Destiny couldn’t stop fiddling with the zipper on her backpack. Sliding it open, she checked for the hundredth time to make sure her computer, power cord, and the handwritten files were inside. She glanced at the other bag sitting by the front door, the one containing her clothing and other stuff.
For my wedding day.
“I’ve lost my ever-loving mind. How did I let Dane talk me into this insanity?”
She knew why. Because it was nearly impossible to say no to the man. Helping him dig up information on his family? No problem. Working with him to take down a multibillion-dollar corporation? Piece of cake. Saying no to his marriage proposal?
Impossible.
She jumped at the brief rap on her front door, and her heartbeat revved like the motor on an Indy car. On the other side of that door stood her future husband. The man who in a few short hours would be hers—for better or worse.
Looping the backpack’s strap over her shoulder, she reached for the doorknob and twisted it, pulling the door inward. Dane stood in the apartment building’s hall, dressed in dark wash jeans and a black T-shirt, holding a dark-colored Stetson in his right hand. His hair was disheveled, like he’d been running his fingers through it, and she barely resisted the urge to reach up and brush the strands off his forehead.
“Good morning.” It felt like her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth, and the words came out muffled, and she wanted to slink through the floorboards. Perfect way to start her wedding day.
Ugh, I’ve got to stop thinking about today as my wedding day. It’s a business transaction, plain and simple. It doesn’t mean anything. A means to an end, to keep bad people from hurting the Boudreaus.
“Hi. You ready? We’ve got a long drive to the airport.”
Dane spotted her bag sitting just inside the doorway, and leaned forward and grabbed it, lifting it like it weighed nothing.
“Airport? I thought we’d just drive over into Louisiana or Oklahoma and do the deed.”
Smooth, Destiny. Do the deed? Can I sound any more pathetic?
“I’ve booked us on a flight to Las Vegas.”
“Vegas? Seriously? Is Elvis performing our ceremony?” She couldn’t help smiling when she spotted his grin.
“I can make that happen if you want.”
“Nope. I think a simple justice of the peace will do.” Sliding past Dane into the hall, she pulled the door closed and locked it, shoving the keys into her pocket before turning to face him. “Can I ask, why Vegas?”
Dane started toward the stairs and Destiny sped up, trying to keep up with his long-legged gait. It didn’t help that the view of him walking in front of her was so tantalizing. Firm muscles in his shoulders moved with a sinewy grace, leading to a narrow waist and slim hips. Altogether, it was a delicious package, one she wanted to indulge in.
She gave herself a mental slap upside the head. Bad Destiny. Stop staring at the hot cowboy. This is business. All business. No pleasure. Keep your mind out of the gutter and—
“Oomph.” Destiny rocked back on her heels after slamming into Dane’s back. She hadn’t been paying attention, too busy watching her fantasy hunk of beefcake, and now paid the price. “Sorry.”
“No problem, princess. In answer to your question, we’re going to Vegas because that’s where Matthew MacKenna is going to be.”
Ah-ha, now she understood Dane’s rush to head west. “What’s he doing in Vegas? Last I checked, he was tied up with the takeover of Rice Industries. A not-so-happy acquisition from what I gleaned. Shouldn’t he be handholding the stockholders, spouting the everything’s going to stay the same spiel?”
“One of my informants told me MacKenna is meeting with Malcolm Winters. Closed-door, confidential meeting. I know where they are staying and thought we might be able to do some undercover work, fill in a few blanks while we’re there.”
She ran the name around in her head, knowing Malcolm Winters factored into the research she’d done after discovering the contract on Dane’s life. Winters might be well-respected in the business community, but his reputation beneath the surface wasn’t so squeaky clean. He’d been known to cut more than a few corners in building his construction empire. Shoddy workmanship, low-quality materials in place of high-end finishes, and failure to enforce contractual obligations were just a few of the accusations leveled at the man. There’d also been unsubstantiated whispers of mob connections. After looking at his pictures online, seeing the hardness in his eyes the camera didn’t disguise, that allegation seemed more fact than fiction.
The elevator doors opened to the lobby, and they stepped out. Destiny loved her complex’s front common area. Spacious and larger than you’d expect when viewing it from the outside, there was a bank of windows on either side of the entrance. Natural light spilled onto the patterned floor. When coming in, the elevator was across from the big double doors. To the right was a gym and weight room, one of the perks included in her rent. To the left was a long corridor with rentable office spaces and at the end of the hall was one of the best perks. A large outdoor pool had been added when the owner purchased a parcel of land that sat adjacent to the building.
Her apartment building was an old office space, three floors that had been converted into apartments, each one either two or three bedrooms. She’d lucked into one of the two-bedroom units, setting one up as her home office. She didn’t need to have a guest room. There wasn’t anybody coming to visit, and an office made more sense, given the odd hours she often worked for Shiloh.
“I remember my dad’s company working on this place. Turned out pretty good.”
“Your father did the construction work?”
Dane smiled. “You might say that. Did it as a favor to Momma. She owns the building.”
“What? Your mother is my landlord?” How had she not realized that when she moved in?
“In a roundabout way, I guess she is. Buying and selling real estate is her main focus, but she’s got a couple of income-producing properties she invested in. There’s a holding company that oversees and manages them. She’s not involved in the day-to-day running, if that’s what’s bothering you. Chances are she doesn’t even know you’re living in one of her buildings.”
