Chapter 1
Visualizing a ball of fire in front her opponent’s face, Tanner batted at the flames with each aggressive jab of her fist.
The dude’s jaw ratcheted back from her three-part volley, and she smirked as he teetered and stumbled a few steps to the right. A rough shake of his head to rearrange whatever marbles he had left, and he ran his tongue along the front of his lime green mouth guard, rolled his broad shoulders and squinted at her as if rethinking his approach.
A snort scuffed the back of her throat. Like coming at her from a different angle was gonna get him anywhere. She flexed and shook out the stiffness in her fingers, eyes glued to his face as she paced left. This latest contender just might represent the final notch she needed in her title belt, and standing between her and the ultimate prize was a very, very bad place to be.
“Nice speed, but you blew a prime opportunity.” Xander fisted the ends of the white towel he’d slung around his neck. A ladder of glistening tendon rippled down his torso as he shifted his weight onto one hip. He dipped his chin at the cadet who’d scribbled his name on the roster, along with a whole slew of other Chicago PD recruits who’d volunteered for punching-bag duty. Though why a fresh batch showed up at Smith Manor every morning only to walk out limping seemed wonky to her. “Disorient and disable. Hesitate, and you might not get another chance.”
Okay, was he for real? Like, for real, for real? She didn’t need to be coached by Mr. Ridiculously Perfect and his backseat advice.
Molars squishing the rubberized plastic between her teeth, Tanner raised a brow and pointed at the wooden bench spanning the wall of the lower level gym, and—more specifically—the two recruits she’d already smacked to hell and back.
One planted a crushable ice pack on his knee, winced and prodded the swollen skin around his eye. The other stuck his finger in his ear and swung his jaw back and forth, apparently taking a crack at whether or not the ball was still seated in the socket.
A disinterested glance to the side, and Xander refocused on her. “Beginner’s luck.” A dual set of raised veins popped along his biceps as he crossed his arms. Boosting his scruffy chin, he squinted at her past the bridge of his nose. “Now quit playing with your food and get it done. Charlie’s waiting for me to head back upstairs and look over the wedding invitations.”
N’uh-uh. No frickin’ way. An irritated growl heated the center of her chest, and Tanner balled her hands against the urge to jam her thumbs straight into the Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. Had the second in command of Dirty Deeds seriously just called her out on beginner’s luck?
Striding toward the cadet, she dodged his right cross, blocked a left upper-cut and seized his wrist. Two months they’d been at this training-for-the-field crap. A tight spin, and the dude’s guttural grunt echoed off the fluorescent lights as she flipped him to the mat. Ever since that gut-sinking afternoon Tanner realized the wait might stretch on into forever and had approached Xander for help. Rolling onto his side, the young man representing one of Chicago’s most recent finest shoved up on his arms, dragged a couple of steadying breaths into his lungs and levered to his feet.
At every turn, she’d surpassed Xander’s expectations and yet, still, Professor Egghead treated her like this was day one?
It’d never be enough.
Her eyes slipped shut, and she shook her head. No matter how much she listened or how hard she tried, she would never, ever, ever be enough.
A tired sigh parted her lips, and she blinked as the recruit lurched forward then back, fists perched high and tight near his chin. Dumb. This entire exercise was nothing but a waste of time and if something didn’t give soon, she’d have no choice but to cut her losses and split.
Jumping off her toes, she pin-wheeled a roundhouse sweep of her foot and caught the guy square in the diaphragm mid-stagger. Air blurted past his mouth guard as he thumped to his ass. Scattered applause from the benched peanut gallery muffled his wheezing groan as he collapsed onto his back.
She never should’ve gone to Xander in the first place. Looking back, she should’ve thought twice before assuming he’d ever understand. The last thing Tanner wanted was to walk away from the best opportunity she’d ever been given but, honest to God, how long did Eden expect her to last?
She had obligations, dammit.
A running leap into in the air, and Tanner scissored her legs in a butterfly kick. Smacking to her side, she jabbed her elbow into her opponent’s gut. Had made promises her kid brother and two little sisters were desperate for her to keep. The guy’s head bounced off the mat, and his buddies oohed a sympathetic laugh, jostling one another on the bench. Eight mind-numbing weeks since any jobs had been contracted, and where had her patience gotten her?
