“We’re just spinning our wheels, aren’t we, Solomon?”
“Not exactly. We might be making progress.”
“I hope you’re not too bored, Solomon. I’m sure heir hunting is not your usual thing. It’s good of you to help Daisy out like this, isn’t it, Daisy?”
“Oh yeah, he’s a regular Girl Guide.”
Solomon frowned. “Don’t you mean Boy Scout, Princess?”
“No, I mean Girl Guide.” She smirked at him. “You’d better drink up or you’ll be late.”
“No rush. You know how much I enjoy your company.”
Paul chuckled. “From over here you sound like an old married couple.”
“I wouldn’t marry him if he was the last man alive.”
“I’d rather die a single man.”
Drink in hand, Paul sat across the table from Solomon. “I see you two have really bonded. And there I was thinking you’d kissed and made up.”
Daisy grimaced. “That reminds me, we need more mouthwash, or maybe I should gargle with bleach.”
Solomon sighed. She was frosty as hell, and he hadn’t said a word to Paul, yet. Beer finished, he put the bottle on the table. “I’ll leave you good people to dinner. I’ll pick you up in the morning, Daisy.”
“Why do you need to pick her up?”
“We have an appointment first thing, so I left my car at the office. It seemed easier for Solomon to drive me.”
“Easier for who? He lives out the other side of the city.”
“You know where he lives?”
“Sure. It’s not a secret.”
She glared at Solomon, and he smiled. The fact Paul knew something she’d been trying to wheedle out of Solomon would mean the poor man got grief all night. He felt a little guilty about that.
Solomon got to his feet. Daisy did the same. “I’ll show you out.”
“He knows where the door is.”
“It’s the polite thing to do. Besides, it’s on my way. I need a shower before dinner.”
Paul shook his hand. “Take care, man.”
“You too.”
Paul planted a kiss on Daisy’s cheek. “Sherman will be at football practice for another twenty minutes. Do you want me to come up and make you dirty before helping you to get clean?”
“Paul!” Her cheeks turned pink, and her husband laughed.
Solomon strode from the room, and Daisy followed. “I’ll be back to pick you up at seven.”
“I’ll be ready.”
When they got to the front door he glanced back at the kitchen. “Either you tell him after I’m gone, or I’ll do it for you.”
“No. Now bugger off.”
She opened the door, and Solomon stepped outside. Before he could say another word she slammed it in his face. With a growl he stomped to his vehicle, unlocked it, and climbed inside. He could see her face pressed to the glass panel in the front door. There were still options; he could call Paul. However, that was a terrible idea. He needed to explain it all, and once Paul heard the words danger and murder he was unlikely to want to hear anything else. Solomon could park close enough to keep an eye on the place and sleep in his truck. Again, not an option he relished. The nights were cold, and he had a lovely warm and comfortable bed waiting for him at home. Back in his army days he could sleep anywhere, but he was buggered if he was going to endure a night of discomfort to accommodate Daisy’s particular brand of paranoia where Paul was concerned.
He started the engine and reversed out into the road, making a big show of driving off with a roar.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Solomon parked around the corner. He hadn’t done time on covert operations with the Special Forces for nothing. He ducked up the neighbor’s drive and climbed the side fence before creeping along the wall of Paul and Daisy’s house.
He edged toward the rear yard. Once he got to the back corner he glanced up. The bathroom light was on. He’d take his chances. If Daisy was downstairs in the kitchen he was done for, but if he waited too long she’d be washed and back in the kitchen before he had a chance to act.
After taking a deep breath to center himself, he snuck around the corner. He passed the kitchen window. A glance inside revealed Paul was alone. Solomon grabbed the back-door handle and stepped into the room. The fact that it wasn’t locked cemented his opinion that telling Paul was the right thing to do. A man couldn’t be on guard if he had no idea he was likely to be under attack.
“What the fuck?”
