The woman’s mouth fell open. “No shit! Oh, oh, you’re the runner!” Up came her phone.

In a good mood, Catie tugged out a grumpy Danny and pasted herself against him for a shot before he grumbled and tugged her back inside. “You’re going to freeze. That coat barely covers more than your dress.” He was rubbing the dip of her back.

Catie almost snapped back that most of her legs were metal, so cold wasn’t an issue. But—and though it made her want to squirm—she realized that she liked the fact he was worried about her staying warm. Sailor was that way with Ísa, and her brother-in-law definitely didn’t treat her sister as anything but a powerhouse.

She’d keep up her antennae of suspicion, but it was possible Danny could be trusted with the protective stuff without taking it too far. Then they were in the club, and it was jumping. The only reason they found the private room was that it literally had a neon sign that flashed the words VIP Room.

Inside, the party was raucous.

Jerri was holding court near the door and gave Catie a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for the invite, Cat. This party is wild!” All curly black hair and dark brown skin, she was a stunner—the modeling world called her plus-size, but to Catie, she was simply and unquestionably a bombshell.

“Thanks for the shout-out!” she managed before Jerri was asked to dance by an admirer.

Happy the other woman was enjoying herself, she looked around for Leon—and saw he was well on the way to getting drunk. He was a very happy drunk, and when he asked Catie for a dance, she agreed. Only to be bowed to before he took her hand and placed his arm around her as if for a formal waltz.

Of course, his balance was totally off, but it was adorable how he tried to act sober and as if he weren’t stepping all over her feet.

Danny rescued her a few minutes later—after laughing his head off for the first half. Then she was in his arms and the music was booming and they danced.

15

COOKIES AND VENGEANCE

It had been the best night of his life.

After jumping quickly into the shower to wash off the sweat from dancing, Danny pulled on a pair of boxer shorts before he crashed into bed. He usually slept in his birthday suit but didn’t want to be caught butt naked if Catie had to come into the room for some reason.

Images from the night played out against the wall of his mind. He’d danced with Catie most of the evening, and she hadn’t seemed to mind. Hell, at one point, she’d been leaning hip to hip with him as they chatted to friends. It had—

Crash!