Bossed around by God’s evil reincarnation of a McMacho Albert Einstein, and somehow drafted onto team bridesmaid for not just one wedding, but two. Her hand to God, the swoony vibe that had filled the manor the past few months was enough to make a confirmed bachelorette strap on her tight leather cat suit and dive headfirst into the closest all-male revue.
Tipping onto her shoulders, Tanner braced her hands near her ears and flipped to her feet.
“Excellent. Target’s down, but not out.” Xander raked his hand through his blond spikes, nodding toward the poor schmuck sucking air on the mat. “Leave him like that, and he could easily rally.”
Hands propped on her hips, Tanner slid a death glare in Xander’s direction.
Of all the hard knocks life had cracked across her chin, never, in her wildest dreams, had she imagined herself in this position. She’d been hired to fight for the underdog. By Eden Smith, no less. Owner of Dirty Deeds, and the best—and only—revenge-for-hire specialist in the city. Not once during the interview process had Tanner agreed to picking out linen samples or casting her vote on vanilla frosting versus chocolate butter cream.
All she’d wanted was for Xander to suggest a scam she could sink her teeth into. Or if he didn’t have one, maybe fork over a couple clues about where or how she could find one on her own. Anything to keep her career chugging in the right direction. And so she could prove, once and for all, she was ready to step in and fill Eden’s shoes.
Dropping her arms, she eyed the cadet as he climbed to his feet. The second Xander had recommended they “reassess her training,” she’d known she’d waded into quicksand up to her elbows, and the more she struggled to get free of the trap, the deeper she’d eventually sink.
The guy gave new meaning to the words anal probe. Was one of those weird purists suffering the hardcore signs of OCD in a way that made Tanner come down with a serious case of back off.
Too bad he also held the keys to the kingdom, and if she ever hoped to get anywhere, earning his stamp of approval had to come first.
Typical. The way she’d hooked her dreams to that unachievable star.
No amount of wishful thinking on her part had ever amounted to squat.
Squaring off against her opponent for round three, she tracked his steps left, ankles crossing, the fluorescents winking off the angry glint in his blue irises behind his knuckle sandwich.
Ticked things hadn’t gone his way, huh? She popped a quick jab between his wrists and his head flew back. Get in line, dude. She’d already reserved every seat on that plane.
Another jab, and the guy’s arms slammed down like two rigid planks at his sides.
Tanner hesitated as his muscles twitched. His eyes thunked back in his head, and her jaw dropped the same distance her brows shot up her forehead.
A seizure? Panic made her retreat a step, and she immediately came forward. Holy shit, had she snapped his neck? Accidently inflicted some weird neural damage?
A fast glance at Xander, and she reached for the guy just as he collapsed to the mat with a body slamming Timber!
And behind him…crackling Taser in hand…stood a smiling Charlie.
Oh, good grief. Tanner slumped. Well, so much for crimping the cap on any aspirations she might’ve had over taking him down. She stole a peek at the mat. First item on the agenda was to double-check the guy had John Hancocked the disclaimer.
“I don’t know why you guys always go to so much trouble.” Nudging the dude’s leg with the toe of her stiletto boot, Charlie shook her head. “Just get yourself one of these and it’s goodnight, Irene.” She tossed the Taser in the air and Tanner bounced it off her knee like a hacky sack before catching it against the waistband of her stretchy yoga shorts.
“Now that’s how it’s done.” One long-legged stride onto the mat, and Xander scooped Charlie into his arms, burying his shadowed cheeks in the thick blonde hair trailing past her shoulders.
And cue exit, stage right.
Tanner left them to their smoochie-face canoodling and strode for the bench, pried the mouth guard off her teeth and rummaged around inside her gym bag for her reusable water bottle.
Not that she could blame the guy for glomming onto Charlie whenever she entered the room. As it was, most men stopped dead in their tracks the second she appeared, and Tanner had a pretty strong suspicion it wasn’t because they were interested in learning more about Charlie’s personality.
Her hourglass curves had hopped straight off the garage wall of a 1940s pin-up calendar. Toss in her hypnotic blue-gold eyes and natural sun-streaked hair, and Charlie McGovern was the epitome of pure va-va-va-voom.
Popping the plastic cork on the bottle, Tanner glanced at the below-average bumps filling the bra inset of her electric blue racer-back top. No big surprise, she came up short in comparison yet again. Thanks to the shallow end of her gene pool, she was nothing but angles and lines. Sinewy, toned muscle, sure, but more sharp elbows and knees.
