Not able to make another excuse why she couldn’t join them, Tara reluctantly agreed to go with Tanya and Tatiana to the Bitter n’ Twisted. It had been three days since Griffin had unceremoniously dropped her off at her door and disappeared. She’d spent most of the time as if in a trance. It had taken her late into the day he left to leave the confines of her home. Most of that day, she’d never made it out of her bed. When the first call came and she didn’t answer—because she couldn’t—she allowed herself to listen to his impassioned message. He explained that he’d had a family emergency, something about his ex-wife and children. The words ran into each other in her brain. She realized that she hadn’t known he had an ex-wife or children.
She finally acknowledged that she didn’t know a fucking thing about him except that he was a robber baron who was out to rape their county and—oh yes, was a consummate lover. Make that a sexual adventurer who had compromised her very soul. When the messages became more and more insistent and finally furious, she shut off her phone. She decided no matter how many calls he made or how many texts he sent, it was better to do without a phone than deal with his insistent overtures.
Sitting at the Bitter n’ Twisted, staring at her second porn star martini, Tara was surprised when her father and Ryker Thompson, Tanya’s impressive lover, joined them. She breathed a sigh of relief. It had been challenging trying to answer her sisters’ insistent queries about what was going on in her life. Apparently tired of her excuses about her absence and why she wasn’t answering her phone, Tanya and Tatiana had arrived at her office earlier, a clearly determined duo.
“I don’t know what the hell is going on with you, Tara, but just so you know, Hank, Robby, and Ethan are as concerned as we are. Dammit, sis, I’ve never seen you like this. Not to sound like a broken record, but what the hell is going on?”
Tara shook her head. “I’m sorry, Tanya. I admit, I’ve been a little . . . unavailable.”
“Ya think!” Tanya’s exclamation was endorsed by the concerned frown on Tatiana’s lovely face.
Before she could launch into a certain diatribe, Tara stopped her. “Please, Tanya, give me a break. You know what I get like when I’m on the warpath. For better or worse, I’ve been caught up in my work.”
“Griffin Black’s development?”
Tara nodded, deciding that was as close to the truth as she would admit. Before they could press her further, Tara closed her computer and forced a smile to curve her tight lips. “And yes, dear sisters of mine, I’m happy to go to the Bitter n’ Twisted. I concede. If I’ve ever needed a porn star martini or two, it’s now.”
As she reached for her purse, she ignored Tanya’s on-target observation. “While you’re at it, sis, you might consider adding a double-bacon cheeseburger with all the trimmings. I don’t know if you’ve looked in the mirror lately, Tara, but you look positively peaked.”
Tara grimaced. “Thanks, Tanya. Glad to know I look like shit since I just agreed to go to the most public place we have in this godforsaken town.” Ignoring the frowns straining both of her sisters’ faces, Tara strode out to the parking lot, resolutely climbing into Tatiana’s Toyota.
Now, minutes later, when she’d ignored her father’s observation that she hadn’t touched her burger and decided she was ready to face the second PS martini she’d ordered, Tara heard Tanya’s surprised whistle. Looking up through the red haze shrouding her eyes, it was as though a giant claw squeezed her chest, making it impossible for her to breathe. The din in her ears was so loud, it was a wonder she heard Tanya’s surprised exclamation.
“Whoo-eee! Lookie there, girls. Can you believe what I see? Make that who is coming toward us.”
All of the people at the table turned in response to Tanya’s surprised observation. Stunned and with a gut-wrenching tremor, Tara acknowledged that a grim-faced Griffin Black was truly striding across the noisy tavern, heading for their table.
Griffin came up beside her, resting his hand provocatively on the back of her chair. To her surprise, her father rose from his seat and extended his hand. “Good evening, Griffin. It’s good to see you.” He nodded to Ryker, who had risen when he did. “Don’t know if you’ve met the newest resident in our town, Griffin, but if not, I’m pleased to introduce Ryker Thompson. Along with my youngest daughter, Ryker has become a bit of a sensation in our unassuming town.”
To Tara’s surprise, Griffin shook Ryker’s hand and said, “I’m pleased to meet you, Agent Thompson. I’ve been intending to reach out to you. When he heard I was heading to southern Arizona, my Delta Force buddy Rolf Corson told me to look you up.”
Ryker blew out a surprised whistle. “Damn. Rolf Corson was the guy who convinced me to join the Bureau. He insisted every once in a while that tight-assed organization allowed a rule-breaker like me into their ranks. It was the only reason I even considered the FBI instead of one of the spook agencies, which would have been a more logical fit.” He added with a grin, “I’m pleased to meet you. No question but that I’ve heard a thing or three about you. If I’d known you were ex-military, Delta Force, like me no less, I would have sought you out earlier.”
