Hollyanne didn’t do romance books. Or that one cable channel that started showing Christmas romance movies in August. Nevertheless, she knew the genre.
And would have lost any bet ever about seeing Nathaniel Hoestler walk himself into that sort of scene.
At least he’d picked a deadly woman to seduce.
Hollyanne had watched this Amanda chick move and knew that she was trouble. Not a lot of martial arts training, but deadly nonetheless.
Looked like she was Nathaniel’s minder after all. Hollyanne hoped that the microphone might be strong enough to pick up the conversation, but she doubted it. And couldn’t really say anything right now without tipping Amanda over into a bad place.
Hollyanne assumed a weapon in the oversized purse. It hung heavy. Several pounds of gun heavy. And Nathaniel had told Amanda she could stop him if she wanted.
Hollyanne had seen Nathaniel and Jake go toe-to-toe in close combat not that long ago, and Jake was better than just about anybody she knew.
Just about.
So gun. In expert hands, Hollyanne had to presume.
Jake and the others were outside the shop, watching and waiting, but wouldn’t make entry until they had a positive signal from her. A Niqab had been the only way to make sure she wasn’t immediately recognized in here.
Nathaniel talked. Hollyanne and Amanda both listened, but for different reasons. Hollyanne wanted to know if the woman would take Nathaniel up on his offer. There was a lot of subtext floating around, but something bad was in the offing and Nathaniel wanted out beforehand.
Amanda wasn’t so sure.
Hollyanne sat perfectly still as Nathaniel concentrated on Amanda.
Finally, he reached that emotional peak. The point in the conversation where the cowboy has to ride off into the sunset.
Amanda seemed frozen in indecision.
Nathaniel waited a five-count, then slid his chair back noisily with a nod. Forcing the issue. Hollyanne’s chair was already back enough to stand because she’d lucked into the last one of the four.
She rose like a blue ghost exiting an icy corpse. Nathaniel never once looked at her, instead having eyes only for Amanda.
“What will it be?” he asked Amanda quietly.
As far as breakups went, this one had to be in the top five she’d ever witnessed. Usually, her own relationships kind of faded out, mostly because she never stayed in one place for too long and most men couldn’t really handle an independently wealthy woman who didn’t give a shit what they thought.
Hollyanne watched the woman’s head. Long hair down past her shoulders in a dark chocolate, almost black. It would rotate up and to her left to get to her purse and her gun. That would be when Hollyanne struck.
Blindside.
“He’ll kill you,” Amanda whispered up to Nathaniel.
“He’s welcome to try,” Nathaniel answered. “Better men have failed.”
“Just like that?” she asked.
“For you,” he nodded, still ignoring Hollyanne’s ghost to focus on Amanda. “For me, it started a while ago when I asked what kind of world we’d live in if men like him were successful. I don’t want that. Most people don’t, which is why they are doing this the way they are. Going to burn the world down before anybody can stop them.”
“And you intend to stop him?” Amanda demanded in a hard, quiet voice. “You really think you can?”
“I do,” Nathaniel said quietly, nodding to her. “And I have friends who will help me. I’d like you to be one of them.”
Okay, that was a low blow. Nathaniel must really have feelings for this woman. Hollyanne had never even heard of him being like this, and they’d captured almost all of his peons at one time or another. But then, all of his previous gang had been male, too.
Worse, Nathaniel was apparently counting on her and Jake helping him take down whoever Amanda’s boss was, in whatever nefarious scheme that man had cooked up.
Assuming Hollyanne didn’t have to take down Amanda right now.
Must be pretty damned bad.
Amanda hung in frozen indecision.
“Please?” Nathaniel asked the woman.
It was a good thing Hollyanne’s Niqab was back up covering her mouth, because it fell open as he said that, extending a hand to the woman.
Amanda just sat there, then something broke in her. Hollyanne wasn’t sure what, but the woman didn’t immediately dive for the expected gun in the purse. Instead, she reached out a hand and took Nathaniel’s, like two strangers meeting in an ice cream shop and shaking.
“Okay,” Amanda whispered so quietly that Hollyanne barely heard it.
Still, it was enough.
Nathaniel tugged the woman to her feet, at which point Amanda turned enough to realize that she was boxed entirely in by a pair of close-combat experts that could have neutralized her gun.
Hollyanne watched Amanda’s eyes get big.
“You,” she whispered.
Smart woman, she didn’t make any sudden moves that got her punched in the face or stomach. Helped that Nathaniel was holding her hand, anchoring the woman somewhat in place where she couldn’t lunge for the gun in the purse.
Amanda got control of herself in a single heartbeat, then grinned.
“Wow,” she muttered. Then turned back to Nathaniel. “How did you do that?”
One thumb did come up to indicate Hollyanne, but nothing else.
“I will tell you later,” Nathaniel said. “For now, we need to go. Hollyanne, could you grab her purse?”
Amanda flinched, but thought better of it, realizing that all of Pacific Force was here, plus Nathaniel. And she had chosen Nathaniel’s side, apparently.
Not hers and Jake’s, but not whoever it was who had scared Nathaniel into calling his worst enemies in the world for help.
Nathaniel turned and pulled Amanda’s hand into the crook of his elbow, like two lovers on a date. The woman resisted for a moment, then shifted her entire body language with a nod and fell in with him.
Hollyanne squatted to grab the heavy bag without taking her eyes off the lovebirds, confirming the weight of a pistol in it as she did. Nathaniel led them towards the door. Hollyanne stood and slung the purse over her shoulder.
“Rik, we’re exiting,” Hollyanne said in a conversational voice. “Three of us.”
“Three?” Rik asked, the sound of the engine gunning in the background.
“That’s right.”