She tipped the bottle for a swallow and caught eyes with the two cadets visually patting her down from the bench. A brisk tug to make sure the bottom edge of her top hadn’t inched past the scars, and she flicked a dark scowl between them. “What are you looking at?”
As if an invisible wire connected their chins, they jerked their focus toward their dazed co-worker, groaning and curled in the fetal position on the mat.
“Nothing. Not a thing…” they muttered in unison.
That’s right, buckos. “You plan on carrying your friend outta here, keep it that way.”
A smack of her palm to reseal the water, and she traded the bottle for an old hand towel she’d stashed in her bag.
Without fail, hopping into the sack with men anywhere near her twenty-four years on this planet ended in an ice-cold bucket challenge of sexual frustration. From start to finish, they were nothing but a pack of bumbling idiots, and the only ones who ever got any gratification were them.
“Tempting as that may sound, we’re gonna have to wait.” Charlie raked her nails through Xander’s short hair, the brilliant flash pinging off her gigantor blue-diamond engagement ring making Tanner wince like she’d posed for a photo op. “You’re never gonna guess who just walked through the door.”
Xander’s reply stayed muffled against Charlie’s neck, and Tanner’s tired sigh warmed her skin as she dried her cheeks with the towel.
A husky murmur parted Charlie’s lips, and she batted her lashes. “Not even if it’s Adder?”
Xander jerked back from her so fast, Tanner flinched, and then frowned with the same unease that creased his brow. Wow. She clenched the threadbare cotton under her chin. Other than those twelve grueling hours following Charlie’s abduction a couple months back, Tanner had never seen the guy’s freak shoot so far out in space.
She faked a delay by wiping down her arms and legs, glancing in their direction. According to everything she’d heard, Casper Addison was the third and what had been missing, original member of the Dirty Deeds monarchy. After their founding mentor and Eden’s adoptive father, Malcolm Smith, had been murdered, Eden had sent both Xander and Adder the same coded message, asking them to return for Malcolm’s funeral and the reading of the will.
So, shouldn’t Adder’s long overdue arrival be a good thing? Didn’t his showing up mean they could finally lock in the remaining details of the estate?
“Funny thing is, if I saw him on the street, I swear I wouldn’t have recognized him, Xander.” Charlie’s hands fell to her fiancé’s shoulders, and he turned his head, studying her out of the corner of his eye. “He looks so…different.”
Adrenaline darted up Tanner’s spine, and she shivered as the cool rush lifted the hair on her arms. Something was definitely not right. Charlie wasn’t the type to hesitate. And with the anxiety simmering off of Xander, this whole Adder-returning-to-the-fold scenario came off weirder than a double feature of Sharknado one and two.
Then again, it’d been over ten years since they’d seen the guy. Wasn’t it sort of a given Adder would’ve changed? Or maybe he’d simply altered his appearance one too many times and, exactly like Tanner’s mother had always warned, his face had finally stuck that way.
“Fat and bald, huh?” Xander cocked a brow. “I always knew that arrogant little shit would let himself go to pot.”
Ah, there it was. Tanner balled up the towel and threw it in her bag. Eden had once told her more than just the regular competition to earn a spot as one of Malcolm’s top three protégés had been brewing between Xander and Adder back in the good ol’ days. It should’ve been no big surprise Charlie took center stage in that rivalry.
“No.” She laughed. “He’s as handsome as ever just… Like I said, different.” She jerked her head toward the door. “I left him having a drink in the library. Why don’t you go up and say hi?”
Easing back from her, Xander curled his top lip in a sneer. “He’s hitting the liquor at eight o’clock in the morning?”
“He just flew in from London. It’s like, one AM in his head.”
And wasn’t that so fabulous for him? Irritation landed like a hot coal in Tanner’s stomach, and she stepped into her worn canvas sneakers and shouldered the safety-pinned strap of her bag.
Adder arriving late to the party would only cause another distraction. Another delay. And exactly like Eden as the last few days before her wedding closed in, Xander would grow preoccupied with sticking by Charlie every waking second of the day.
