Phantom Warriors: Riot (8 page)

The truth of his statement gutted her.

“But Kim does. She’s my world Nina,” he said.
“Remember that the next time you ask her to go traipsing in the
woods with you.”

Nina couldn’t look at him. She knew if she
did that she’d burst into tears. “Don’t worry.” Emotion choked her
words. “There won’t be a next time.”

“Thank you,” Danny said.

Nina started to leave.

“Why did you come in here anyway?” he asked,
before she made it to the door.

She managed a painful laugh as she looked
back at him. “I wanted to report the poachers we found.”

“Consider them reported,” he said.

Nina nodded and rushed out of the room. Danny
wasn’t going to do anything about the poachers. With his wedding
tomorrow, they weren’t a priority to him or anyone else. They only
mattered to Nina. It had been a fluke that they’d encountered the
traps at all. Poachers were always moving to avoid detection. If
the Sheriff’s Department didn’t act now, the men would be long
gone. If they weren’t already.

She thought about her best friend. Nina had
been telling Danny the truth, when she promised to leave Kim out of
her own personal wars. Her friend should be worrying about last
minute flower arrangements and catering, not bears and illegal
trapping. She flashed to Danny’s pained face. Fear had been there,
along with the worry and anger. What if the poachers hadn’t missed?
Nina didn’t want to think about it. Couldn’t think about it. The
thought was nearly too much to bear.

Kim was her best friend and would always be
her best friend, but Nina knew that once Kim got married there
would be no more wild exploits, even if they were for a good cause.
She and Danny would be leaving the Qualla Boundary right after
their reception. He had applied to be a Tennessee State Trooper and
had been accepted, which meant that they had to move.

Though Nina hadn’t realized it at the time,
last night had been their last big adventure. An adventure she’d
cherish, despite the unexpected danger. She finally let go of the
tears she’d been holding in, as she stumbled to her car and headed
home. Nina was so distraught that she didn’t see the rusty pickup
truck slowing as it passed by, or the red-haired man staring at her
from its open window.

Nina arrived at Kim’s house around noon. She
had her maid-of-honor dress tossed over her arm, and a makeup kit
in her hands.

Kim opened the door before she could knock,
and smiled. She was wearing a pink robe and yellow fuzzy duck
slippers.

“Don’t just stand there. Help me.” Nina
juggled the items in her arms, threatening to drop some.

Kim snatched the dress from her. “You better
not have wrinkled that dress,” she said.

“Relax, I didn’t.” Nina walked inside and
placed the makeup kit on the table, then went back out to her truck
to retrieve the flowers. She placed the box full of blooms beside
the make-up kit.

Kim opened the box and poked her head inside.
“They’re beautiful. And they smell glorious.”

Nina stared at the bouquets. “They’re what
you wanted.”

“They look expensive,” Kim said, eyeing her
suspiciously.

They
were
expensive. Nina had wanted
to do something nice for her best friend, so she’d offered to pay
for the exotic flowers. Kim had already over-extended herself
paying for the wedding. She didn’t need to add flowers to the
bulging tab.

“They weren’t too bad,” she said. “Now let’s
get you ready. In a few hours, you’re going to be a married
woman.”

Kim grinned. “I know. Can you believe it? I
was the one who swore I’d never marry. You were always the one who
wanted a husband and kids.”

“Yeah.” Nina looked away. Life had a funny
way of changing all your plans. “Yet here you are.”

“Here I am,” Kim said. The humor fled her
face. “Sorry that things didn’t work out the way you wanted. And
sorry about the other night.”

Nina’s stomach clenched, but she managed to
keep her smile in place. “There’s nothing to apologize for.”

Kim shook her head. “I shouldn’t have told
Danny that we’d gone into the woods. It was wrong, but…I was so
worried about you. I was scared that those men had caught you.” She
blinked rapidly as tears filled her eyes.

Nina squeezed her hands. “You did the right
thing. It was dangerous,” she said. “I’m just glad they were too
far away to get a good look at us.”

“Oh my God, me too.”

Nina grabbed a tissue and handed it to Kim.
“Now enough blubbering. You don’t want to put makeup on over puffy
red eyes, do you?”