Griffin responded pleasantly. “Yes, I was a number of years ahead of you. I credit the Force for my current endeavors. It was heading up a redevelopment project in Iraq that introduced me to the lure of development.”
Ryker put his hand on Tanya’s shoulder and said with a grin, “If you haven’t met her, this is Deputy Tanya Trouble. Second only to the impressive sheriff, she is the most formidable law ‘man’ you’ll meet. And not incidentally, she’s the woman I’m madly in love with.”
Griffin shot Tanya a winning smile. “You both are fortunate.” Turning to the redheaded woman next to Tanya, he said, “You must be Tatiana, the middle Trouble sister. I’ve heard about the important work you’re doing with abused women. I’d like to talk with you some time at your convenience. I’ve made a point of including shelters in a number of my projects. I would be pleased to share notes with you.”
Waving to a chair beside him, Titus said, “Please, Griffin, join us.” Nodding to his flushed and notably silent daughter at the end of the table, he added with a quizzical frown, “Obviously, you know Tara—”
Griffin interrupted him with a curt nod. “Thank you, Sheriff, but Tara and I planned to meet tonight.” Pinning a hard gaze on her, he reached for her arm and all but lifted her out of her chair. His voice was terse. “I went to the Gazette office and they told me I’d find you here.” He added cryptically, “You must not have received my messages.”
Turning to the clearly surprised group, he said, “I hope you will excuse us.” With a tight grip on Tara’s arm, he said over his shoulder as he led her toward the exit, “Perhaps another time. Good night, folks.”
The stunned group stared after them. Tanya broke their collective silence. “Well, well, well. That answers a few dozen of the questions I’ve had.” Looking from one to the other of her tablemates, her gaze landed on Ryker, who looked as surprised as she felt.
“Apparently, you’re not the only caveman who marches into the Bitter n’ Twisted and makes a claim, Ryker.” She added with a groan, “But damn! Griffin Black? Holy fuck! In a million years I wouldn’t have guessed he was what has thrown my big sis into a freakin’ tizzy.” Glancing at her father at the end of the table, a frown crossed her expressive face. “I don’t get it, Dad. Why don’t you look as surprised as the rest of us?”
Titus gave a dispassionate shrug worthy of a silent screen actor. “I gave up being surprised by anything you girls did, Tanya, when you were three years old and chopped off your sisters’ braids when they were sleeping. For no other reason except that in your rather narrow world view and, according to your sense of right and wrong, you wanted to be the only girl in the family with long hair.”
****
Dragging her across the crowded parking lot, Griffin ignored Tara’s stream of angry expletives. When they reached the end of the lot, he jerked her up next to him. Glaring at her, his voice vibrated with suppressed fury. “Damn you, Tara. I want you to tell me what universe you exist in that would make you think you could sashay away from the extraordinary night we shared and not answer a single one of my fucking phone calls.”
When she just shook her head, refusing to answer him, his expression tightened dangerously. Hauling her over to the gleaming Harley Davidson motorcycle parked on the side of the road, he shoved her next to it.
Tara jerked out of his grip and put up her hands when he reached for one of the helmets on the back of the bike. “What are you doing, dammit! If you think for one minute that I will get on this, you’re crazy. I won’t. I . . . I hate motorcycles. They’re dangerous!”
Griffin’s voice was rife with anger as he plunked the helmet on her head and tightened the strap under her chin and smacked the visor down over her eyes. “You’re right about that, honey. This ride is about as dangerous as any you are going to take in your life.”
Ignoring her when she continued to assert that she hated motorcycles and would never ride on one, he picked her up and summarily planted her on the back of the bike.
As he swung his leg over the engine mount and straddled the seat in front of her, he snorted. “Just one more thing that you think you don’t like, Tara?”
Horrified that he wouldn’t listen to her, Tanya pounded on his back and wailed. “No! Let me off. I don’t want to go to your fucking house!”
Griffin responded with a brusque nod as he strapped on his helmet and brought the powerful machine to life. “I don’t either, sweetheart. You’ll be glad to know that I’ve commandeered a special place, a haven for you and me to hole up in. A place where no one can find us unless I let them.”
Releasing the brake, Griffin tamped down hard on the clutch, firing up the engine. As the potent bike shot forward on to the narrow road, he warned her over the roar, “You better hang on to me, sweetheart. We’re about to go as fast as this testosterone-loaded crotch rocket can go. I wouldn’t want to lose you before I’ve shown you what will happen to you if you ever try to blow me off again.”