Page 9 of Kane (Ghost Ops #4)

Chapter Five

Nathan Fader was back. Daphne was busy inputting numbers at the computer when he walked into the range with his bag and his eerily intense focus.

She forced a smile and prayed one of the guys would come out from the back.

Blaze and Chance were RSOs, Alex and Ethan were checking in a shipment of weapons, Seth had gone to Research Park to consult with a defense contractor, and Kane was somewhere around.

Surely one of them would need to ask her for something.

Please, please ask.

“Welcome back, sir,” she said politely.

“Hey, doll. You got any free bays? Just need an hour.”

“I believe we have two.” Daphne reached for the paperwork and slid it to him on the clipboard. “If you’re new to town, or just new to us, you can join the range for unlimited usage. It’ll be a lot cheaper than twenty-five an hour. Plus you get unlimited gun rentals.”

Oh shit, had that sounded like prying? She’d tried to keep her tone light, but she knew as well as she knew her own name there were some kinds of men you didn’t ask for details. She’d been raised around those kind of men. Knew one when she saw one, which meant she should have kept her mouth shut.

Fader finished the paperwork, his oily gaze sliding to hers. Questioning, assessing. Daphne’s heart skipped. Had he been this creepy yesterday? Or was her imagination running away because he made her uncomfortable?

“I don’t expect to be around long. In the area for work, need to keep the skills sharp.”

“Of course.”

She took his money with a smile, retrieved the targets, and assigned him a bay. “Number four today. You get Chance again.”

Fader took the targets but didn’t walk away. “You ever been to New Orleans, doll?”

Daphne’s stomach bottomed out. “Once or twice. In college. It’s quite a party town.”

“You from around here then?”

Oh shit. “Not Sutton’s Creek, no. Tennessee. Little town up near Lynchburg. Came down here for work.”

“Lynchburg. That’s where Jack Daniels is made. What’s the name of the town?”

“Oh, I don’t expect it’s one you’ve heard of. Just a little holler in the hills.”

Her heart tapped a quick beat in her chest. She was certain he could smell her fear, but he didn’t press her for more.

“Understood, doll.”

“Happy shooting,” she called as he headed for the range door.

He waved a hand over his head without turning around. Then he entered the first door and Daphne sank into her chair.

She heard footsteps coming down the hall before she saw Kane. His expression was hard, like he was on a mission to bash some heads together.

“That guy bothering you, Daph?”

Not what she expected at all. If she said yes, would he bar Fader from the range? She wanted him gone, but that would be a suspicious move to a man like that. If he suspected she wasn’t who she claimed to be, that would cement it for him. And then what? Better to have him where she could see him.

“What makes you say that? He’s just a customer.”

“Yeah, but you don’t look like yourself. Same thing happened yesterday. Same guy.”

Daphne didn’t know what to say. He paid that much attention to her? To her moods and expressions?

“I told you I didn’t sleep as well as I’d have liked. I’m just tired. And maybe still a little upset about Warren breaking up with me.”

That was a lie, but maybe it was one he’d believe. She didn’t miss the way he seemed to grow tense for a moment before he controlled it. “Or upset at me,” he added. “I’m sorry I was a dick this morning.”

Okay, shock. Not what she’d expected at all. “Well, I didn’t make it any easier. I’m sorry for the things I said. Except for the part about treating me like a child. That needs to stop.”

He gave her that grin that made her insides thrum. “I’m doing my best, babe. Thing is, you’re one of us. These guys are my brothers. That makes you my sister. And since I never had one, I’m afraid I go overboard on the protective stuff. That’s all it is, but I promise to do better.”

Daphne sighed. “I know you mean well, but I’m not your sister, Kane.

I can be your friend, and I can be part of the work family you’ve got going, but don’t spend time torturing yourself over looking down my shirt, okay?

You can look at my boobs and you can get a boner over them.

Nobody’s going to arrest you for it. And I’m not upset about it either, so don’t go thinking I am. ”

He held up both hands in surrender. “Okay, fine. Can we move on from talking about your boobs and my dick?”

Daphne shuffled some papers on her desk.

“You’re as jumpy as a virgin on her wedding night, you know that?

Such a prude. Fine, no more dick talk. No more boobs.

Are we still going car shopping after work or do you plan to ghost me again?

If you do, I’m going over to Warren’s with a wad of cash and handing it to him. He’s let me use that car long enough.”

“Not ghosting you. I’ve got a couple of calls out on some cars I saw online, and I figured we’d hit up a few other places if there’s time tonight.”

“What time?”

“We can leave early, so let’s say four. The rest of the guys will be here. I’ll follow you home so you can leave Trigg’s car, then we can grab something to eat at the Dawg and take off.”

“Works for me.”

He seemed to be thinking about something. “I’m teaching beginning shooting for ladies after lunch. You want to join?”

Daphne blinked. That was new. “Uh, who would check people into the range?”

