Diane [The Town of Pearl 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (17 page)

Sage chuckled. “You definitely need that ‘getting to know one another’ time.”

“What is that supposed to mean, Sage?” Diane asked.

“I’m involved with retired military, special agents, very similar men and personalities to yours. Their professions, their experiences, their personalities, scream possessiveness, control, and dominance. I’d be surprised if they actually let you out of their sight, or let you go alone.”

“Oh God, you’re right, one of them will probably insist on going with her,” Melissa said, and then she nibbled her bottom lip.

“No, they wouldn’t do that. This relationship is new.”

“Honey, you’ve seen how the men in Pearl are. They protect the women of Pearl, both single and not,” Melissa told her.

“I can take care of myself. I’ve had to for this long.”

“Paul, Willie, and Hank have been watching over you. Why do you think Mark got so angry with them that night he found you on the side of the road in the rain changing your tire?” Melissa added.

“Mark stopped to help you that night? Oh my, this is fate now, isn’t it?” Sage added and then winked.

Diane smiled. “He was pretty upset.”

“Exactly. So be prepared for them to talk you out of going to New York, or for one of them if not all of them to go with you,” Melissa told her.

“They can’t. They wouldn’t. Mark is working that case, remember? Lucas and Drake have their orders to complete, and besides, I’m not going alone, Sage is coming with me.”

Sage’s eyes widened and Melissa laughed as she walked around the counter to sit down.

“Now this is going to get really interesting,” Melissa said.

Diane winked at Sage. “It’s why I asked you to meet me here. Monique texted me last night. I got it this morning when I went home to shower and change. She said I could bring a friend so I would feel more comfortable.”

“And you’re asking me?” Sage asked, sounding excited.

“Yep. I would have asked Melissa, but she would be uncomfortable flying out there, and her men would never allow it, never mind baby Johnny.”

“Thanks for thinking of me,” Melissa said.

Sage and Diane smiled.

“So go ask Dale, Virgo, Matt, and Quaid. Tell them I can send the itinerary to them and all our contact information including the hotel, the studio, and the limo driver’s number.”

“Limo driver?” Sage asked, sounding excited now, too.

“Oh yeah, we’re going first class, and we’ll have an escort with us the entire time.”

“Oh my God. What do I wear? What should I pack?”

Diane chuckled. “We’ll go over that this week. We leave Friday night and return late Monday night.”

“Oh God, they are so going to give me a hard time.”

“Well, tell them your best friend needs you and that we’ll have the escort and the limo driver. I’ll explain everything to them.”

“Maybe you can meet us at the Main Street Inn for dinner?” Sage asked.

“Okay, add four of us, I’ll ask the guys to come and break the news to them then, too.”

Melissa chuckled again. “You have no idea how bad this is going to backfire,” she teased.

“What could go wrong?” Diane asked, and the guilty, uncertain feeling hit her gut. She needed to gain some control here, or Drake, Lucas, and Mark would think she was the clingy, instant-arm-jewelry type.

“I’ll meet you there at 6:00 p.m.”

“Okay. Thanks,” Sage said and hugged her. Then she waved good-bye to Melissa.

“I think I’m going to see if Paul, Willie, and Hank want to go out to dinner tonight. I don’t want to miss this little scam of yours,” Melissa teased.

Diane gave her sister a sassy look. “It’s not a scam. It’s a means to avoid the deeper reasoning behind me going to New York.”

“It’s pretty obvious to me.”

“That’s because I told you why. The relationship is very new. The modeling gig just happened to come up at the same time. I wouldn’t ask Mark to stop working on this case he’s working on so he can court me. Why should I cancel this opportunity?”

Melissa took a deep breath and released it. “I guess you’re sticking to your guns, no matter what anyone says. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I do. I’m going to be able to look back in the mirror one day and remember this trip and not have any regrets. I won’t wonder what would have happened, or if I had given up on an opportunity of a lifetime because of my lack of confidence and my immediate need to be cared for and protected by Lucas, Drake, and Mark. I have to do this. I have to, or Mark, Lucas, and Drake will think they already have complete control of me and that I can’t make any decisions without them. That would definitely be the wrong way to start off this complicated, untraditional type of relationship.”

Melissa nodded her head.

“You have a point, but remember they’re already attracted to the woman who has shown independence, courage, and determination. They know you care for them because you gave them a part of you that no other man will ever have. This time apart, them giving you the space and the encouragement to follow your heart, might help you to accept their love, their protection, and all they have to offer you as their woman.”

Diane understood that. She just hoped that the men would, and that nagging sensation in her gut she had hearing Drake and Mark talk about an old lover and fellow agent, who went missing, wasn’t something more. Something that could tear them apart before they were even fully together.

* * * *

“Is he still in his office on the phone?” Drake asked Lucas as Lucas walked into the workroom. Drake was putting together the clock mechanisms before adding them to the new clock he just completed. The next step would be staining it to the color the customer ordered.

“He is.”

“What the fuck? He said he was done. He told us he was going to tell his commander that he was through with the agency.”

“Drake, you know that leaving something like this isn’t that easy. It may take some time.”

“Time he could be spending getting to know Diane. Learning about her wants and desires.”

“I know that, and he’ll be with her, too, when she comes here later tonight. This case is different.”

“Because of Brenda. He wasn’t even honest about what she meant to him.”

“Drake, you’re blowing this out of proportion.”

“Am I, Lucas? Think about it. It’s like he needs to be the one to find her. Let someone else do it. Hell, what about her current boyfriend?”

