Page 79 of Lethal Danger

“True. But I came prepared.” He reached with both hands to his back pockets. When he brought his hands to the front again, they held…a baseball cap and sunglasses?

He whipped the dark blue cap onto his head and pulled the bill low. Then he added the dark sunglasses. “What do you think?” He held out his hands.

At least his playfulness was returning.

She grinned. Somehow the man looked both attractive and mysterious in his disguise. “They might wonder why you’re wearing sunglasses indoors.”

His teeth flashed with a smile as he removed the glasses. “Maybe I’ll keep them handy in case I see anyone I know.”

“All right. I guess it could work.” And she wouldn’t mind a bit having Hawthorne by her side for this adventure. “So what’s the plan?”

“We’ll go on the tour together. I know where Sam’s mother is living, at least according to Rebekah, so I’ll peel off when we get close. Maybe you can distract the others if needed?”

She nodded.

“And then I’ll need you to see if you can find Randall, hopefully working at the gift shop where you can chat with him.”

“Right. I got your description of him, so I should be good. I’ll sign up for a meeting with Desmond Patch, too.”

“Perfect.”

Warmth ballooned in her torso at the look of approval on his face. “Ready?”

“Let’s do this.” He slipped his sunglasses on as they walked from the parking lot to the Best Life entrance—steel double doors that probably offered security but not much curb appeal.

“Welcome to Best Life!” The beaming woman who greeted them as they stepped inside more than made up for the foreboding entrance. Middle-aged and wearing a long white robe with a hood that fell onto her shoulders, the woman’s friendly smile offset the strangeness of her clothing.

“Thank you.” Jazz returned the smile and held out her hand toward the woman. “I’m Jazz Lamont, and this is my…” Wait. They hadn’t said what she should call him. If she said he was a friend, that might make them stand out as odd from the get-go, visiting a cult together. “Boyfriend. Carson.”

The woman shook Jazz’s hand as her smile redirected to Hawthorne. “Welcome to you both.” She held out her hand to Hawthorne, too, and he smiled as he shook it. Still wearing his sunglasses.

As if Jazz’s subliminal hint reached him, he took the glasses off as he released the woman’s hand.

“I’m Lavinia, and I’ll be your tour guide today.” She gestured toward a cluster of people dressed in normal street clothes who stood outside open glass doors that led to a brightly lit room beyond.

“If you want to join the group by the gift shop, we’ll get started in two more minutes.”

“Thanks.” Jazz gave the guide her friendliest smile.

“Shopping, honey. I know where you’re going to want to end our tour.” Hawthorne clasped Jazz’s elbow gently with his fingers as he guided her toward the group waiting under the Best Life Shop sign.

Her arm brushing against Hawthorne’s as they walked, she caught a spicey scent. Cologne? She threw him a sheepish glance. “Boyfriend was the best I could think of in the moment.”

He looked down at her and gave her a cute, secretive smile. “It was brilliant. Less curiosity and questions now. A lot of the people who join are couples. But it will mean a little more playacting than I was thinking we’d have to do.”

“I don’t mind if you don’t.” She slid her arm around his waist as they neared the group of people, reveling in the solid feel of his strong and muscled torso.

He glanced at her, surprise glinting in his eyes. And maybe something else. A spark of heat that said he liked the contact as much as she did.

A young man in the group greeted them, and Hawthorne put on a smile as he started chatting with the guy.

The tour began within a few minutes, and she and Hawthorne fell in with the group, walking side by side without much contact for most of it. But the other couples weren’t really touching either, so Jazz couldn’t use the need to convince observers as an excuse to get cozy again. As much as she’d love to.

She couldn’t believe the size of the commune. It looked like a medium-sized building from the front. But the building was actually huge, angling into various wings that formed a giant square with a cutout smaller square in the middle of it. She wouldn’t have been able to follow the layout all that well if Lavinia hadn’t shown them the artistic rendering of an aerial view of their commune. The image hung in the lobby along with a huge photo of Desmond Patch.

The Best Life leader was much better looking than she’d expected. Distinguished with a bit of gray at the temples of his otherwise black hair, he had a mustache and dab of chin hair that she usually thought looked lame on guys. But somehow it added an air of distinction and confidence to pair with the commanding presence obvious even in a picture.

She hadn’t said anything to Hawthorne about the photo once she’d gotten a look at the dark expression clouding his features as he’d glared at it.

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