Dare She Stay — Chapter 4
A kitten who thought itself a dragon
Dirk caught Stormee as she melted against him. He wrapped his arms around her trembling form and cursed his libido. What was he doing? This woman-child was as innocent and untutored as they came. Virginal, self-conscious women were not his type. So, why did this one jump-start his heart every time she looked at him with her guileless eyes? At twenty-three, she was eight years younger, and if he counted experience and hard-living, a lifetime separated them.
He gripped her shoulders and gently pushed apart their bodies. She wasn’t shaking, but the hypnotic glaze in her eyes spoke volumes. With a slow caress, he slid one hand from her shoulder to cup her neck. “Stormee, I apologize. I was out of line. I’m sorry if I embarrassed you.”
She yanked herself free of his touch and shot him an accusing glare. The more she flashed those lustrous eyes, the more he wanted to complete the kind of evening he’d originally planned. A streak of reality cleared the thought from his head. Still, like a persistent rash, she dominated his focus, and he didn’t like the itch.
“Mr. Savage, I accept your apology. But I’d appreciate it if we could just get this interview over with! Then we can both put this unfortunate episode behind us.”
He nodded his agreement, surprised that she could articulate clearly through lips drawn tight in a petulant pucker. If she didn’t calm down and take some deep breaths, he’d have an unconscious woman on his hands. She reminded him of a frazzled kitten, one who thought itself a dragon capable of annihilating its foe with a scorching puff of wind. He couldn’t help stroking his finger along the bridge of her autocratic nose.
“Don’t pout, Stormee, the attitude doesn’t suit you,” he said with a conciliatory grin.
Stepping back, he gave her ample room to move around him. He’d supply the interview she wanted and return her home untouched. And first thing tomorrow, he’d have his head examined.
Stormee awarded herself a badge of courage, if only in her mind, and finished writing the last note of her interview. Dinner and the ensuing conversation, though awkward, filled her notebook with information, experiences, and resources. Now, if she could manage to thank him graciously and make her exit, she’d file this experience under SITUATIONS TO AVOID.
“I appreciate you answering my questions. Additional interview sessions won’t be necessary as I have all the information I need. Not to trouble you further, I’ll call a taxi to take me home.” She nodded in a queenly gesture of dismissal and tucked her arms into her sweater.
“Do you think I’m that easily sent on my way?” He placed his wine glass beside his plate and shoved his chair a few inches away from the table.
Stormee wasn’t sure how, but she’d struck a nerve. He was more than a little annoyed.
“I’m not in the habit of inviting a woman to dinner and then leaving her to find her way home. So, don’t even think of calling a taxi.” He leaned forward, his eyes cold. “Now, do something with your purse.”
Startled, Stormee looked at the small clutch inching a path to the table’s edge. the vibrations of the phone inside supplying the propulsion.
Snapping the purse open, she removed her phone. The caller ID was not one she recognized. “I’ll step into the lobby to take this.” She managed to reach the entrance before the person on the other end terminated the call.
“Hello?”
“Stormee Waters, please.”
“Yes, what can I do for you?”
“Miss Waters, this is Nurse Abbot at The Serenity Assisted Living Complex.”
Stormee’s stomach clenched as she asked the first question to jump onto her tongue. “Is my grandmother okay?”
“Mrs. Langley has been transported to the hospital. We’re not sure what happened, but she’s sustained a head injury. I’ve texted you the name and address of the hospital. Can you make arrangements to come as soon as possible?”
“Of course. Is there anything else I need to know?” She pressed her fist against her chest.
“Well.” The woman’s voice lowered. “There were some odd circumstances before your grandmother’s accident. We can discuss those after you’ve seen Mrs. Langley. Let me know your arrival time and I’ll meet you at the hospital.”
“What kind of situation?” Stormee squeezed the phone between her fingers.
“I’d rather not discuss this over the phone. However, we think your grandmother may be in further danger. You need to come as soon as possible.”
Danger? The cell phone slipped from Stormee’s hand and bounced once on the carpeted floor.
