As I watched him walk back to his bike, I thought about what Kami said about getting close to him. Had I not blown my fucking tire, I would’ve been able to time the drive from my prior hotel to his cabin.
On the maps program on my laptop, four different routes gave me timeframes that ranged from twenty-three minutes all the way to forty minutes. I was timing the last route with traffic and all the stoplights when my tire blew.
Even though I didn’t get to finish timing the last route, I knew there was no way that withdrawal from Mr. Kent’s bank account could have been him. Zach couldn’t have gotten back to his place with enough time to do what he needed to do to make that withdrawal happen.
It was all the proof I needed to call Mr. Kent and tell him I would be surveilling Zach.
Of course, Mr. Kent was pleased with my work. He assumed I was doing it because I’d found a connection between Zach and the money, and he was technically correct. I told him I was going to be following Zach around for a while, possibly seeing if I could get close to him and communicate with him to figure out anything. Mr. Kent gave me the go ahead to do whatever I had to do, and he told me to report back to him after every single batch of surveillance I did.
Mr. Kent didn’t ask any other questions, so I didn’t offer any other details.
Kami was right. If I could get closer to Zach and actually talk with him, I could get more information out of him. I sure as hell wasn’t going to sleep with him like she was insinuating, but it would make my job a hell of a lot easier to do now that I knew Mr. Kent wasn’t being forthcoming with what was happening.
The next step was to figure out the connection between this man and my client.
I ran over to him as he sat on his motorcycle, and I put my hand on his shoulder. He turned his face toward me, and I could tell he was contemplating leaving. I didn’t blame him. I’d turned him down twice, and now, I was about to admit to him I had been lying about having a boyfriend. I figured if I offered to pay for dinner, that would entice a man like him to give me one more chance.
He turned off his bike and took his helmet off, and I removed my hand from his shoulder.
“Look, I lied about having a boyfriend,” I said.
“I figured.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“It means you scream ‘independent.’ Not a bad thing. Just a fact.”
“I owe you a dinner anyway. For the groceries and the tire.”
“You paid me back for the groceries,” he said.
“Then let me pay you back for the tire.”
“You say you don’t have a boyfriend. That mean you don’t have a girlfriend, either?”
The grin on his face fluttered my stomach, and I playfully pushed him before I shook my head.
“Dinner tonight?” I asked. “On me?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ll have to ask my girlfriend.”
“What?”
He shrugged. “Or boyfriend. You really shouldn’t stereotype.”
“You’re a dick.”
“Now you’re getting it. Dinner tonight would be nice. Do you like anything in particular?”
“I’m on the coast,” I said. “If I’m not eating seafood, it doesn’t make sense for me to be here.”
“A woman after my own heart. There’s a place called Dick’s Crabs—”
“Are you serious?” I asked.
“Very serious. They have the best seafood in town. It’s a hole in the wall place, but it’s always packed. A good place to start.”
“Start?” I asked.
“They don’t have desserts or alcohol on the menu. If you want desserts or a drink, we’ll have to go elsewhere.”
“Ah, I see what your plan is,” I said. “I’ve got my eye on you.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Most digital map programs know where Dick’s is. Meet you there around seven?”
“You’re not going to pick me up on this fancy bike of yours?” I asked.
“And here I thought you were Miss Independent.”
Our eyes locked onto each other as I drew in a deep breath.
“Seven, it is,” I said.
“See you then, beautiful.”
He drove off, and his words hung heavily in my ear. Beautiful. He’d called me beautiful. Damn it. Why the fuck did he have to be a target? And why the hell did he have to be a thief?
Sure, I had proof that the last transaction wasn’t done by him, but that didn’t account for the other transactions. For all I knew, he was running something on his phone or had some shit on auto-steal or whatever. I was still waiting for one of my connections to get back to me with answers to a load of questions I had on fudging I.P. addresses, how those worked in relation to bank accounts, and all sorts of other shit.
For all I knew, I was about to go on a date with some thieving mastermind.
The rest of the day, I was a bundle of nerves. Part of me was trying to do as much research as I could on this case, and part of me was wondering what the fuck I was going to wear tonight. I didn’t pack anything that remotely resembled any sort of date wear. Lucky for me, when I looked up the place we were going to, I realized it was nothing fancy.
In fact, it was somewhere that probably would’ve accepted me braless and in my pajamas.
I was nervous about the date and made sure I still had my knife on my person. Instead of keeping it in my pocket, however, I slid it into the confines of my bra. I kept my mace in my purse and my lipstick taser in my front right pocket. I needed to be prepared for however this evening went. If it went well, I could continue earning his trust and slowly figure out what made him tick.
