Falling For Danger

  DANGER INCORPORATED

  OLIVIA JAYMES

  Copyright © 2023 by Olivia Jaymes

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  The food was good. The service impeccable. The music soft and unobtrusive. Even the chairs were comfortable.

  And Justin Anderson’s date?

  Rebecca Campbell was smart, funny, and gorgeous. He hadn’t even wanted to go on this blind date but so far it had turned out to be the best one he’d ever been on. She’d turned out to be even better than she’d been described. He might have to buy his friends that had set him up with her a bottle of extremely expensive scotch. Or a case of fancy wine. Either way, he was content to be here.

  Which was saying something because he was mostly a homebody these days, happy to putter around his house after a long day at the office. He hadn’t been to a nightclub in years and he didn’t miss it in the least. He liked quiet evenings, reading or maybe binging a television show. Others might call him boring, but he was quite content. Once he’d turned forty, he hadn’t much cared what other people thought about him. In about ten more years he would have no fucks left to give.

  The server placed their dessert in the middle of the table. Although they’d both been full, they couldn’t resist ordering the chocolate cake to share. He’d had it in the past and it was excellent. This would be Becca’s first time but she’d sworn to him that chocolate was one of her favorite things in the world.

  “This is delicious,” she groaned. “So decadent.”

  “We’re splitting it so it’s practically a vegetable,” he laughed, taking another bite.

  The dark chocolate was smooth and slightly bitter on his tongue.

  “A vegetable? How do you figure that?”

  “Cocoa is from beans, right? That’s a legume.”

  “I think you’re stretching it but I like the way you think.”

  “I’m a problem solver.”

  She laughed but they didn’t talk much more as they finished the giant slab of chocolate goodness. He hadn’t thought he had much room after their dinner but he was surprised to see that they’d demolished every bite. Only a few crumbs sat on the plate.

  “That was delicious,” she said, patting her stomach. “But I think I’ll have to eat a salad tomorrow.”

  “Me, too. But it was worth it.” He signaled to the server. “I’ll get the check and we’ll go. Maybe the walk home will help us burn a few calories.”

  Justin had chosen a restaurant on the beach near Becca’s condo so they’d been able to walk to dinner. A moonlit stroll sounded like the perfect way to end their evening together.

  Scratch that.

  A kiss would be the perfect way to finish their date. Maybe more. He wouldn’t mind being invited in. He wasn’t the type to push for anything on the first date, but he wasn’t looking forward to the evening coming to an end. He liked this woman and he was already planning to ask her out on a second date.

  The tray with the check was placed on the table and he reached for it at the same time as she did. Her hand hovered over it, a look of determination on her face.

  “I’ve got this,” he assured her with a gentle smile. “I invited you.”

  “I can pay for myself.”

  “I’m sure you can but it would make me happy to get this. Maybe you can get the next one.”

  She visibly relaxed, her smile widening.

  “Have we already decided to go out again?”

  “I don’t know about you, but I have.”

  He might as well just put it out there. He was too old to play games. He didn’t have the patience or the inclination. He liked her. He wanted to see her again. End of story. It would be better to know now if she didn’t feel the same.

  But he could tell that she did. She was smiling playfully, her green eyes dancing in the candlelight.

  “Okay, I’ll get it next time,” she said, her hand dropping to her side. “But I mean that. Next time I get the check.”

  “I’m not arguing.”

  He quickly handled the bill and they walked out into the warm and sultry summer night. Florida in June wasn’t unbearable yet, but it was hot and more than a little muggy. The sun had already set and there were a few stars twinkling in the inky black sky. There was a slight breeze that rustled the palm trees and had teased a strand of blonde hair from Becca’s ponytail. He had the overwhelming urge to reach out and tuck it behind her ear, possibly caressing her creamy cheek, but he didn’t give in to it. Not this first night. He didn’t want to scare her off.

  He’d been warned by his friends that Becca might be a little…tentative about getting into a relationship. He hadn’t minded that as he felt the same. He wasn’t the type to jump in feet first without looking where he was going to land.

  “It’s beautiful out here,” she said with a soft sigh. “I missed nights like this when I was living in Atlanta. It was lovely there, but it wasn’t the same. There’s something so calming about the sounds of the water. That’s why I chose to live near the beach. I wanted to be able to look out of my window and see it.”

  “I can’t imagine living anywhere but here,” he agreed. “But then I’m a Florida boy, born and raised. I do like snow though. In small doses. Do you ski?”

  “I assume you mean snow skiing and not waterskiing. I can snow board a little. I’d call myself an enthusiastic beginner. Do you ski a lot?”

  “I usually go once a year. I wouldn’t say that I’m all that great but I do enjoy it. And I can also waterski, although I haven’t done much of that in the past few years. Bad knee.”

