Anne exchanged a glance with him, smiling, as she remembered the last time they’d scened together at the club. How hot it had been. Now they could continue. After all, Kari and Dan had a child and still enjoyed an occasional night at the Shadowlands for kink and loving.
Z turned and touched her cheek lightly. “Anne.” He said nothing more, but somehow managed to convey his affection and concern—and approval.
After smiling at Ben, he joined Cullen and they headed off the deck.
“Who were they?” her father was asking her mother. “And why did—”
Galen moved forward. “My turn.”
“Turn for what?” Anne regarded him.
Black hair, black eyes, olive complexion. He hadn’t lost any of his intensity when he’d gone from being an FBI special agent to owning his own company. Maybe because his organization specialized in finding missing things—children, documents, people, secrets. Sally, the wife and submissive he shared with his partner Vance, adored tracking down money.
“His turn to talk to you,” Dan explained with a scowl. “He won the toss. He gets to go first.”
“Oh, well, of course.” Seriously, how did men function with all that testosterone tripping them up?
Galen nodded to the empty table on the other side of the deck, distant enough that her family couldn’t eavesdrop without being too obvious.
She glanced at her parents, “Can you—”
Her mother shooed her off with a gesture. “We’re fine. They drove all this way to speak with you. Go ahead, dear.”
“Thanks, Mom.” When she checked Ben, he simply smiled and stayed beside her brother.
As soon as she took a seat across from the two Doms, Galen leaned forward and fixed her with his dark gaze. “I have a proposal for you.”
“What kind—”
“Come and work for me.”
“What?” Too many surprises in one day, in one month. If this kept up, her baby was going to be born hooked on adrenaline.
Not waiting for her to recover, Galen continued. His new company was inundated with contracts to find missing people: runaways, wives, husbands, stolen children, embezzlers…everything. And she had a reputation as being the best skip tracer in the business. She could write her own ticket—work full time or part time, set her own hours—and he’d pay her three times what she’d earned at the bail bond company.
“Problems?” Ben was suddenly beside her. He rested a hand on her shoulder in concern. He’d probably seen the shock in her face.
“Actually, no.” Galen’s offer would solve her employment problem. Much as she’d loved the active part of bail bond pickups, she couldn’t put her unborn child at risk. “Galen offered me a position with his company. No travel. No danger. My own hours.”
Ben squatted beside her. “You know I can support us both while…uh, for a while. There’s no rush to find a job.”
“Damn you, Haugen.” Galen’s annoyance turned his New England accent even crisper than normal. “Don’t listen to him, Anne. You’d be bored within a week. If we—”
A hum interrupted him. With an annoyed sound, he pulled out his cell phone, checked the display, and answered. “Right. Yes. Going on right now. You want a turn?”
Anne frowned.
“Since we’re in a bidding war for your services, Anne, here’s another contender.” Galen was laughing as he set his cell on the table between them. “You’re on speaker, bro,” he said to the phone, “so watch your language. Go.”
“What’s going on?” Anne asked.
“Anne, you’re there. Good.” The voice from the phone was Vance’s, Galen’s partner who still worked for the FBI. “You’d be wasted working for Galen. You have the skills we need in the FBI. Let’s talk about it.”
She bit her lip to keep from breaking down. After feeling as if she wasn’t valued at all, now she had two job offers at once.
“The FBI?” she heard her mother say.
Looking up, she realized her family had ignored politeness and blatantly moved close enough to eavesdrop. She should have known.
They were totally snoopy. And interfering. And loving.
She firmed her voice. “Thank you, Vance. Much as I appreciate the work you Feebies do, I’m a little too settled to want to move around. I’m afraid the FBI isn’t for me. But thank you.”
“Well, I’m disappointed. If you ever change your mind, I want to know.”
“Excellent decision, Anne,” Galen said loudly enough for Vance to hear.
“Asshole. You win this one, bro,” Vance answered. “I hope you realize what a prize you got. See you in a bit.”