If it didn’t go well, I had multiple ways to get out from underneath him before getting his ass arrested.
I arrived at the restaurant a few minutes early, and I hopped in line. There was a forty-minute wait to be seated, and I figured Zach would change his mind once he got here. I heard his motorcycle coming from a distance, and the smile that curved my lips confused me. Why in the world was I so happy to be on a fucking date with a supposed criminal?
Fuck, this thing was going sideways.
“How long’s the wait?” he asked.
“Now, it’s thirty minutes. But it was forty.”
“Not too bad,” he said.
“That’s not bad?”
“One time, a buddy of mine and I waited almost two hours to get into this place.”
“Two hours for seafood?” I asked.
“Two hours for amazing seafood,” he corrected. “Trust me. It’s the best you’ll ever taste.”
“Then I’ll just have to take your word for it.”
“How’s your tire holding up?” he asked.
“It’s fine. Thank you again for your help.”
“Does being in a new city always throw you these kinds of curveballs?”
“Do I really look that out of place?” I asked.
“I’ve lived here for years. I know tourists when I see them.”
“I’m hardly a tourist. And what would attract tourists to Brookings?”
He shrugged. “Besides the food and the oceanfront views? Parades. This place is full of the weirdest damn parades all throughout the summer and the fall.”
“So, spring and winter get the shit end of the stick on that one, huh?”
He smiled. “Nope. Those parades are idiotic.”
“Not a parade person. Got it.”
“Paige, party of two!”
My name got my attention, but it was Zach’s hand wrapping around mine and guiding me through the crowd that caused me to pause. His touch was warm and strong, but not controlling. He wasn’t tugging me along or trying to get me to walk with him. He was simply trying to part a path for me to take. He wasn’t holding my hand too softly or too hard. It was like he was making sure I wasn’t lost in the sea of faces.
He held my hand all the way back to a table that looked out over the ocean. It was the only wall in the place that was lined with windows, and I gazed out over the water as we sat down. I lost myself in the beauty of the mesmerizing waves as they crashed against the shore. I sighed and relaxed back into the chair.
The voice of our waiter pulled me from my thoughts. “What would you two like to drink?”
“Water’s just fine,” I said.
“I’ll take a water as well,” Zach said. The waiter nodded and left. Zach looked at me. “Enjoying the view?”
“It’s beautiful. You mentioned you lived here for many years. Have you not lived here all your life?”
“I moved here when I was fourteen,” he said.
Confirmation number one.
“So, technically, you’re a tourist, too,” I said, grinning.
“You watch your language.”
“Just kidding,” I said, giggling. “What drew you here?”
“My mother always liked the ocean.”
“Well, who doesn’t?” I asked. “It’s beautiful and calming. Powerful and soothing.”
“My father didn’t. He’s a desert of guy. Dry. Rough.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said mindlessly.
His expression darkened. “What?”
“Sorry. You referenced your father in past tense. With the mountains comment.”
Zach nodded. “I didn’t mean to imply he’s dead. He alive.”
“And your mother?” I asked.
I watched him grow still before his shoulders rolled back.
Father’s alive. Mother’s dead.
“Sorry,” I said. “I’m not very good at small talk, I guess.”
A hint of a smile formed on his face. “Me neither, to be honest.”
“Then why the hell are we sitting here?” I asked.
“Because this is what men are supposed to do when they meet beautiful women they want to get to know better.”
I blushed at his comment just before our waters were set in front of us.
“You know what you want to eat?” the waiter asked.
“I’m going to have your surf and turf crab pot,” Zach said.
“What’s a crab pot?” I asked.
“It’s a pot that we steam with certain types of foods in it,” the waiter said. “They’re our most popular menu item. There’s the surf and turf that he’s getting. It’s got crab legs, shrimp, potatoes, and comes with a steak. There’s the double-down surf that has crab, lobster, and shrimp. The cajun pot has double the order of crab legs. Then the last one has shrimp, mussels, clams, and sizzling calamari.”
“Holy hell, that sounds fantastic,” I said. “Can I get them all?”
“Can you eat all those pots?” Zach asked.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Is that a challenge?”
Zach looked at me, and I could see a devious glint in his eye. His sly little grin twisted the corners of his cheeks, and a wonderful rosy texture rounded out his features. His bright blue eyes twinkled underneath his shaggy black hair, and I bit my lip.