Kim laughed and slowly let go of her fingers.
“No, that wouldn’t look good in the wedding photos.”

Nina patted the chair in front of her. “Have
a seat. We’d better get started. Do you know how you’d like to wear
your hair?”

Kim looked over her shoulder. “Up for
sure.”

“Good choice,” Nina said and went to
work.

***

Kim looked radiant as she walked down the
aisle. Nina was convinced there’d never been a more beautiful
bride. The hours spent getting ready had given the best friends
time to relive old adventures and discuss future dreams. Those
precious moments would stay with Nina for the rest of her life.

The ceremony went off without a hitch. By the
time the Minister declared Danny could kiss the bride, there wasn’t
a dry eye in the house. The guests filed over to the Community
Center where the reception would be held, after the official
wedding photos were taken. Kim and her family had transformed the
space into a romantic country fairyland. Tables covered in delicate
cream lace had been set up around the room. Each tabletop held
three vanilla candles, and a Mason jar full of flowers. The
twinkling candlelight illuminated the gold-rimmed, china place
settings and the crystal wine glasses. A DJ played classical music
as people found their seats. After dinner, the tables would be
pushed aside for dancing.

Danny’s friend and co-worker, Rick Hensen,
went out of his way to catch her attention, but Nina steadfastly
ignored him.

Kim hadn’t stopped smiling since she’d said,
“I do.” Even stoic, stick-in-the-mud Danny kept grinning. Of
course, he should be smiling. He’d just married the best girl in
the world. He had better take care of Kim or he’d have to answer to
Nina.

The dinner passed pleasantly and soon it was
time to dance. Nina couldn’t remember the last time that she’d been
out dancing. She wondered if it was high school, then cringed at
the thought. The night wore on and the party grew louder. Nina
never realized she could feel so alone in a crowd of familiar
faces. Several people stopped by to comment on different aspects of
the wedding. Nina kept her answers polite, but short, especially
when talk turned to Harold’s health.

Nina glanced across the room. Kim had been
dancing with Danny’s brother, who was now leading her off of the
dance floor. Her gaze moved to her best friend’s new husband. Danny
kept looking at his watch, obviously anxious to leave. Nina wasn’t
sure that she could bear it when Kim drove away. She was already
missing her and she hadn’t even left yet.

Maybe she should go over and say her
farewells now. Nina took a step toward the dance floor, but was
stopped short by a gentle hand upon her shoulder. She turned
expecting to see another familiar face and found a stranger. Her
heart slammed into her ribs. Nina took a step back automatically as
she registered the size of the man touching her.

She tilted her head way back, her gaze
locking onto his face. Soft brown eyes met hers, as he gave her a
crooked grin. The effect was devastating. The small action
transformed his formidable face into a welcome refuge. Nina’s mind
raced, as she tried to recall if he’d been at the ceremony.

Was he one of Kim’s cousins? She had a lot of
them and Nina hadn’t met them all. Surely she would’ve noticed a
man standing head and shoulders above the crowd had he been there.
Another thought came to her, if he was Kim’s cousin, then why
hadn’t her friend introduced them? Talk about holding out on her!
Nina decided that they’d have to have a chat before her best friend
left.

The man glanced at the DJ. “Would you like to
dance?” His voice rumbled despite the gentle tone.

Nina debated for all of a millisecond, then
nodded.

He led her out onto the dance floor and took
her into his arms. The moment his large hand settled on the small
of her back, Nina’s whole body began to tingle and warmth blossomed
inside of her. He adjusted his grip and her breath caught. Had he
noticed? She sure hoped not. If he did, the man didn’t let on.
Instead, he began to move with the rhythm. The song that was
playing was very upbeat, but the man kept the tempo of their
movements slow. Their bodies came together, brushing and swaying.
His big hands flexed and his body tensed every time they touched.
Nina’s clothes suddenly felt too tight, as she flushed with the
heat of arousal. The man’s nostrils flared and she could’ve sworn
that he growled under his breath.

“Have we met?” she asked. “There’s something
about you that seems familiar.”

