Page 11 of Duty

Dante hung up the phone without a goodbye. Andino wished he could say he was surprised. Turning on his heel to apologize and say goodbye to the woman who had been at the mouth of the connecting trail, he found the spot empty.

And the woman gone.

Fuck.

He hadn’t even gotten her name.

Snaps looked up at Andino with his big, dark eyes—ready and willing to find yet another stick to be thrown for him, probably.

“Where did she go?” Andino asked his dog.

Snaps simply wagged his stubby tail.

Thanks for the help, buddy.

TWO

If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.

Haven Murphy had seen that inspirational quote on the office wall of a guidance counselor when she had been applying to college after college in high school, and it stuck with her.

That was eight years ago—when she had only been eighteen. Now, at twenty-six, not much had changed for her when it came to what she learned from that quote. She had taken those words to heart that day, and every single day thereafter, too.

It was why she jogged every single day. Eight miles, never failed.

She would jog until her lungs felt like they were going to give out; until the sweat soaked her clothes; until her legs just couldn’t take anymore. And then she would stop for a breather, like she was doing right then at the same spot every time, turn around, and run all the way back home to her small Brooklyn bungalow.

That simple inspirational quote also cemented her decision right then and there that no matter what people were telling her—regardless of how much her father and mother wished she would travel or indulge her love of writing, or literally anything else but take over the family business—a business degree was the way to go.

It was what she had wanted to do, after all. Not travel to see a world that was falling apart at the seams, or write for decades upon decades only to have the gatekeepers of the publishing world tell her she wasn’t good enough.

No, none of that appealed to her.

Haven was responsible.

Smart.

Practical.

And business was all of those things, too.

It worked out well for her—when her mother’s health failed two years back, and her father needed to take a step back from the bar he’d been running for over four decades, Haven stepped in to keep Safe Haven running, and profitable for her father while he took care of her mother.

What she hadn’t known at the time?

The bar her father had so dearly loved was suffering under crushing debt—a byproduct of her father trying to keep their head above water for years, pay for Haven’s college, and then his wife had gotten sick, too. She wished Neil had said something; her father had always been too proud to ask for help.

Even now, two years after Haven had taken over the business, and bought her father out. She allowed him a safe retirement … not to mention, saved Safe Haven from financial ruin. Neil was still too proud to admit anything had been wrong. He also hadn’t come back to the bar since Haven had made a few changes to the place.

She didn’t blame that one on her father’s pride, though.

No, she blamed herself for that. Well, that and the fact that very little about the small bar was the same as it used to be. Where it had once been enjoyed as a quiet spot for a draft beer after a long day of work, it was now known for some of the most beautiful nude dancers in New York.

Or, strippers, if someone wanted to be particular.

Her father knew it was a good business to be in, and the cash was more than good, but he still didn’t like it a whole lot.

Haven had been one of those dancers at first—she’d taken a pole dancing exercise class in college to keep fit, and challenge herself in a new way. She was always trying to find something to take her to the next level. Pole dancing fitness was certainly challenging, and fun.