Explosive Attraction

chapter Seven



Darby quietly watched Rafe as he drove them down a residential street into the heart of St. Augustine’s historic district, a neighborhood of wooden two-story houses shaded by centuries-old live oak trees. He’d told her they were going to exchange his truck for another vehicle, but that’s about all he’d said to her since they’d left the police station.

“Want to talk about it?” she asked.

“Talk about what?” He put the blinker on, and slowed to turn down another street, edging around a group of teenagers standing near the end of a driveway.

“The reason you’re so angry. It’s not good to keep that kind of emotion inside. Talking might help.”

He shot her a quick glance. “And you’re a good listener, is that it?”

“I have a PhD in listening.”



His knuckles whitened against the steering wheel. “I’m well aware of your PhD. I’ve dealt with it in court dozens of times. For the record, I don’t put much stock in that piece of paper.”

She reminded herself she was trying to help, and that now wasn’t the time to respond with anger. She shouldn’t take any of this personally. It took about ten times of her repeating that to herself before she could speak again without gritting her teeth.

“Have you and Jake tried to talk out this animosity between you? I’d be happy to sit with both of you. An independent third party can help defuse—”

Rafe sharply turned the wheel.

Darby grabbed the armrest with both hands as he turned into a driveway and slammed the brakes.

The truck rocked on its springs. Rafe unclicked his seat belt and turned to face her. “Are your parents still alive?”

She stiffened, not at all pleased by the change of subject. “Excuse me?”

“Are they still alive—your mother, your father? Unless you were raised in an orphanage, I assume you have parents.”

“No, I wasn’t raised in an orphanage,” she said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. “I have parents.”

“Still living?”



She clenched her hands in her lap. “Yes. What’s this got to do—”

“Sisters? Brothers? One of each, two?”

“Why are you asking about my family?” She glanced at the house in front of them. “I thought we were going to borrow a car, trade your truck with someone. Shouldn’t we—”

“Do they live around here? You said you grew up here. Are you sure you don’t want my phone so you can give them a call?” He cocked his head to the side. “Oh, wait. Maybe you don’t have their number memorized. It’s programmed into your cell phone, and you don’t have your phone with you. No problem. I can call information, get the number.” He slid his phone out of his pocket. “What’s your dad’s first name? Oh, wait. What about his last name? Is it Steele, or have you been married before, changed your name?”

She sputtered, her mouth opening and closing, but she couldn’t seem to put a single coherent thought together.

“I’m waiting.” His finger was poised over the phone, a banal smile on his face.

She crossed her arms. “My father’s last name is Steele, but I’m not telling you his first name. I’m not discussing my family with you. My family is none of your business.”

He arched a brow and lowered his phone. “Really? Why?”

She threw her hands in the air. “Because...it’s personal. You and I barely know each other, certainly not well enough to discuss...”

The smug smile on his face made everything click together.

“Is this your way of telling me to mind my own business about you and Jake?” she asked.

“What do you think?”

She rolled her eyes and dropped her arms. “Okay, okay. I’ll stop asking about Jake...for now.” The man was absolutely infuriating, and she hated that he’d just outmaneuvered her.

“And I’ll stop asking about your family. For now.” He threw his door open.

“Wait, aren’t we supposed to go trade your truck for a different car?”

“Yep. That’s why we’re here.” He winked and hopped out of the truck. Darby blinked in shock as Rafe strode around the hood of the truck to the passenger side. Had he really just winked at her? She wasn’t sure what to make of that, but she didn’t have time to think about it. Rafe opened her door, lifted her out of the impossibly high-up truck and set her on her feet. He didn’t wait for a thank-you. Instead, he hurried up to the house where the front door had just opened to reveal a disheveled blond man.

Darby gritted her teeth in frustration. Hopefully Rafe would trade the truck for a low-to-the-ground car that would better accommodate her height. It was really getting old being picked up all the time as if she were a child.

