3
" I need actual X-Ultra vests, not schematics and spec sheets.”
“More than one?”
“A statistically significant sample would be best. Like a hundred.”
“Why so many?”
“Target practice.”
Her eyes widened. “Let me make sure I have this straight. You want to blow holes in one hundred bulletproof army vests.”
“That’s correct.”
“Where do you plan to do that?”
He looked at her.
“I’ll ask Norm,” Kenzie said.
“If it’s not too much trouble. What if he tells you no?”
Kenzie shook her head. “He’s ex-army.”
“Should have known. He never shaved again,” Linc said.
“Shut up. He’s a ZZ Top fan. Be glad he won’t mind. He might ask you not to be too conspicuous about it. There’s a smaller range off to the side. You haven’t seen it.”
“If he has the right targets, I can pay him,” Linc offered.
“You should see what’s in the basement. Everything from paper thugs to wooden dummies. I’ll borrow a gun from Norm. I want to get this done and over with.”
Kenzie was military all the way, but he hadn’t noticed her having much interest in hardware. “Mind telling me why you’re so gung-ho?”
“Because sooner or later I’m going to be the one to tell Christine that Frank Branigan died. And I don’t want her to think I had a chance to help find out why and did zip.”
“Okay. I understand. But I’m the one who has to get the vests. You can’t do that. They know who you are.”
She conceded the point with a nod.
“How are you going to get in?” she wanted to know.
“Right through the front gate.”
Kenzie shot him a curious look. “Let me guess. You aren’t going to explain how you’re going to do that because you would have to reveal your secret identity.”
He chuckled at her reply. “You’re not that far off.”
“Thought so,” she said with satisfaction.
“And,” he went on, sobering, “there is one more thing I have to do.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Mike Warren and I noticed that a lot of lines are starting to converge on SKC. While I’m inside, I want to take video.”
“Of what?”
“More like who. As in everyone I can get on microcam.”
“How micro is it?”
“About as big as a button.” He rose and stretched, rubbing his back. “Which is good. I may not be able to carry anything ever again.”
“Tough workout?” she teased.
“Let’s just say I had more fun watching yours. "
― Janet Dailey , Honor (Bannon Brothers, #2)
5
" He didn’t take her back to the shooting range right away. There was a lookout point between here and there. Linc swerved the dark cobalt car into it, pulling alongside the rock wall and switching the engine off. They had the lookout to themselves.
“Why are we stopping?” she asked. Rhetorically.
“Great view.”
She glanced at the distant DC skyline, seeing the dome of the Capitol to the east and the tip of the Washington Monument. The Mall, its grassy expanse invisible from where they were, stretched to the Lincoln Memorial at the other end. Its blocky rectangular top appeared through the bare-branched trees.
“Sure is.” Kenzie tossed her handbag into the footwell and turned to him. That grin on his handsome face was not about sightseeing. She allowed herself the pleasure of looking him over one last time. He pretended not to notice.
Even looking straight ahead through the windshield, his dark eyes had a knowing glint. It was arrogant of him to assume that he knew what she wanted, even though he was right. And annoying of him to wait for her to make the first move. One strong hand rested on the wheel and the other on his thigh.
Kenzie unbuckled her seat belt and leaned over. Two could play that game. She put her lips against his ear and he stiffened visibly. “What’s on your mind, Linc?” she breathed, teasing him.
She was amused to see his eyes close with pleasure. Maybe he hadn’t been expecting her to say something like that. Too bad. She’d said it.
Kenzie slid her hand over his smooth-shaven jaw and turned his face to hers. Wow. His gaze burned with passion. She’d never seen Linc like this. He was all man and then some.
Hard to say who began the kiss, but it went on for a while. She didn’t remember taking the knot out of his tie, which hung open. A couple of buttons had parted company with the buttonholes on his shirt.
Linc sat back when she did.