Solomon chuckled. “You’ve gone soft in your old age. There was a time when no one could creep up on you. However, I’ve still got the magic. Oh, and I believe you owe Daisy five pounds for using the F-word.”
Paul smiled. “Perhaps you should try giving up being a big bad arse and settle down. Maybe a woman could soften your hard edges.”
“I like my edges just fine the way they are.”
“Did you forget something? I can get Daisy. She’s only just gone up to the shower.”
“It’s not Daisy I’m wanting. We need to talk.”
“About?”
“Daisy’s not being as forthright as she could be about the investigation.”
“She’s lying? What about?”
“Her car’s at the police station.”
“Did she have an accident?”
Solomon shook his head and crossed to stand beside Paul. “This will go easier if you just listen. I don’t have much time.”
Paul turned the heat down under the curry and stood with his arms folded. “Okay. What’s going on?”
“I think the case we’re working on is connected to some murders being investigated by Dan Maloney. Unfortunately, it looks like the murderer agrees. Someone threw pig’s blood over the bonnet of Daisy’s car and left a severed human arm attached to her steering wheel.”
“What?”
“I think she’s come to the attention of a murderer. I have no idea how far they’ll go.”
“Daisy? My Daisy? In danger?” Paul’s face tightened as he clenched his jaw. “Fuck. Why didn’t she tell me?”
“Because she’s worried you would react badly. She’s determined to keep working with me and solve the case.”
“Bullshit. No fucking way. How could you let this happen?”
“I would say, in my defense, that your lady is not one to be contained. I didn’t think handcuffing her to the desk would go so well, based on how she reacted the last time I chained her up.”
Paul took a step toward Solomon, his hands fisted at his sides, his jaw still tight, and his eyes blazing with anger. “This is not a fucking joke. You were supposed to protect her.”
“I had no idea she would be in danger. How was I to know looking for Tobias Wareham would lead to this?”
“You’re the professional.”
Solomon stood toe to toe with him. He had never signed up to be her babysitter. Daisy was a bleedin’ liability. If Paul wanted her to be safe he should never have let her out of the house. She attracted trouble like shit attracted flies. “I’m the man you forced to take her on. If anyone’s to blame it’s yourself. That’s why you’re so angry.”
“You promised.”
“And I fucked up. Shite happens. So sue me.”
Paul grabbed Solomon and spun him around, twisting his arm up his back, and pushing him down until his face was pressed against the cool timber of the kitchen table top. “You fucking promised. I saved your arse, and you promised to do this one fucking thing in return. Daisy is my life. All you had to do was convince her to quit and go back to working in an office. What the fuck is wrong with you that you can’t do one simple thing?”
Solomon struggled and threw Paul off. He turned and raised his fist ready to hit first if it turned into a fight. He hadn’t wanted to work with Daisy to begin with. He was doing Paul a favor in return for the bullet in the arse he took on Solomon’s behalf. The heat of anger surged through Solomon’s veins. What did Paul expect of him? No one could tell Daisy she couldn’t
do something. He’d spent all week running around after her instead of solving his case. Given enough time he’d go out of business because of Daisy.
Solomon reached under his jacket and threw his pistol on the table.
“What the fuck are you doing with that? You do know you can go to jail for ten years for owning a handgun.”
He ignored Paul’s comment. He wasn’t there to discuss the dangers of owning a gun. Solomon tugged his belt from its buckle and then unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. As he spun around to turn his back to Paul he dropped his jeans to his knees. Hands resting on the table, he braced himself. “Do it. Go on. Nail me in the arse. Once, one time, and then we can both walk away like it never happened. I’ll be out of your precious life, and you can protect your darling Daisy. See how that works out for you the next time she gets some crackpot idea.” Solomon wiggled his naked butt in provocation. “Do it, you maggot. Give it to me hard.”
