Man, that was cold.
Flynn’s mouth dropped open. A quick glance at Rafe showed his older brother in the same slack-jawed position. Kellan and Delaneyhad their routine, their shtick. He flirted with her outrageously. She shot him down every damned time. Never tolerant, alwaysannoyed. But never mean.
Silence bounced around the room, as loud as a shout. Kellan froze halfway between standing and sitting. Then, slowly, he shiftedinto the wooden chair. “They say the brain is the biggest sexual organ. Thanks for noticing that mine is . . . oversized.”
Attaboy. They’d never had to get Kellan out of the principal’s office with a black eye. He always found a way to skewer withhis words, and then get out. One sharp stab. Then he was gone before the other guy even figured out that Kellan had won.
Delaney, on the other hand, was definitely smart enough to know that he’d just turned her own words around on her. Beforethis escalated into a verbal bloodbath, Flynn figured he should step in.
“Marshal Evans. It’s always a rip-roaring good time hanging with you. But if we keep being seen coming into the police station,it’ll be suspicious. People will start to talk.”
“Then make friends with the sheriff,” she snarled. After pressing her palms flat to the door and taking a long breath, shepasted on a smile. “Apparently, Mateo paddle surfs. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
Yeah, there was a whole lot to this West Coast lifestyle that still mystified Flynn. “I literally have no fucking idea.”
“Fine, then.” She threw up her hands. Bright red nails this time. Delaney’s cover for her trips to Bandon were “dates” withthe sheriff. Her sexy outfits and full makeup were no hardship for the Maguire brothers. They were all grateful that theirhandler wasn’t a buzz-cut Fed in an off-the-rack navy suit. Rafe and Flynn just kept their mouths shut about it. “Golf. Didn’tI see in your files that you and Rafe golf?”
“We all do.” Flynn missed playing it. Didn’t love that the marshals knew their hobbies, though. “We also like deep-dish pizza,the playoffs of any and every sport, and hate nineties grunge music. Why do our files have random information that belongson a dating profile?”
“Because Danny McGinty—and many of his high-level crew—participated in that charity golf tournament last summer.”
Rafe made a two-handed snap/fist thump combo. “Whistling Straits Pro-Am. Can’t believe we had to drag our asses past all thosecows to Sheboygan for it. How’d that get on your radar?”
She sat down, across the table from them. “Because it’s in Wisconsin. Someplace that McGinty did not control. Which meantwe were able to bug the clubhouse and the golf carts.”
Kellan perked up. All it ever took to get Kellan out of a funk was an interesting fact. “That’s underhanded. Strategic. Impressive.”
“Thank you, Counselor. So glad you approve of an investigation that took us five years, seven different agencies, and costthree undercover agents their lives.”
Flynn’s first thought was that he couldn’t wait to tell Sierra all about this icy war erupting between their marshal and Kellan.
Quickly followed by his second thought—the remembrance that he could not, in fact, tell Sierra anything about this meeting.
Shit.
Kellan didn’t snap back at Delaney’s response. If anything, he relaxed a little more. He really would’ve been one hell ofa trial lawyer. “It was a compliment. And an olive branch. The rules of polite society require that you accept it as both.”
He needed popcorn for this. And maybe a beer. Watching his little brother put the marshal in her place was almost as fun aswatching an MMA cage match.
Delaney lifted her hair off of the back of her neck. Then she shook her head a couple of times, as if trying to shake somethingoff. “I’m sorry. I’m in a bad mood. Traffic down here from the Eugene Field Office was hideous. My air-conditioning’s on thefritz. And this dress means I have to wear a thigh holster, which just isn’t comfortable.”
Flynn ground his heel into the top of Kellan’s foot. Hard. Because he knew it’d take some serious pain to distract his littlebrother from making a joke about what ought to be between her thighs. “Let’s make this quick, then. You can get on with your pretend date and start throwing back someicy margaritas.”
“I can’t drink. You know I have to drive back to Eugene tonight.”
This time, Flynn landed a punch on Kellan’s thigh. Because he knew, he fucking knew that idiot was about to offer to let Delaney spend the night in his bed instead. Aside from not telling anyone they were ex-mobsters?The number one rule was to stay on the good side of their handler. No way was he letting Kellan’s blue balls ruin that.
“Sorry. But you brought your car trouble to the right place. How about you let me tinker with it and see if I can’t fix thatair-conditioning while you’re at dinner?”
Nice work, Rafe.
She slid her arms forward until she was almost half lying on the table. A big-ass smile slid onto her face, too. “Would youreally? I’d pay you for it, of course. We can’t accept gifts from our protectees.”
“If you ‘forget’ your keys on the table when we’re done, nobody’s the wiser. I’ll just find them in a few hours and leave’em at the front desk. If your car works better? You can chalk it up to the magical ocean air.”
Flynn cleared his throat. “What’d you haul us in for this time, Marshal? Because we’ve been on our best behavior. I’m buildinga float for the Cranberry Festival with a bunch of kids. It doesn’t get more fucking wholesome than that.”
“That sounds . . . I’m certain I should say it sounds lovely. But I’m having trouble forming that picture in my head.”
“Forget imagining it. Come in person. You can watch a float-design session. Or just come to the Festival in September. Stuffyour face with cranberry pie and wash it down with one hell of a cranberry cocktail I’m dreaming up.”
Delaney shifted in her seat to face Rafe. “What’s up with your brother? He’s not being a stick in the mud. He’s
