Chapter Four
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Hunter reached his hand beneath the seat and pulled out…a dog’s tag? He palmed the small metal circle with a date on it and the word “rabies.” It was from years ago. How long had it been since she cleaned her car out? Dropping the tag where it was, he rose and closed the door.
He kept the flashlight aimed at the floor and walked around the car. There was nothing else to see, so he wove his way out from between the staff cars. The rest, about fifteen, were all guests at the resort right now. With people leaving and coming all day, any possible evidence leading to who had broken into Adriana’s car was probably gone, but he looked anyway.
He examined the cars, the floor, the walls, the desert outside the concrete slab that served as the floor of the three-sided garage. Old instincts from his first tour reawakened, giving him an energy he’d thought long dead.
When he finished scouring the immediate vicinity, he walked around the outside of the building, less to find clues than to walk off some of the buzz zipping through his brain. Now he wanted to talk to Adriana. Someone didn’t break into a car for no reason. They needed to figure out why.
Once he’d completed his perimeter, he strode to the narrow canyon edge. From the top, he could see the whole resort, especially with the moon being as bright as it was. There was still one casita with lights on, number four. As he stared at it, a figure walked away and headed up the path to the main building.
It was Mac. Had she flashed and he’d missed it, so engrossed in his investigation? He jogged down the path, keeping his eye on her until he was too far below to see. She hadn’t appeared to be in a hurry. It was important to back each other up.
By the time he made it to the fork in the dirt path, Mac was exiting the building. He strode toward her. “Mac.”
She noticed him then and walked toward him. There was no saunter in her walk like Adriana. She was all business. “Did you find anything?”
“Yes. Any problems here? I saw you talking with the guests at casita number four.”
“That was weird.” She motioned with her thumb over her shoulder. “The foursome you talked about. They wanted to know if I knew where Adriana was. They said they’d invited her down but she hadn’t arrived yet.”
Hunter glanced toward the lit casita. “I guess she decided to stay home. What did you tell them?”
“I told them she’d probably gone to bed. They didn’t like that answer.”
“What do you mean?” His guard was on alert immediately.
Mac shrugged. “Just that the blonde started whining and her husband looked a bit insulted. I didn’t realize Adriana was so important to the guests.”
Shit, now he was getting ahead of himself. “I think only with those who are swingers or into other lifestyles. I doubt the nudist couples expect her to be visiting them at night.”
“So what did you find up there?” Mac looked past him to where the garage sat.
“Let’s walk.” He headed them back toward the stables. “Someone broke into Adriana’s car but didn’t do any damage to it.”
“Was anything taken?”
His lip twitched. “Hard to tell. I’ll have to check with her tomorrow.”
“Do you have any idea when it was broken into?” Her voice sounded more tense than usual.
“No.”
As they crossed the fork between the two plateaus, he couldn’t stop thinking about why someone would want to break into Adriana’s car. The problem was, he knew nothing about her. Actually, he knew something. She was a former prostitute who came to work as a bartender at Poker Flat when Kendra asked her. He’d been told that by the boss herself.
He also knew Adriana loved sex and lots of kink. She was too exotic and sensual, and had an attitude that left no one in doubt about what she thought.
And she had nightmares.
Or it could have just been that one time because of the Dom. She’d shrugged off the experience, but she’d definitely been rattled by it.
“Hunter.” Mac halted. “Do you think someone is stalking Adriana?”
“Don’t know. She hasn’t mentioned anything else unusual happening. I probably won’t have any theories until I talk with her, which will have to wait until she gets off work tomorrow.”
“Okay. Keep me updated. I better get back to my rounds. A lot more happens out here in the middle of the desert than I ever expected.” Mac shook her head before striding off toward the barn.
His gut told him she preferred watching over the horses and property as opposed to the guests. He didn’t care which part of the resort he patrolled. His riding days were over, so if she wanted to guard the animals, it was fine with him.
Since Mac had already walked by the guest lodgings and main building, he headed for the staff casitas. Part of him wanted Adriana to have a light on so he could ask her some questions.
As he walked behind her casita, his wish was granted…sort of. There was a light on next to the couch where she lay sleeping on her side, a small brightly colored blanket pulled over her against the chill. She’d never even made it to the bedroom.