*
Daisy had changed her mind about a shower and was running a bath instead. Intent on refilling her wine glass, she had been almost at the threshold to the kitchen before the raised voices registered. She stopped in the doorway and stared. Solomon was bent over her kitchen table with his bare arse hanging out for all the world to see, begging to be nailed by her husband. Oh God. What if that was it? What if Solomon was off girls because he was hung up on Paul? Maybe the feminine scent she had smelt on him hadn’t been from a woman at all. He might be a cross-dresser for all she knew.
Paul glared at Solomon. “If Daisy wasn’t upstairs and likely to hear, I would gladly oblige.”
She stepped into the room. “What would you oblige him with exactly?”
Solomon spun around, and she got an eyeful of his junk. She averted her gaze from his nether regions. She didn’t need that picture in her head. “Put it away. It’s unhygienic to have that thing swinging around the kitchen. Besides, you might burn it on something.”
Solomon turned his back as he scrambled to pull his jeans back up and fasten them.
Paul crossed the room, but when he put out his arms to hug her, she backed off. “What the fuck is going on?”
“It’s not what you think.”
“What do I think?”
Paul shrugged. “I dunno.”
“Why was he begging you to drill his arse? Is it some old army game you used to play in the barracks at night?”
Everything stowed away, Solomon stepped toward them. “Tell her, Paul, or I will.”
“Tell me what?” Daisy gripped the wine glass tighter.
“We were just arguing.”
“And this was time to kiss and make up?”
Solomon chuckled, and she glared at him.
Paul continued, “No. Solomon told me you were in danger.”
She turned her attention to the Irish man. “You did what? We agreed.”
“I never agreed, Princess. I never thought it was a good idea.”
“So, I’m in danger, and you two decide to do what in my kitchen exactly? Was this some kind of perverse dick-measuring contest?”
Solomon sighed. “Tell her, for Christ’s sake.”
“Yeah, tell me, Paul. Whatever it is it can’t be as bad as the things I’m currently imagining.”
Paul glanced at Solomon, and then back at Daisy. “Fine. But you’re not going to like it. Solomon owed me a favor because the bullet I took in the arse in Cyprus was meant for him.”
Daisy frowned. “I knew that already.”
“How?”
“You talk when you’re drugged with painkillers. In fact, maybe I should break out the aspirin now.”
“No. Look it’s complicated. Solomon owed me a favor for the bullet thing so I asked him to take you on.”
Solomon snorted. “That’s not all you wanted.”
“Shut the fuck up. I’m doing this my way.”
“Well, of course you are, because your way has worked so well up to now. Your way got your wife in the path of a killer, and your way has Daisy thinking we’re gay.”
“You have her thinking that because you were intent on waving your naked arse at me.”
Daisy slammed the wine glass on the countertop hard enough that it shattered, showering her hand with glass. “Stop arguing and tell me what’s going on.”
Both men’s focus shifted to her. Solomon stepped closer. “Your husband asked me to take you on and show you how tedious being an heir hunter was so that you’d scurry back to a boring office job.”
“And he failed. He was supposed to keep you safe.”
“And the arse thing?”
“I was wanting him to shoot me.”
As if to prove the point Solomon lifted a pistol off the table and shoved it in the back of his jeans. When had he started carrying a gun, and why hadn’t she seen it before? She hadn’t noticed it because she’d been too distracted by the sight of a semi-naked man apparently propositioning her husband.
“Shoot you?”
“Aye. If he shoots me in the arse we can all walk away. I’ve repaid the debt, and you two can live happily ever after.”
“And the murderer?”
Paul reached out for her. “Solomon’s right. Heir hunting is too dangerous for you.”
Daisy shrugged Paul off. “Don’t even try to blame him. You were the one. You wanted me to fail. You pretended to support me, but all the time you were scheming with him of all people to get me to quit.”
“It’s not like that, beautiful. Anyway, even if I was, getting you to quit was the right decision. You’re in danger.”
“I’m in danger because I’m making a difference. I’m the key to finding a killer. Don’t you want to know anything about the case?”
“I only want to know that you’re not involved in it anymore. Leave it to the police. Your place is with me and Sherman, somewhere safe where I don’t have to worry about you, wondering if you’re going to get hurt, or worse. You can’t live in fear of your life.”