  Justin wanted to know every detail about Becca, but he wasn’t going to interrogate her their first night out. It would be fun to get to know her over time, slowly unwrapping her personality and seeing who she was.

  He didn’t know which one of them had reached out first, but they were holding hands as they slowly walked down the beach promenade. The lights from the windows of the high-rise condos that dotted this strip of shore lit their path in addition to the smaller lamps placed strategically along the way.

  There weren’t many people out and about now that it was past sundown. There was another couple strolling on the sandy beach and a group of young people huddled around a park bench, laughing and talking. Justin could smell the tang of salt in the air and the scent of hibiscus. There was the sound of sirens in the distance but he didn’t pay any attention to them, content to keep his focus on his date.

  “Are you glad to be back home?”

  Becca had moved back after her divorce - a subject they hadn’t talked about and he hadn’t brought up. She hadn’t either so he was thinking that it wasn’t first date material.

  “I am. Very much. As I said, I liked Atlanta but it simply wasn’t home to me. I feel more at peace here, more comfortable. I’m lucky I can do my work from anywhere.”

  “I know I said it earlier, but I’ll say it again, your work sounds fascinating. I can see why you love it. What are you working on now? Or can you even tell me? Is it a secret? Would you have to kill me?”

  Becca was a freelance designer, working mostly on websites but also on the complete online branding of a company. Over dinner, she’d discussed a few of her previous projects and he’d been impressed by how creative the whole thing sounded. She had such enthusiasm it was obvious she loved her job.

  Laughing, she shook her head.

  “No murdering is involved. But I do often have to sign NDAs. I can tell you that I’m working with a clothing retailer that wants to revamp their entire online presence.”

  She stopped abruptly, her attention turning to the quiet beach.

  “The water is just so beautiful tonight. I bet it’s warm, too. Would you think I was crazy if I asked if we could walk in the water? Get our feet wet a little bit. I mean…you don’t have to if you don’t want to. We don’t have to at all. We can just keep heading home.”

  He liked the way her mind worked. A whole hell of a lot. She’d sounded worried and hesitant but it sounded like a lot of fun. He hadn’t kicked back and relaxed like that in a long time. Too long.

  “I think that sounds like a brilliant idea. Let’s do it.”

  They both slipped off their shoes, dumping them in a high and dry area before heading down to the water’s edge where it pushed and pulled, almost silver in the moonlight. To his delight, Becca didn’t pretend to be cool or sophisticated. She jumped right into the water, letting it lap at her well-shaped calves. He joined in an
d they held hands as they strolled down the beach, laughing like kids that were afraid of being caught.

  At one point they both paused for a moment, taking in the beauty that surrounded them. A bright shining moon, swaying palm trees, soft sand, and warm, caressing water. It was an incredibly romantic moment and Justin wasn’t immune to it. He looked down at Becca and found that she, too, was looking right at him.

  She was so incredibly beautiful, not just in moonlight but all the time. But there was something about the shadows and shimmers that made her look almost otherworldly, as if they had stumbled into some strange paradise where only the two of them existed.

  He couldn’t make out all of her expression but his instinct was telling him to kiss her. Now. This was the moment.

  He bent his head and she didn’t step back, instead lifting her face in anticipation. His gut tightened and he leaned down to brush her lips with his own, feather light. Her hands slid up his arms and he cupped her jaw with his palm. He was about to deepen the kiss when he heard laughing and shouting, the sound of footsteps on the sand growing nearer.

  Jerking his head back, he could see that they’d been joined by the boisterous young people that they’d seen earlier. They were throwing a frisbee back and forth, yelling as it careened into the water. One of the guys fished it out and threw it to someone else, all while the rest laughed and cheered. Justin had vague memories of playing frisbee in the dark with his brothers, although it had been years. There had usually been some beer involved as well, at least for the ones of age.

  “I guess it might be time to move on,” Becca said, nodding at their company. “They do look like they’re having a blast though.”

  “We could join them,” Justin suggested but in a joking manner. “We could stay out all night and go to breakfast with them at dawn.”

  “I think I’ll pass,” she laughed. “I like to get my eight hours if possible.”

  They walked back and retrieved their shoes, rinsing off their sandy feet in the shower by the sidewalk. They had linked arms and were walking toward her building which was located on a corner just across the street from the beach.

  When they were getting close, he could see flashing blue and red lights and as they grew even closer, he realized there were several police cars, an ambulance, and two firetrucks. A crowd was standing in front of the building behind a set of traffic barriers that must have been set up by the authorities.

  “This must be the sirens we heard earlier,” Becca said, beginning to walk more quickly. “I wonder what’s going on?”