He nodded. “Yes, it is.”
“Fine,” I said. “We’ll take one of each pot. And make sure the check makes it to me.”
“Done and done,” the waiter said. “It’ll take a little while for the order to be ready, but I’ll bring them all out at the same time.”
“We’ll be ready,” I said.
The waiter left, and Zach looked at me with a bemused expression. “You know you just ordered sixteen pounds of fresh seafood, right?”
“And potatoes. We can always take the potatoes home with us.”
“Oh, yeah. There you go. We’ll take the potatoes home and eat eight pounds of freshly-steamed seafood.”
“I never back down from a food challenge. Learn this now.”
“Trust me, I am,” he said. “Now, what are we competing for?”
“Huh?”
“You’re acting as if this is a competition. What are we competing for?”
“How about another date?” I asked.
“I’m listening.”
“If we agree to take home the potatoes, that leaves four pounds of seafood for us both to eat. Whoever can finish off the most of their food has to pay for the next date.”
“What if we both polish off the seafood?” he asked.
“Then we move on to the potatoes,” I said, grinning.
“Do you not realize the amount of calories it takes to keep up this body?” he asked.
“Do you not realize the amount of room I’ve got in my tiny little body for really good seafood?” I asked.
I watched his eyes scan me before his tongue darted out to lick his lip again. I had to keep reminding myself that he might be a criminal. And criminal or not, he was a target I was surveilling for a case.
I had a mission and questions that needed to be answered. I couldn’t get caught up in how fun this date was becoming. I couldn’t get caught up in how much I had missed this type of interaction.
The waiter was right. We waited almost an hour before all the pots came out to us. Four steaming pots of food were set down on our table, and everyone’s eyes were on us. Zach took out all the potatoes and set them off to the side, and then he peered at me from over the steaming-hot food before he grinned.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Set…”
“Go!” he exclaimed.
The two of us dove into the food. I was cracking crab legs with my fingers, and he was peeling back the casing of shrimp and eating them whole. Nothing in the rules we set forth said we had to eat the food fast, but somehow, it was more fun that way.
We kept laughing and giggling as juices sprayed in our faces. I giggled every time he dropped butter sauce onto his shirt, and he laughed at me every time I hissed whenever a shell scraped against my skin.
“You doing okay over there?” he asked.
“Why don’t you just watch what you’re eating and leave me to my business?”
“Yep, very independent,” he said.
I stuck my tongue out at him, and his eyes lit up with humor.
People were staring at us and cheering us on. No one had any idea what was going on, but they knew we were having fun while devouring as much food as we could.
The men clapped for him while the women rooted for me in the background. We dove through all the crab legs and shrimp before we got to the shellfish, and that was when I was stopped in my tracks.
I watched him as he picked up a clam and ran his tongue along the shell. He popped the meat right from its home, his thick tongue sliding expertly into the dip.
I swallowed the shrimp I was chewing as he tossed it back, his tongue slurping up the juices dribbling from the clam shell. I watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed, swallowing down the clam meat before he tossed the empty shell onto the table.
His eyes connected with mine, and his dark gaze poured over me.
“Getting full over there?” he asked.
I came to from my hypnotized state and realized I was breathing heavily.
“Not a chance,” I said huskily.
I grabbed a clam and met him bite for bite. The clams disappeared, and then the mussels were no more. We split the steak in half and ate it without even using a fork. Every ounce of seafood that was put in front of us was gone, and all that was left were the potatoes.
Zach parted the sea of pots as our waiter started to gather them up. People were clapping and hollering as he slid the plate of potatoes between us. There were four potatoes for each of us, and just looking at them made me feel fuller than I could ever imagine.
“You can give in whenever you want,” Zach said.
“Not a fat chance in hell.”
We dove into the potatoes, and rousing cheers ricocheted across the room. People were pounding on tables and chanting, “Go! Go! Go!”
We picked up the small white potatoes, dripping with the essence of seafood, and swallowed them bite for bite. With each bite I took, I knew I was about to fold. My stomach was expanding and pressing against my lungs. I was so full it became hard to breathe, and after two entire potatoes, I had to sit back and concede defeat.
People patted me on the back, and Zach stood from his chair, his fists in the air as men hollered and cheered around him.
I rolled my eyes as I shook my head. People were congratulating me on staying with him for as long as I did, but I already felt my food coma setting in. My eyes were getting heavy, and my body was relaxing. If Zach had any after-dinner plans, they were going to have to wait.
“That was impressive,” he said.