She hurried to join Rafe. The man in the doorway turned bloodshot eyes on her. His lack of a shirt, along with jeans that were practically falling off his narrow hips because he hadn’t bothered to button them, indicated he’d just woken up even though it was well past two in the afternoon.

He didn’t look too thrilled to see Rafe, but when he noticed Darby, his mouth curved into a roguish grin. “Well, hello, beautiful. Come on in. I’m Nick. And who might you be?”

“D...Darby. Darby Steele,” she stammered, a bit stunned at having a gorgeous, half-naked man flirt with her. Before she could protest, he’d grabbed her hand and hauled her inside.

“Close the door, will you?” he yelled at Rafe as he pulled Darby into the kitchen. “I was just about to make some coffee, darlin’. Want some?”

“Um...I...ah—”

“No, she doesn’t. I need a car.” Rafe stepped into the kitchen, snatching Darby’s hand away from Nick. He pulled out one of the kitchen chairs for her to sit.

She sat, enjoying the view as the Adonis who called himself Nick set about brewing a pot of coffee. He reminded her of Brad Pitt in the movie Troy. Shoulder-length blond hair, broad shoulders, golden skin. She rested her chin in her palm and sighed.

Nick grinned, as if he knew what she was thinking.

Rafe rolled his eyes.

“What?” she asked innocently.

He tossed his keys on the countertop. “Unlike some people, Nicholas, I’m in a bit of a hurry here.”

Nick pressed the coffeemaker’s on button and turned around, looking completely unconcerned. “If you’re in a hurry, Rafael, maybe you should have called first.”

“I didn’t think you’d be lying in bed this late in the day. Some of us work for a living and have been up for hours.”

Darby wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard a teasing note in Rafe’s voice.

Nick sat down across from her. “Please forgive my brother’s poor manners. If I knew he needed a car I would have had one gassed up and ready to go. But since he didn’t bother to tell me, I don’t have a car here. And he knows very well I’ve been working nights, which is why I’m not dressed for company.”



“Your brother?” Darby glanced back and forth between them. Other than their basic build—over six feet tall, broad-shouldered, muscular—there was nothing about them that would make her think they were related. Rafe had dark hair, almost black, and deep blue eyes. Nick was all golden, from his honey-blond hair to his sun-kissed skin, and his eyes were hazel. Darby preferred Rafe’s dark good looks over Nick’s, but that didn’t reduce her enjoyment in viewing Nick in his half-naked state.

Nick gave her a long-suffering look “Yes, he’s my brother. I’m cursed with two of them. But God made up for it by giving me three smart, sassy sisters who tease both my brothers mercilessly. I’m the favorite, of course.” He reached across the table and took her hand in his. “What about you? Are you cursed with a big family like me?”

“I...um.”

“Does your fiancée know how much you still flirt with other women?” Rafe asked.

Nick shot him a dark look. “We’re not discussing my on-again, off-again fiancée today.”

“Ah, so it’s off again. When are you going to move on to someone else?”

Darby suddenly realized what Rafe had just done. He’d diverted Nick’s attention, turning the conversation away from his questions about her family. She gave him a nod of thanks.

He gave her a subtle nod in return. “Since you don’t have a car here,” Rafe continued, “we might as well go.” He grabbed his keys and held his hand out for Darby.

Nick shoved his arm away. “Give it a rest. I can have a car here in fifteen minutes.” He leaned over and grabbed the cordless phone off its base on the wall.

Darby couldn’t help but stare at his perfect, golden skin stretched taut across his well-defined abs. He spoke to someone named Kitty, telling her to hurry home with a car, and promising her she’d get to drive his brother’s four-wheel-drive truck.

Rafe scowled as Nick hung up the phone. “Whoever Kitty is, she’s not driving my truck. I just had it repainted from the last time one of your friends scratched it up.”

“I paid for that paint job, so you have nothing to complain about.” Nick plopped down in the chair across from Darby again. “Tell me, darlin’, why is a beautiful woman like you hanging around my brooding brother? You can do much better than him.” He winked, obviously implying he meant himself.

She laughed, but when Rafe frowned at her, she tried to contain her amusement.

