Melody's Six

“Guess we should clean up and get our story straight before we’re back on stage at the lodge.” He watched her as she closed the laptop. Usually, he could read her pretty well, but right now, the direction of her thoughts, her general mood, was a mystery.

“Probably.” She swiveled in the chair, hooking her legs over his. “It would be more responsible if we saved some water in the process.”

His palm glided up her leg from ankle to knee, slipping under the sheet and up over her thigh to her hip. Her bare skin was warm and silky. He went hard thinking about having her long, incredible legs wrapped around him again.

“Are you suggesting that sharing a shower will conserve water?” Not a chance. With her naked body within reach, he’d be inclined to linger over the path of every soap bubble and flow of water pouring over her curves.

“It’s a theory.” Her hand pressed to his, guided it from her hip to her inner thigh. Her lips curled into a seductive smile. “Theories should be tested.”

She was definitely testing how much teasing he could handle. Pulling her into his lap, he kissed that smile until they were both breathless. His pulse skipping, the sheet fell away as he stood up, boosting her into his arms and carrying her to the shower.

* * *

Mel was feelingutterly divine after the shower and amazing shower sex with Dean. She’d pulled her damp hair back into a secure top knot and her body felt warm and loose, all traces of the earlier crisis washed away, though not quite forgotten. Walking down to the lodge, there was a lightness in her step and a fresh, inspired confidence with Dean at her side. Whatever Spalding planned to drop on them at this emergency meeting, she and Dean would handle it together.

And afterward, they’d put things in place to take down Atwell once and for all.

Dean squeezed her hand. “You ready for this?”

“Of course.” The subtle gesture wasn’t exactly new on their assignments, and yet it seemed far more significant after an afternoon tangled up with Dean. “The two of us can handle anything.”

“Better believe it,” he confirmed.

The uneasy vibe among the scouting group was evident from the moment they entered the lodge. The upset, tight voices full of fear pushed at her.

“Not cool,” she murmured for Dean’s ears only.

“Not a bit,” he agreed.

She wished they could turn and walk away, leaving this convoluted assignment for someone else to clean up. Then again, she wouldn’t wish Spalding—or Atwell—on any of her friends.

With a professional smile firmly in place, she crossed the big room, joining the group seated around the same long table where they’d eaten breakfast before dawn. Atwell sat at one end of the table, Spalding across from him. The rest of the team stretched along either side of the table, all of them radiating a jumble of emotions from frustration to anger to fear.

Lacy jumped to her feet and rushed over. “Are you okay, Mel?”

Mel barely had time to brace for the fierce hug. She patted the other woman’s back. “I’m just fine.” Good thing she’d worn a different jacket to this meeting. No telling what Lacy would do if she caught another glimpse of the bullet hole. “I’m fine,” Mel promised, gently extracting herself from Lacy’s embrace. “Let’s sit down.”

Mel guided Lacy back to where Andrew was waiting and sat beside her. Dean pressed close to her other side. His palm passed over the nape of her neck, a gentle reassurance, before coming to rest on the back of her chair.

Dale, centered between Maria and Kent on the other side of the table, met Dean’s gaze. “You’re the locals. Does this kind of thing happen often?”

Dean’s thigh rubbed Mel’s as he reached for the pitcher of iced tea at the center of the table, pouring a glass for her and then himself. “Well, we do stay on our toes out here, but—”

“What happened today is outrageous,” Lacy interrupted. “Unacceptable.”

“Of course, it was,” Mel soothed. “Whoever did it will be caught and punished.” She turned to Spalding. “Has the sheriff’s department given you any updates?”

The director shook his head. “Not yet. I know we’re all upset, but we can’t stop. This movie deserves the best setting we can find.” He thumped his fist lightly on the table. “I don’t want to rely on computer generated backdrops and effects, I want the real deal. We are on the cusp of breathing new life into a classic genre. This is important.”

Mel gave the man points for a rousing speech, despite the fresh wave of tears from Lacy. Mel handed her a paper napkin while Andrew rubbed her back.

“Lacy and I spoke at length this afternoon,” Andrew said. At her nod, he continued. “Going home is the only solution for her.”

“That’s understandable,” Mel agreed. The woman seemed to be stuck in her shock. Mel couldn’t blame her. The violent experience had been scary for everyone.

Andrew’s gaze scanned the group, before coming back to Spalding. “Lacy and I can head back to the studio and coordinate long distance for the duration of the trip.”

“No!” Spalding’s face was turning red. “We’re safe. It was an isolated incident, right?” He flung a hand at Dean. “Tell them there’s no reason to worry.”

“I’m no investigator,” Dean replied. “Just a drone operator.”

“You’re a local,” Maria said. “Can we expect more of this kind of trouble?”

Mel gave his knee a squeeze under the table. Encouraging him, urging him to find the right words for the people and the overall assignment. “Lacy’s reaction is reasonable,” he began, earning glares from Spalding and Atwell. “What happened out there was horrible and shocking.”

“You two don’t look shocked,” Dale observed, his gaze narrowed.

Mel leaned closer to Dean. “Admittedly, we’ve had some experience with the unexpected,” she said. “Dean and I hike these mountains all the time. This wasn’t the first time we’ve had a drone shot down. Usually, it’s just a warning that we’ve crossed into someone’s property line without knowing it.”

“Or someone’s perceived property line,” Dean added.

“We hired you to prevent that,” Spalding snapped.

Dean’s chest puffed up, matching his rising irritation. “We were in a public park, Mr. Spalding. And you hired us to gather video at potential locations. If you need security services, we can make recommendations.”

“Nonsense.” Atwell waved away the concerns. “We have excellent security right here. I am new to this area perhaps, not as much a local, but this is a safe place,” he insisted. “People do violent and silly things everywhere. The best thing to do is face the fear and keep going.”

Mel smothered her reflexive rebuttal, but it was a near thing. Not so long ago, Atwell was one of those people taking bold, violent actions against people. Only Dean’s warnings kept her in check. They had work to do here and drawing Atwell’s attention would only make that work more difficult.

“Shooting at people is not a silly thing!” Lacy shouted. She shoved out of her seat, her body trembling from head to toe. “I’m going back to California.”

“Leave now and you’re out of a job,” Spalding threatened.