“It’s not like that. I’m telling you that he said they were friends and he feels obligated to try and help with this case. After all, it was something they were involved in that fell through and the agency never revisited.”

“Until now. What if something happens to him? You didn’t hear him this morning or see him staring at Brenda’s picture.”

Lucas’s eyes widened and then he looked more serious. “He told Diane he loves her. We both heard him.”

“Well, he has a hell of a way of showing it.” Drake looked back down at the clock and continued to work. He glanced up a few minutes later and saw Lucas staring at Diane’s picture on his desk. He took that shot six months ago in the park. She didn’t even see him with the camera.

“I miss her,” Lucas whispered.

“I do, too.” Just then Drake and Lucas’s cell phone beeped indicating they had a text message.

They both reached for their phones and glanced down.

“Diane?” Lucas asked Drake and Drake nodded.

“Guess we’re doing dinner out tonight with Sage and her men,” Drake added.

“This is a good thing? I’m not a social person,” Lucas stated.

Drake chuckled. “Welcome to having a girlfriend, brother. No more being a hermit. Sage and Diane are best friends. We get along very well with Dale, Virgo, Matt, and Quaid. It might be fun.”

Lucas rolled his eyes. “I’d rather stay home with Diane and just be with her.”

Drake smiled. Maybe this would be good for Lucas, and could help him be more social. Drake just hoped that the night would take away the trepidation he felt inside. Could Mark give up this case and focus on Diane with them? Or would his brother become obsessed with finding out what really happened to Brenda? Feeling frustrated and angry, he released a sigh and focused on his work and on seeing Diane tonight. He’d worry about Mark later.

* * * *

“I want to know the minute the raid is complete. From my connections, Marzban’s hands are all over this. He won’t be able to pin it on someone else. He screwed up, and now we’ve got him,” Mark stated into the phone as he pulled up the live surveillance of the shipping docks off the Florida Keys.

“You did great, Mark. This is what we needed. Did you hear from your other informant? Was Brenda sighted again?” Mark asked Brenda’s commander.

“No. There’s been no sign of her, but Marzban is on the move and here in the United States. He’s not far from the location of this shipment,” Commander Liam Franks told him.

“Wouldn’t that be great if Marzban was in the shipyard when SWAT and FBI raid the place?”

Franks chuckled. “That would be too easy. Thanks again for your help, and I will keep you posted.” Mark disconnected the call and then looked at his phone. He had a text message. When he saw it was from Diane, he smiled.

He read the text and saw that she sent the message about dinner to Drake and Lucas. His brother was pissed at him. He was going to be even angrier when he told Drake he needed to stay on this case for a few more days at least. He was helping to solve that old crime and to halt the efforts of illegal stolen weapons to be shipped overseas. This was big stuff, important steps in securing this country and the innocent people. It would hit Marzban where it would hurt most. In his pockets.

Plus, it would also send a message that he wasn’t too smart to trick everyone, and if Brenda was still alive, she would figure out that Mark was the one behind the raid and figuring things out. She knew how resourceful he was, and how many informants he had. Maybe there would be good news by tonight, and he could solely focus on Diane and making love to her again. He missed her and wondered, as he texted her back, why his stomach ached, and why he felt guilty.

He glanced at the computer screen and Brenda’s picture. He couldn’t get himself to believe that she committed treason and was in cahoots with Marzban. Something was entirely wrong about this operation, and he was going to figure out what.

“He’s a dead man. He wants to fuck with me? He wants to try and destroy what I have been working so hard for? Let’s see how he feels about this!” Marzban yelled into the phone at Zand Yousef and then slammed the phone down.

He stood up, walked toward the balcony of the private villa and stared at the sunset.

He just lost over three million dollars of an investment. Never mind the twelve men who were overseeing the operation. Zand and Arshad were lucky to have placed someone else in charge of completing the operation or the feds would have them in custody, too. Now he had to send men in to kill off those men so no one would snitch him out. This was supposed to be a foolproof operation. Who gave them up? Who double-crossed them? He paced the balcony and thought about the key players. It came to him suddenly as he stared toward the closed bedroom door. Brenda was supposed to be taking a bath.

His phone rang. He walked toward his desk to answer it. He saw that it was Arshad.

“I’ve got a few names. Do you want it done messy or just a warning? Give me all the details. I will decide who will die and who will live with the fear of not knowing where or when I will get them, just that I’m coming. The message must be loud and clear,” Marzban replied.

* * * *

Diane was smiling after Drake, Lucas, and Mark expressed in kisses how much they missed her today. She was overwhelmed with desire, and they still needed to get through dinner with Sage and her men and of course the main topic of discussion, New York. Sage had texted fifteen minutes ago and said that her men were concerned and not certain they felt comfortable letting her go. But she also added that she had ways of convincing them and hoped Diane didn’t mind if they left dinner early. Diane chuckled. She wondered if someday she would have that type of relationship with Drake, Lucas, and Mark.

Drake squeezed her hand as Lucas placed his arm around her waist and both guided her through the back room of the restaurant. Abigail had saved a large table in the back corner for the nine guests.

They greeted their friends, and Lucas squeezed her hand. She knew that he wasn’t into the social scene and preferred time alone, but she was glad he was here. She wondered if he was doing it because of her, and that kind of made her feel guilty for questioning their commitment. But they really didn’t specifically say they were committed to only her. They said they had wanted her for a long time and that they cared for her, but how serious was this relationship and did they just expect her to fall right into the place by their side as their woman because they spent one night together? That was moving fast, and her fear, her insecurities were begging for them to put on the breaks.