Betty looked at Henry. He grinned as they made their way over to the table where Patsy and Lane sat.
“Ostrich ears, but this is so darb!” Jane said as the three of them sat down. “All of us out together.”
“That’s what I told Lane earlier,” Patsy said.
Betty smiled in agreement, even though there were parts of this she hated. Specifically, the reason they were all here. It wasn’t for fun. It was to catch a criminal.
As soon as a cigarette girl had placed two cocktails on the table, neither of which held alcohol, Jane took a sip of hers and then set it down. “So, where is he?”
Betty looked at Henry over the rim of her glass. He was still wearing the black suit and hat from this morning. It made him look official, but also handsome. Because he was so very handsome. The light, the warm and gooey feelings, he created inside her were all there, and she wondered how that could be. They should be gone, or at least hidden, because once that criminal they were hoping to catch was caught, Henry would be gone.
“It doesn’t work that fast,” Lane said.
“Horsefeathers.” Jane looked at Henry. “Do we have to sit here all night, or can we dance?”
“You can dance,” Henry said.
“Ducky.” Jane pushed away from the table. “Hate to have good music go to waste. I’m gonna find me an Oliver Twist.”
She was gone within a flash and, laughing, Patsy stood.
So did Lane.
“Excuse us,” Patsy said. “But I have my very own Oliver to dance with.”
They walked onto the dance floor hand in hand, and gracefully slid into a loving embrace. Betty couldn’t contain the sigh that pressed hard to be released inside her.
“Do you want to dance?” Henry asked.
“No, that’s all right.”
“No.” He stood. “It’s not all right.” He took her hand. “I can tell you do.”
Chapter Ten
It took every ounce of Henry’s willpower to keep from pulling Betty close as they slowly danced their way around the dance floor. Keeping her at a distance, instead of within a loving embrace like the one that Lane held his wife in, was supposed to keep his body from reacting to Betty’s nearness. Supposed to because that was what he’d told himself, but it appeared, that just like not caring for her, keeping his body from reacting was impossible. Everything about him craved her even when she was nowhere near. Up close, within inches, his desires were so strong, his pulse pounded so hard it echoed in his ears.
“Did you complete your baking today?” he asked.
“Yes. Did you learn more about Elkin?”
Her eyes looked even bluer beneath the black hat with one long feather stuck in the side of it. And her face. It was so lovely. He never got tired of looking at her. “I did,” he said, trying to keep his wits about him. He’d never felt like this before and now, to add to his confusion, he also felt guilty over what had happened between them. She’d do anything to protect her sisters, see that they were happy, and he’d used that for his own gain. There was no pride in that. There was no pride in wanting something he could never have, either.
“Will what you learned be helpful?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She kept glancing at her sisters. Both of whom were on the dance floor. Patsy’s head was on Lane’s shoulder, and Jane was flirting so heavily with the man she was dancing with, the batting of her eyelashes could have caused a windstorm inside the tavern.
Her sisters were both attractive, but Betty, she was beyond beautiful. Henry’s insides roiled, because he knew if he gave himself an inch of slack, his tenacity would dissolve and he’d end up doing more than pulling Betty close. He’d kiss her. Like he had this morning. Despite his best efforts, he hadn’t been able to control himself then, and may not be able to now. He should have told Lane the women couldn’t join them tonight. But Lane was right, anything out of the ordinary could make Elkin question if they were onto him, and Lane being anywhere without Patsy right now was out of the ordinary.
Lane had been so crushed when his wife and baby daughter had died during the train robbery that Henry had been shocked to learn he’d gotten married again. Until he’d seen Lane and Patsy together. They were in love. Deeply in love.
That a man who’d never experienced love could recognize it in others also amazed him, and made him wonder what that meant.
“Do you think he’ll come here tonight?” she asked.
Henry gladly let his thoughts shift. “No,” he said, mainly so she wouldn’t worry. This whole thing with Elkin didn’t make any sense. It was all so random. He’d scoured through all the records of past cases, but hadn’t been able to find a solid thread between the cases where information had been slipped. The crimes hadn’t even been committed within the same crime families, and in several different states. The only thing that did make sense was that a major bust of a supply ring had happened last year, and within weeks, Burrows had arrived in California. He must have planned on taking over for that supplier, and Elkin had to have known about it and wanted in on it.
“Then why are we here?” she asked.
“Because Lane said Patsy was afraid Jane would sneak out anyway.”
She nodded. “That’s true. I was worried about that myself.”
“Why do you take on so much responsibility for them?”
“Because they are my responsibility. I’m the oldest.”
A shiver rippled down Henry’s spine, not from anything she’d said. It was the two men entering the speakeasy.
“Henry?”
Catching her attempting to twist far enough to glance in the direction he was looking, Henry pulled her unresisting body close. He couldn’t let Elkin see him, recognize him. Not until the time was right.
He kept their heads close together, almost as if they were kissing,