He stepped onto the patio, careful to stay out of the light in case she woke up. In sleep she was exquisite, each feature delicately sculpted. The loud personality was quiet, showing off her exotic beauty. Her black silky hair made her look like a dark goddess resting peacefully.
That wasn’t her. If she saw him standing there, her lips would lift in a sultry smile and she’d invite him in where he could drown his sorrow and anger in her body. The temptation to knock was too much.
He spun on his heel and strode away.
*
Adriana smiled at an older couple, careful to keep her gaze trained on the woman. If there was one thing that would threaten Kendra’s nudist resort, it was staff suspected of sleeping with guests behind the spouses’ backs. She always made sure she grinned at the female until she learned the lay of the land. Besides, she didn’t do men old enough to be her father anymore.
The couple smiled in return and continued on to the pool as she opened the large glass door to the main building. Lacey was busy with another pair checking in, so she waved and headed back to see Kendra. She was anxious to find out if Hunter had looked into her car.
She knocked on the open door, catching Kendra in a deep scowl. “Hey, boss, what’s wrong? You look like you just discovered the resort is built on an ancient burial ground.”
“Andy called in sick and the health inspector from the food and beverage department is up at the garage waiting, but I told Selma I’d give her a fifteen-minute warning, which you know means getting her to calm down so we don’t get closed down because of her swearing. And of course our lunch rush started early today with the warm weather.”
Adriana grinned. “No problem. I’m great at causing delays with men. Let me go meet the health inspector while you get Selma ready. I can open the bar when I get back. I’ll just unlock the lower cabinets in case anyone needs alcohol with their lunch. Rachel can get it.”
Kendra looked at her a moment. “That could work, though what I’ll do with Andy gone all day, I don’t know. Lacey says we have seven more check-outs and six check-ins.”
“I’m thinking once the inspector is gone, you’ll be free and once the lunch rush is done, Rachel will be free, so I can fill in in between and I’m sure we can get through the next couple hours. Where’s Wade?”
Kendra rolled her eyes. “He’s at the dentist. Not sure when he’s going to come back.”
“Finally getting that sore tooth checked out?”
Kendra stood and headed for the door. “Yeah. You’d think he was going in for major surgery. For a man who’s ridden a bucking bronco, he can be a wuss sometimes.”
Adriana followed Kendra out into the lobby. “I’ll head up.”
Kendra nodded but was already talking to Lacey.
Her boss would never say anything, but in conferring with Lacey, Adriana had figured out the vandalism last summer and the fire in October had seriously cut into the financial plan of the resort. They were supposed to have had more help by now. She sincerely hoped this busy season would be the boost Kendra needed to get over the hump.
After commandeering a golf cart, she drove down the path, across the wooden bridge and up the other side of the canyon in record time.
She’d worn an off-the-shoulder white blouse, her tan stretch gaucho pants and her brown cowboy boots today. Her straw cowboy hat completed the look. Her hair was already pulled back in a neat ponytail, so hopefully the inspector wouldn’t get a bad impression.
It would be an interesting afternoon with them all juggling each other’s jobs. Wade and Kendra usually filled in for sick employees, so she understood her boss’ stress. Besides, who better to handle a male inspector than herself?
In no time, she’d flirted and engaged the older man, who seemed to be pretty curious about the resort anyway. She wouldn’t be surprised if he showed up as a guest one day. They had lots of important people stay at Poker Flat because it was hidden away and the only photos allowed were those taken with permission. From what Lacey said, that was typical for nudist resorts.
After dropping off the inspector, she took over the bar. The stress was kind of fun, keeping her on her toes as she made drinks, flirted with guests and drove up to the garage a couple times. By late afternoon, everything had calmed down. Wade had returned, the inspector was gone, very impressed with Selma’s kitchen, and she only had a few people at the outdoor bar.
“Adriana, how about another p-pina colada?” Patti, the swinger from the night before, stepped up to the bar.
“Of course. Anything else?”
“Can I get a kiss with that?”
She laughed. Generally she didn’t do more than flirt while on shift, but since most of the guests were out at the pool and the only ones at the bar were the swingers, she just might.
“Here you go, Patti.” She plunked down the cold, icy drink with a pineapple garnish.
