After the demise of his short-lived marriage to another agent, a marriage that was probably the biggest mistake of his life, Logan tended to date women who werent only real lookers but had high-powered careers. Careers well out of his field. And they had to be women whose minds werent on the M word. One disastrous attempt at domestic bliss had been enough to last Logan a lifetime.
He watched Daphne step back, tilt her head to one side and examine him critically, and he still couldnt shake the other imagethe one in which she was barely dressed.
Well, hell! Are we done? he muttered.
Almost. She leaned around him to scoop something off the bed. A bright red felt hat that had bushy white hair attached to all sides. As she straightened, Logan got a whiff of a perfume that nearly had him following her with his tongue hanging out. Damn, but he was a sucker for certain scents. This one did something to his libido. Cranked it up full bore.
Daphne set the silly top hat squarely on Logans head. She made sure every bit of his own hair was hidden from view. The flower on your hat has a vial of water attached by this camouflaged button on the brim. You can act like youre tipping your hat to a lady. Instead, you squirt her with a fine spray of water. I dont recommend using it on kidsthey often have short fuses and no sense of humor when it comes to practical jokes. But the moms generally laugh.
He stood then, and walked over to the mirror as Daphne pulled on white gloves to cover his big hands. I cant believe Im really going out in public looking like this, Logan lamented, lifting first one foot and then the other so she could install his oversize slippers. They felt awkward as hell.
I can paint on tears so you can be a sad clown, Daphne said tartly, climbing to her feet to peruse him from head to toe. Otherwise, quit frowning. Youll mess up the paint. The way I see it, Ive just saved your scrawny butt.
Logan scowled harder, or tried to. The thick face paint discouraged facial expressions, he discovered.
Listen up, Special Agent. Heres the plan. I have a few simple tricks I show the kids. I do a few riddles and give little prizes for correct answers. Youll be my assistant. Ill tell everyone youre a clown in training. Natalie asked me to paint everyones face. If youve had any experience, we can split up the kids. If not, youll have to hang out and hand me paints and brushes as I need them.
I think you like humiliating me far too much for someone who doesnt even know me. You say your brothers a cop? Maybe youre getting back at him through me. Or maybe a cop boyfriend dumped you, so making a fool of me gives you a kick.
I love my brothers. Im proud of all three. Kieran wears the blue. Dane risks his life fighting fires. Perry transports freight cross-country for a living. And I never dated a cop. I have better sense. I think youre acting pretty ungrateful for a guy in your position. Not to mention that youve endangered lives by coming here.
Logan flinched at Daphne Malones verbal slap. Youre absolutely right on all counts, he said stiffly. From here on out, or at least until the party ends, your slightest wish is my commandBozo, he added under his breath as Daphne thrust a bag in his hands and headed for the door. Logan revised his opinion of her. She wasnt hot. She was a pain in the ass. But hed associated with worse people to save his hide. So associate with Daphne Malone he would. Temporarily. Logan just hoped this party turned out to be the shortest birthday celebration in history.
He thought that even more as he watched Daphnes sashaying tush disappear out the sliding glass door. Something must be wrong with his love life if he was attracted to a woman dressed like a clown. Her smart mouth alone should deter him. Not only that, Logan was a take-charge kind of guy who didnt particularly like taking orders. Thankfully, his dealings with the dictatorial Daphne Malone would end at the close of this event.
But what if Holts buddies had already moved on, thinking Logan had given them the slip? Maybe going out there, making a spectacle of himself, would be for nothing. Hanging back, Logan slid across the floor to peer out front again.
He shouldve known Holts well-trained goons wouldnt give up so easily. They were out there all right.
CHAPTER TWO
LOGAN STARTED working out a plan to borrow Aprils car. With a little luck, hed figured he could sneak past Billys lookouts. That hope died quickly. A glance through a crack in the blind showed one man from the organization strolling down the street, peering under bushes and over fences into side yards. He stopped to talk to a cop in an LAPD car; Logan wished he could see the cops face. A second goon followed a trail into the woods adjacent to Aprils house. Dropping the blind, Logan realized hed have to play along for a while.
Hed strapped the Luger to his leg with two rubber bands he found in his sisters bathroom cabinet. Hed be walking oddly, anyway, in the big slippered feet. Walking at all was a challenge, he soon discovered, wondering whatever possessed grown-ups to do this for a living.
By placing all his weight on his heels, he managed to make it past the slider onto the patio without falling on his face. Daphne already had the kids sitting in a semicircle, gazing up at her with adoring eyes. A surprising stab of nostalgia rendered him immobile for a heartbeat. An early argument Logan had with his ex had come about because he wanted kids and she flatly refused to discuss it. He envied his sister and her friends, who sat around the pool in deck chairs smiling at their cherubs. Logan again cursed himself for potentially bringing disaster down on them.
Noticing one of Billy Holts men walking out of the woods on the unfenced side of Aprils yard, he tensed all over. Logan had gotten into the house undetected by knowing the area. If he ever got out of this, hed try to convince Mike to move his family to a better location. At the very least, Logan knew hed come back and help fence their yard.
Feeling protective of everyone here, he waddled up and insinuated his body between Daphne and the deadly onlookera man sure to be packing the latest automatic handgun. The availability of high-tech weapons to criminals was something else that made Logans job more difficult by the day.
Daphne, seemingly oblivious that they were being observed, produced five plastic bowling pins from a flowered bag shed brought out. She began juggling three pins. Then added two more. When she finally did see the stranger watching from the trees, she faltered and pins flew in five different directions.
Logan scooped them up. Even with gloves covering his hands, he tossed the pins in the air and kept them aloft far longer than Daphne had.
The kids clapped loudly.
Hey, quit upstaging me, Daphne said, planting her hands on her hips.
The kids and their moms assumed the banter was part of the routine. They all laughed and urged Daphne to take the pins away from her partner.
Thats okay, Daphne told the children. My magic tricks are way cooler than his.
Whats your name? called out one boy.
Im Bozo. This is Buzzy. He doesnt talk much, Daphne said seriously. But hed like another round of applause for how well he juggles. How about if we all show him our appreciation?
The group of kids and adults clapped harder. Logan knew why Daphne had said he didnt speak. If their intruder stayed at the edge of the partyand he showed no indication of leavingthe guy might well recognize Logans voice. Logans estimation of Daphne Malones ability to think on her feet went up several degrees.