Dirk appeared at her side, retrieved the phone, and then pushed her toward a nearby chair, shoving her into it none too gently. Without hesitation, he intercepted her call. “This is Dirk Savage, a friend of Miss Waters. She’s visibly shaken. Tell me what I should know so I can assist her.”
Stormee reached toward him in an imperious gesture, which he ignored. Her attempt to stand met with a heavy hand on her shoulder, one tolerating no rebellion against his insistence she stay seated.
“Yes. I understand. I’ll take care of everything. Miss Waters will arrive tomorrow. My assistant, James Bowden, will be at the hospital within six hours and will act on behalf of Mrs. Langley’s security. He can reach me at any time.”
Her palm itched to slap his arrogant jaw. But hitting the most unpredictable man she’d ever met, even in a public restaurant, couldn’t be a smart move. She snatched her phone from his hand. “You’re past being impossible! Who do you think you are — my father?” She shook with indignation.
The bit about their age difference came out of nowhere. The tightening of his concrete jaw confirmed she’d hit the retaliation jackpot. She didn’t bother to hide the smugness in her expression or the satisfaction she received when his complexion darkened with indignation.
“If I were your father, Miss Waters, Id march you out to the car and tan your pretty little backside for not knowing what’s good for you.”
“Take me home,” she hissed through tight lips. Executing a dismissive turn, she stalked toward the exit.
Dirk stepped in stride beside her and placed his hand in the middle of her back. “Exactly what I’d suggest since you have preparations to finish. A car will pick you up at five A.M. and get you to the airport in time to make a six A.M. flight.”
She stopped walking and turned to face him. “I can’t make a reservation that fast. I’m sure the earliest will be tomorrow afternoon or evening.”
“I have a private plane. I can get you to Chicago quicker than a commercial flight.” He gripped her upper arm and urged her toward the exit.
Stormee balked and rolled her eyes. “I don’t care if you have a space shuttle. You’re not taking me to Chicago.”
Dirk tilted his head and raised one eyebrow.
For a half-second, he reminded her of her high school chemistry teacher, Mr. Clark, whose censorious expressions were as lethal as the volatile chemicals she often mixed by mistake.
“I assumed your first concern would be for your grandmother. On the other hand, if you wish to linger and perhaps arrive too late…”
“What?” Her eyes misted as anger fled in the face of a new emotion. Does he mean Nana could die?
“Look, Stormee. My only objective is to help you get to your grandmother. If doing so makes you more comfortable, I’ll promise not to touch you in any way you might deem unsuitable. I think that takes care of the only viable objection you may have?” He released his grip on her arm and crossed his in front of his chest, taking a waiting stance.
Her mind reeled with protest while her heart waged a counter-attack. She couldn’t label him as completely unfamiliar, strange maybe — but not a stranger. Didn’t she hold a notebook with at least five pages of facts concerning Houston’s elusive bachelor? If he kept his distance, how dangerous could he be? A second look at his one-sided smile suggested an answer that gave her the jitters.
She shoved her phone back into the clutch and gave Dirk an eye-to-eye power glare of the type she used on Josh. “I expect you to keep your word, Mr. Savage. I am not as helpless as you may think. One wrong move and you’ll not be fond of the consequences. Do you get what I’m saying?”
Before answering, he took a long moment to study her.
The head-to-toe glance that accompanied his silence made her thoughts a crazy mixture of excitement and foreboding.
Nodding, he leaned in her direction. “Stormee, where you’re concerned, my boundaries are clearly charted.”
Baffled, she scrunched her forehead. Did he mean to make her loony with his ambiguous replies?
Stormee sipped her frosted cola laced with a hint of rum and let the tropical breeze dancing across the ship’s deck cool her sun-kissed skin. The gorgeous hunk applying suntan lotion stopped running his strong fingers over her thigh when the most horrendous noise banished him from her side.
She shoved the pillow off the top of her head and slapped at the clock on the bedside table twice before connecting with the alarm button. The man not only invaded her personal space, but he infested her dreams, as well. She took her frustration out on the helpless pillow, giving it three strong punches before jumping out of bed.
Thankfully, she’d packed everything the previous night. The mushy stuff passing for brain cells at such an early hour wasn’t capable of coherent thought. She grabbed the clothes laid over the chair and headed for the shower.