Patti pouted as she took a sip. “And what about my k-kiss?”
“It will cost extra.” She winked.
The slightly inebriated woman practically purred. “I’m willing to p-pay.”
Adriana leaned over the bar, wrapped her hand around Patti’s neck and kissed her. She slipped her tongue between the woman’s lips and tasted the cold, sweet, creamy citrus of the drink. With a quick sweep of her tongue, she dominated the woman’s mouth then quickly exited. The lack of turn-on concerned her.
Patti grinned. “Now I’m addicted.”
Her husband pulled her against him. “And I’m jealous. My turn?” He wiggled his brow.
Adriana laughed to cover up her unease. “Not a chance. Save it for after dark. I’m on the clock.”
“Adriana.”
The hard tone of the voice had her turning. Wade stood at the entrance to the bar, frowning. The kiss wasn’t that bad.
Wiping her hands on the bar towel, she turned away from her customers and walked over. “What’s up?”
“Kendra wants to talk to you. I’ll watch the bar.”
That didn’t sound good. “Okay.” She lifted the bar top by Wade and slid out while he moved in. Either she’d screwed up something with the inspector or Kendra had a big problem.
Adriana picked up her pace as she headed into the main building. Out of habit, she glanced at the indoor bar. It was neatly buttoned up. If she’d screwed up, she’d fix it. She loved Poker Flat and respected Kendra. Hell, she’d been partly responsible for Wade and Kendra getting together. If there was anything she could do to help, she would.
She waved to Lacey who was helping a few guests, but Lacey’s look told her things were not good. Damn.
She’d taken Kendra up on her offer to work at the resort because she was bored at the bordello. It certainly hadn’t been a pay raise. But it hadn’t taken her long to enjoy the unique vibe Kendra had created. All the staff were misfits and Adriana felt at home. There was no judgment, which was a good thing because she was not ashamed of her bordello days. She’d been damn good.
Now she was a damn good bartender and for the first time in her life, she felt like she had a real home, family, community that fit her perfectly.
She reached Kendra’s closed door and knocked.
“Come in.”
Opening it, she found her boss at her small round table off to the side with a couple of guests. She recognized them from the day before. She’d served them drinks at happy hour. “You needed me.”
Kendra nodded. “Yes. The Blanchettes have come to me with a complaint I’m hoping you can shed some light on.”
“Did I screw up on your drinks yesterday?” Her mind whizzed back. One high-end gin with tonic and a margarita, no ice.
Mrs. Blanchette flushed. “Hardly. Why did you call my husband this afternoon?”
“Huh? I didn’t call him.” She looked at Kendra. Did the man have a lady on the side and decide to blame it on her? She wasn’t having any of that. “I’ve been running around like a crazy person between the golf cart rides, tending bar and the inspector.”
The wife in her early forties glared at her. “That doesn’t mean you couldn’t make a phone call. Were you trying to get him to come out and meet you late at night while I was asleep?”
The husband touched his wife on the arm, probably hoping to calm her but it had the opposite effect. She whisked her arm away and stood to face Adriana.
The woman looked at her like she was the scum of the earth. “Just because you can’t hold on to a man of your own, doesn’t give you the right to come after someone else’s.”
What the fuck? “Listen, lady, I have no f—”
“Mrs. Blanchette, what made you think it was Adriana who called your husband?” Kendra’s voice sounded pretty reasonable to her.
“You mean besides the fact she throws herself at every male guest here?”
The fucking bitch. She did no such thing. She was ultra-careful of that and was about to say so, but Kendra gave her the look that said to keep her mouth shut.
“When I asked who was calling, she chuckled and said it was Adriana.” The woman nodded as if that sealed the deal.
Kendra didn’t show any expression, which just added to Adriana’s frustration. This was bullshit. It reminded her of eighth grade when the popular girls tried to pin crap on her because she was so much prettier than they were. Half the time it worked, but she was an adult now and she’d be damned if she’d let anyone accuse her of something she didn’t do.
“Adriana, you can wait for me in the office.” Kendra lifted an eyebrow, which made it clear she expected to be obeyed.
She bristled. “Gladly. But just so you know, if I were to go behind the back of a spouse, male or female, I certainly wouldn’t tell the spouse my name. I’m not that stupid.”
