Servicing the Target (Masters of the Shadowlands #10)(38)

Gabi said, “Cat’s gone for the week. Jake and Rainie are buried in puppy and kitten season. Raoul is out of town, but Kim is coming. Marcus and Cullen will be here soon. Olivia was going to arrive this afternoon, too.”

“My Galen is on the way. Vance is in Atlanta for another day,” Sally said. She listened for a second. “Actually, it sounds as if Galen and Marcus are already here.”

Anne glanced at the time on her phone. “My God, it’s after lunch.”

“Time flies when you’re having fun.” Sally grinned. “I’m really glad you came. At Uzuri’s old place, there we were and no one was sure what to do. We were all getting in each other’s way. You cut through the chaos like a hot knife through butter.”

“Not surprising.” Dan walked into the kitchen, followed by Ben. “Anne leads a team of the toughest sons-of-bitches you’ve ever seen. Directing a moving crew—even one with Sam and Nolan on it—is nothing.”

“Well, no wonder then.” Sally pushed the empty box to one side. “I didn’t realize bounty hunters had teams.”

“If the skip has a history of violence, it’s safer for everyone—including him—if we use a team,” Anne said.

“Sounds smart.” Ben’s gaze was speculative, as if he were putting pieces of her life together like a jigsaw puzzle.

“Hey, Ben,” Gabi said as she closed a cupboard door. “You did a great job of rounding everyone up. I’m glad you realized Uzuri needed help, even if she didn’t want to admit it.”

“You arranged all this?” Anne asked him.

He shrugged. “I was the one who found out she had a problem, so I checked with Z and kicked it off. Mostly, I assigned people to notify other people.” He stepped close enough that her shoulder brushed his chest.

Her skin tingled at just the slight contact with his body, and her quick breath brought her his clean, tangy scent. Stop it. She took a step back.

“I saved your call for myself though,” he added.

No wonder no one else had called. But… “Why? Were you afraid I’d be rude if someone asked me for help?” She didn’t have that bad of a reputation, did she?

“No, Ma’am.” When he moved closer again, she frowned him into stopping.

Because touching him was just too tempting.

His gaze was steady on hers, and then he smiled. “I made the call because I get off on listening to your voice. Even when you’re pissed off, you sound like Lauren Bacall.”

“Excuse me?” She couldn’t keep the frost from entering her voice.

“Yeah, like that.” He grinned. “If you ever get tired of bounty hunting, you could have a great career in phone sex.”

Gasps sounded in the kitchen. Ben got worried looks from her friends, who knew what she did to disrespectful males.

Anne set her hand on Ben’s chest. His muscles were pumped up and rock hard, creating a deep valley between his pecs. A wave of heat consumed her.

Annoyed, she pushed lightly.

He instantly took a step back. His hand covered hers, holding it to his chest.

“You’re deliberately being provoking, Benjamin. Do you want me to beat on you?” she asked, only half joking.

“Any day. Any time.” The desire in his gaze couldn’t be misinterpreted. “Please.”

“Jesus, Ben, are you insane?” Cullen asked from behind Anne. “She’ll turn your frank ’n’ beans into ground-up sandwich spread.”

Anne stiffened.

“Enough with the bullshit, O’Keefe,” Ben growled.

The chill in Anne’s heart melted like butter in the Florida sun.

And Cullen stepped back as if he’d been punched. “I—”

“Anne. Benjamin. It’s good to see you both.” As Z strolled in, the power in his smooth voice silenced everyone in the kitchen. He ran his hand down her bare arm in a deliberately affectionate greeting that finished her off.

She struggled to keep her voice level. “Z. Is Jessica here? And the baby?”

“Jessica wanted to come, but she’s fighting off a cold. Kari’s staying with her and Sophia, but she sent along a platter of her brownies. I also brought a cooler of beer and soft drinks.”

“Brownies?” asked one of Andrea’s high schoolers. When everyone looked at him, he flushed so deeply his ears turned red.

“Indeed. In the living room.” Z chuckled when the boy disappeared. “I believe your pizza has arrived as well. I saw the delivery van looking for a parking spot.”

“That’s perfect timing. Excuse me.” Anne hurried out—a complete retreat—to deal with the delivery.

A few minutes later, most of the helpers were sitting on the couch, chairs, and the floor, gobbling down pizza. After handing out napkins and drinks, then finding food for herself, Anne regarded the room with pleasure. They’d done well.

A car door slammed outside, and a minute later, Uzuri appeared in the doorway. She stared at the spotless room and the people filling it. “What are you…” She put her hands over her mouth. Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks. She looked at Anne. “I didn’t… Everyone is here.”

Retriever at his feet, Ben was frozen in place, holding a framed picture.