We’ve had some fun.We can part friends.
“Are you sure this isn’t just you bailing on me again?”she asks.
Fuck it!I don’t even attempt to deny it.
-12-
-Dylan Drake-
Lorne’s only too happy to see me.He suggests the Shadow Garden as a location to meet.Dare Wilde’s private club transforms from a hedonistic paradise in the evening to a haven of tranquillity in the daytime.There’s a cleaning lady flitting about, and a lone member of the bar staff bottling up behind the counter when Kira escorts me down into the cavernous basement the club occupies.Her insistence on shadowing me is why I arranged to meet Lorne on neutral territory.I didn’t actually want her to know where I might end up staying.
Lorne appears within a couple of minutes of us being served coffee; it’s good stuff—kicks like a mule.My fellow Sunsetter is looking spry today, his glossy blonde hair grown long enough to rest on his shoulders, and I swear he’s been bleaching his smile.He envelops me in a masculine scented hug.“Glad to see you’re in one piece.I saw the footage on the news.Scary stuff.”
“Footage?”
“Your car.The mangled wreck.”
I exchange glances with Kira.How is it even possible that footage of the moment exists?No one knew the car was about to detonate.I assume he means some member of the public filmed the aftermath on their phone and sent it to the networks, because otherwise I have to entertain the possibility that my stalker was in the vicinity of the blast.The thought obviously occurs to Kira too, as she immediately palms the burner phone Johns gave us and dials her boss.I suppose it could have been CCTV footage.While Kira’s distracted on the line to Falchard, I give Lorne a nod, and we take our conversation off to one of the private booths towards the rear of the club.
Lorne has a bunch of papers spread across the central table of the U-shaped booth, at first I think he’s totting up the monthly accounts for the club, until I realise he’s annotating lines on a script.He gathers the pages up into a pile before I have the chance to see what the show’s about.
“So what’s up, Dylan.Haven’t seen you in a while, your mug’s plastered all over the news, and suddenly you’re arranging clandestine meetings with me.”
“Yeah, well I don’t want anyone to know my whereabouts in case they take it upon themselves to make another attempt at blowing me sky-high.I need a place to stay.”
Lorne shoots me an “Oh, really!You don’t say,” sort of look, both blue eyes open wide and one brow twitching.“I daresay you do, but what are you actually here for.”
“A place to stay,” I re-emphasize.As in there aren’t any ulterior motives… Well, not many.“I have some dangerous lunatic after me.It started with stupid notes, but I’ve been shot at, and had my car blown to smithereens since.I hoped that as Dare’s not around anymore, you might be okay with me imposing for a bit.”
Lorne patiently nods.“If my place is safe enough to occupy, why the fuck did you insist on us meeting here?”
Curse this dude and his fucking legendary powers of perception.I chew my tongue for a while, prompting him to cross his arms.
“I’ve a problem.”The admission eventually oozes from me.
“Clearly.”
He cocks his head, anticipating further revelations.
“A tall blonde problem.”I nod my head back the way we’ve come, and Lorne’s gaze follows the trajectory.
“A currently standing at the bar problem?”
Yup, that’s the one.Bravo Lorne.He cottons on quick.Maybe the fact he’s perceptive isn’t such a bad thing.
“Who is she?”
“My security detail.”
“Okay,” he drawls, flooding his voice with scepticism.“Surely a bodyguard is handy at a time like this.If you have someone gunning for you—”
“I do, and her being a close protection officer isn’t really the issue.It’s her, person her, that’s the problem.”
“You don’t get along?”
“We get along waytoowell.”Aw, shit!I sit on my hands in order to prevent myself from covering my face, like I need a screen to hide behind.Seriously, I’ve nothing to be ashamed of.It’s not a crime to fall for someone, and want to be around them, and touch them.
“Sorry, nope, still not really following.You’re going to have to spell it out.”