“Leave her alone, Romeo,” Rafe said. “She’s with me. I’m her bodyguard. Someone’s trying to kill her.”

Nick’s smile faded. “Who?”

“The bomber in the paper.”

“That was you? The boat crash?”

Rafe nodded. “I left you a voice mail.”

“I’ve been using a burn phone. Haven’t checked my voice mail in a while.” Nick turned his attention back to Darby. “He never could drive a boat. I, on the other hand, am an expert. Ever been to the Keys? I go there a lot. I could take you around and show you—”

“She doesn’t need a DEA guy. She needs a bomb tech. You wouldn’t know a mercury switch from a radio-controlled detonator.”

“True.” Nick shrugged. “But I have other talents.” He grinned, and Darby felt her face grow warm.

“When’s your girlfriend getting here?” Rafe asked, his voice sounding aggravated. “If I knew it would take this long I would have switched cars with Lance instead.”

Nick stood and leaned against the wall. “Kitty’s not my girlfriend. She’s DEA. We’re working a case. Speaking of work, why couldn’t you take one of the loaners from the station? Are they too cheap to give you a car these days? What about the impound lot?”

“I wanted a car with muscle, that no one who knows me would recognize.” Rafe didn’t look at Nick when he said that.

All signs of amusement faded from Nick’s face. “Why are you worried someone might recognize the car you’re driving? The only people who’d know those police loaners or your impound inventory are...” His voice trailed off and he looked at Darby as if he wasn’t comfortable speaking in front of her anymore.

Taking the hint, she pushed up from the table and grabbed the cordless phone Nick had just used. “If you two don’t mind, I’ll go in the other room and call my assistant. I need to arrange a meeting with her so she can bring me a few things.”

Both men nodded, obviously relieved to have a few moments alone.

She left the kitchen and headed into the adjoining family room, crossing to the far side so she could give the men more privacy.

A small scattering of pictures on a metal and glass bookshelf caught her attention. From the looks of it, Rafe and Nick came from a large family. There were several group photos, featuring Rafe and Nick smiling and posing at what looked to be family get-togethers. Most of the pictures were taken outside—boating, fishing, picnicking at the beach.

Even Rafe was smiling in most of the pictures. One smaller photograph, off to the side, showed him and a leggy, beautiful blonde who almost matched him in height. From the way they were looking at each other, she had no doubt who the woman was—Shelby Morgan, the wife he’d lost over a year ago.

Seeing how happy he’d been in the pictures had Darby wishing she’d had the chance to get to know him before he’d changed. Because of his cold demeanor at the courthouse, she’d always assumed he was suffering from survivor’s guilt, because his wife had died and he’d survived. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized she hadn’t seen him smile much even before his wife’s death. When had he changed from the happy man in these pictures to the man he was today? Two years, longer? If losing his wife hadn’t changed him, then what had?

Moving to the sliding glass doors that looked out over a retention pond with a fountain in the middle, she punched Mindy’s cell number into the phone. Mindy answered on the first ring.

“Dr. Steele, Darby, is that you?” Her voice sounded frantic, making Darby flinch with guilt. Buresh had called Mindy the day she and Rafe were admitted to the hospital, and Rafe had spoken to her when he’d asked her to pack Darby some clothes, but she now realized she should have called Mindy herself, to reassure her.

“Yes, Mindy, it’s me. I’m sorry I haven’t called.”

“Oh, my gosh. I was so worried. I didn’t know what to do. Are you okay? Are you coming back to work? I canceled your appointments through tomorrow, but I wasn’t sure—”

“Take a breath. Calm down. Everything is going to be fine, but I can’t go back to work just yet.”

“Just yet? What does that mean? Is that man still after you? What are you—”

“Mindy, Mindy, please listen for a minute. I promise you I’m fine. The police are being cautious and keeping me in hiding until they get this guy. You did the right thing by canceling my appointments, but I need you to cancel a few more, at least through the end of the week. I’ll need all of my files for my current clients. Most of my regulars should be okay missing this week, but there are a few I’d worry about if they miss even one appointment. I need to refer them out to other psychologists. Plus, I need some other files, older ones. Are you writing this down?”