I opened my eyes and found him staring at me. He didn’t even look phased. He had a smirk on his lips, and his eyes twinkled with energy. He was sitting forward like he didn’t just devour five fucking pounds of food.
I groaned as I slid deeper into my chair.
“I like a woman that isn’t afraid to eat,” Zach said.
“Too bad,” I said. “I’m never eating again.”
His chuckle was music to my ears.
“Looks like you’re getting the next one,” he said.
“Too,” I said. “Looks like I’m paying the next meal, too.”
The waiter appeared at the table and handed Zach a slip of paper. “Here’s your receipt, sir. Thank you for dining with us, and we hope to see you again soon.”
I lifted my head to see Zach signing the paper.
“No,” I moaned. “Wait a second. I told you to give me the check.”
The waiter walked away with the signed receipt Zach handed him, and I couldn’t muster the strength to get out of my chair to chase him down.
“Zach. This dinner was supposed to be my way of repaying you for the tire.”
“Well, since there’s a next date, you can do it then,” he said.
“That food couldn’t have been cheap.”
“Do I look like someone who’s unemployed?” he asked. “I do work, you know.”
“Oh, yeah? And what do you do?”
“I work at the lumber company here in town.”
Confirmation number two.
“Is that part of your body maintenance?” I asked with a grin.
“Nope. I just enjoy the work. It’s quiet, and I can keep to myself.”
“You don’t strike me as someone who wants to keep to himself,” I said.
“People shock you, I guess.”
Everyone had settled back into their seats, and I could tell he was ready to go. He got up and offered me his hand, and I figured it couldn’t hurt anything. It felt nice to slide my hand into the rough and calloused hand of a handsome man, and even though I kept telling myself he might be a criminal, there was just something about him I couldn’t shake. He didn’t act like a typical criminal.
There was nothing salacious or sinister about him. I didn’t feel as if he had any ulterior motives with me. I most certainly didn’t feel threatened when I was around him, and he didn’t act pompous or macho in any respect.
He wasn’t like any of the other criminals or thieves I’d tracked down in my line of work, and my gut was screaming at me again.
“So, since I lost, I believe you get to pick where we go for our next date,” I said.
“Nope. You just have to pay.”
“I don’t think that was the agreement,” I said.
“It is now.”
“You change the rules a lot as you go, don’t you?”
“It’s how I keep things interesting.”
“Uh huh. So, if I said I wanted to get dinner again but we could toss the eating contest, you’d be okay with that?”
“I would,” he said.
“If I told you this place would have to have drinks, you’d be okay with that?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, then. Our next date is dinner somewhere that has drinks. No eating contest, but there is a requirement.”
“And the requirement is?” he asked.
“You have to answer one personal question I ask you, and in return, I’ll do the same.”
I could tell that requirement made him uncomfortable. The twinkle faded from his eye, and his hand tightened around mine. His entire body stiffened as he drew a breath through his nose, and he let it out forcefully before he released his grip on my hand.
“Deal,” he said.
“Give me your number, and I’ll put it in my phone,” I said.
We exchanged numbers as we stood beside my car, the silence comfortable between us. The moonlight was dancing over the city, and I could smell the salt water from the ocean.
I closed my eyes and felt a strong wind whipping around us, almost knocking me off my feet. Zach caught me in a hurry, his arms strong and warm as the wind continued to wrap around our bodies.
“Didn’t realize the oceanside was so windy,” I said breathlessly.
“It can get rough sometimes,” Zach said.
“Thanks. For saving my ass, since that’s apparently all you’re here for.”
“Not all,” he said.
I looked up at him, and the twinkle was back, and it pulled a smile across my cheeks.
“I’ll call you when I’m free,” I said.
“Could I call you before then?” he asked.
“You can try, but I can’t guarantee I’ll answer.”
“Sounds like a challenge,” he said, grinning.
“Looks like I’m not the only competitive one.”
“Not by a longshot,” he said.
I watched him walk back to his bike, and I couldn’t take my eyes of his ass. He was rounded and perfect. Strong and attached to a pair of legs that ran for days. Holy fuck, that was a good-looking man.
I had to steady myself against my car before I opened the door and dropped in.
Here he was out here in the middle of nowhere, with no one to appreciate his hard, toned body—at least not for more than a night, as it seemed he was more of a one night stand kind of guy than someone who liked commitment.
I had to calm myself down before I got back to my hotel room. Mr. Kent was waiting on a phone call from me, and the last thing I needed to sound like was a giggling little schoolgirl.