Hottest Mess (SIN 2)

"You're with Darcy."

"Exactly."

"I haven't had lunch yet. I could come join you. Listen to what he has to say. Slide my finger into your pussy under the table. He'd never even know."

I force myself not to squirm, then smile at Darcy as I tell Dallas, "I really don't think that's a good idea."

"On the contrary, I think it's an excellent one. Admit it, baby. Admit that the thought of me touching you in a crowded restaurant turns you on. That getting away with something so naughty excites you. Tell me," he prods. "Tell me you'd like that."

I clear my throat and squeeze my thighs together. "Actually, yeah, I'd like that," I say, as if he's offered to help clean my attic. "But I'm guessing that's not why you called." I turn my attention to Darcy. "Sorry. Sometimes my brother has trouble getting to the point."

He chuckles. "You like it when I don't get to the point right away. And the reason I called was to tell you I was thinking of you."

"Oh." I can't help but smile. "Well, me, too."

"You're working all day?"

"Yes. After lunch I'm going back to type up my notes."

"My schedule's pretty clear this afternoon. I should be done by six. Meet me at the Strand kiosk at six-fifteen," he says, referring to the permanent bookstore kiosk on Fifth Avenue.

"Need some new reading material?"

"Just be there," he says and hangs up.

I bite back a scowl, then smile at Darcy. "Sorry about that."

"Fascinating man, your brother.

"You could say that," I agree. "But getting back to the kidnapping. You were saying that it was actually Dallas who helped you find a private team to hire?"

Darcy nods, then sits back as the waiter brings our curry. "We had a business meeting scheduled not long after my girls were taken." His voice hitches as he speaks. "I remember I had canceled it, but Dallas showed up at my house anyway. Said he figured I needed an ear. He was right, of course."

"And he just happened to suggest you hire vigilantes?"

Darcy laughs. "I don't remember how it came up, but I do know that I couldn't get the thought of hiring someone out of my head. I just--I didn't have confidence in the authorities. And I told Dallas that, and he said he had a friend whose son was kidnapped and he'd hired a private team that successfully recovered the boy."

"So he told you how to get in touch with this Deliverance group?"

"Oh, no. Dallas didn't have a clue how to do that. But he put me in touch with his friend. Well, he set up a phone call. It was anonymous--his friend was nervous about his privacy. But we talked, and he gave me a contact number for reaching the group. I called and, well, even though it was clear he was using one of those voice alteration devices, I liked what the guy said. I hired them on the spot--it all happened fast. Had to if I wanted to get my girls back. Anonymous wire transfer to a numbered account. Could've ripped me off, but they didn't. I got my girls back. And I don't give a rat's ass that the slimeball who took them got his throat slashed. I owe a lot to that group."

His mouth curves into a frown. "If it was up to me, I wouldn't be pushing for your husband's investigation," he adds, referring to WORR's efforts to track down Deliverance.

"Ex-husband," I say automatically.

"Right. Sorry. At any rate, that's my mother's mission. Me, I'd just let Deliverance keep doing its thing."

"How do you know that's what they call themselves?"

He tilts his head as if he's seriously considering the question. "The truth is, I don't think they meant to let me hear that. I got a call from one of the men on the team, and he was pissed. I'd fucked up."

"You? How?"

He shakes his head. "My girls--I knew from one of their friends who'd come back early from their Mexico trip that they'd bought some drugs from a guy they met at a club. But I--I didn't say anything because ..."

"Because you didn't want to think of your girls that way," I say after he trails off.

He nods. "Anyway, Deliverance--the team--they learned about it, and one of them called me. Told me I'd wasted valuable time. That I'd withheld important details, and that they'd learned that the guy who sold my daughters drugs was part of their kidnapper's advance team. He said that I'd hired them to do a job, and that's what they were doing. But that Deliverance could only do the job if I gave them all the information."