Best Man for the Job

“The list. Is it alphabetical or color-coded?” She wasn’t the only one that could be hard-nosed.

“Topographical. Based on how much they cover.”

Despite his caution, the comment caught Callan off guard and made him smile. The brunette was quick. Then he scowled. He’d learned that quick-witted women could get a soldier dead in a heartbeat. He stepped away from the bed. “Okay, you can suit up.” He headed for the door, but this time she blocked him. He looked down at her. “Either I can go and let you change, or I can stay and watch. Doesn’t make any difference to me.” But he was lying. He would have loved to have watched.

“It makes a difference to me.” The woman stepped aside dismissively and entered the room. “You can leave.”

Callan went out and headed for the big room where the party was going to take place. Daniel Steadman, his future brother-in-law, stood in the center of a dozen guys all getting happily plotzed at a wet bar set up in the corner of the big room.

Daniel was a nice guy. From the few times Callan had met him, Daniel was likable enough. But he wasn’t the kind of man Callan generally associated with. All of the men in the room were involved in big business, and that made Callan feel awkward.

He reminded himself that he was doing this for Jenny. His little sister had asked him to keep an eye out for Daniel, in case Toby and his friends got too wild. Jenny wasn’t worried about other women, strippers or entertainers, but she was worried about everyone being in Las Vegas and so far from Dallas. Accidents happened. She’d wanted Callan to shepherd the group.

“Hey, Callan. You want a drink?” Daniel, tall and good-looking, his blond hair carefully cut and styled, waved at the bar.

Callan picked up his Diet Coke from the small table by the balcony doors. “I’m good. Thanks.”

“Why don’t you come over here and join us?”

“I’m gonna catch a breath of fresh air.”

“Okay, bro. I just want you to have fun tonight. I promised Jenny I’d get you to loosen up. I’m kind of big on keeping promises to her.” Callan nodded. Me, too. He opened the balcony door, and went out into the night. He stared out at Las Vegas from the fourth floor. Standing there, he breathed in the stink of the city. Filth and raw sewage he was inured to, but he’d forgotten what smog and privileged pollutions were like. He’d been years from civilized areas, except for the few visits to check on Jenny. He’d come home for her high school graduation, college graduation, a handful of holidays and every now and then when he’d been out of action and recovering from wounds. Or planning a retaliatory move.

He sipped his drink and wondered why he was so on edge. Part of it had to do with Jenny marrying and the fact that he didn’t know Daniel as well as he wanted to. But the biggest part of it was that he felt off his game, out of his terrain.

Despite that, he thought about the beautiful woman getting dressed in one of those sexy outfits he’d discovered in the travel bag. He’d liked the way she’d stood up to him and didn’t back down, and he’d liked how she’d handled things when she’d found him going through her bags. She was cool and calm.

She was also unexpected, and that bothered him most of all. If there was one thing Callan had learned to hate, it was the unexpected.

“Look, I’m really sorry about that. Callan had no reason to treat you like that or go through your stuff.”

“It’s okay.” Eryn made herself say that even though it wasn’t okay. She was used to the wide gulf that separated the whales and major players in Las Vegas from everyone else. Her job at CyberStealth Security put her in that no man’s land every day. High rollers or not, though, she didn’t show up to get treated like garbage.

“He didn’t mean anything by it.” Toby looked uncomfortable.

Eryn looked at him and cocked a challenging eyebrow.

“He’s just a careful guy.”

“You mean, paranoid.” Eryn had recognized it because that was how she played the game when she was on the job.

Toby shrugged. “Maybe. Tell you the truth, the guy creeps me out a little. I mean, I don’t know him. He’s Jenny’s brother, but I haven’t ever seen him until tonight.”

“So what’s his story?” Eryn refolded her underwear and placed them back in the bag.

“Don’t know. He’s some kind of soldier. He’s been in Africa and the Middle East the past few years. I’ve heard he’s a mercenary or something. You ask me, he’s wired too tight.” Toby looked at her. “He won’t be a problem, though. One call to Jenny and she’ll gentle him down.”