  As they approached an officer that Justin didn’t recognize stepped into their path.

  “You need to stay behind the barricades,” he commanded. “There’s been an accident here.”

  “She lives in this building,” Justin replied. “Can she go inside?”

  “Can I see some identification?” the officer asked. “I have to make sure that you’re really a resident.”

  “Of course,” Becca said, digging into her handbag. “Here’s my driver’s license.”

  The officer accepted it and then a strange expression passed over his face. His shoulders had tensed and his demeanor wasn’t as friendly.

  “You need to wait here,” he commanded, taking a few steps away. He had a radio on his shoulder and he spoke to someone on the other end briefly before returning. “Someone is going to come talk to you. Don’t move.”

  “We weren’t planning on it,” Justin replied, not liking this at all. Most of the police officers in their sleepy beach town were good guys, friendly and helpful. His brother Grant was the sheriff in this town and he was careful about who he hired. The officer had to be new because Justin had never met him.

  Grant, however, was on vacation which meant that his second in command Deputy Kyle Ellis should be in charge tonight.

  “This is weird,” Becca whispered, still holding his hand, but her palms were a bit sweaty now. “Is it my imagination or did his attitude change when he saw my license?”

  “It did and you’re not imagining things.”

  “Does he hate condo owners? I know that high rise condo buildings near the beach can be controversial.”

  Justin didn’t have a clue but he might be about to find out. Kyle Ellis was striding toward them, a grim expression on the man’s face.

  “Justin,” Ellis said in greeting, shaking his hand. “Good to see you. We have a bit of a situation here as you can see.”

  With the crowd of people, Justin couldn’t actually see much of what the situation actually was, to be honest. But clearly, something was going on.

  “This is Rebecca Campbell,” Justin said. “She lives in this building. What’s happened?”

  Ellis grimaced and scratched his head.

  “We have a dead body,” he finally said. “It appears that he fell off of one of the balconies and onto the sidewalk.”

  “Oh god,” Becca said, her hand flying to cover her mouth. “That’s awful. How far up was he?”

  Justin didn’t want to say it out loud but anything over the first floor and this guy wasn’t going to be too healthy.

  “That’s the thing,” Ellis said. “We think he was on the twelfth floor.”

  “That’s my floor.” Her eyes widened and she appeared even more distressed. “Is it Mr. Travers? He’s getting up there in age and isn’t as steady on his feet anymore.”

  “We haven’t identified the body for sure yet.”

  “Was there no ID?” Justin asked.

  “There was but we need to be sure before we say anything,” Ellis replied, his feet shifting awkwardly. “Listen, there’s no easy way to say this but it appears that this man fell from unit number 1203.”

  There was an audible gasp from Becca and she slumped against Justin, who immediately wrapped his arm around her to hold her steady. Even with only the moon and the streetlights, he could easily see that she was pale and shaken.

  “Do you know the person who lives in 1203?” Justin asked, trying to keep his tone calm and soft.

  He’d already decided that he wasn’t going to just drop her off and leave. He’d stay with her as long as she needed him. She was obviously quite upset.

  She shook her head, exhaling shakily. Licking her lips, she seemed to be trying to put together a reply.

  “That’s where I live.”

  That changed everything.

  This man had fallen from her apartment? Justin wasn’t sure he believed it.

  Clearly, they needed more information.

  One thing was for sure…it wasn’t all that peaceful here anymore.

  Chapter Two

  It all felt so surreal. Becca had pinched herself to make sure she was actually awake and this wasn’t some bizarre nightmare. The pinch had hurt and left a mark, so it didn’t look like she was going to wake up in the morning realizing that none of it was real. This was real.

  A man had somehow gained access to her condo and had fallen from the balcony to his death. It didn’t get more grisly than that.

  When they had finally been ushered into the lobby of her building, they’d walked past the body covered in black plastic. That didn’t stop her from seeing some of the bloodstains on the concrete. There was even a lone shoe next to him. Had his shoe been knocked off from the force of the landing? She was sick to her stomach just thinking about it. It was a horrible way to die.

  At least she wasn’t alone. To her surprise, Justin Anderson hadn’t abandoned her at his first opportunity after learning what had transpired here tonight. Most guys would have made an immediate exit, leaving her to deal with the aftermath on her own. Not this guy. He’d stuck close to her the entire time, keeping a strong arm around her shoulders, and almost propping her up with his strength when her knees might have given out.

  It turned out that Justin’s brother Grant was the sheriff in this town although he was currently on vacation. His deputy Kyle Ellis was in charge and would be running the investigation. Justin had assured her that Ellis was a good and knowledgeable officer, but she was still left wondering what was going on here.