Page 47 of Shenanigans

I took a step back, then another and another. “How did you get here so fast?”

“Firebird 1.”

Duh. I gave myself a mental head smack. “You were in the red helicopter.”

“I was.”

A few bees buzzed around us.

Tinkerbell yapped.

“Shhh. Barking makes the bees angry. We don’t want them angry.”I stroked her head and whispered to Dutch, “I thought you had to testify?”

“The defense attorney asked the court for a continuance.”

“And Natasha?” I stumbled over a rock.

Dutch steadied me. “She’ll see a judge this afternoon.”

“Crap. Once the judge sets a bond, she’s gone.”

“All her bank accounts are frozen, and her car has been impounded,” Dutch said cheerfully.

“Color me impressed. How did you manage that?”

“My investigation revealed Natasha owes the IRS a cool million in back taxes. The agent in charge of her case faxed me an arrest warrant for tax evasion and placed the liens. The really good news is: I have evidence that she’s been laundering drug money for Vicente Guzman, the El Jefe of the local Mexican Mafia.”

Dutch kept a firm grip on my backpack. Was he afraid I’d make a run for it? “Could be just a weird coincidence, but Julio, Maria’s sister’s boyfriend, owed money to Guzman. Is there any chance Tomas Lopez is mixed up with El Jefe?”

“Without a doubt. Natasha left a paper trail a mile long. I’m taking them all down.”

“I do love stupid bad guys. They make the job so much easier.” I looked around for my dad and Jana.

“They’re about a thousand yards ahead of us. The woman’s badly dehydrated, covered in welts and has a broken leg. They have a medevac chopper coming for her,” Dutch said, then added, “Your father is an interesting man.”

“You have no idea.”

“He reminds you of Santa Claus until you look into his eyes.”

My stomach knotted in horror. “Really? When Dad’s working he isn’t so jolly.”

“Which branch of the military was he in?”

“Marines. He did a tour in Iraq during Desert Storm,” I answered. What I didn’t say was his comrade in arms was the heir to a Mafia crime family and Dad had been his bodyguard.

“Your father told me if I hurt you, he would kill me. I believed him,” Dutch said.

A hysterical giggle escaped me. I clamped a hand over my mouth. Oh, dear God. Gotta stay calm. Gotta stay calm. “Dad’s really just a big teddy bear.”

“With the eyes of a serial killer,” Dutch responded.

Holy crap! Time to change the subject. I carefully lowered my psychic shield. When no bees attacked, I dropped it completely. “Well, lookie. No swarm of mad bees. Hasn’t this been fun?”

“Fun? You were surrounded by thousands of bees.” Dutch stroked a finger over my cheek. “Yet, there’s not a mark on you. You’re one amazing woman.”

I gaped at him in astonishment. “You do know that was a compliment? Right?”

“It was, and I meant it.”

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