Too Hard to Handle (Black Knights Inc. #8)(101)

Shit. Dan was totally busted. Spending hours on the phone with Penni, having her voice swirling around in his ear, always made him painfully hard. He’d taken to…er…giving himself a hand the minute they hung up.

Ozzie slapped a hand on his shoulder while taking a deep slug of beer. “No judgment here, dude. Absolutely none.”

Dan felt a muscle ticking in his jaw and changed the subject to one he knew would wipe the self-satisfied smirk right off Ozzie’s face. “On the subject of women and self-love, how goes it with that reporter?”

Bingo. Ozzie dropped his hand from Dan’s shoulder, frowning. “You know Boss said there was a no-tolerance rule,” he said.

Uh-huh. “And since when do you ever do what you’re told? Becky says Miss Tate keeps calling you and you keep ignoring her. What gives?”

“Becky should mind her own goddamned business,” Ozzie grumbled, blatantly ignoring Dan’s question.

“Like that’s ever gonna happen,” Dan snorted.

For a couple of minutes they sat in companionable silence, watching the Chicago Blackhawks wipe up the ice with the Minnesota Wild. One of the nice things about living in a major city was that it was chockablock full of professional sports teams. There was always someone to root for, always a game or a match on TV.

After a bit Ozzie ventured, “Zoelner says he and Chelsea might have to make a trip overseas to follow a lead on Spider.” When Dan looked over, it was to find Ozzie fighting a grin. “That should be interesting,” he added, his tone filled with innuendo.

“Or deadly,” Dan said. Ever since being teamed up with Chelsea, Zoelner had been a walking time bomb. All of the Knights had been giving him a wide berth. “They may end up killing each other.”

“Or getting down to the business of finally screwing each other,” Ozzie speculated. “Which, if you ask me, would make life easier for all of us.”

“Mmm,” Dan hummed noncommittally, frowning when Ozzie winced and grabbed his thigh. “Still pretty painful, huh?” he asked carefully.

Ozzie’s leg was a sore subject, literally and figuratively. And Dan couldn’t help but notice that much of Ozzie’s jocularity these days seemed disingenuous, forced. As if Ozzie was putting on a show for them so they wouldn’t know how much he was hurting. So they wouldn’t know how scared he was. If Ozzie couldn’t bounce back from this injury, if he couldn’t perform his duty in the field, his career as an operator would be over. None of them wanted to countenance the idea, but it was something they would all be forced to face. Probably sooner rather than later.

“Shooting pains,” Ozzie grumbled, waving him off. “I can handle it.”

Dan didn’t say any more, didn’t press. He knew a brick wall when he came up against it. For a while longer, they sat and sipped, watching hockey players battle it out on screen. Then Ozzie said, “You won’t get discouraged and give up, will you?”

“What do you mean?”

“On Penni.”

“Oh, hell no.” Dan shook his head emphatically. “I love her. And if I’ve learned anything, it’s that life’s full of uncertainties. But all you need to be able to deal with those uncertainties is one thing, just one thing that’s true. One thing you can hang onto and depend on. My love for Penni is that thing for me now. And I’m not giving up on it. Not ever.”

“And Patti?” Ozzie asked, his expression curious.

“What about her?” Dan lifted a brow.

“You still love her too, right?”

Of course he did. “I’m gonna love her ’til the day I die,” he admitted. “Which sort of reminds me of something a guy said at my last AA meeting.”

“What’s that?”

“He said love isn’t something you find, it’s something that finds you.”

“It’s a nice thought.”

“Yeah.” Dan nodded. “And how many men get to be found by love twice in one lifetime?”

Something strange passed over Ozzie’s face. His lips twisted. “Not many,” he allowed. “You’re one lucky sonofabitch, you know that?”

“Yeah, I do.” And he truly, deeply did.

Now to convince Penni…

*

Penni’s Condominium, Washington, DC

Two months later

Penni pressed the button on her building’s intercom system and leaned close to the speaker. “Dan?”

He was early. He wasn’t due to arrive until tomorrow and—

“No! It’s Becky!” came a reply.

“Becky?” Penni’s chin jerked back. The only Becky she knew worked at BKI, but there’s no way that Becky was here in DC and—

“Becky Knight,” the woman said.

Oh-kay. Obviously there is a way.

And then a terrible thought occurred and Penni’s heart exploded in her chest. Goose bumps peppered her skin and tears immediately welled in her eyes. Dread and denial made the finger she used to press the buzzer that unlocked the front door of the building shake. Also shaking was the protective hand she placed over her belly.

“C-come up, Becky,” she said, her voice hollow and quiet compared to the dull roar sounding between her ears.

She threw open her front door and waited as little stars began to dance in front of her eyes. The hallway was empty but she could hear the elevator begin its climb up to the fourth floor. Christ, Dan! Oh Christ! She gripped the doorjamb so hard her knuckles turned white and the wood beneath her fingers creaked a warning. Then with a ding the elevator doors opened and Becky emerged. She was quickly followed by Michelle and Vanessa.