“Wow. I mean, maybe you should take me home,” she said. “Not that I don’t want more, but--”
Linc nodded, turning the key in the ignition until the engine revved. “Tell me when, Kenzie. That’s all I ask. "
― Janet Dailey , Honor (Bannon Brothers, #2)
10
" Get some sleep.” He gestured toward the bed. “Take the right side. It’s less lumpy.”
She didn’t budge.
“That doesn’t mean I’m sleeping on the left side,” he added quickly. “You can have the bed all to yourself.”
“Don’t be so noble.”
He pointed to the laptop. “I’m not done with this. It takes a while to explore an operating system, and I’m not even sure what I’m looking for.”
Kenzie looked at the bed, frowning. “Okay. I guess I could lie down and look at the ceiling.”
“Good enough. And hey, don’t forget to call Mike Warren in the morning.”
Turning her back to him, she scrambled onto the bed without pulling down the coverlet and stretched out, her feet on the pillows and her dark hair streaming over the end. Linc knew when he was being ignored.
“Kenz, you should stay on track with the investigation.”
“I didn’t know there was one,” she said to the overheard light fixture.
He rolled his eyes, glad she couldn’t see him. “There is. That’s why a police lieutenant was assigned to the case.”
“Hmph. "
― Janet Dailey , Honor (Bannon Brothers, #2)
12
" To her surprise, Linc was waiting around the first curve on the road, listening to the radio. She could see his hand tapping a beat on the back of the other seat. Kenzie slowed her car to a stop when their windows lined up.
He rolled his down. “Hey. How’d it go?”
“No big deal. I handed the papers to his temp assistant. What the hell are you doing here?”
Linc studied her face. “I wanted to see if the beacon I put on your car was working.”
She should have known. “Is that necessary?”
“The readout is on this.” He tapped the face of his watch.
“I can’t see. And I don’t believe you.” Kenzie put her car into park, got out, and walked around.
He turned his wrist to show her. “Check it out. Your dot merged into my dot.”
“Isn’t that sweet.”
He grinned. “It’s not a problem to remove the beacon if you don’t like it.”
“No. It’s all right. You’re the only person who knows where I am most of the time now.”
That didn’t seem to have occurred to him. “Really?”
She nodded.
“So where are you off to?”
Kenzie shot him a mocking look. “You don’t have to ask, do you?”
Linc laughed. “The beacon can’t read your mind.”
She rolled her eyes. “Thank God for that. If you want to know, I was heading to the drugstore to print out some of the photos for Mrs. Corelli. Where are you going?”
“Just running errands,” he said. “Need anything from the electronics store?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Okay. I’m just picking up a couple of components.”
Kenzie gave a little yelp. “Yikes--that reminds me. Yesterday my boss asked me to pick something up for him out in the boondocks. I forgot until you said that. So if my dot falls off your watch, you’ll know why.”
He smiled at her warmly as he bent his arm and rested it on the bottom of the window frame. The bicep under the flannel rounded up very nicely as he lifted a hand and chucked her gently under the chin. “Funny.”
The friendly touch was unexpectedly intimate.
In fact, it triggered a dangerous sensation of giving in. She smiled at him, feeling weak. His brown eyes were dark and warm. She felt herself blush under his steady gaze.
Linc was the real deal. Maybe she didn’t have to be so tough all the time. It was okay to be protected. More than okay.
Back when she’d had Tex at her side, she’d actually liked the feeling. Like all military working dogs, he’d been trained to maintain an invisible six-foot circle around her, and woe to anyone who crossed into it without her permission. Including guys she was dating.
“Kenzie?”
She snapped out of it. “Sorry. You knocked on my stupid spot.”
“I’ll have to remember that.”
She shook her head in mock dismay. “Please don’t. Let’s touch base around four or five o’clock.”
He nodded and turned the key in the ignition. “Works for me.” His gaze stayed on her a moment longer. “Call me if you need anything.”
“I will. Thanks.” She glanced back at the gray monolith a little distance behind them and her mouth tightened. But when her green gaze met Linc’s brown eyes, she managed a quick smile.
