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“How many people do you know?”
“What, like in general?” He shrugs. “I’ve got a few close friends. Hundreds of acquaintances through the job.”
“I thought so.” I nod in satisfaction. “Look, I’ll make you a deal.”
“What kind of deal?”
“I want you to think about the people you trust,” I say. “Your real friends. People you’ve known for a long time, and people you just have a good gut feeling about. I guarantee that more than one knows something about the food service industry. Get some feedback about your idea. Learn what it would take to get a jump-start to open a restaurant.”
“You mean a seafood shack.”
“Sorry, a seafood shack. I want you to research the possibilities.”
I half expect him to scoff at the idea, but instead, he seems to actually consider it.
“What’s your end of the bargain?” he asks.
“Ifyou promise to do that,” I say, “I’ll create a website and put two or three of my favorite soaps up for sale. I don’t know how to set up a website any more than you know how to open a restau—seafood shack, but if you make an effort to learn, then so will I.”
He looks at me for a long minute. “Okay.”
I blink. “Okay?”
“Deal.” He pats my hip. “Why do you look so surprised?”
“I just didn’t think the big, bad bounty hunter would take a deal.”
He grins and grabs the front of my shirt, tugging me closer. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? Whatever you offer me, I’ll grab with both hands. And I won’t let go.”
ChapterFifteen
Dane
“I’m not waiting here.”Hannah folds her arms and glowers at me. Her face is set with theI won’t give updetermination I recognized the first time I saw her.
Five days ago. My heart constricts. Only five days, but I can’t remember my life before this beautiful girl. It’s like my world was covered in a fog-like gray.
Then I set eyes on Hannah Clark and everything exploded into Technicolor. My life is no longer my own.
I’ve lived on the edge for years. I’ve been shot at, stabbed, attacked. I’ve plunged into alleys and crack houses expecting to be killed. I’ve gone after murderers and rapists. I’ve gotten into more fights and brawls than I can count. I’ve never been afraid.
I am now.
“Hannah.” I fight to keep my voice even. “This is a drug deal involving some of the worst lowlifes and scumbags in the state. I don’t want you in the same fucking hemisphere as them. I sure as hell won’t let you get within fifty feet of the goddamn drop.”
“And I won’t let you go alone,” she replies sharply. “You’re doing this because ofme, Dane. I’m the one who got you into this. I’m the one whose mother is practically enslaved by that asshole. I’m the one who needs to prove the drugs weren’t mine. I’m the reason you gave up your job, and Iknowthat will hurt your career and reputation. No.”
She holds up her hand. “Don’t you dare tell me the reputation you’ve built while bounty hunting for the past fifteen years of your life doesn’t matter. You could’ve quit bounty hunting anytime, but you didn’t because you’re so good at it. You’re doing something worthwhile and right.”
She spreads her arms out for emphasis. “Yes, you want to start a second act, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be proud of your skills, accomplishments, and dedication. All of which you’re now using forme.So if we’re in this together, then we’re in ittogether. I’m going with you to the stash house. I won’t get in the way, and I promise I’ll do whatever you say. But we’re going together.”
Unable to look at her, I stalk to the window. Learning what Keller had planned took me a few days, but my work among criminals and the underworld paid off. Several longtime contacts told me what they knew, and I put the pieces together with the intel I learned from customers and small talk at Zodiac.
A small group of smugglers are transporting a shipment of drugs trafficked up through the Central Valley from Mexico. Whether or not they’re the Venado cartel, no one knows for sure. But the stash house—titled in the name of a shell company that I’m certain links back to Eddie Keller—is their drop-off point.
Tonight.
“I’ll call the DEA.” I stare out at the city lights glowing through the darkness. “Tell them about the drop. Neither one of us needs to be there.”
