A Perfect Storm(59)

He loved her, damn it.

Hopefully his gift would help to convince her.

She stalled when she saw them all still lounging around the patio. "I figured you guys would go swimming or something."

"That's next," Chris told her. "But Jackson has one more surprise for you."

Jackson saw her bite off a groan, and it amused him. "None of that,  now." Throwing an arm around her shoulders, he brought her into the  group. "Indulge me a little, will you?"

"Well, sure, but … " She let out a long breath. "Seriously, Jackson, it's already so much. My trunk will be full!"

Alani, bless her beautiful heart, grinned hugely. "That's the best part, Arizona."

"The best part of what?"

"You'll have more room. All the room you need."

Seeing that she didn't understand, Jackson added, "I don't want you to live out of your trunk. Not anymore."

Her gaze sought Spencer's-why, Jackson didn't know. Was she seeking  additional support? Or was that look more about what she kept in her  trunk?

He glanced at Spencer, but that sly dog kept all expression hidden.

Deciding that he'd check out her trunk at the first opportunity, Jackson  withdrew the keys. "You know how Chris has a house here with Dare?"

Shock filled her features as Arizona took a step back. "No."

It was an act of denial. She knew all about Chris's house; in some ways,  she was no different from him. Within minutes of her first trip to  Dare's, she'd taken in everything, including the property. She'd  explored the boathouse, the dock, the shed, the garage … and Chris's  place.

Eyeing the keys in his hand, she shook her head. "No, you didn't …  You wouldn't … "

Disbelief had her stammering.

Too bad. Eventually she'd get used to being loved.

At least, Jackson hoped that was true.

He pulled Alani into his side. "We did."

Chris shrugged as if it were no big deal. "I have my own place for  privacy, but I'm here, nearby, so I can keep up with everything Dare  needs done."

"He's only a shout away," Molly said. "It works out great."

Arizona shook her head again, harder this time.

"I want you to continue working for me." Ignoring her disbelief, her  stricken expression, Jackson forged on. "You're thorough. You catch on  quick to the computer programs we use. And you get it."

"It?" she asked.

"The whole biz. What to look for, what to consider. You put the pieces together."

"You know what trafficking looks like," Trace pointed out. "You recognize the signs."

"Right." Jackson jumped on that as a way to convince her. "I need you working with me."

"You mean for you." She couldn't hide her sneer. "Like a secretary."

Yeah … regardless of what Chris said, he wasn't ready to toss her into the  middle of it all; she'd spent too much time there already.

He looked to Spencer for help but got none. In fact, the poor dude  looked pained. Jackson got it; Spencer might not want to admit it, but  he'd been caught in Arizona's web. Her special brand of vulnerability  and bravado, the way she fought the world, just reeled a guy in.

Of course, Spencer looked at her in a way Jackson never had. At times,  it made him uncomfortable and gave him just a hint of what Trace must've  felt when he was hot and heavy on Alani's tail.

Spencer wanted to do what was best for Arizona, which meant he had to  fight his instincts-the gut-driven urge to protect her, even from  herself.

Jackson could tell him that it'd be easier to give in, to redirect all  that energy into loving Arizona instead. But he had a feeling Spencer  needed to figure that one out on his own.

And if he didn't … well, then, he didn't deserve Arizona.

"I'd say as an assistant, actually, not a secretary-which you make sound like a dirty word."

"I do assist," Arizona said warily. "I'm not behind on anything, right? I went through all the files you sent my way."

Alani hugged up to his arm. "You've been wonderful. Jackson told me so."

Jackson nodded.

"But we'd also love to have you close."                       
       
           



       

Arizona shifted her feet, took one stance, then another. "Yeah, well … "  Again she glanced at Spencer. "I appreciate that. The thing is-"

Unable to take all her waffling, Jackson dropped the keys onto the  table. "Those go to a lock. For a front door. That'll go into the house  we're having built for you on our property-and don't you give me that  look." He pointed at her. "You can't keep running around the streets."

Arizona's eyes narrowed. "No." She looked from him to Alani. "But thank you."

Jackson ignored that. "I have more than enough land, damn it. Like Chris said, you'd have your own privacy-"

"No." She swallowed hard, breathed fast. "You're too generous and too … "  At a loss, she shook her head. "Appreciate the gesture. Really. But I  can't. Thanks anyway."

It wasn't a damn gesture, but when he started to speak, Alani squeezed  his arm. "Please think about it, Arizona, okay? The keys are symbolic.  We haven't broken ground yet on the new structure."

"We wanted you in on that," Jackson explained. "Alani wanted you to help design the house."

"Oh, God." She rubbed her forehead.

Alani left him to approach her. "Don't make a decision right now. Take a  little time to think about it, that's all I'm asking. Could you do  that, please?"

Jackson knew Arizona wanted to refuse, but Alani had a hand on her  shoulder, her tone was soft and sincere, and Arizona wasn't immune to  her.

Who could be? His fiancée was one special lady.

Damn, he was lucky.

Smiling, he came up to put an arm around each of them. "Great idea. Take  a little time to get used to the idea before you decide."

"And until then," Chris said, "let's eat some cake!"





CHAPTER TWENTY


THANK GOD THEY DIDN'T make her suffer through any singing, or blowing  out of candles. After helping to clear away the last of the birthday  mess, Arizona finally started to relax.

At least, on that score. She still had to find out what she could about  Quin and the sting and that suspicious phone call she'd received.

"So, Dare." With all birthday celebrating now out of the way, Arizona  sought a way to ask the necessary questions. She moved her glass of  lemonade a little, seeing the ring of condensation left behind on the  patio table. "Did you wrap up everything at the bar?"

"The Green Goose?"

How many trafficking rings was he currently busting up at bars? Dryly, she said, "Yeah, that one."

"Not completely." Dare shrugged. "But everyone is safe, and there are good people working on the details."

Everyone wasn't safe, or Quin would've had no need to call her.

"We're staying in contact with the head of the new task force," Trace  told her. "He's still interrogating Terry Janes, but I doubt they'll  find out anything else."

Huh. Trace had probably already questioned the guy, and he wasn't held  back by legal restrictions. "You figure if you couldn't make him talk,  no one can, right?"

Scowling a little, Trace avoided the question. "It's being handled."

"Right. I'm sure it is. But if there's nothing else to find out, why interrogate him?"

Jackson frowned at her. "There's always more to find out. Like who owns the place."

"Janes doesn't?"

"Nope."

She ran her finger through the condensation on the table. "So … who does?"

"We're still working on it," Dare told her. "So far, no one we nabbed seems to know, so we'll have to search the records."

Arizona considered that. "You got Janes and his henchman, Carl, and the bartender … "

"And a couple of other thugs who drove a white van. Dare grabbed them out of the back alley."

Arizona looked up. That was the first she'd heard about a white van.

"But," Jackson said before she could start asking questions, "you don't  need to worry about any of that. Those bozos are shut down for good."

Unfortunately, she had reason for doubt. She turned to Dare again.  "Okay, so you got the creeps. But do you remember the workers you  rounded up?"

"There were over a dozen people, hon."

She deflated. "So you can't account for them all?"

Intuition sharpened his gaze. "I can place most of them. Why?"

Oops, time to retrench. "I was just wondering." She brushed away a  bumblebee that tried to land on her arm and summoned her most casual  expression. "Was Quin in there?"