“His sister can do that?” Personally, Eryn had her doubts. She would have bet that Callan was the kind of man no one could tame.

“That’s what Daniel says.”

“Ever seen her do it?”

“Nope.”

Eryn nodded. “If he gets out of hand, hotel security is just a phone call away.” She held up her cell. “I’ve got them on speed dial and I won’t hesitate, bachelor party or not.” She wiggled the phone. “Just so we’re clear.”

“It won’t be a problem.” Toby checked his watch. “I should probably let you get dressed.” He hesitated a second, and Eryn knew he was contemplating adding a wisecrack, like or help you get undressed, but decided against it. Lucky him.

“That would be great.”

“The cake’s supposed to arrive in a few minutes.” Toby pointed in the direction of the hallway. “Meet me outside when you’re ready?”

“I will.”

“Cool.” Toby turned and left, closing the door behind him.

Eryn focused on her costumes. Calling the wispy bits of cloth costumes was more dignified than simply thinking of them as underwear. Calling them costumes made her feel more clothed. She wasn’t overly conscientious of her body. Working this kind of job, she couldn’t afford to be conscientious any more than she could afford to take her eyes off a principal, which was what CyberStealth called the clients they protected.

But as she surveyed her inventory, she couldn’t forget about the big man. He’d thrown her with his casual disregard, and she hated that she was reacting to it as if he was a challenge. The problem was, he reminded her way too much of the jerks she had to put up with at CS Sec. She knew that a bachelor party wasn’t going to require much in the way of dressing. The less, the better, in fact. But now she wanted something that would blow Callan’s mind. Or at least his cool.

Looking over the selection, she wished she’d put in more thought about the event. But this had been such a no-brainer she hadn’t thought about it. Reluctantly, she pulled out a white camisole with matching underthings and downy wings, and a scarlet two-piece ensemble with horns that left little to the imagination.

So which would fluster Callan more? Angel or devil? She pulled them up against her body in the full-length mirror on the wall, trying first one, then the other.

Toby was leaning against the wall in the hallway when Eryn found him. He had a beer bottle in one hand and was talking casually to a couple of hotel staff manning a pink and white cake on wheels. All three men stopped talking as Eryn stepped out into the hallway. She kept a satisfied smile from her face with effort. The other bodyguards and investigators at CyberStealth couldn’t generate that effect. Her looks were part of the package that repeat customers asked for, and it irritated the men she worked with.

“Wow.” Toby’s voice was hoarse. “And I do mean, wow.”

“Thank you.” Eryn looked at the cake and saw that it had been outfitted with a selection of real cakes and desserts. “Are we ready?”

“Yeah.” Toby gestured at the cake and the two hotel staff unlatched and opened it. There was plenty of room inside for her.

Eryn stepped forward. “I assume you’re not going to simply unlatch the cake inside the suite. How do I get out?”

“Here.” One of the men showed her how to unlatch the top and fold down a section of the cake. “Makes a step so you can get out without breaking your neck.”

“Even in these heels?” Eryn lifted one of the deep red stilettos she wore.

“Don’t know about heels.”

Personally, Eryn didn’t think the staff guy had even noticed she was wearing shoes. She’d chosen the red outfit, and it worked its magic on Toby and the hotel crew. “I’ll manage.” She stepped up and scrunched down inside the cake and adjusted her horns. “What’s the groom-to-be’s name?”

“Daniel. Daniel Steadman.”

For the first time, the name sank into Eryn’s mind. She’d been focused on tall, dark and distracting. “Daniel Steadman? As in Steadman Pharmaceuticals?”

The company was located in Dallas, which explained Toby’s Texas accent. Steadman Pharmaceuticals had also been in the news lately as one of those companies making money when so many others were losing their shirts. They backed a NASCAR driver that had taken a couple of recent cups.