He hesitated, then said, “In a manner of
speaking.” His vague answer aroused her curiosity as he guided her
expertly around the dance floor. For a big man, he was amazingly
graceful, unlike Nina who’d managed to find his toes twice already.
He brushed her clumsiness off with an easy smile and kept
dancing.

By the time the song ended, Nina was
breathless. From the looks of the man, she wasn’t the only one
affected by their close contact. He reluctantly let her go. The
room came back into focus. Several people were staring at them,
including her best friend, Kim, and Rick Hensen. The big man
reached for her hand, drawing her attention back to him. Her vision
narrowed as he brought her knuckles up to his sensuous mouth, and
kissed the back of her hand. His lips lingered and Nina’s eyelids
drooped.

A fresh flush of desire roared through her,
leaving her breasts aching and moisture pooling between her thighs.
She slowly pulled her hand away. She didn’t want to, but she had
to, before she did something insane like throw him down on the
floor and have her way with him. The loss of warmth was palpable
and disconcerting. Nina pressed her feet into the floor to keep
from rushing back into his arms.

“Thank you for the dance.” His brown eyes
twinkled as he spoke.

Anytime
, Nina thought, but only nodded
in response. She didn’t trust herself to speak for fear her tongue
would fall out of her mouth and onto the floor.

He brushed a lone finger over her cheek,
branding her with his touch. “I’ll see you soon.” He didn’t wait
for a response. He simply strode off, confidence oozing from every
pore.

Nina stood there, her body twitching as if an
electrical current had shot through her. “Wait!” she called out.
“What’s your name?” But it was too late. He was already gone.

Kim rushed onto the dance floor and spun Nina
around to face her. “What was that?” She pointed in the direction
the man had gone. “I can’t believe you’ve been holding out on me
like that.”

Nina frowned. “What?” Her gaze strayed back
to where the man had disappeared.

“Here I was worried about leaving you, only
to find out that you’ve been hiding a massive hunk.”

“I haven’t been hiding anything. I thought he
was your cousin.”

“My cousin?” Kim reeled back. “I don’t have
any cousins that look like that. I would’ve introduced you,” she
said.

“Then who was he?” Nina asked.

Kim’s brow furrowed. “You don’t know?”

Nina shook her head. “No.”

Kim took a deep breath. “I’ve never seen him
before.”

Nina’s eyes widened as a horrifying thought
crossed her mind. “He’s not one of Danny’s friends, is he?” She
didn’t have anything against Danny really, but she didn’t want to
date any of his friends.

Kim shook her head vehemently. “No way! I
know all of Danny’s friends. Besides, he asked me who he was. I
just assumed that you knew him with all the dirty dancing taking
place out on the dance floor.”

Nina’s face flushed. “I was not dirty
dancing.”

Kim giggled. “Sure looked like it to me…and
everyone else watching.”

“Wonderful,” Nina deadpanned, which only made
Kim laugh louder.

As if summoned by some internal warning
system, Danny appeared beside his blushing bride. “So who’s the new
guy?” he asked.

“None of your business,” Kim answered for
her

Danny shook his head and kissed Kim on the
nose, then glanced at Nina. “Thanks for being able to make it."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. You take
care of our girl,” Nina said.

Danny pulled Kim into his arms and hugged her
close. "You know I will."

"Yes, I know you will…or I’ll kick your ass,
badge or no badge.” A lump formed in Nina’s throat. This was it.
This was goodbye.

"Are you going to be okay?” Danny asked.

"Be careful Danny. Some folks might start to
think that you like me,” Nina said.

He laughed. "Wouldn't want that."

Nina turned away so they wouldn't see the
tears in her eyes. When she regained her composure, she faced them
once more. “You guys going to be leaving soon?"

Kim nodded. "Just as soon as we say goodbye
to our folks."

"I'll give you guys a minute,” Danny said,
then wandered off, but he didn’t go far.

"I guess this is it then.” Nina met Kim’s
watery gaze. If they kept this up much longer they were going to
both end up crying. "I'm going to miss you."

"Miss you too.” Kim sniffled.

"You're going to ruin your makeup. What would
your wedding guests think? "

Kim shook her head. "I don't care.” She gave
her a fierce hug. “Email me and call.”