Strong and Sexy (Sky High Air #2)(60)

Purse slung over her shoulder, sunglasses in one hand, work ready, she glanced back at her bed.

She wanted to go back to bed.

With him.

She did not, however, want to do anything else with him. And even accepting the ridiculousness of the situation, even knowing that all his life he’d been there, in that same place, it still hurt like hell.



On the way into Sky High, Shayne called Patrick, who as usual was little to no help at all. The police had the big, fat nothing. In fact, they had less than nothing. Dani had claimed to see a body in front of Sky Air, but there was no body. And no evidence to suggest there’d been a body. She’d claimed to have a break-in, but again, no evidence. Of course she had been shot at, complete with bullets, but with no motive and no viable suspect, that was going down as a random shooting.

Only Shayne didn’t believe in random, or coincidences.

As for the incident at Dani’s work, since she’d tripped over herself, or so it was assumed, with yet again no body even though she’d claimed to have one in her closet, there was nothing to go on.

Bottom line—at least as far as the police were concerned—the only danger to Dani was herself.

Frustrated, Shayne entered Sky High, checked in, then went to conduct his preflight check, but found Brody on the tarmac with a gorgeous honey of a King Air, circa 1965. “Nice.”

“I know. I think I’m in love.” Brody stroked the sleek steel like a lover. His face was grease streaked, his hair standing straight up, no doubt assisted into that position by more grease. He wore his threadbare jeans, signifying he was on maintenance duty. “What do you think?”

“She’s for sale?”

“Yep. The owner’s inside.”

They both turned their heads and looked through the glass windows into the lobby. Maddie, gorgeous and outrageously dressed as always in black leggings, black knee-high kick-ass boots, and a silver metallic sweater that hugged her extremely huggable curves, was leaning against her desk smiling at a well-dressed man in his early forties. He was talking with his hands and a big smile, and Maddie, clipboard in hand, earpiece in, looking more like a superhero than a concierge, was smiling in return.

The man, clearly dazzled by her, leaned in and said something that had Maddie tipping her head back in laughter.

Brody frowned. “What the hell is he telling her?”

“Something funny.”

“He’s flirting with her.”

“Jesus. Would you ask her out already? Or better yet, kiss her. Something. Please.”

Brody stared at him as if he was insane. “Why? Why would I kiss her?”

Shayne lifted a brow, but as he took in Brody’s horrified, guilty expression, it came to him. “Holy shit. You’ve already kissed her.”

Brody let out a sound as if his head had just gone flat. Then the six-foot-four ex-linebacker and all-around badass shoved his hands in his pockets like a teenager and kicked the ground. He glanced into the terminal again and shook his head.

Shayne laughed. “You did.”

“Shut up about it.”

“What happened? She slug you?”

“Don’t make me kick your ass.”

“Hell, you could try. But then you’d have to tell Maddie why you sucker punched her favorite pilot.”

“You are not her favorite.”

“I am so.”

“You’re an idiot is what you are.”

Shayne grinned. “That might be. But I’m not the idiot with a crush on our Maddie.”

“Stop saying ‘our Maddie.’ If you were her favorite, why did she kiss me?”

Shayne’s eyebrows rose. “So it really happened?”

Brody shoved his fingers into his hair and turned in a slow circle. “I think she did it because she was pissed off at me. Trying to prove a point.”

“Yeah? Did she prove it?”

Brody dropped his forehead to the cool steel of the plane. “I have no f*cking clue.”

Shayne’s grin spread as he burst into song. “Maddie and Brody sitting in a tree. K-i-s-s-i-n-g…”

“Shut up, you ass.” He added a shove to the demand.

Shayne would have happily shoved back, but he didn’t. Maddie might be flirting with the guy at the desk, but she also had an eagle eye on them, even though Brody was too miserably self-involved to notice. No way was Shayne going to piss her off, not when she had a temper like the natural redhead she was beneath all that dyed hair.

So he let Brody’s shove take him back a few steps, making sure Maddie noted that he didn’t fight back, and eyed the sweet plane. “You want to buy this baby?”

“It’s way overpriced, but I think we can get him down.”

Shayne stuck his head into the engine compartment and took a good look around, his heart sighing. “I’d marry her.”

“No way. I saw her first.”

Shayne looked at his lifelong friend, the brother of his heart. “What do you think it says about us that we run like hell from commitment to a woman, and yet this plane melts our circuits?”

“Shit. I have no idea.”

Shayne nodded, and sighed. “We suck.”

Brody lifted a shoulder. “At least we accept our flaws.”

“Do you think the women in our lives could ever accept them?”