“Oh, shoot. Hang on, I’ll get a pen.”

Darby stepped back to the bookshelf, unable to resist the lure of looking at more pictures while she waited. Seeing a family that looked so happy, so close, was such a refreshing change from her memories of her own family.

She picked up a picture of Nick and Rafe, both with their arms around the waist of a petite older woman standing between them. Darby had no doubt the woman was their mother. Rafe had her coloring, but Nick had her nose, her sensual mouth and her chin.

The woman reminded her a bit of her own mother, although it had been years since she’d seen her. She sent her mother and father money every month, called them on their birthdays and all the major holidays, but since escaping that miserable world when she’d turned eighteen, she’d never had the desire to return, not even to see her siblings.

A wave of guilt swept through her, but she tamped it down. She’d struggled and clawed her way out of the poverty and neglect that had marred her childhood. There was no reason for her to feel guilty about not wanting to go back. She did what she could, by sending money. She didn’t owe her family anything more than that.

“Okay, got a pen and paper.” Mindy’s voice came over the phone. “Go ahead. What files do you want?”

Darby described the ones she needed, files she wanted to go through to try to figure out who might be after her. She also described what she’d need from her house—files, notes, a few more personal items to get her through a week at most. She couldn’t be gone longer than that. She’d worked too hard to build her career to let it fall apart now.

“Where are you?” Mindy asked. “I’m at the office right now. I can have this stuff ready within the hour and meet you.”

“That fast? Great. I hadn’t thought about where to meet. I don’t even know the address I’m at right now, but I don’t think we’ll be here long anyway.”

She tapped her nails against the phone and tried to think of a location that was nearby, easy to get to. “All right. I know where we can meet.”

* * *

NICK AND RAFE FACED each other in the galley-style kitchen, each of them leaning back against a counter, their arms crossed.

“You think a cop is involved in this,” Nick said. “Otherwise you would have taken one of the cars from the station. Why do you suspect a cop?”

Rafe blew out a long breath. “I have little to go on and it’s too early to make conclusions. It’s just that...” He pursed his lips, thinking back to the stair landing, when Jake had pointed a gun at him.

Knowing what Nick would say if he admitted what he was thinking, Rafe debated telling him. But it wasn’t as though he could keep anything from his brother. Rafe was the oldest, with Nick eleven months behind, and four years separating Nick from the next sibling in age, Lance. That four years of separation meant Nick and Rafe grew up close, the two of them against the world from the time they could walk. He’d never been able to lie to Nick and get away with it.

“I don’t want Jake to know what I’m driving, or where we are.”

Nick swore and shook his head. “No way is Jake involved.”

“You sure about that? He was searching the hospital rooms for Darby and me, with his gun drawn. He never announced he was a cop, or called out to us. When he found us, he pointed his gun at me.” He shook his head. “I really don’t know what was going through his mind. I thought he was going to shoot.”

“But he didn’t.”

“Because the SWAT team came up the stairs.”

Nick swore again. “Did you ask Jake why he pointed the gun?”

“He said he was just being an ass.”

“Well, nothing new there,” Nick mumbled. “Seriously, man. You need help. Both of you need help. I know things are rocky between you two, but Jake would never hurt you. He’s family.”

“Not anymore.”

“Family is always family, no matter what. Have you ever stopped to consider that Jake isn’t the one with the problem? It’s been a year since you lost Shelby.”

Rafe winced, but Nick plowed ahead anyway.

“You have to let it go, move on. Why don’t you just tell Jake the truth? If he knew, it might make it easier for him to—”

“It wouldn’t make it easier. Trust me on that.”

“Jake’s a reasonable guy. At least talk it out. You’ve been friends since grade school. You can’t just throw it all—”

“Don’t. Just don’t.”

Nick looked as if he was about to argue, but the doorbell rang, probably Kitty with the car.

