Rogue Alliance (10 page)

             
A shiver ran down her spine when she hear
d a smooth, deep voice call out.

             
“Hey, Chad,
” it said,
“
are you going to introduce your friend.”

             
She turned to see Victor Champlain walking toward them with a sideways grin on his face. He was talking to Chad but he was looking directly at her.

             
“Oh, hey, Victor. Yeah, sure. This is Shyla. I’m giving her a lesson. She wants to learn.”

             
Victor stood four feet away with his hands nestled casually in the front pockets of his green cargo pants. The smile on his face was charming. His skin was tan and his eyes were gray.

             
“Well, hello, Shyla,” h
e
said, extending his right hand, “w
hat makes you want to learn to skeet shoot?”

             
She’d already prepared her answer.

             
“Oh, you know. I’m new in town. City girl. I moved here for a new job. I’m not used to the country and I’m a little freaked out. I thought maybe I should learn to shoot a gun.”

             
She released his hand.

             
“Well
,
that’s what shooting ranges are for. This here’s a bit more complicated. It’
s a sport.”

             
Sh
yla
gave a shy smile.

             
“Oh, well, maybe I should have checked that out first. I just thought…oh, I don’t know what I thought. I feel dumb now.”

             
Victor stepped forward.

             
“Hang on now,” he said, “d
on’t feel dumb. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to give you a hard time. I think it’s great that you want to learn something new and are taking the initiative to do it. People don’t
do
that enough in my opinion.
They just talk
about what they want to do and
don’t actually do it. Good for you.

             
“I’m Victor. I’m fairly new in town as well.”

             
“Really?”

             
“Yeah, I moved her about a little over a month
ago. I love it. It’s gorgeous and it’s away from the hectic pace of the city.”

             
“Oh, I loved the city. I miss it. I’m from Seattle.”

             
“You do? Then why’d you move?”

             
Shyla scuffed her toes in the dirt and looked up at him under her lashes.

             
“Oh, well, my company downsized because of the economy. I had to look for work. This was the only thing I found. But that’s okay. I like it here so far. I just miss the city is all.”

             
“Hey, Vic, quit flirting and get your butt back over here. We have a skeet match about to start.”

             
Victor didn’t
turn to answer his buddy. He just ignored him. He kept his eyes on Shyla.

             
“Hey, Chad, why don’t you let me show Shyla the ropes.”

             
“Uh, well, she
paid her fee,” he said nervously, “s
he has an hour lesson.”

             
Victor
turned and gave him
a
calm, icy stare.

             
“That’s fine, Chad,” he said, “y
ou can keep your fee. I’m not trying to steal your business. Just your client
and I’m sure Shyla won’t mind. Let’s let her decide.”

             
Victor turned to Shyla; she was amused.
True to his reputation,
he was
clearly used to calling the shots and having ev
eryone
bend to his beck and call. He would not be taking no for an answer. Normally his pompous atti
tude would have turned her off, b
ut since he was
falling into her snare, she gave another shy grin.

             
“I don’t mind. But your friends might.”

             
She looked over his shoulder toward his group and her eyes landed on one in particular. He was taller than the others and his shoulders w
ere wide. His stance was set and
he didn’t move an inch. He onl
y stared. She met his gaze for only a
second but it was long enough to send another shiver down her spine. This must be the body guard, she thought.

             
“
They’ll be just fine without me,
”
Victor shrugged.

             
He tu
rned to the men.

             
“You guys g
o on and go the first round
,” he shouted, “
I’ll sit it out. I’ve made a new friend. I’ll be over in a bit.”

             
Shyla watched the body guard. He stood
,
frozen, watching them from a distance
,
even when the others started moving about and preparing for their shoot. She turned away and focused on Victor.

             
An hour’s worth of small talk and flirting
later, Shyla was confident that she had Victor right where she wanted him. The lesson was unnecessary but she allowed him to wrap his arms around her while he showed her how to properly hold her rifle. She desperately wanted to dislike him, but to h
er discomfort,
his charm was quite captivating.

She reminded herself that he was a very dangerous man who engaged in a plethora of illegal and sordid activities. And she was a cop with a job to do.

             
Meanwhile, she was quite aware of the way
his body guard watched them. That, too, was unsettling.
She could feel him observing an
d evaluating.

             
“Pull,” she said
, aiming and firing
, making sure to shoot high and to the left.

             
“That
was a lot better,” Victor said, “a
nd you’re holding your gun perfect
ly
now, making sure the recoil doesn’t hurt you.”