Well, whoop-di-doo and so much for trying to make the best of a suckish situation. Stopping at the water fountain near the end of the bench, Tanner rinsed off her mouth guard and stowed it in the plastic container. Once that happened, she’d be relegated back to twiddling her thumbs between running errands for ribbons and bows.
“Now go be a polite host.” Charlie spun Xander by the shoulders and swatted his backside. “I need a little girl time with Tanner.”
Oh, God. Gritting her teeth, Tanner stopped near the nautilus equipment and turned back toward the sparring mat with a tight smile. Here it came. But by all that was holy, one more pin-stabbing dress fitting, and she would not be held accountable for her actions. “What’s up, Charlie?”
Snagging a faded, blue Margaritaville muscle shirt off the bench, Xander smacked his lips like he’d just been served the bad fish and brushed past Tanner into the hall.
“I got something I need your help with. If you’re up for it, that is.” Charlie snuck a glance at the two cadets helping the third to his feet, strode toward Tanner and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “It involves Trey, actually.”
Right. Of course, it did. And way to go straight for the jugular since Tanner wasn’t about to refuse any favor involving that poor kid.
She understood firsthand how bad things could get when families were torn apart. After hearing how Trey had been discovered locked in a closet during a narcotics bust—and the follow-up hurt of how no one had arrived at the precinct to claim him thereafter—it was obvious he’d already been through enough.
Thankfully, Eden and her fiancé, Kelly, had stepped in. Invited Trey into their hearts and petitioned the court to become his legal guardians. Over the past few weeks, they’d done everything they could to ensure a smooth transition. Slowly easing Trey from his state-appointed facility into Eden’s condo. Making sure he was comfortable in his new home.
The only snag Tanner could foresee was their honeymoon. A good dose of irony stepped forward and poked her between the brows. Kelly and Eden’s plans to take off for parts unknown the entire month were exactly what had started Tanner’s downward spiral in the first place.
So, fine. Whatever. If the kid needed a babysitter, she’d help out. God knew, her screwed-up circumstances weren’t Trey’s fault, and she had enough experience playing mom to three wild hooligans, watching out for him wouldn’t be a big deal.
“Here’s the thing.” Guiding Tanner toward the exit, Charlie walked them into the corridor. “I’ve spent past couple weeks getting to know Trey a little better, and during dinner last night I finally got him to open up about what happened to his parents.”
O-o-kay? Hope sparked in Tanner’s chest, but she quickly batted at that ember before it had the chance to take hold. After an entire year of learning the ropes from Eden, she knew better than to assume anything when it came to the folks from Dirty Deeds.
“They were gunned down, Tanner. Standing right in front of him and in broad daylight, no less. I swear, listening to that kid describe what he’s been through broke my heart.” The sigh that parted Charlie’s lips was soft, but filled with such intense heartbreak Tanner wanted to shove her own shoulder for being such a self-absorbed shit.
Time she snap out of her pity party. If there was one lesson life had taught her, things could get worse. They could always, always get worse.
Charlie brought them to a stop near the back entrance to the garage and released Tanner’s shoulders, keeping her voice low. “When Xander saw how upset I got, he asked a friend of ours to do a little digging, and I can’t say either of us were all that surprised to learn Trey’s parents were innocent victims in one of those senseless wrong-place, wrong-time sort of things.”
A weird numbness inched up Tanner’s legs, as if she’d just waded knee-deep into an Arctic lake. Dear God, if Charlie kept heading in the direction Tanner thought she was heading…
She swallowed at the dryness in her throat.
“To make matters worse, apparently everyone who witnessed the crime has come down with a chronic case of amnesia. Probably coerced into keeping their mouths shut, if I had to guess. But the thing that really pisses me off is how the killers are still out there somewhere, roaming the streets.” Crossing her arms, Charlie lifted a calculating brow. “I don’t want this to sit, but with me and Xander getting hitched as soon as Eden and Kelly get back, I can’t afford to get mixed up in any shenanigans.” She gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “And can you imagine what Xander would say if I suggested the two of us take on a bunch of gun runners? I might as well ask if we can honeymoon in North Korea. And yet, I can’t stand the thought of letting those assholes get away with stealing Trey’s family. He deserves better than that, Tanner. In fact, he deserves the best we got. So, I talked it over with Eden and we both agreed. The best we got is you.”
Tanner’s eyelids slammed shut. For a few ridiculous heartbeats, she fought the throat-clogging ache of girly tears. Finally. Finally, finally after an eight-year struggle, she was about to take the first real step in winning her own uphill battle.