Rafe shoved away from the counter. He tossed his truck keys to his brother. “Thanks for the loaner. I’ll get it back to you in a few days.”

He started toward the family room, but Nick grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.



Expecting another lecture, Rafe crossed his arms and waited.

Nick shook his head, clearly exasperated. “All right. I’ll let it go, for now. Forget about Jake. Forget about everything except keeping your witness safe, and keeping yourself safe. I’m going back to the Keys, back undercover. But if you need me, if you need anything, call. I’ll give you my burn phone number. I mean it. I’ll hop on the next plane and be here in a few hours, no matter what.”

The two brothers slapped each other on the back in what their sisters would mockingly call a man-hug.

The sound of feminine voices echoed in the foyer.

Nick grinned. “Sounds like Darby and Kitty are getting acquainted. Kitty’s almost as hot as your Darby. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”

* * *

“THERE SHE IS.” Darby pointed out Mindy’s royal-blue Corolla, parked at the edge of the Aqua East Surf Shop parking lot, just off A1A.

Rafe parked the silver Dodge Charger alongside Mindy’s car, but he made Darby wait in the Charger while he got into the Corolla to talk to Mindy.

Darby hated waiting, worried Rafe might intimidate her young assistant, who was easily agitated and too prone to worrying. In spite of Darby’s arguments, Rafe had insisted on speaking privately to Mindy about the suspicious package that had started this nightmare. He thought Mindy would speak more freely without her boss around. He was probably right. Mindy probably felt guilty about not being more careful about the package, since it obviously didn’t come through the mail. She might not want to admit the truth in front of Darby.

As an administrative assistant, Mindy wasn’t the best choice—not at first anyway. She’d certainly proven her abilities later. But when Darby had interviewed her for the job, Mindy had been preoccupied, unable to answer some basic questions, and really didn’t have the experience Darby had hoped for. But she was a recently divorced single mom with three kids to feed. Darby had given her the job and paid her an outrageous salary. The price had been worth it to see Mindy regain her self-respect, and to know that her children wouldn’t go hungry.

After Rafe got out of Mindy’s car and transferred Darby’s things to the Charger, he grudgingly allowed Darby to sit with Mindy while he stood guard, his gaze darting around the parking lot as if he fully expected trouble.



Darby tried not to dwell on the reasons for his vigilance. She reached across the middle console and gave Mindy a fierce hug. “Don’t worry about work. Stay at home with your kids, take a vacation, on me. Take the money out of the office account.”

Mindy’s eyes widened in surprise. “A vacation? I can’t do that, not when your life is in danger. Oh, my gosh, Darby. When the police called me from the hospital...and later, when I read the paper—the boat crash...” She shuddered. “I couldn’t believe it. Are you really okay?” She sat back, her gaze sweeping up and down Darby. “Detective Morgan said you were stabbed!”

She shook her head and forced a smile. “It was just a scratch. I’m fine, really.”

Rafe knocked on the driver’s side window and motioned for Darby to get out.



She hugged Mindy again. “I’ve got to go. Remember, cancel those appointments. I’ll take care of the referrals. Then go on a vacation. And stop worrying.”

“I’ll try.” Mindy wiped a tear from under her eye. “Thanks.”

Darby got out of the car and hurried over to Rafe. He held the passenger door open for her.

Mindy cranked her window down, apparently not yet ready to say goodbye. “I almost forgot.” She held out a lime-green beach bag with bright pink and blue hibiscus flowers stamped on the rattan. She handed it to Rafe through the window and he handed it to Darby.

“You left your purse at the office,” Mindy explained, “when you...well, when you went across the street to the warehouse. Anyway, your purse is in there, and the mail from your house and the office. Plus, your datebook. I think that’s the last of what you wanted.”

Darby set the bag on the floorboard between her feet. “You take care of yourself. Give those beautiful babies of yours a kiss for me. I’ll see you soon.”

As Rafe drove her away, and Darby watched Mindy’s face fade in the distance, she couldn’t seem to shake the feeling of doom that settled over her.