He raised his left hand in a quick good-bye wave and eased his car ahead of hers, rolling up the window again. She watched him go, then got back into hers and drove on, turning off on the road to the firing range. "
― Janet Dailey , Honor (Bannon Brothers, #2)
15
" Jim Biggers looked down at the puppy playing tug-of-war with one of his bootlaces. “Quit it,” he growled, gently shaking it off.
The puppy yapped and scampered away, bumping into Truck’s furry side and bouncing off. The big dog didn’t bat an eye, but he raised his head when he heard a car door slam outside. Another puppy tumbled off his back as he got up.
Jim rose too, looking out the window.
“She’s here,” he announced, throwing down his pencil.
In another minute Kenzie and Linc walked in. One of the puppies ran to her and she squatted down to say hi. “Oh my gosh. You are so cute!”
“I can’t compete,” Jim grumbled to Linc.
The puppy yapped and ran away. Kenzie went around to the other side of the desk to kiss her boss on the cheek. “Sorry.”
Jim grinned. “You’re forgiven. How are you doing, Linc?”
He’d noticed that the younger man was still limping. There wasn’t any need to mention it specifically.
“Better every day, thanks. How did Truck get stuck with babysitting?”
“I promised him half a steak,” Jim said. “He fell for it.”
An eager puppy chomped down hard on Truck’s ear, then put his head and paws down in play position, wagging his stubby tail.
“Poor Truck,” Kenzie said sympathetically. She looked back to Jim. “Why are they here? I mean, they’re cute but way too young to start with us.”
“Merry Jenkins is fostering them for me. But she’s gone for the next two days, so I have them. It’s been fun. I’m seeing plenty of potential.” He glanced at the floor, frowning. “And a few puddles.”
He unrolled several sheets from the paper towel dispenser on his desk and let them drift to the floor. A puppy pounced on the white stuff and dragged it away.
Jim rolled his eyes. He unrolled more paper towels, and this time he put his boot down on them.
“I can’t wait to come back full-time,” Kenzie said.
“When you’re ready. Not a minute before,” Jim said sternly. “Everything’s under control. No rush.”
Linc looked down. “Am I seeing things?”
A tiny kitten was clawing its way up his jeans.
Jim harrumphed. “That’s a stray. Buddy and Wells started feeding it, and now it won’t go away.”
“Aww,” Kenzie exclaimed. “It’s adorable.”
Linc detached the kitten from his front pocket and held it up. The warmth of his hands calmed it, but only for a minute. The kitten stared at him, bug-eyed, then batted at his nose. “Doesn’t seem to be afraid of anything.”
“Reminds me of Kenzie. I guess I’ll have to keep it. So where are you two headed?”
Linc put the kitten down. Tiny tail waving, it sauntered between Truck’s furry legs. The dog didn’t seem to mind. "
― Janet Dailey , Honor (Bannon Brothers, #2)
16
" So where are you two headed?”
Linc put the kitten down. Tiny tail waving, it sauntered between Truck’s furry legs. The dog didn’t seem to mind.
“Oh--out and about,” Kenzie said.
She and Linc exchanged a look. “You tell him,” he said.
“We stopped by to see Christine first. You were next on the list.”
“Beg pardon? What list?”
“Friends and family.” Kenzie stretched out her left hand and wiggled her fingers. An oval diamond set in platinum caught the sun.
Jim’s eyes widened.
“Way to go.” He beamed at both of them. “That’s one hell of a rock. You didn’t waste any time.” He gave Linc a nod of masculine approval. “So when’s the big day?”
“We haven’t decided,” Kenzie answered.
She didn’t want to say that they were keeping a low profile for as long as possible. The media furor over SKC had died down, but they were helping with the ongoing investigation.
Life went on. Love had amazing power to heal.
Truck picked up on the excitement and edged between the three of them, blocking the hug about to happen.
“Routine stuff, Linc. He has final say,” Jim teased.
The black-and-white dog took his time about it. Then he sat down in front of Linc, brushing his tail across the floor in wide waves.