Though the hot shower proved refreshing, the steamy water didn’t take the edge off her surly temper. A fact proven by the reality of her present stance. With her body weight stealthily balanced, she positioned herself at the foot of Josh’s bed. Lifting her right arm, she aimed a fully-loaded pistol at his head. Without a single ounce of remorse, she let her index finger squeeze the trigger three times in quick succession. The shots hit him once in the ear, and twice in the temple.
All six feet of him hit the floor as he rolled one time too many to escape the deadly aim of her water pistol.
“Stormee! I swear, when I find where you hide that thing, I’m going to puree it in your blender!” He shook his fist at her but it held little threat as he still lay sprawled across the bedside rug.
“Don’t you dare threaten me,” she snapped back with equal irritation.
Josh scrambled to his feet and towered over her, not hard to do since he topped her by eight inches. He bent forward until his nose fit right between her eyes. “You’re the evilest sister a guy ever had.”
“Don’t blame me. Get up when I call, and I won’t need to keep repeating this target practice. You’ve got forty-five minutes before Mr. Savage’s driver arrives.”
“What’s this guy doing messing in our business? I’m telling you, he has the look of a Wise Guy.” Josh mimicked a gun with his hand and pulled back on his thumb as though cocking a revolver.
Stormee shrugged. “I’m sure he wouldn’t be the powerful man he is without a high degree of intelligence.”
Josh threw up his hands. “I don’t mean brain smart. Haven’t you noticed he has a razor-sharp edge just like those characters in that movie we watched about the crime syndicate?”
“Don’t exaggerate.”
Josh grabbed her by both arms, lifted her out of his way, and strode off in the direction of the bathroom. “You never listen to me anyway. But I’m telling you, he’s trouble.”
Dirk perched on the arm of one of the jet’s oversized chairs and sipped his third cup of coffee. After taking Stormee home, he’d spent what was left of the night running a complete background check on her. His lips curled upward in a discerning smile. He could better understand her fiery nature having traced her lineage back to the wind-swept shores of Ireland.
Other things in her past were not as explainable. Mystery and tragedy appeared to stalk her family. He wondered if Stormee knew her grandmother’s brother had died in a questionable drowning that nearly claimed her Nana’s life, as well. She’d been Stormee’s age at the time.
The fact that her grandmother had moved repeatedly and changed her name three times in the next five years didn’t make sense either. At twenty-nine years of age, using the alias Doris Gates, she’d settled in Boston with a four-year-old son, Stormee’s father. There were no marriage documents on file and no birth certificate registered for the child until he was six years old, and that was more of a pseudo-document required by the school registrar’s office.
The next bit of unsettling information raised the hair on his arms. Twelve years ago, after the death of her son and daughter-in-law in a house fire, Mrs. Gates changed her name to Langley and moved to Chicago, taking her two grandchildren with her, eleven-year-old Stormee and four-year-old Josh. It didn’t take twenty years of investigative experience to know the danger marking Mrs. Langley’s past still stalked the present, putting Stormee and Josh at risk.
The image of Stormee’s innocent eyes struck a fierce cord, one that insisted this woman was his to protect. Sweat formed beads of moisture on his forehead and the adrenaline filling his veins solidified the thought like cooling magma.
Cricket, one of his staff and the pilot for this trip, hollered through the open door of the cockpit. “Your guests just arrived, Boss. You want me to escort them?”
Dirk placed his cup on the sidebar and walked toward the passenger door. “No, I’ll meet them.”
His two passengers walked toward the plane. Josh’s demeanor screamed defiance. The know-it-all swagger and the tough-guy tilt to the teenager’s chin were easily recognizable since they were forms of body language he’d practiced in his youth.
The moment Stormee spotted him at the top of the loading ramp, she halted her forward momentum. Josh, a step behind, whispered something in her ear. The deer-in-the-headlights expression on Stormee’s face gave Dirk reasons to believe Josh needed a man-to-man talk, and soon.
To be continued…
https://readmedium.com/dare-she-stay-chapter-5-aff5acee8708
Check out more romantic fiction by Lynda Coker