“Alex. Ethan. Blaze. Chance. Seth. Whoever the fuck isn’t on RSO duty at the time. They can handle it for an hour. It’d be good for you to learn to shoot.”

A headache was forming in her temples. “What makes you think I don’t know how?”

“You’ve never once stepped into a bay and taken shots at a target. Even if you’ve shot a gun, you’re way out of practice by now. You could use a refresher.”

“I’m good, Kane. Thanks anyway.”

He didn’t go away. Instead, he moved closer, studying her like he was trying to figure something out. “You afraid of guns?”

“Not in the least. I work here, don’t I?”

“Yeah, but handling a new weapon that hasn’t been shot, or the rentals that you know are cleared, is different from stepping into a bay and lifting a loaded gun. It can be scary for some people.”

“I’m not afraid. I just don’t need a beginner class.”

“Then let’s shoot some targets sometime. You and me. Just for fun.”

Well, fuck. She didn’t want to shoot targets because she didn’t want questions. Sure, she could blow some shots, but what was the fun in that? And why did it matter anyway? For all she knew, he was right and she was rusty. She might blow shots without wanting to.

“Fine. Can I get back to work now?”

“Holding you to it, Daph.”

“Yeah, yeah. I hear you. Go away.”

Kane grinned again. “I’m going. But babe—that guy bothers you, he’s gone. All you gotta do is say the word.”

“He’s not bothering me. But if he does, I’ll handle it. Unless it’s a banning offense, I don’t need you to fight my battles. Thanks, though.”

Kane shook his head. “You’re a lot tougher than you look, you know that?”

“I’ve been told that a time or two.”

“Just don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it, okay? There’s tough and there’s stupid. Don’t mistake one for the other. That kind of thing can get you hurt. Or worse.”

He looked serious enough (and haunted enough?) that she didn’t fire back at him for assuming she didn’t know the difference.

“I promise that I’m not afraid to ask for help if I need it.

But I took the self-defense course, remember?

I can deal with a guy trying to intimidate me.

Not that he was, mind you. He’s just a little creepy, that’s all.

But he’s not the first creepy guy to cross the threshold and he won’t be the last. It’s the nature of working in a gun range, especially as a woman.

Guys with too much testosterone frequent places like this, and they think they’re charming alpha males who can get any woman they want.

” She made a show of looking down at the paperwork, as if the man’s name wasn’t seared into her brain.

“Mr. Fader wasn’t hitting on me, he didn’t say anything inappropriate.

He has creepy eyes and he might stare a little too intensely, but if you went around throwing out all the guys who stare, you’d lose about a third of your clientele.

Maybe half. So don’t worry about it until I tell you I need help, okay? ”

He frowned. Then he nodded. “Okay.”

They stared at each other without speaking, her heartbeat picking up with every moment of silence. Just as she was about to say something, anything, to end the awkwardness, he spun on his heel and disappeared down the hall.

Daphne let out a breath. She barely had time to wonder what the hell that had been about when he was back, carrying a tray with gun parts over to one of the work areas behind the counter. He plopped the tray on the desk, dragged the chair out, and sat.

“What are you doing?”

He slanted gorgeous hazel eyes her way, and Daphne’s pulse thumped in places it did not need to be thumping.

“I’m looking for information on a modification. Figured I could do it here as well as anywhere.”

“Kane,” she began.

“I’m not going to say anything. I won’t stand up or walk over or do anything to intimidate the guy with my size, okay? I’m just going to be here. Quietly working. As a friend who’s got your back. That okay with you?”

She ought to tell him to go back to wherever he’d been, but she couldn’t.

Her throat was tight. A friend who had her back?

She hadn’t had any of those growing up. She’d had her family’s enforcers, the weight of the O’Malley name, but nobody who would sit quietly nearby in case she needed them.

Not without a paycheck or a threat from her father or brother.

“Thank you.” Because there was nothing else to say. Those were the right words—the only words.

“You’re welcome. And Daph?”

“Yes?”

“I know you aren’t stupid. It’s just… I’ve seen things. I know how easy it is to think people play by the same rules, but they don’t. Some people are just… not good. And sometimes you don’t know that’s what you’re facing until it’s too late.”

Her heart hammered. Some people are just not good .

Not good. Not good. Not good.

The words echoed in her head. But he wasn’t saying it because he knew where she came from, what her family was.

It wasn’t about her. It was about him, the things he’d experienced.

She knew these guys were former military, that they’d experienced some shit in their careers.

She’d seen them in action a month ago when a man had attacked Nikki Crowell because he wanted something from Callie.

She didn’t know what that something was and she hadn’t really cared.

She’d been too focused on her own past, on escaping and staying hidden, to ask too many questions.

Questions got you noticed, and getting noticed got you caught. Maybe dead.

Daphne dragged in a breath. Forced a tight smile.

“I understand.”

But she wasn’t sure she did. At all.