Nicole figured this wasn’t the time to make some smart-ass remark, but she was tempted. That was authority in action, no question. And for the first time since she’d stumbled into Rafe’s stateroom, she made the connection between two of her favorite people. She was watching a younger Dominic in action; a don’t-fuck-with-me attitude was a common trait.
“Sit here,” Rafe said, in an altogether different tone of voice—gentle, affectionate—and, pulling over a chair from a nearby table, he seated Nicole in front of the banquette. He slid in beside Ganz, and Tomi did the same from the opposite side, effectively blocking in their friend.
The large Asian man stared at Nicole for a moment, then turned to Rafe. “Introduce me to your”—he started to say something and changed it to—“lady.”
Rafe gave a him a hard look. “Good choice. Your fucking brain’s still working.”
Ganz dipped his head and smiled. “Lucky for you it is.”
Rafe took a breath and nodded. “Point taken. Nicole, Ganz, entire name, Ganzorig, one name, he’s Mongolian. Ganz, Nicole Parrish, and make sure you treat her with respect.”
“Absolutely. Excuse my disarray, Miss Parrish,” he said, polished and urbane, his English colored with a faint French accent.
Nicole smiled at his good manners. “No problem. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Known Rafe long? I haven’t seen you before.”
“Not long, no. I’m here on vacation.”
“From?”
“San Francisco.”
“Could we exchange pleasantries later?” Rafe muttered, feeling strangely possessive when he never was, when Ganz knew better than to poach anyway. “I have better things to do. Come up to my place and we’ll talk in the morning when your head is clear.”
Ganz’s gaze swung lazily to Rafe. “You do have a sense of humor.”
“Well, let’s say clearer. You can party with Henny and Basil. They have roxy to let you down easy when you’re ready.”
“Why didn’t you say so before?” He started to rise, wobbled a little, brushed Rafe’s helping hand aside, placed his palms on the table, and pushed himself upright.
“Just a minute,” Rafe said. “We’ll move the table out of your way.”
The man who looked even larger standing smiled at Rafe. “You do love me.”
“Damn right. You’re my fucking savior.”
“This time for sure,” he said, swaying on his feet. “You have major problems. Government espionage, mon ami, from my special friends.”
“Oh, fuck,” Rafe muttered, lifting one end of the table while Tomi grabbed the other side and Nicole pulled her chair out of the way.
“Exactly. An epic fuck of epic proportions.” He chuckled. “Lucky I’m an overachiever.”
“Can it wait till morning?” Ganz had come in so early, Rafe wasn’t sure.
Ganz nodded. “I slowed them down—balled up their systems so they’ve all been sacrificing their sleep to try to get back online. I’ll save your ass in the morning.”
“I’ll have everything set up for you. Geneva is waiting too, I’m assuming. Hey.” Rafe took Ganz by the upper arm and gave him a shake. “Pay attention, eyes open. Tomi and I are going to walk you out of here and into a car.” Rafe turned to Nicole. “Give me a minute. I’ll be right back.”
By the time the trio had moved a dozen feet, four men had come up to help take Ganz off their hands. Nicole watched as Rafe gave instructions, the security team nodding, one asking a question, Rafe answering briefly. Most of the occupants of the room were indifferent to the transaction. But then security was a way of life for the haut monde and glitterati. As for drugs, they viewed that as a personal issue.
“Normally, Ganz controls his intake better,” Rafe explained when he came back to Nicole, giving her an edited version of Ganz’s drug habit. “But occasionally when the stakes are high or he’s working nonstop, things get out of hand. Tomi’ll see that he gets in a car. You okay? Not freaked out?”
She smiled. “Everything’s good.”
“I figured. Just checking. Let’s get out of here.”
The crisis contained, Rafe was more relaxed and on their way out, he stopped once or twice when friends came up. He offered a few, mostly yes or no, answers and fended off several invitations with a smile and a shake of his head before moving on, shielding Nicole with an arm around her shoulder as he wended their way through the crowd.
They exited the noisy bar, the doors shutting behind them, sealing off the pounding music and roar.