Dangerous Refuge

chapter Seventeen



Ace strode into Brilliant Moments, his shaved head in shining contrast to the dark silk shirt and wine-purple double-breasted suit he wore. Beneath the sheen of skin on his skull lay the outline of male-pattern baldness.

“Shaye,” he said, his smile wide and welcoming. “If you’d told me you were stopping by, especially with an out-of-town guest, I’d have arranged a full tour.”

He half embraced her and put out his hand to Tanner at the same time. Ace was thick through the body, but it wasn’t fat. He was built like a wrestler. Though he was stronger than a lot of men, he didn’t try to prove it with a crushing handshake.

“Ace Desmond,” he said easily.

“Tanner Davis, Mr. Desmond. Pleased to meet you.”

“Davis—now I remember. You were at the Conservancy gala. You’re Lorne’s son, grandson?”

“Nephew,” Tanner said.

“I truly regret your loss,” Ace said. “Lorne was an icon to the valley ranchers. When he died, an era ended. If there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know.”

“Well, I really hate to bother you with this—Shaye told me how busy you are—but we’re trying to track down some coins that might have been stolen from Lorne’s house before he died,” Tanner said.

Surprise flickered across Ace’s face. “I hadn’t heard about that. What brings you to Brilliant Moments rather than the sheriff’s office?”

Fred shifted his feet behind the counter, looking like he wanted to curl up into his own belly button and disappear. He’d called Shaye’s bluff about Ace and found himself holding a losing hand in a game whose stakes were bigger than he’d thought.

“We got reports that some similar coins have shown up recently in a couple of shops around the area, including this one,” Shaye said. “There’s no point in bothering the sheriff when all we want to do is verify that the coins were sold to Brilliant Moments, and who sold them.”

“Of course,” Ace said. “If there’s a thief in the valley, I don’t want him anywhere near my guests.” He looked at Fred. “Have you any information about the coins?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I commend your discretion, but this is a special case. Please give them what they need. Now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Ace turned back to Shaye as Fred hurried off. “I’d give you some chips and tell you to enjoy the casino, but Kimberli tells me you don’t care for gambling. How about an early dinner on me in the restaurant?” He winked. “I hear good things about the food.”

“That’s very gracious,” she said, “but we’re hardly up to the dress code.”

Ace waved it off. “That’s what private rooms are for.”

She quietly salivated at the thought. Her half sandwich at lunch was barely a memory. The food at the casino restaurant was justly famous. Despite her uneasiness at trading on the Conservancy’s connections, she looked at Tanner.

He was watching Fred with predatory intensity.

The pawnshop manager hurried toward them holding two enlarged copies of a driver’s license. He gave the first to his boss and the second to Tanner.

Tanner’s glance swept down the page, taking in information.

A hard-looking guy named Antonio Rua stared back from the driver’s license. Dark hair and eyes, five foot ten inches, thirty-five last February. He had a buzz cut, a scarred left eyebrow, and a stony jaw suggesting plenty of testosterone.

“Don’t recognize him,” Ace said, handing back the paper to Fred.

Neither did Tanner, but he had dealt with a lot of Rua’s type. Gifted physically, but not gifted enough, so they ended up finding dumb ways to make money, or got shot, or both. Along the way, there were usually some misdemeanor arrests. Maybe a felony or two.

Tanner folded the paper and tucked it into his pocket. “Thank you for your help and your offer of the best dinner in the valley,” he said. “But frankly, Mr. Desmond, I’m not feeling up to doing justice to your chef.”

“Call me Ace. And I understand. Mourning and a full stomach don’t do well together.” He turned to Shaye. “A rain check, then. I insist.”

She smiled. “Rain check it is.”

“Just so long as you cash it sometime,” Ace said as he hugged her gently. He turned to Tanner. “Again, I’m sorry for your loss. It was the valley’s loss, too. And if there’s a thief selling hot goods on my property, I’ll find him and let the sheriff know. I have a lot more eyes than you do,” he added, casually indicating the cameras concealed behind smoky domes and in ceiling lights.

Like all gaming establishments, on the premises of Aces Up the only places where you weren’t observed were the public restrooms and the hotel rooms themselves. Everything else was photographed and stored.

“Fred, send a copy of that license to Security,” Ace said. “If that man shows up again, I want to know.” He frowned. “He looked local, like maybe there’s some Basque blood in him.”

“There are Basques all over the valley,” Shaye said. “Ranching is in them as much as it’s in any westerner.”