“I won’t quit.”
“You’ll do as you’re told.”
“I will do as I please. And I please to get the job finished, with or without your approval, or your help.”
“Don’t you realize the danger, you stupid woman? You should be running for the hills. I think you should go and stay with your mam for a while.”
“I’m not going to stay at my mam’s, and I’m not going to quit, so you’re going to have to deal with it. If you can’t, then maybe I need to find a man who can. One who supports me, and thinks that embarking on a new career is something to be encouraged, instead of someone who schemes with the enemy behind my back.”
Solomon placed a hand on Paul’s shoulder. “From the look on Daisy’s face, I’m thinking you’re the one who should be in fear of his life. It appears you’ve misread your lady this time.”
Paul glared at Solomon. “And I think you should shut the fuck up, and help fix this bloody mess.”
Solomon frowned. “How? If she won’t quit for you, she sure as hell won’t do it for me.”
“If Daisy won’t quit, then we need a plan to keep her safe. Is your place still secured like Fort Knox?”
“Why?… No way. Absolutely no fecking way.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Solomon glanced at the woman steaming with anger in the passenger seat of his SUV. How long before she stopped being pissed and started crying because Paul had upset her? He needed to invest in a dry-cleaning business if he was going to keep hanging around with Daisy. If she was really intent on being in his line of business and helping solve a murder, she was going to have to toughen up.
“Are you okay?”
She glanced at him and nodded.
“Good.”
“I know you don’t want me to stay with you. Just drop me at a hotel.”
“Can’t do that, Princess. I fucked up, and now we all have to be punished.”
“Is that how you see me, as some divine retribution being heaped upon you?”
Solomon
smiled. “No. Not really. Well, not all the time.”
“Today?”
Not the response he’d hoped for. “Today was a total mess. I’m sorry about you and Paul arguing. He only got angry because he loves you. Once he’s sure you’re out of danger, and has time to cool off, he’ll get over it and be begging for your forgiveness.”
“I’m not sure I want to forgive him. He schemed against me—with you of all people.”
“I know, Princess. If he’d sold his soul to the very devil it would have been more forgivable.”
“You are the devil.”
Solomon lifted one side of his mouth in a lopsided smile. The Daisy he knew and loved was still in there. “That I am, darlin’.”
“I know you’re trying to cheer me up, but even the thought of you with horns, a forked tongue, and tail isn’t enough to make me forget what Paul did.”
“He did what any man would do for the lady he loves. He worships the very ground you walk on. And look on the bright side. You finally get to find out where I live.”
Daisy sighed. “As much as I want to see your lair, I would have preferred to have found it on my own. It’s a hollow victory when the enemy sweeps you into his castle with open arms.”
“Well, I guess we’re both disappointed, then.”
“Why?”
“Once you know all my secrets, what fun can I have at your expense?”
“I thought you flopped most of your secrets out in my kitchen. Not that you need have bothered if that’s all you have to hide.”
Solomon raised an eyebrow. “I think your present state of upset is affecting your memory. Besides, it was cold in your kitchen.”
“I don’t recall it being that cold, but if it makes you feel better I’ll believe you.”
Solomon slowed as a pony crossed the road in front of them. Dropping his pants had been juvenile. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“Not half as sorry as I am. I’m going to need eye bleach to cleanse my vision, as well as toothpaste.”
He glanced at her, and she gave him a wan smile before turning her attention to the group of ponies they were passing by.
“Do you have other secrets?”
“Everyone has secrets, Princess.”
* * * *
Daisy fisted her hands in her lap and stared out the window. The forest was a strange place. The landscape was filled with acres of tall majestic trees reaching for the sky. The patches of ancient woodland were interspersed with areas where there was hardly a tree in sight; instead the ground was blanketed with heather, bracken, and gorse. Solomon slowed as the rich red of the sky heralded the arrival of dusk.