Destiny shot him a side-eye glance. “We’re talking about Patti Boudreau, right? That woman knows everything that’s going on in Shiloh Springs and I wouldn’t be surprised if she doesn’t have her finger on the pulse of every town surrounding it. Nothing escapes her eagle eye.”
He shrugged and held open the front door. Destiny spotted his pickup truck parked at the curb, instead of in guest parking. Shaking her head, she reached for the door handle, but Dane’s reached it before she’d even touched the metal. Cowboy had good manners; she’d hand him that. Sliding onto the seat, she buckled in, stowing her backpack on the floor between her feet.
Dane walked around to the other side, after stowing her other bag in the truck bed. Within a minute they were off, effortlessly merging onto the highway not far from her place. They rode in companionable silence, and she watched the long stretches of land dotted with billboards advertising everything from restaurants and gas stations to small-town tourist activities. The soft hum of country music played in the truck’s cab, a soothing white noise in the background. She felt her eyelids start drifting closed.
The ringing of her phone startled her, and she winced when she saw her boss’ name on the screen.
“Hey, Shiloh.”
“What’s this about you taking time off? Is everything okay?” Concern laced his words, and guilt tightened her core. She hated lying to him. Shiloh’s twin brother, Ridge, took a chance on her when she’d been in a tight spot back in California, giving her not only a new job, but a chance at starting her life over. He hadn’t protested overly much when she’d decided to switch jobs and work for Shiloh after a few months, as long as she did the occasional contract job for him. Now, because of her helping Dane, she had to keep a secret from her friend.
“I’m good. Just had some unexpected personal stuff come up, something I have to handle in person. I’ll be gone for a few days. I gave all my info on the Stevens case to Jim. Shouldn’t take him any time to get up to speed.”
“You know if you need anything, all you’ve got to do is ask, right?”
She smiled. “I know. Have I mentioned what a great boss you are?”
“Not nearly often enough. Call me if I can help in any way.”
“I will. Thanks, Shiloh.”
Disconnecting the call, she shoved the phone in her pocket. “I hate lying to your brother.”
“You can always back out. As long as you don’t tell anybody what I’m up to, I’ll turn around and take you back home.” Dane glanced over at her, before turning his attention back to the road. He drove with a confidence Destiny envied. She disliked being stuck inside a car and took her motorcycle everywhere she could. If she had her way, she’d never drive a car again. It wasn’t that she was a bad driver; she wasn’t. She hated being confined inside the cramped space. Given her druthers, she’d much rather feel the wind in her face, the freedom of being on two wheels speeding along an open road.
“You’re not getting rid of me that easy, buster. We do this together. So get the thought of ditching me out of your head.”
Leaning back, she turned to stare out the window. A few minutes passed before Dane slowed, heading for an exit marked rest area. He pulled the pickup into a stop, parking far away from a couple of other cars, and people seated at the picnic tables.
“Before this goes any further, I have to tell you something.”
“Okay.”
He shifted in his seat until he was facing her. “A couple of weeks ago somebody took a shot at me.”
“Dane!”
“I know, I should have said something when you found out about the contract on my life, but…” He trailed off and she wanted to hit him. How could he keep something like that secret, especially with everything she’d shared with him? All the stuff on the internet, especially the fact a mercenary had accepted the contract on his life.
“Tell me everything. When did it happen? How, why?”
“I was out looking for strays. Riding the UTV, in case I needed to carry one back. Occasionally I’ll find an injured or abandoned calf and loading it in the back of the UTV is easier than trying to hold it while I’m on the back of a horse.”
“Uh-huh. I don’t know what a UTV is, but keep going.”
“Utility terrain vehicle, good for hauling stuff on a ranch. On that day, I hadn’t found any strays but did find a couple of fence posts knocked over. I got out to stand them upright and heard a sound. I’ve been around guns enough to recognize the sound for what it was, so I ducked down behind the UTV and grabbed the rifle I keep behind the seat. After a couple minutes, I didn’t hear anything else. I stood up and looked around. Didn’t find anything except a bullet hole.”
“And you didn’t tell me this when I told you about the hit? Or any time since then? We’ve only been working to figure out how to stop whoever’s trying to kill you and prove who murdered your parents.”
She huffed out a breath and crossed her arms over her chest. It felt like a betrayal, him not telling her. Granted, they weren’t best buds or anything, but they were working for a common goal—to keep his stupid backside alive and kicking. Right now, she felt more like kicking it herself.
“I’m telling you now. It might have been nothing. In the country, we hear shots all the time. Hunters poaching in places they shouldn’t be. Idiots doing target practice in areas they don’t belong. It was only one shot; it could mean nothing. But, since we’re about to accelerate the fight to get justice for my parents, I thought you should know. Because if it wasn’t an accident, a stray bullet, you need to pay attention, be on alert when you’re near me.”
“Thanks for the warning, but I know what I’m getting into. I can take care of myself.”
“I never doubted that for an instance. I just wanted to give you one last chance to change your mind, because once you get on the plane, there’s no turning back.”
She looked out the pickup’s window, watching the families at the picnic tables laughing and joking, being together. Free from worrying about a hired hitman trying to take them out, because of circumstances outside their control. Let Dane think she was considering backing out, but her mind had been made up the minute she’d clicked on the mercenary website listing Dane’s name. There was no changing her mind.
“You’d better get this truck back on the highway or we’re going to miss our flight.”
Without a word, Dane started the engine and pulled back onto the roadway. Looked like she was headed to Las Vegas—and marriage to Dane Boudreau.