Much like the man himself.
She shivered again, both in anticipation of where this thing between them was headed…and where it could end.
“You joked about your parents writing a book,” Dylan said into the quiet rush of air. “Maybe you should think about writing a book. I bet you could tell some tales. About the insights you gleaned from your former business,” he added quickly. “Not about your parents.”
She smiled, honestly surprised by the suggestion. “When I first decided to leave my business, I thought about writing a screenplay, figuring maybe I could do for myself what I had done for others. Bask in my own spotlight.” She gave a dry laugh. “I discovered I didn’t have the main ingredient.”
“A good imagination? I find that hard to—”
“No, talent.”
“Oh. Well.”
“Yeah, that’s what I said. And I also realized that basking in the spotlight wasn’t what I needed, anyway.”
Dylan grinned. “Still, book writing is different.”
“If it’s so easy, maybe you should write one then, about the things you’ve had to deal with.” She grinned. “Vegas Vice: The Inside Story. Has ‘blockbuster’ written all over it. I could get you some meetings, do a pitch for you. Just imagine it—”
“Okay, okay, point made,” he said, chuckling. “So tell me, what made Pearl decide to turn on Dugan? She carried a torch for him even after he married another woman.”
“Well, she thought she had his love, and more importantly, his respect.” Liza snorted. “Though I’d have had a tough time with that one. But in her mind, she was paying him back for being kind enough to take care of her and love her enough to walk away. She didn’t think she was marriage material, anyway.”
“And?”
“And then his new wife got a bun in the oven and turned Dugan out of the marriage bed.”
Dylan groaned. “Oh no. He didn’t.”
“Oh yeah, he did. Jerkface,” she muttered. “He was fine as long as Elaine was providing for his manly needs. But when that supply was shut off temporarily, he came knocking on Pearl’s door again.”
“Dumb-ass. Why didn’t he just find a call girl or…”
“Or anyone else. I know. I guess he thought she’d welcome him back with open arms. For old time’s sake.” Liza made a disgusted noise. “What is with men, anyway?”
“Hey,” Dylan said. “I take offense at that. Most of us only think with that part of our anatomy—”
Liza folded her arms and gave him a look.
“Most of the time, okay. But not when it’s important.”
She merely lifted an eyebrow.
Dylan shook his head, laughing as they pulled into the dusty gravel parking lot.
“Where are we?” She looked around. They were at the edge of what looked like a very small, very old town. Only a few buildings lined the main street, and what was there looked mostly deserted.
“Old mining town. Not much left of it these days, but they have the best Mexican food north of the border.” He got out and came around to open her door.
“Such a gentlemen,” she murmured as he helped her out.
He leaned close. “An excuse to touch you,” he said next to her ear. “I want my hands on you, Liza.”
There was that pleasurable tingling rush, she thought, then looked up at him and told him exactly what she was thinking. “Then we both want the same thing. Imagine that!”
“I have a really good imagination.”
“I imagine you do.” She smiled and brushed against him as she moved past him toward the sedan, which had pulled into the lot.
Dylan took her arm and tugged her gently back against him. “In fact, I’m imagining ways to keep you around.”
Her heart gave a double thud.
“Well, here’s hoping your imagination is as good as you think it is, hotshot,” she teased. But as she crossed the lot toward Pearl and Quin, her heart tacked on, Because maybe if you keep me here long enough, I’ll come up with a good reason to stay forever.
15
“NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT.” Dylan threw his napkin on the table and pushed his chair back. “I don’t have anything set up for that, Quin, and you know it.”
The interview was done and Quin had all he needed. In fact, he’d already called in, and a warrant for Dugan’s arrest was being processed even as they finished their meal. Dylan supposed he should have seen this little complication coming, but his mind had been too full of getting Liza alone and, frankly, getting some sleep. He’d hoped to combine the two, and forget about Pearl and Quin completely.
Pearl’s lip quivered and Liza folded her arms and glared at him. “She can stay with me.”
Dylan simply looked at her. “No.” He could be stubborn, too.
Liza turned to Quin. “She’s a free citizen, right? She can stay wherever, with whomever, she wants, correct?”
“She can, but given the strength of her statement and who she’s making it against, it’s in her best interest to take the protection we can provide. At least until the trial is over.”
“I’m not going back to that town until I have to testify,” Pearl stated. “And then I’m heading right back out again. I’m done there.” Her eyes started to fill. “It has only bad memories for me. I’m going to relocate. Somewhere quiet, start over. Florida, maybe. Walk the shore, watch the birds.”
Liza swung her gaze back to Dylan, who was already holding up his hand to stem the tirade that was going to come his way.
“Liza, just because Dugan will get picked up, along with several of his associates, does not mean he can’t arrange to send some other little cockroach of his down here.” He shifted his gaze to Quin. “I don’t want that coming to my town again.” He reached out for Pearl’s hand, and she grudgingly allowed him to take hold of it. He looked only at her. “This isn’t personal. Once the trial’s over, you can retire wherever you want. But in the meantime, they have safe places for you there and are much better prepared for this sort of thing than I am.”
Liza snorted.
Dylan glared at her. “What? What makes you think you can handle something like this?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve managed to keep a seventeen-year-old heartthrob safe from ten thousand—yes, I said thousand—screaming, conniving, desperate, lovesick young girls. And that was in a town that didn’t even have a traffic light.”
Dylan didn’t blink. “Yes, but that was for what? A weekend? And those girls weren’t killers.”
Liza smiled. “Oh, you’d be surprised. Some of them were amazingly cold-blooded and calculating. Capable of things that would curl your hair and make you cry for Mama. And it wasn’t for a weekend, it was for three months while he was filming a movie.” She turned to Pearl. “I’m not the police, and I’m certainly not saying I can do a better job of keeping you safe. But if you really don’t want to go back to Vegas until the trial, I’ll certainly be glad to do whatever I can to help. Finances aren’t a problem for me. We can look into renting a place that’s easy to watch, within close distance of the sheriff’s department. I’ve found that sometimes the best place to hide is in plain view. Hard to get you where everyone can always see you.”
Pearl sniffed into a crumpled napkin and nodded. “That’s very kind of you.”
Dylan swore under his breath. “With Dugan’s boatload of lawyers, we might be talking four months until trial.”
Liza sent him a sly smile. “What, Sheriff, you have a problem with me staying in your town for that long?”
“I—no.” He was angry; he hated being manipulated. But there was no way he could look at her and honestly tell her he didn’t like the idea of having her around. Hell, he’d all but begged her to do just that. He’d just like it better if she wasn’t harboring a major mob witness while she did it. “What about the rest of your sabbatical?”
She propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands. “That’s the great thing about sabbaticals. No set itinerary. No one to check with if I want to make a last minute change.”
“I didn’t think you were planning to be away so long.”
“I believe I mentioned earlier that I like to stay until things are finished.” She looked at him as if they were the only two people at the table. Hell, in the universe. “I think we both agreed things aren’t finished.”
Dylan was very aware that they weren’t the only two people at the table, and that both Quin and Pearl were watching them with open interest. But four or more months…with Liza right within his reach. Dear Lord, the possibilities were staggering. Of course, the town might never recover. Maybe neither would he. But this wasn’t about what he wanted. It had to be about the safety of his people, of Pearl, even Liza herself.
Quin finally piped in before Dylan could say anything more. “Maybe we can work something with the feds. Get her some protection down here. They’re going to want in on this now, anyway. Might as well make them earn their way in.”
Dylan stared at three hopeful faces and sighed, knowing he was outnumbered. “All right.”