I held my breath. Any girl who sees Vance holds her breath, be she five or one hundred and five.
He was just that fine.
He was wearing a pair of army green cargo pants that had seen a lot of wear, a skintight burgundy t-shirt that looked in danger of cutting off his circulation at his muscular biceps and a pair of dusty brown cowboy boots that looked like they’d actual y been put into a pair of stirrups (more than once). His shiny black hair was pul ed back into a ponytail and his dark eyes were fringed with a set of lashes so lush, you could almost cal them girlie, if you had a death wish.
“Good! You came,” Indy cried immediately and I looked at her.
She grabbed my arm and pul ed me toward Vance.
He shook his head when we arrived at him.
“Thought I’d tel you to your face, this isn’t gonna happen,” Vance said to Indy.
Indy narrowed her eyes.
“What isn’t going to happen?” I asked.
Vance turned to me, “When we talked about you at the staff meeting, I voted to lock you in the safe room.” My mouth dropped open.
I didn’t even know what the safe room was but I knew I didn’t want anything to do with it. And I didn’t want to think about being an agenda item at a Nightingale Investigations staff meeting at al .
“Pardon?” I asked.
“Eddie’d have a shit fit, you wanderin’ around during day hours, hangin’ with the guys. Lee thought you’d be a distraction. The guys voted with me.” His eyes did a body scan and the look in them changed to something that made me feel like swaying toward him, like he had a powerful sexual tractor beam reeling me in.
“Sometimes, distractions are good,” he said softly, “In your case, it’d be job satisfaction.”
Dear Lord.
My mouth went dry.
What the hel was this about?
“Lee vetoed,” Vance finished and the tractor beam disconnected.
Thank God.
I pul ed myself together.
“You don’t help us, we’l go alone,” Indy threatened, completely ignoring the strange, sexual y-charged byplay.
“You try to go alone, I grab her and take her to the office.
Eddie can pick her up there. Lee’l deal with you,” Vance returned.
Eek!
That didn’t sound good. I didn’t want Vance grabbing me (at least not that way… what was I saying, I was sleeping with Eddie, not any way) and I certainly didn’t want Lee
“dealing with” Indy. Lee was Scary with a capital S.
“What are you two talking about?” I cut in.
Indy turned to me.
“You want to find your Dad, Vance is real y, real y good at finding people. I asked him to help.”
I looked to Vance.