“Oh my God, Charlie. Do you have any idea how much this means to me?” And not only because of Charlie and Eden’s faith in her abilities.
If she was successful—and nothing on hell or Earth was going to stop Tanner from making damn sure she was—settling the score for the murder of Trey’s parents would lead to so much more. So, so, so much more.
“There’s just one thing.”
Tanner blinked, and then braced at the confusing twinkle skipping through Charlie’s mesmerizing eyes. Part desperation, a good dose of worry…and a sharp glint of hanky-panky that had Tanner prepping to sprint for the first semi-automatic she could yank off the wall in the gun range. “Which is?”
“This friend I mentioned?” Charlie grimaced. “It’s Ben Archer.”
Shit. Tanner tossed her head back in a lame attempt at searching the ceiling for how in the hell that was supposed to work. Dammit, not him. Anyone, but him. The bull-headed detective had had it out for her since day one.
“We need someone on the inside for this, Tanner.” Charlie clasped her shoulder and Tanner lowered her chin, doing everything in her power to keep her irritation in check. To stop a growl from forming behind her clenched teeth. “Someone who can scour the police database without raising any red flags.”
And the fact Charlie was about to marry the most brilliant hackerist known to man? Please. It’d taken Xander less than two hours to punch a hole through the FBI database and they both knew it.
“So you and Eden decided to pair me with him, huh?” Tanner crossed her arms right back. And the oh-so-clever sparkle in Charlie’s eyes? That certainly wrapped up any delusions about where this little scheme of theirs was headed. “On the case, I mean. You’re pairing me with Archer on the case.”
Wink-wink, nudge-nudge. And hella good luck with that plan.
Regardless of the zero-escape clause Charlie had just slapped on the table, Tanner wasn’t about to get personal with that nutter. The guy already believed her incapable, and the real kicker was how he’d based his decision on nothing more than her age.
God, the entire thing was moronic. Ben Archer didn’t have the first clue what she was made of. How tough her life had been or how strong she’d become as a result of her struggles.
Not that she cared. The guy could flex that rock-hard body of his as much as he wanted. She wasn’t about to let him muscle her around.
In fact… Narrowing her gaze, Tanner chewed the inside of her cheek. If she absolutely had to work with the guy, it would probably serve her purposes much better to play it as cool and slick as a block of ice. No matter how much he baited her or acted like she was some inexperienced newb, she wouldn’t crack.
And then she’d show that chauvinistic Fred Flintstone exactly where he could stick his opinions by getting the job done. Without his help, if necessary. Behind his back while he stomped around, grumbling and complaining she was too young to take on such a dangerous profession.
Oh, hello. Now there was some serious good-time revenge.
An evil smile tugged one corner of her lips, and Tanner didn’t even bother to try and hide it. “On second thought, you know what? I’m actually looking forward to this.” In more ways than one. “Mark my words, Char-bar. Before I’m done with him, Detective Holier-Than-Thou is gonna get a solid taste of what it’s like to be knocked down a peg or two.”
“There’s my girl.” A wicked twinkle skipped through Charlie’s gaze. “I like your style.”
A couple deep grunts echoed behind them, and she tipped to the side to peek over Tanner’s shoulder. Following her gaze, Tanner turned to find the three recruits helping one another up the stairs.
“I’ll getcha everything once Adder’s settled in.” Linking her arm through Tanner’s, Charlie started them toward the steps. “And if I may, just one first and last piece of advice?” She stopped and slid a sidelong glance at Tanner, then swiveled her head to search Tanner’s face. “Sweetie, the next time you’re looking for something to do…” Squeezing her eyes closed, she shook her head. “Do yourself a favor and don’t ask the guys.”
Tanner’s shoulders fell.
They knew. All this time, Charlie and Eden had known she was crawling out of her skin.
“God, I’m stupid.” Tanner smacked her hand to her forehead. “And to top it all off, I broke the first rule of Fight Club. Sisters before misters.”
Charlie laughed. “You’re gonna be all right, Tanner Jones. Now, come on.” Cinching Tanner’s arm against her waist, Charlie walked them down the hall. “We’d better get upstairs before Xander and Adder get into some stupid pissing contest, and the two of them end up coming to blows.”