Ace nodded and turned to Fred. “Keep those coins in the safe until I tell you otherwise.”

Fred didn’t look happy about losing all that profit, but he said, “Yes, sir.”

With a barely noticeable sideways glance, Ace checked his watch.

Quickly Shaye said, “Thank you again. Please don’t let us keep you. I’ll bet you were called out of a meeting.”

“Remind me never to play poker with you,” Ace said wryly. “Mr. Davis—”

“Tanner.”

Ace nodded. “A pleasure, Tanner. I’ll look forward to seeing you and Shaye in the restaurant very soon.”

The redhead passed his boss in the doorway to Brilliant Moments. Tanner wondered if Ace had his admin assistant wired for sound.

Neither Tanner nor Shaye said much on the way back through the casino and out the front door. The sun was well behind the peaks of the Sierras now, and even the warmth from the ground wasn’t taking much edge off the chill.

As soon as his butt hit the driver’s seat, she said, “Tell me we’re going to eat dinner somewhere. My treat. My stomach is gnawing on itself.”

He grinned. “Sorry. I just wasn’t in the mood to be the owner’s special guest.”

“Neither was I, really. Doesn’t mean I’m not hungry.”

“Is Wrigley’s still open?”

“Wrigley’s?”

“Fried chicken and biscuits. Decent salads. They’re soaking tomorrow’s chicken in buttermilk today. Rumor was they used it in the biscuits, too, which made them taste extra special. It was about the only place in town we went to on anything like a regular basis.”

“Must have closed. I’ve never heard of the place, and I’ve eaten about everywhere there is between here and Tahoe.”

“Damn.” Tanner sighed over the lost biscuits. “Antonio Rua—the guy who sold the coins—lives in Meyers. Or that’s what the driver’s license said. California license.”

“There are some good barbecue joints on the way to Luther Pass, back through Refuge.”

“You know your way around, don’t you?”

“Why do you sound surprised?” she asked.

“Because I never saw girls like you when I lived here.”

“Probably because you left before you were interested in girls.”

He shook his head. “I grew up fast,” he said. And then started up a chain of serial disappointments.

But he didn’t want to spoil anyone’s appetite by talking about his rock-stupid past.

“Barbecue it is,” he said. “Right after I make a call.”

She listened while he called Brothers and relayed Antonio Rua’s stats and license number, and Brothers promised to drag the name through some files and get back.

The car started—smoky, noisy, rough—but it started.

“Maybe we should take my Bronco,” she said.

“It’s in Tahoe. We aren’t. If you’re worried, I can swap this for Lorne’s truck.”

She muttered something about frying pans and fires.

He ignored her, driving quickly to the place she had recommended.

After they placed their orders, she fidgeted at the table, waiting for food. Tanner leaned back like he was in his favorite chair and had nothing on his mind but his hair.

“How can you be so calm?” Shaye demanded in a low voice.

“Other than you, I haven’t found anything to get excited about.”

“But we aren’t getting any answers.”

“Honey, I’ve barely started asking questions. I’m just feeling around for rattlesnakes in the dark.”

She frowned. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Then don’t come with me on a rattlesnake hunt. I’ll take you back to your condo after we eat, then I’ll go talk to Rua.”

“That’s a lot of time wasted for you. From here, Tahoe is on the far side of Meyers.”

He smiled. “I’ve got a lot of time.”

But inside he wasn’t smiling. The more he thought about Antonio Rua, the more Tanner didn’t want her anywhere near the man.

“What are you thinking?” she asked.

“That I’m going to talk to Rua alone.”

“No,” she said instantly.

“I thought you were bored.”

“Impatient, not bored. I feel like something’s gnawing at me. And you spend as much time looking in the side and back mirrors as you do watching the road. What are you expecting?”

“Just hoping to see that our questions pissed somebody off or worried them enough to follow me around. It would make my life easier. I’d lay a trap for the tail, spring it, and find out who set him on me.”

Shaye looked startled. “Does that work?”

“With amateurs.”

“How about today?”

“Nothing so far.”

Before she could say anything else, the server came and dropped off plates of pork ribs. Tanner had intended to eat on the way to Meyers, but Shaye had ordered ribs for herself, all but licking her lips. Since he wanted to lick her lips for her, he tripled the order and joined her.

He really was going to have to do something about those lips of hers. They couldn’t be nearly as wild and hot as they looked.

