Dare to Trust (The Dare 1)

He nodded his head and Jack and Danny walked out. She felt badly and as Mike began to leave she reached out and touched his arm. The contact burned, she was so attracted to the man. To his cologne, his muscles, his compassion.

“Thank you, Mike,” she said, and he gave a soft smile, nodded his head, and walked out of the room. The door closed and she turned around to look into the mirror. She was shocked to see how flush she was, how her eyes sparkled, and her body hummed with an awareness. She looked at the bandage, almost feeling his fingers gentle against her skin again. She couldn’t trust him or his brothers. She couldn’t trust any man. They could be just like Peter.

She felt the tears sting her eyes as she washed the coffee from her blouse, wrung it out, then used the air dryer on the wall to try and dry it a little. Then she put it back on and thought about Vicky and what she’d said. She’d said they spent time together and that they enjoyed one another’s company at her place last week. Could it be true? Could they not be as kind, and caring as they seem to be to Marlena? What if they slept with Vicky and now ignored her and pretended they never did? They were men who used women for what they wanted. She already experienced that once before, and look what it cost her. The fear had her forcing the thoughts from her head as well as any attraction to Mike, Danny, and Jack. She didn’t need more pain. She had a lifetime full already.

Chapter 2

“Her friends are here but she’s not. Do you think she’s in pain from that burn today at the diner?” Danny asked Jack as they stood by the bar in Spencer’s.

“Probably, although she rarely goes out,” Jack replied, his eyes on Marlena’s friends, who all looked like they were uncomfortable and not having fun. It was strange, but the three women were all stunning, yet they didn’t date or seem to be interested in doing so. He had to laugh. His good friends Will, Leo, and Hank Ferguson from Ferguson construction were very protective of their personal assistant Adele. By the way they talked about her, he’d say they were interested in getting to know Adele outside of work. But Adele was a lot like Marlena. She was shy, reserved, didn’t give much info on herself, and was a hard worker. She was an overachiever like Marlena.

“Mike got off work at five and saw Marlena heading out of the diner. He said that Mom said Marlena was in pain and that she told Marlena if she didn’t think she could work tomorrow, to let her know tonight. I doubt she’ll call in sick,” Danny said to his brother.

“I doubt it, too. She’s not a quitter, or at least doesn’t seem like one. Damn, I’m still so pissed off at Vicky. She’s such a troublemaker,” Jack said.

“I know she is. You never should have fooled around with her.”

“I was drunk, bro. What the fuck. It’s not like I slept with her,” Danny stated in annoyance.

“No, you didn’t. I could only imagine what type of stalker she would be.”

Danny chuckled. “We’d probably have to call in some favors or get Mike to pull one of his Navy SEAL moves.”

Jack laughed.

They were both quiet a moment. Danny thought about Marlena. She was so beautiful, with long blonde hair and those bright green eyes. She was young, too. Twenty-three, he thought his mom mentioned. Eight years younger than Mike, who was the youngest. She had an amazing body, too, but she didn’t flaunt it. Instead she covered it up and tried to hide her beauty. It often made him wonder why.

“I can’t stop thinking about her, Danny,” Jack said then took a slug of beer from a bottle.

“I know what you mean. Neither can I. Especially after today. She looked so insulted and scared. God, when we walked into that bathroom and I saw her body, holy shit,” Danny said and ran his fingers through his hair.

“I know. I felt like my heart was in my throat. She’s sexy and voluptuous. It makes me feel protective and possessive of her, especially after what Vicky did.”

“I hear ya. It’s the same here. I just can’t help but to wonder about her and why she’s so secretive.”

“Jack, what do you think about what Mike told us? You know, about the scar on her hip. He thinks it was a burn.”

“It could be anything. What are you thinking?” Danny asked while he played with an empty glass of whisky.

“I don’t know. Like she might have had a hard life. Like maybe someone hurt her and that’s why she’s so quiet,” Jack replied.

“Well, when we get to know her, and she finally lets her guard down, maybe we can ask her about that scar, and why she held back.”

Jack chuckled. “You sound pretty confident that she’ll let us into her life.”

“She’s the first woman in a while that the three of us are attracted to. We’ve talked about sharing a woman and making that commitment for years. We’re older than her, we’re tired of messing around. We look at her and think of all the things Mom had with our dads. I’m ready,” Danny admitted.

They heard some laughter and turned to look at the large crowd of people who showed up. There was Vicky, her arm wrapped around some idiot’s arm as she hugged it and smiled. They looked half in the bag already, and Danny wondered why the bouncers even let them in.

“Looks like trouble if you ask me,” Jack said, nodding toward one of the security guys nearby. He nodded back, spoke into his wrist mic, and Danny knew that they would all keep an extra eye on this crew. But it didn’t take long for trouble to brew. Vicky gave them the evil eye and then whispered to the bozo w

hose arm she was hugging. The pompous ass looked straight at Danny and Jack, and Jack smiled.

“Let me get this one. You got the last asshole.”

Danny chuckled.

“There are more of them than you. Let our security handle it.”