the door, a lighted banner said, EAT, DRINK, RELAX, and another  sign advertised, WOMEN, WOMEN, WOMEN! with the shapely silhouette of a  busty figure beside it. Combined, the lights sent a fuzzy glow into the  dark night, barely illuminating the hulking shape of an empty building  on the opposite side of an alley. Beside that was a gas station. To the  other side of the bar was a mom-and-pop convenience store, now closed,  and beyond that, a tattoo parlor, also closed for the night.

All in all, it was an ominous, dreary, run-down area.

As Spencer approached the entrance, several women eyed him, smiling with invitation while advertising their wares.

Hookers, he decided.

Working for the bar owner? Probably. He smiled back-and walked past them  into loud music and disorienting strobe lights. It took his eyes a  moment to adjust.

Dim, mellow lights hung over booths in the sitting and eating area. A  brighter light shone over the bar and bar stools but didn't quite reach  to the seating area, leaving plenty of shadows to swallow up shady deals  and lustful assignations-and with every flashing illumination, he saw a  few of each.                       
       
           



       

Discreetly, he scanned the interior until he spotted Arizona at the bar.  As he watched, she knocked back a shot of whiskey. Judging by the shot  glasses in front of her, it wasn't her first.

Damn.

What the hell was she thinking? But when he saw the smiling bartender  hand her another, he knew. Someone had already sent her the drinks.  Things were moving fast. Too fast.

* * *

SO SHE HAD RETURNED.

He'd hoped she would, but she was so hot, so cocky, and so different  from the others, that seeing her here now, within reach, almost  surprised him.

It definitely pleased him.

Rubbing his mouth, he scrutinized her face, her body.

She'd be perfect, the best yet, the most valuable. And he would have her.

The power of it surged through his veins.

Oh, she thought herself protected. She thought herself immune.

But now that he'd set his sights on her, now that she'd come back, she would be his.

Nothing and no one would change that outcome.

* * *

SPENCER SEATED HIMSELF at a booth as far from Arizona as he dared to be while still being able to see her.

Laughingly rejecting the proffered drink, she spoke to a waiter. Spencer  couldn't hear what was said, but when the waiter called over a boy with  a menu, he assumed she planned to order food.

That would buy her some time-as long as she didn't actually eat much.

The shot remained on the bar in front of her.

How much whiskey would it take to get her drunk? Probably not much. The  way she giggled, she was already buzzed … or pretending to be.

With Arizona, he couldn't tell.

But he could easily guess how unmanageable she'd be with liquid courage  burning through her bloodstream. God help them all, she just might kill  someone.

* * *

THE SECOND SPENCER WALKED IN, Arizona knew it. She didn't need to see  him or hear him. He had that kind of appeal, that much presence. With  him inside the spacious establishment, the stagnant air seemed to swell  and churn.

Every other woman in the joint noticed him, too. Women who danced  beneath lights. Women who served drinks and sandwiches. Women with other  men.

Yeah, she got that. With his incredible height and those broad shoulders  and that unwavering air of control, Spencer was the type of man no  woman would ever ignore.

But the men became aware of him, too. Likely they saw him as a possible  threat; physically he'd annihilate them, and romantically, well, he  hogged the attention of all the ladies.

With just a glance, Arizona saw the big bartender zero in on Spencer  with nasty intent. While polishing a glass, he spoke to the dude who'd  sent her the drinks, and that idiot nodded. Then the skinny man she now  guessed to be her target, Terry Janes, eyed Spencer, as well. When Janes  turned to say something to the bartender, he caught Arizona watching  him.

She ducked her face but smiled-and peeked at him again.

Of course the knucklehead bought it, hook, line and sinker. Men were soooo damn easy.