She ignored the gasp of the wife and stormed out of Kendra’s office, too angry to watch where she was going. She’d made it to the lobby, almost bumping into a guest before she recognized where she was. “Damn.” Turning back, she strode into the office behind the reception desk and flopped down in a chair at the table.
She’d probably just made Kendra’s job all that much worse, but she’d be damned if she’d be accused of sleeping with a husband behind a wife’s back. Her normal mode of operation was to do both, not one.
Did she have sex with guests when invited? Yes. Was she into different kinds of kink? Yes. But she damn well never went behind anyone’s back and never let it interfere with her job.
Her gut tightened like she’d been punched. She’d never do anything to jeopardize Poker Flat.
Lacey poked her head in, her lavender-checked blouse making her look like an innocent cowgirl. “Hey, are you okay?”
The last thing Adriana needed was sympathy. “I’m fine. That bitch in there is the one with the fucking problem.”
“Shhh.” Lacey looked anxiously at the closed door. “I know. I was flabbergasted when they came to the desk. I ushered them back to Kendra right away. I didn’t want anyone else hearing their accusations.”
She stared hard at her friend. “Do you believe her?”
“Of course not.” Lacey took the chair next to her. “You don’t hide anything. Even if you wanted her husband, you would have just come out and propositioned them. That’s just who you are.”
Her stomach loosened a little at Lacey’s words. “But do you think Kendra will believe me?”
Lacey looked away. “Probably, but she’s got a bigger issue than believing you. If the Blanchettes go on the forums and start slamming this place because of what they think happened, we won’t recover. The nudist community is tight.”
“Motherfucker.” So if Kendra couldn’t convince the couple she was innocent, she’d be fired in order to keep the resort open. That sucked.
Lacey grasped her shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out.”
“And if we don’t, I guess I’ll just have to leave.” She shrugged. She’d been dealt worse blows in life. But the possibility still had her eyes smarting.
“No!” Lacey leaned forward and hugged her.
Freakin-a, she couldn’t handle a Lacey hug right now. She wanted it too much. She disentangled herself from her friend. “Give a girl some room to breathe. Don’t you have work to do or something?”
Lacey’s eyes widened and she leaned back to check the front desk. She faced Adriana again. “Nope.”
Great. “Did I tell you we need two bags of limes, a case of swizzle sticks and do you think you can order me some new bar towels? A few of them are getting pretty ratty-looking.”
Lacey frowned. “No, you didn’t tell me that. I just sent the order out. Let me see if I can add to it.” Lacey stood in a flurry of white skirt and breezed through the door to the reception desk.
That worked like a charm. Now if she could just distract herself as easily as she distracted Lacey, she’d be in good shape. She should be out there tending bar, not sitting in a back room like she was in some kind of time out. If Kendra didn’t come back in within the next five minutes, she was going back to work.
People’s voices in the hallway caught her attention. She stood and moved closer to the door. From the tone, it sounded like Kendra had soothed the ruffled feathers of the guests. Good.
She walked back to the table and sat. What she’d like to know is why they were ruffled in the first place. Maybe the husband was fooling around with another woman and she used a staff name to deflect suspicion.
Hmm, that had to be it.
The door to the staff room opened and Kendra walked in.
“So, what’s the real story?”
Her boss shook her head. “It’s not good.”
“What?” She stood. “I didn’t do it.” Her heart had gone into overdrive and she fisted her hands on her hips as she glared at Kendra.
“I know that.” Kendra waved her aside, like that wasn’t important. But it was to her.
“Sit. We need to talk.”
“I don’t want to sit or talk. I need to get back out to the bar.”
Kendra was unmoved. Instead, she sat in the chair recently vacated by Lacey. “You can’t go out to the bar. You are on vacation for a week.”
“What? No, I’m not. You don’t have enough staff for that.”
“Yes, you are because if you go out there within the next week, the Blanchettes will post about your indiscretion in all the forums.”
“Wait. My indiscretion? I didn’t fucking do anything.” Why was it that no one would listen to her? It was like she was invisible.
Kendra sighed. “I know that. You know that. Heck, the whole staff, once they hear of this event, will know you didn’t do it. But the fact is, someone did call Mrs. Blanchette and they used your name. That is the only proof the Blanchettes, who don’t know diddly about you, need.”
