“Done. Just so happens that’s already in the works. Got a gig on a cable show. Quiet town, good money, hot chicks. I’m one lucky son of a bitch,” Rogan replies.
“You’ll be the primary contact. I think I can use your influence as an in. I know you’ve got some government contacts of your own.”
“Yes, sir, I do,” he confirms, nodding. “I’ll use ’em however you need me to.”
“Good. Tag,” my father says, turning to the third man. “You’re already pretty damn well hidden, geographically. Watch that mountain road that leads up to the vineyard. If I need a ghost to go in somewhere, you’re it. You can blend in and slip through the cracks unnoticed among these high-society types.”
Tag’s laugh is mirthless and velvety. “Thanks. Just the talent I always wanted.”
“You know to play to your strengths. Nothing wrong with that. Also, I got us all new burner phones. Keep them with you. Expect a call. Jasper, you’ll be the triggerman, but I’ll use every damn one of you to get this done if I have to. We’re going to finish this, one way or the other.”
Both other men are nodding their heads, probably already making plans, but when my moving gaze settles on Jasper, his eyes are trained on me.
—
Nearly an hour later, after all sorts of unintelligible plans and decisions and codes have been established (at least they’re unintelligible for someone not in their little group), the party breaks up.
Rogan stops at Jasper on his way through the kitchen to the front door. “Good seeing ya, man. I’ll be in Georgia for a few weeks. Up in Enchantment. Doing that bit for cable. You should come up if you get a chance. It’s been a long time.”
“I’ll try. I’ll be in touch either way.”
Rogan nods and they do that manly hug that men do, replete with hard slaps on the back that would probably break the bones of a less solid person. And then he turns to me, offering a hand, which I take.
He smiles and, despite my frustrating captivation with Jasper, my belly flutters a little. “Nice to meet you, Muse. You made this trip very worthwhile.”
I can’t help returning his smile. He’s devilishly charming, that’s for sure. “Is that right?”
“Gospel truth,” he declares with a wink.
“I bet you’re the most dangerous one of all, aren’t you?”
“To you? Never,” he replies, still slowly shaking my hand up and down. I think the most thrilling part is that I can feel Jasper’s cold-as-ice gaze on us. It gives me a touch of satisfaction to know that he does feel, that he does react to me, and to others who might find me attractive. Under different circumstances, I might be tempted to flirt with Rogan and rub it in a little. But now’s not the time for that.
“Better get on the road, Ro,” Jasper says sharply, interrupting. Rogan raises his eyebrows and looks from me to Jasper and back again. He grins bigger and then walks away without another word.
Tag follows behind him, reminding me even more of Jasper when I see him walk. He’s got a fluid way of moving that reminds me of a dancer. A dangerous, sure-footed dancer.
“Don’t be a stranger,” he says to Jasper, repeating Rogan’s manly hug. “You’re always welcome at the vineyard.”
“Appreciate it. I’ll be in touch.”
Tag nods to him and then turns to me. His eyes are unnervingly direct and . . . admiring. They’re like puffs of sultry smoke bottled in the orbs of his eyes, and they hold an intensity that might well rival Jasper’s.
He leans in to brush his lips ever so slightly over my cheek. “It was a pleasure, Muse,” he says in his gruff voice. And then he, too, is gone.
“I’ll be back,” Jasper tells me before he turns to follow them out.
When I hear the front door close, I relax onto a stool at the island, all the emotion, all the uncertainty, all the worry of the last few days coming together to just about put me on my ass.
“God, I’m tired,” I breathe, my father approaching me cautiously.
“Muse, you have to know that I would never do anything to hurt you. I would never knowingly put you in danger.”
I raise my prickling eyes to my father’s and my stomach sinks. This isn’t over yet. Nowhere close.
“Dad, can I ask you a question?”
“Of course you can.”
I hold his gaze for several long seconds, taking in his casual expression, his attractively creased face. He controls himself almost as well as Jasper does, but I’ve known him my whole life. I think I’d be able to tell if he was lying to me. As far as I know he never has, so I have nothing to compare it to, but still, I think I would know. I think I’d feel it somehow.