Black and Blue

“No setup, no misdirection. I saw him there, at the house,” Michael said. “I woke up, and saw all three of you on the ground, motionless. I fought my way free of the debris and stumbled toward you. Then I heard voices and wasn’t sure if they belonged to friend or foe. I hid under the rubble, intending to find out and strike if necessary—I still had a gun on me—and got a look at Star and another male, but passed out before I could do anything about it.”

A gleam of determination and hate darkened Blue’s eyes. “Okay, then.”

Definite target in sight now.

“He’s gotten cocky, I guess,” Michael said. “He messed up. It happens.”

Yes, it did.

“What was his motive?” Blue asked.

“That,” Michael replied, “I’m not sure about.”

“Why don’t we snatch Mr. Star, torture him for answers, and then kill him?” Evie suggested.

“Snatching him will be a problem,” Michael said. “He’s too well guarded. And if we failed and he retaliated . . . No, we’ll have better luck with stealth.”

She could do stealth. “He has two kids. Tyson and Tiffany. We can abduct one or both and offer a trade.” That was stealth, right?

Michael shook his head. “I’ve done business with him. He isn’t the type to cave to demands, even to save the lives of his children. He’s the kind to hurt John to prove a point.”

Blue lifted his head, his determination undaunted. “Do you have eyes and ears on him?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Michael said with a sigh. “That’s why I need you to go public, Blue. I have a plan.”

“Wait,” Evie said.

Michael held up one hand for silence. “I don’t think Star knows you work for me, Blue,” he continued. “I’ve taken down several of his guards in the past few days, and your name has never been mentioned. If I’m wrong, and he does, you’ll find out pretty quick.”

Meaning, he would be bait. “Are you sure that’s the wisest course of action?”

“Yes,” Blue said. “And I’m fine with that.”

“Well, I don’t agree,” she replied.

He shrugged his wide shoulders. “I’m still going to do it.”

“Michael,” she said.

“Danger is part of the business,” her father said. Supporting his boy. As always. Gaze on Blue, he added, “As soon as the world knows you’re in town, arrange an accidental meeting with the daughter. Star no longer goes out in public. He stays in his country estate, always surrounded by armed men, both human and otherworlder. Tiffany might be your ticket to a face-to-face with Daddy dearest.”

Blue nodded. “Consider it done.”

“Before we go that route,” Evie said, unsure why her body was now so tense, “we should break into that country estate and have a look around, plant a few bugs. We can get in and out without anyone realizing. B and E isn’t the same as trying to haul a body out, yeah.”

Her father met her stare, nodded. “All right. Break in. Snatch Star if you’ve got a green light. But don’t you dare get caught. Afterward, if Star isn’t in custody, you’ll move forward with my plan.”

A concession. She took it gratefully. “What about you?”

“I can’t go public yet. I’m not strong enough to defend myself from a full-on attack.”

“We can protect—”

“No,” he said, cutting her off. “I have something else in mind. I want you to take over Black Industries, sunbeam. That way you can set up a preseason exhibition game between the Invaders and Strikers to honor my precious memory. And that way you have a legitimate reason to contact Tyson Star to rent out the roof of the Star Light Hotel for a victory celebration.”

“I don’t know about that,” Blue spoke up. “I’ll have the Star kids covered with Tiffany.”

The competitive spirit she’d once hated peeked from the shadows, and Evie smirked at him. “Two is better than one.”

“No,” Blue said again, with more force this time.

“Yee-ess,” she replied in a singsong.

Michael looked from one to the other and frowned. “It’s your turn now. How did you two hook up?”

Hook up. A poor choice of words. Her cheeks flamed.

Blue gave nothing away. “After the explosion, Evie was the only person I could trust,” he said, his tone just as bland. “I snuck into her house and she patched me up. It was as simple as that.”

Smiling, Michael reached out to ruffle her hair, just as she’d always wanted him to do to her when she was a child. “Thank you for taking care of my boy.”

His boy.

And there was the jealousy she used to feel, a companion to the competitiveness; she tamped down both. Michael loved his “boys,” yes, but that didn’t preclude his loving Evie, too.

One day she would gather the courage to ask him why he’d left her in England.

Although . . . if he’d taken her away from Claire, she would have hated him. So maybe he’d actually done her a service.

“Now, what are we going to do about taking care of my girl?” Michael said. “The car chase has me spooked.”

“I’ve already had to move in,” Blue said. “We planned to keep it secret anyway, so my coming back to life and going after Tiffany won’t change anything. No one will know I’m there, and yet I’ll still be able to protect her. It’s a win-win.”

Evie shook her head. “I was okay with a move-in when you were dead to the world, but not now. People will be watching you. Sneaking over will be difficult. You will be caught. So, no. You won’t be staying. You’ll be moving out. I won’t be the girl responsible for your newest breakup.”

Too late.

Oh, yeah.

I’m a horrible person.

She couldn’t even fall back on an I’m-going-to-leave-him-alone-from-now-on cushion. She had decided to sleep with him.

And that right there was another reason playing house with him was no longer an option.

“We won’t try to keep my presence a secret, then.”

“I won’t be the girl you cheat on with Tiffany,” she retorted.

“She’s right,” Michael said, his tone just as sharp.

Blue raised his chin. “I don’t care what the world thinks. I’m ending things with Pagan the moment I go public.” His gaze bore into Evie. “But if you want everyone to think Tiffany is the reason for the breakup, rather than my move-in with you, and that I’m seeing you behind her back, that can be arranged.”

“No. I don’t want that.” How big of a douche would she be, letting another woman take the heat for her actions? Besides, she didn’t want him with Tiffany at all. Not even in the mind of others.

Gah. She was already acting like a live-in girlfriend.

His gaze never strayed from her. “I’m spending the evenings in your home one way or the other, princess. Pick the other and I’ll make sure you regret it.” He turned his attention to Michael. “I’ll be sleeping in a guest room. Right now I’m the only person you can trust with her safety.”

Michael scrubbed a hand over his weary features. “Now he’s the one who’s right, sunbeam.”

What!

“Before you protest,” her father added, then sighed, and it was clear he was fading fast, his eyelids drooping, his shoulders pulling in, “don’t protest. If anything happened to you . . .”

She squeezed his hand, his concern washing away her next objection. “Fine. Blue can stay at my house, but first I need you to tell me you know I’m well able to take care of myself.”

His smile was sad. “I do. I’ve always known. But one thing you have failed to learn is that it never hurts to have backup.”