Johan's Joy (Heroes for Hire #22) - Dale Mayer Page 0,51
at him. “That doesn’t sound fair either.”
“Whatever,” he said. “We do what we feel is right, and this is next on our docket.”
“Fine.”
After that, the discussion turned to dinner. She quickly grabbed her sweater as they swept out of her apartment. She stopped and watched as Johan did something at the door. She looked at him and frowned, a question in her expression.
“Somebody put those bugs in,” he said, “and we’ll want to know if anybody’s been here while we’re out.”
“Okay,” she said, seeing he had just jammed a tiny hair into the door. “What’ll that tell you?”
“It’ll tell me if somebody opened the door,” he explained.
“Can’t it fall accidentally?”
“No,” he said, “it’s wedged in just enough.”
With that, he reached out, cupped her elbow, hooked her arm within his, and said, “I hear you were going to cheat me on a steak earlier.”
“I was not,” she protested, “but I didn’t really think about how much you guys eat.”
“I’m not a big eater,” he said, “but I am somebody who likes to have enough to feel full.”
“Which is why we’re going out for dinner,” she said, “because apparently I can’t judge food that well. Or know that a barbecue grill is required.”
“It’s not a matter of judging food. It’s just making sure there’s lots of it,” he said with a laugh.
At that, she nodded, and, with a final last glance behind her, she headed out to the vehicles. She stopped as she was led to the vehicle that he’d driven. “What if I want to go with Kai?”
“Too bad,” he said, “Galen’s going with Kai.”
“What if I don’t want to spend time with you privately?”
“Don’t you?” he asked, a suspicion of a smile in his voice.
“Maybe not,” she muttered. “You’re way too sure of yourself.”
He’d turned on the engine but stopped and turned to look at her. “Where you’re concerned, I’m not.”
She gave him a quick frown at that. “Why not?” she challenged.
“Not sure,” he said. “That kiss packed a punch I wasn’t expecting.”
“Good,” she said. “It’s only fair that you should have been rattled by it too.”
“Meaning, you were as well?”
“You know I was,” she said. “I also wasn’t expecting that.”
“Neither was I,” he said. “But it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”
She didn’t know what to say about that. She settled back into the seat, frowning. “Where are we going?”
“A large buffet downtown,” he said. “I can get two steaks there, if I want them.”
“Do you really need two steaks?”
“Not sure,” he said with a grin. “Maybe just one will do, depending on whatever else is on tap.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. There was just something almost surreal about the evening.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
After a few minutes of silence, she nodded. “Yes,” she said, “just mellow.”
“Good,” he said. “It’ll be fine, you know?”
She looked at him, hating to hear the insecurity in her voice when she asked, “Are you sure?”
As they came up to a stoplight, he reached across, grabbed her hand, and gently squeezed. “I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe.”
“I just don’t understand why I should be in danger at all,” she said.
“Maybe you aren’t,” he said. The light turned green, and they surged forward again. “Chances are, somebody found out we were there looking into the company, and it spooked them.”
“Well, two investigators will do that,” she joked.
“But unless they had some reason to think they would be found out, there wouldn’t be any doubt or worry about it. To have taken out the boss means that something has changed within the organization.”
“You think the thieves did it?”
“It makes sense,” he said. “For there to be a large theft ring within the company and not associated with the murder stretches the imagination. Generally, if there’s a bad element, it’s all connected.”
“Maybe,” she said. “I keep thinking about Chelsea and why anybody would want to kill her.”
“And again, if it’s connected, it’s likely because of what she might have found.”
“Nobody even talks about her,” she said. “That’s really sad. The woman lived and worked there, so you’d think that somebody would have something to say.”
“Sure,” he said. “So think about yourself and who you’ve spoken to since you’ve been there.”
She nodded. “Other than the bosses, when asked, nobody. Absolutely nobody.”
“Just Phyllis and the other woman, Doris.”
“Yes, just those two and then only because we shared that tiny space in the dungeon. But, even then, not much was said and never about anything that mattered.”