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“Still looking.” Mitch ended the call. A Ranger never admitted defeat. Neither would a former Ranger.
Somewhere in the middle of the jam of people bellying up to the bar, the lights behind the register struck highlights from a familiar head of mahogany hair. Finally. The man beside her turned around, and fire burned through Mitch so fast he nearly incinerated.
Cath had broken her promise to him to meet this jerk?
Mitch took a bead on her and launched himself into the mass of humanity separating them. She must have felt him boring a hole in her back because she turned and stared as if he were one of her French Quarter ghosts.
Surprised to see me? Mitch halted beside her. Before he could even open his mouth, she curled a hand around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss.
His heart thudded. What game was she playing at?
Who cares? Make the most of this. Could be the last time.
After a lengthy and involved kiss, she stepped back and hooked her hand through his arm. “Thank God you’re here. Remember Paul? We met him the other day at Audubon Park.”
“Right. Thanks for keeping Cath company until I could get here.” Mitch gripped Paul’s hand in a bro handshake. Stop poaching.
Except that he and Cath were only “friends.” If only he could remember that.
DiMartino lifted his glass, studying him. “We were both here alone.”
Cath beamed a brilliant smile. “I didn’t see any point in standing around all on my lonesome while I waited for you.”
“Of course not.” Mitch dropped a kiss on her head. “Beggars can’t be choosers.”
He didn’t usually go out of his way to make a dig, but he could not stand this guy. “She’s not alone now.”
“So I see.” DiMartino sipped his drink. Looked like whiskey from the type of glass in his hand. No doubt only the best.
Cath glanced at him. “Mitch just got out of the army.”
Why was she making tea-party conversation? DiMartino needed to leave, not hang around.
“Had too much?” Paul asked.
“Of MREs?” Mitch wanted to wipe the smug look from the other man’s face, but he nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, yeah. Definitely.”
“Being in the army doesn’t make a guy interesting. You need to be a mover and shaker.” Paul flipped up the collar of his fancy jacket. “If I were courting—which I have no doubt that’s what you’re doing—I’d treat the lady in question with the courtesy of being punctual. Cath doesn’t need another man to trample all over her fragile psyche. Come on, baby, let’s get out of here.” He tugged her off the stool.
Cath shrieked and stumbled. Mitch slung an arm around her. The crowd around them fell silent. Everyone turned to stare.
“No fighting in here.” The bartender leaned across the bar.
DiMartino released her and held up his hands. “You don’t need someone like him, Cath. You’ll be sorry.”
Chapter 15
Chatter and laughter filled the bar as soon as the door shut behind DiMartino. Mitch pressed a hand against his sweaty lip and scanned the crowd, Justin’s warning ringing in his ears. He hadn’t seen anyone acting suspiciously near her office tonight. No one had followed him here from Bea’s apartment, but danger could come from anywhere. At any time.
In this surging sea of humanity, he and Cath looked to be okay for now. He could use a bit of liquid refreshment too. “I’m having a beer.” He leaned on the bar and signaled for attention. “You want anything, Cathy?”
Her gaze lurched up from her cell-phone screen. She beamed another ghost-guide smile at him. “Nothing for me. Thanks for playing along.”
“Was I?” The barman appeared and Mitch asked for a draft and a couple packs of peanuts.
Cath rubbed a finger under her nose and lifted her chin. “I was going to get rid of him.”
When? Next year? A wayward strand of her silky hair called to him, and he crammed his itchy hand in his pocket. Mitch lifted his chin in the direction of the exit. “Why’d you break your promise to meet that jerk?”