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Not that she said that. She was far too busy giving the nasty-looking guard big, wide eyes and making sure her dress was smooth and pretty. “Do you need to look in my purse?”
Dare had a hand on her waist. “He doesn’t need to look in your anything.”
“I’m afraid I have to insist,” the guard said.
He liked that she was being submissive. He probably enjoyed hurting women or simply humiliating them.
She turned his way. “I don’t mind.”
“He’s not putting his hands on you,” Dare promised.
She turned to the guard. “What exactly are you looking for? I’m afraid my boyfriend isn’t going to let you do a pat down. Where would an assassin hide a gun?”
It was time for theatrics. There was a time to blend into the background and a time to be bold. It was time for bold. She’d learned men sometimes couldn’t handle bold, especially the ones who liked to humiliate and manipulate. There was a chair sitting to the guard’s left. Tasha moved to it, settling her left leg on the seat and pulling her skirt up to reveal her perfectly smooth and tan leg. She might not have her sisters’ height, but her legs were nice and shapely. “Would I hide one here?”
“Tash.” Dare’s voice had gone Dom low, and she knew she was pushing his limits.
The good news was he could spank her to his heart’s content tonight. “This way he doesn’t have to touch me and you don’t have to kill him, baby. Mr. Whatever your name is, do we agree I’m not carrying a weapon on my thigh? I’m wearing a thong. I don’t think they’ve made guns small enough to fit between my cheeks yet. Should I show you?”
Nate growled but stepped back. “You’re going to be the death of me, Tash.”
She lowered her leg, pulling her skirt up to show him the other. The skirt of the airy Dior she wore was a vibrant blue, contrasting with her skin. They’d spent a half day shopping on Oxford Street. He’d bought her a couple of dresses and some shoes to die for, and a Cartier bracelet she was never going to take off. It shone in the light as she ran a hand up her leg. “Nothing here, either. I would show you my breasts, but I think my boyfriend would take offense.”
“You’re fine,” the guard grumbled, having gone a bright red. “You should go on in. It’s obviously fine.”
Bold. Sometimes it was the only way to go.
Dare moved in behind her, that big hand grasping her arm as he leaned over to whisper in her ear. “You are going to pay for that, brat.”
She would have told him she happily would, but the door to the dining room came open as a server came out. A familiar server.
Zach was coming through the door with an empty tray and nodded their way. They’d known about this meeting for a couple of days, but she’d been unaware he’d found a way in.
“Ma’am. Sir. I just dropped off the bread service. They’re waiting for you,” he explained in a perfect Aussie accent. “And there’s a private washroom inside to your left, should you have need. We’ll be in with wine momentarily.”
“Thank you,” she said.
Before she could push through the door, Dare leaned in, stopping her. “I should take you out of here. I don’t like this. Something feels off.”
Something was off, but she had everything in place.
For the hundredth time, she thought about telling him exactly what was going on. He wasn’t involved in this. Hell, an investigation might lead to his father getting arrested, and that would be good for him. He might understand. He might forgive her.
Now was not the time. She wasn’t sure when that time would be—if that time would be—but she had to talk to her team first.
And a member of her team had just told her where he wanted her to go. Kenzie could have warned her Zach was going to be here. They hadn’t had much time before she and Brian had left for the conference, but she could have sent a cryptic text at least.
“It’s fine. We’re in the middle of Sydney, and we have a perfectly good bodyguard watching after us,” she assured him. “I promise they can’t hurt me. They won’t even try.”
And if they did, she would take care of the problem. If Zach was here, then he’d almost certainly hidden a couple of weapons for her.
She pushed through the door, taking the choice away from him. He needed this meeting and so did she.
The private dining room was filled with soft light. It still held with the old-school themes of the restaurant, but there was an airiness to this room that felt lighter somehow.
There were ten or so white-linen covered tables, but only one was occupied. Two men sat at a table near the windows, their backs to the wall so they could see when she and Dare walked in.