             
“Yeah? Well
,
I still missed and my shoulder is starting to hurt a bit.”

             
She rubbed the spot where she had nestled the butt of the gun.

             
Victor stepped forward and gently caressed the top of her shoulder. A seductive grin crossed his lips.

             
“You might be a bit sore tonight.
How about I take you out to dinner and take your mind of
f
the pain.”

             
Shyla hesitated.

             
“Uh, well…I don’t know…”

             
“Oh, come on, kiddo.
I’m new in town. You’re new in town. I’ve got no one but those goons to keep me company. I would enjoy nothing more than to entertain a pretty girl for the evening.”

             
Shyla’s gut reaction to the usage
of the word “kiddo” was visceral
and brutal anger. She hated the term. It was one her father
had
used. She suppressed the urge to suddenly punch Victor in the face. Some of his earlier charm had instantly waned.

             
“Well
,
you did give me a good lesson in skeet shooting, so I guess I owe you. Dinner would be nice.
Are you cooking?
”

             
“Cooking? Me?
” Victor beamed, “N
ot a chance. But I have a cook who could fix up something exceptional.
I was going to take you somewhere in town, but your idea is so much better.
I live on a nice piece of land at the bottom of the mountain. It’s gorgeous at sunset. You’ll love it.
I’ll pick you up around six-ish?”

             
It was working out even better than she’d hoped for. Not only was she getting a date out of the deal, she’d been invited to his place. She could scope it out and take note of who worked closely with him.
She wanted to avoid running into anyone
in town
she might know from her past anyway.

             
“Why don’t you give me your address? That way
,
if I’m a little late you won’t have to wait for me in town. You know us girls, always running on our
own
sense of timing. Besides
, if you live out of town,
it will give me the opportunit
y to see the countryside a bit.”

             
He hesitated and looked at h
er carefully.

             
“Yeah, okay. That works. I’ll get a pen.”

ELEVEN

             
Antsy didn’t even begin to describe how Shyla felt as she prepared for her date with Victor.
It wasn’t anx
iety; it was the
anticipation of walking into the lion’s den. A person’s home could be very revealing. She had every intention to keep her eyes and ears peeled for any possible
leads into his seedy world of drug dealing. A name here, a subtle question there
- you never knew where it could lead.

             
As she drove up his long, winding driveway
,
she licked her lips and quieted her mind. She donned the secretary alias like a well worn h
at and pushed the doorbell
.

I
t
surprised her when the body guard answered as opposed to a butler. He offered his hand.

             
“Hello. I’m Brennan. Victor is on an important phone call. He asked that I show you around
. I hope that’s all right.”

             
“Well
,
hello, Brennan. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Shyla, but I’m sure you already know that.”

             
When she took his hand
he held it for a heartbeat longer than she’d expected and looked deep into her eyes.
She noticed his were a vivid green
, similar to her own
. They looked straight into her soul as if seeing past her façade. She felt suddenly vulnerable.
             
Her breath caugh
t. What was he looking for?

             
She smiled. Brennan
released her hand and stepped back.

             
“Come in, please,” he said,
“
I’m sure it won’t be long before Victor joins us. He has been looking forward to it since this morning.”

             
Shyla
followed him out of the foyer, heels clicking on the marble floors. She’d broken her promise to avoid them, rationalizing that flashing a little leg never hurt on a mission such as hers.
They took a left and stepped down into a lovely living room.

             
“Can I get you something to drink? A lemonade?
Something stronger perhaps?” Brennan
asked.

             
“Patron on the rocks, please,” she answered while taking in the decadent surrounding
s
of Victor’s home. It had high
, cedar-beamed ceilings.
The décor was vibrant in Native American designs and colors. It had a masculine feel.
The far
wall was mostly windows displaying
the vast expanse of land which lay in the
valley just at the foot
of the mountain. No wonder he’d fallen in love with it. It was beautiful.

             
Brennan lifted an eyebrow but poured two fingers of the requested drink.

             
“Did you enjoy your shooting lesson today?”
he asked.

             
“It was…interesting. Let’s just say that. I think maybe I’ll find a new hobby
,
though. My shoulder is pretty tender.”

             
She smiled
and took a moment to observe him better
.
His face had strong features.
E
verything about him exuded strength. It seemed as if the space around him had to expand just
to fit his presence. A
n image of him wrapping his strong arms around her filled her mind. She wasn’t sure if the embrace was passionate or violent
,
but it sent a shiver through her body.