“He approves,” Kenzie said.
“Never argue with a good dog.” Jim laughed. “All right, you two. Get out of here. I have work to do.”
Kenzie got a hug in before he went back to his desk.
“Congratulations.” He nodded toward the picture of his wife. “From me and Josie. She’ll be over the moon when she hears. "
― Janet Dailey , Honor (Bannon Brothers, #2)
18
" Are you sure it’s going to fit? You told me to get a double.”
“I did?” She glanced at the platform. “I meant a full. That’s a little narrower, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know. I hope they’re the same. Measure twice, move once.”
Doubt flickered across Kenzie’s expression. “That’s not how the saying goes.”
“It’ll do for now.”
“Let’s just try it.” She curled her fingers around a handle and dragged it onward. Linc reached for the other one and helped her flip it down.
It hollowed in the middle and hung over the edge. “I’m guessing I got suckered,” he said with annoyance. He looked at the label sewn into the side. “It isn’t a national brand--the measurement sure isn’t standard. The damn thing is about three inches wider than the platform.”
“The length is correct,” Kenzie said helpfully.
Linc lifted it back up again and leaned it against the opposite wall. “Yeah. Great.”
“Sorry,” she offered.
He bent over and ran a hand along the platform’s edge, pushing gently on the long wooden bar that kept the mattress in place. It gave at one corner.
“Stapled. Not exactly quality construction.” He thumped at it with a closed fist to pry it loose and di the same thing at the other end, straightening with the bar in his hand. He handed it to her.
“This can go in the closet. You get to explain to Norm.”
“He won’t care. You’re a genius.”
Linc hoisted the mattress and flipped it down again. “If you say so.” He grinned. “At least the bed’s flat.”
Kenzie rested the bar in a corner and got busy stripping off the plastic while he watched. The luxurious satin top gleamed softly--he’d spent what she’d given him. When she was done, she had an armful of plastic that she stuffed into a bag on top of the crumpled rock-star posters.
With a sigh of happiness she sat down on her new bed. “Thanks so much. You really came through.”
“I like protecting you from lecherous mattress salesmen. You don’t need to thank me,” he joked.
“How about a kiss instead?”
Linc was taken aback. He opened his mouth, too surprised for a second to say yes.
No never entered his mind. "
― Janet Dailey , Honor (Bannon Brothers, #2)
19
" Thanks so much. You really came through.”
“I like protecting you from lecherous mattress salesmen. You don’t need to thank me,” he joked.
“How about a kiss instead?”
Linc was taken aback. He opened his mouth, too surprised for a second to say yes.
No never entered his mind.
Kenzie’s slender arms twined around his neck and she raised herself up on her sneaker toes to make good on her offer. Linc let his hands slide over her body, stopping at the sweet curve of her jeans-clad hips. She flexed, catlike, arching her back to bring herself more tightly against him. Her moves were playful, feminine to the core, instantly arousing him.
He kissed her back, gently at first, then with searching strength. She didn’t seem to want to stop. She nipped at his lower lip, then moved back a little, looking up at him with half-closed eyes as her hands moved into his hair.
Linc stood his ground, enjoying the stroking caress. One hand moved down to his jawline. Soft and tender. He wasn’t used to her being this gentle.
“Nice,” she said softly.
He tried to remember how to talk. Too complicated. He hadn’t let go of her waist, but there was more air between them than he really needed.
“And enough for now,” she added.
He came to his senses. She stepped away from him, not looking at the new mattress that seemed to be the only thing in the room. Linc glanced at the expanse of tufted satin with a flash of regret.
“We should think about it, you know,” she said. “We can’t just tumble into bed.”
“Oh.” He didn’t need to think, he knew. He wanted her. Bad. “Kenzie…you can call the shots. Just tell me when.”
Her mouth curved upward in an indescribable smile Linc would never forget. “Okay,” she said. "
― Janet Dailey , Honor (Bannon Brothers, #2)