With quick white teeth, Tanner cleaned meat off a savory bone, wishing Shaye was on the menu. On the other hand, watching her fearlessly dive into the food was a sensual revelation. He had discovered that a woman who was afraid to get messy at the table often carried that attitude into bed. He supposed the haughty, touch-me-not routine worked for some men, but he wasn’t one of them and never would be.

Hungry in too many ways to count, he concentrated on the only appetite he could appease at the moment. Barbecued ribs and various vegetable sides vanished with impressive speed. Though he had twice the food Shaye did, he finished at the same time.

“Like a starving wolf,” she muttered as he put the last clean rib bone on his plate.

“Like a man who is used to being called out during dinner. And breakfast. And lunch.”

“Ah.” She tilted her head to the side and looked at him. “You missed a spot.”

“Of food?” He glanced at his plate. “Where?”

“There’s still a little patch on your chin that isn’t covered in sauce. Makes me want to dab some on and finish the job.”

He looked up and gave her a slow smile. “Dab away.”

She gave him a sideways look, then deliberately touched him with a saucy fingertip. With a speed that was almost startling, he took her hand and began thoroughly cleaning each fingertip. She shivered as he kissed her little finger and slowly released her hand.

“All done,” he said, watching her with vivid blue eyes.

“I’ve got another hand.” She heard herself and laughed, shaking her head. “You’re bad for my impulse control.”

“Good,” he said huskily. “You’re hell on mine. Fair warning, if I clean your other fingers, I won’t stop there.”

There was an electric silence, then she sighed and tore open a package containing a damp wipe.

“You sure?” Tanner asked.

“I’ll lick fingers in public, but that’s as far as I’ll go. Here.” She handed him the damp napkin. “Wipe your face. I don’t trust myself to do it for you. And that’s a first.”

“Not wiping faces?”

“Not trusting myself.”

He smiled slowly. “God, you’re beautiful.”

She gave him a look of disbelief and wiped off her own face with a second damp napkin before she went to work on the hand he hadn’t licked. “Since sex isn’t on the table—”

“—here,” Tanner said. “I’ve got a table at the ranch that—”

“—let’s go find out where Rua got his gold coins,” she said firmly.

“I’m taking you home before I talk to the mook with the California driver’s license.”

“I said I was impatient, not bored.”

“Up until now, this has been civilized ride-along stuff, talking to mostly civilized folks who aren’t likely to try to crack my skull. All we know about Rua is that he might have killed Lorne and damn sure had five of his coins to sell. I’m going alone.”

Her chin came up. “Would anyone give you a warrant—for anything, much less murder—on the basis of what we know right now about the ‘mook’ and the coins?”

“That’s not the point.”

“Really? It sure looks like the only point that matters. You can’t see circumstantial from where we are and you know it. And FYI, sweetie. Overbearing men are high on my never-again list.”

“It’s not overbearing to want to keep you safe,” Tanner said reasonably. The fact that his fists were curled under the table was his secret.

“Okay,” she agreed.

His hands relaxed. “Good. I’ll take you home and—”

“I want to keep you safe, too,” she cut in, looking reasonable. “So neither of us goes.”

“I’m a cop.”

“Which means I’ll be safe, right?”

He bit off the response he wanted to make. He had known one thing about Shaye from the beginning—treat her with respect or take a hike.

“Let’s compromise,” he said. “You wait in the car with the doors locked while I chat up Rua.”

“If the guy knows anything about what happened to Lorne,” she said, “I want to be there to hear it. Damn it, I found Lorne. Let me do something to make me feel less like I hurt him and never had a chance to make it right.”

Tanner pushed away from the table and shook their tray of dinner debris into a nearby trash can. The bones rattled on the way down. He was still hearing the unhappy clatter when he got back to the table.

It’s my own damn fault, he thought. I wanted to know her better—a lot better—and figured I was pretty much on a wild-goose chase and that would be as good as any excuse to keep her with me.

Now the chase doesn’t look so wild, and the quarry sure as hell isn’t goose.

It’s time to start thinking like a cop and less like a hound dog.

“Fine,” Tanner said to Shaye. “The compromise is that I don’t dump you at your condo. In return, you stay in the car and play JAFO.”

“Is that like charades?”

“Just Another Observer,” he said. “Eyes open, mouth shut, out of the way.”

She filled in the missing word and knew he wasn’t going to change his mind. “Okay.”

For a moment he looked surprised. “I’m not kidding.”

“Neither am I.”