Danny White Feather rolled cognac in a snifter. That looked like a great idea, thought Hannah. She could almost taste the desserty liqueur. John loaded a plate of seconds for himself and dished out a little of everything for her. He sat next to her and watched her eat.
“I’m eating, I’m eating,” she giggled.
It was sweet, but it did make her a somewhat self-conscious. She knew she was thin.
“I just wanted to see it with my own eyes,” he said.
His presence next to her exuded an energy that charged her. She could feel it penetrate the top of her head and press through her body. John sliced a piece of the mudslide cake that was sitting in a dish submerged in an ice bath so that it stayed firm.
“Oh my gosh,” said Hannah. “I don’t think-”
Before she could finish her sentence, he put a fork full of dessert in her mouth.
“Homemade,” he said.
“You keep talking homemade, I’m going to demand to see your apron,” she flirted.
She wasn’t quite sure what that meant. It kind of just came out.
“Oh I’ll show it to you, baby,” he said in a deep, sexy tone.
There was just enough pause and sparks flying between them to make them think of doing the very same thing. He leaned in a little closer to her and she braced herself, fluttering with nervousness as she waited for him to kiss her, and for her to kiss him back.
His lips were so soft and yet electric. A rush pulsed through her, and she tingled inside and out. The force was so strong; it forced a little cry up and out her throat. Hannah gasped against his mouth.
His shoulders shook with soft laughter.
“Poor baby,” he murmured. “I think you need more of that.”
“So give it to me,” she said without thinking.
His eyes widened. She had turned him on. If they weren’t interrupted, she might have let him turn up the heat.
“Ahem,” said Danny, appearing in the kitchen from outside.
“I see you got sprung,” he said. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but can we all have a sit down out here?”
“Sure thing, cap’n,” said John.
He offered Hannah his big, strong hand as they joined the others outside around the fire.
“So what just happened tonight could happen to any of us,” said Danny. “Trenton thinks that someone with access manipulated the system, so it spit out a live warrant on John. I am trying to figure out where there would be a published list of Ghosts? I have a list in a file on my cloud. Unless I was hacked, I’m not sure how they got it but they got it. Or it looks like they got it.”
“They could have just heard you,” said Hannah quietly.
She had everyone’s attention.
“That’s how I knew to run over to you. I heard you guys all day. Having fun,” she confessed. I mean, they could’ve heard names and figured out who was who. Maybe they saw me get on the back of John’s bike, and by that time they knew who he was.”
“No,” said Trenton. “That’s a thought. But they had a last name.”
“No,” said John like a light bulb went on. “Hannah’s right, sort of. They ran my plates, found me that way. And picked me out because she rode with me.”
“Okay, so if they had John’s plates, they could have all our plates. That’s as easy as taking pictures with a cell phone,” said Danny. “Might wanna think of traveling in twos or just tracking yourselves until Trenton straightens this out.”
“Shit,” said Melinda, dropping her cell phone.
Bull picked it up and read it. He handed the phone to Billy who set his plate aside.
“I’ll go pick him up,” said Billy. “Making death threats is a no-no.”
The huge sheriff’s feet were heavy even in the grass. He spoke into his radio phone on the way out of the house. Hannah could hear. He was calling for an all-points bulletin for Cranston Cox.
“You boys stay where you are. I don’t need any help on this,” he said as he parted.
“We hear you,” Danny called back.
But as the door closed, Danny added, “But we’re not