Fuck. She paced to the other side of the room, one hand on her hip. “So why the forced vacation?”
“They agreed not to mention the event publically, if I put you on probation.” Kendra held up her hand. “Wait. Hear me out. I told them I would do one better and force you to take a week off with no pay so you could think about your actions.”
She fisted her hands, trying desperately not to hit anything. The urge to break something was strong.
“I also gave them three more nights for free. My hope is that while you are on ‘vacation’ whoever called Mr. Blanchette will call again, making it obvious it can’t be you.”
“Um, what does my being on vacation have to do with a call? People can call from anywhere.”
Kendra suddenly found her jean-clad thigh fascinating and appeared to pick at a speck of whatever.
She didn’t like it. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“I told them I would confiscate your phone.”
“Fuckin-a. I’m not a teenager who slipped out of her room at night and used Daddy’s car. You’re forgetting I didn’t do anything wrong here.”
Kendra’s poker face fell and she sighed. “I know. I’m just trying to save Poker Flat and keep you on staff at the same time. Maybe that’s not possible.”
Dread at the prospect of Poker Flat closing or having to leave had the steam in her veins cooling. It infuriated her that someone had used her as their cover, but the last thing she wanted was to be the downfall of the resort. “Fine. But for the record, this blows.”
At the relief in Kendra’s face, her gut told her she’d done the right thing, but it still sucked…and it hurt.
*
Hunter strode toward the bar, his first step once starting his shift. He wanted to talk to Adriana and find out if she would be able to determine if anything was missing in her car. The mystery of the break-in had him anxious to get to work.
It was still early, the Arizona sky splashing a few purples and reds across the Sonoran Desert. The inside lights of the main building were just discernable through the tinted glass windows.
He heard laughter in the bar area and quickened his step. As he turned the corner, he slowed. Kendra was tending bar. As far as he knew, she only filled in when employees were sick. Did Adriana’s whip cuts become infected? He should have insisted on checking them the other night.
Despite his hatred for alcohol, he stepped up to the bar and waited for Kendra to finish with a guest. It was the same foursome from the other night. The tiny blonde woman teetered a bit as she took her wineglass with her, her husband keeping her from a serious face plant.
Hunter ground his teeth as a familiar burn started in the pit of his stomach.
“Do you need something, Hunter?”
He snapped his gaze away from the inebriated guest. “Is Adriana okay?”
Kendra sighed and that in itself sent sirens going off in his head.
“She’s pretty upset.” She leaned in and kept her voice low. “I had to put her on mandatory vacation.”
He stared at her. “What exactly is that and why?”
Kendra glanced toward a couple walking up the path toward the bar. “I’ll have to tell you later.” In an instant, she was chatting with the two people.
But as Hunter watched, he could see the stiffness behind Kendra’s smile and she leaned onto one hip, something he’d noticed she did when she was not comfortable.
He moved his gaze toward the guests. They ordered drinks and waited, but they didn’t chat or even look at each other. When he’d seen them a couple days ago they acted like two twenty year olds instead of a couple married for twenty years. Probably an argument.
He stepped away from the bar and strode back the way he’d come. The guest casitas could wait. He wanted to know what the hell was going on with Adriana.
It didn’t take him long to reach her casita and without hesitation, he knocked on the door.
“I’m coming. Please don’t leave. This solitary confinement is for the fucking birds.” A crash sounded inside and he had to tap down his instinct to bust in the door. It wasn’t as if she was some kind of criminal, but if she was scrambling to hide a guest, Kendra would be pissed.
More shuffling sounds came from inside. “Just had to throw something on.”
He almost grinned at that. Since when?
Finally, the door was yanked open.
“Oh my God. Thank you.” Adriana jumped onto him, her legs wrapping around his waist as her arms encircled his neck.
Before he could figure out what she was grateful for, she’d pressed her lips against his and thrust her tongue into his mouth.
Every nerve in his body ignited and he grasped her against him. He captured her tongue with his own and swept through her mouth, tasting a bite of lemon and inhaling her fresh sage scent.
Adriana pulled back and looked at him with full-on lust. “Hi.”