Page 6 of Beneath the Dawn

Malcolm figured it was time to collect that debt once he got word that Larry was dead. He didn’t care if Martina Goshay had gone to London. He wanted someone to track her down and teach the bitch a lesson. She was the reason he and his four best friends had been sent to prison. No one would have found out about their highly successful porn operation if she hadn’t exposed it as revenge. Then she’d had the damn nerve to pay each of them a visit and gloat about it.

Titus had promised Malcolm he would teach Martina a lesson. Granted, Titus had used several scare tactics on her, which is probably why she had fled to London. But as far as Malcolm was concerned, that wasn’t good enough. Larry would still be alive if he hadn’t been locked up in this hellhole. Malcolm and his remaining three best friends had met earlier this week on the prison’s basketball court and decided that just harassing the hell out of Martina wasn’t good enough. They needed to avenge Larry’s death.

Looking back at the man, Malcolm leaned closer to the glass.

“I think it’s time to end things between me and Martina permanently,” Malcolm said in a low voice, speaking into the phone and staring at the man, knowing he knew exactly what he meant. “And I know who I need to contact to do what needs to be done.”

CHAPTER 3

Dante sipped his beer as he leaned against his kitchen counter and stared out the window. He’d been doing it for the past twenty minutes. But why not? He had nothing better to do than watch Marti play in the water. Luckily for her, the sun wasn’t as hot as it had been yesterday; otherwise, he figured she would not have stayed outside as long.

As he watched her walk back to shore and ease down on her beach towel, he couldn’t help noticing the gracefulness of her movements and how sexy she looked in that two-piece swimsuit. It fit her body like it was custom-made for it. And since she had removed her cover-up, a lot more of her almond-colored skin was exposed. He liked what he saw. Every single inch of it.

The legs that he’d only gotten a glimpse of that morning were long and shapely, her waist was small, and the top of her two-piece suit did an awesome job of exposing the shape of her breasts. Even from a distance, they looked firm, and the thought of cupping them in his hands made his mouth water.

She had taken off her straw hat, and he’d watched as she pulled her shoulder-length curly brown hair up in a messy-looking knot that actually looked cute on her. He thought the hair color ─with a few golden highlighted strands ─was perfect for her skin tone.

She seemed to be enjoying the beach as much as he was enjoying watching her. Obviously, the cold temperature of the water didn’t bother her any more than it bothered him. After that first dive, you got used to it, and by mid-afternoon, the water warmed up, thanks to the heat of the sun.

He soon realized that she was a good swimmer. Not that she hadn’t been before, but when she’d mentioned that the incident that summer had kept her from returning, he’d wondered if she’d developed a fear of water. He hated to admit that he hadn’t bothered to ask Ms. Della about her over the years because, frankly, she’d never once crossed his mind. However, that was then. Now she was a woman no man could forget.

And she’d never married… Of course, that didn’t mean she hadn’t ever been in a serious relationship. It merely meant she hadn’t met the right guy yet. And he knew that more and more women were waiting to marry, wanting to establish their careers before settling down. And then there were some, like him, who’d decided that settling down was not on their ‘to-do’ list. He looked around at the beach house, then turned his gaze back to the beach. He had to admit, he liked his life just fine. It was uncomplicated and he was beholden to no one.

He knew there were other things he could do instead of standing there ogling Marti…like moseying over to the Seaglass Saloon and playing a game of cards with some of the guys there, retirees he had gotten to know. Sometimes, he would share a drink with Cal Bennett, a retired bull rider who was married to one of the owners of the saloon, or shoot the breeze with Hendrix Becker, who owned the Wild Rose Point RV Park.

But for some reason, he wanted to hang around here today. And he was definitely enjoying the view. He figured his dad had been doing the same thing on that summer day close to twenty-nine years ago--standing in the kitchen, sipping a beer while leaning against the counter, looking out the window and watching his son. That had to be the reason Mario Avera had reacted so quickly when Dante had run into trouble. He’d rushed from the house and dived into the water like the champ Dante had always thought him to be.

Dante was about to take another sip of his beer when his cell phone rang. He recognized the ringtone and quickly pulled it out of his pocket. It was Skylar. “You okay, Sky?”

He heard his godbrother’s chuckle. “I’m fine. Just thought I’d check on you.”

Dante rolled his eyes. His godfather Ricco had called a couple of times last month, so he figured now it was Sky’s turn. “Let’s not get things confused, Skylar Kingston. Our roles haven’t changed. I’m still your protector. You are not mine,” he said, fighting to keep the amusement from his voice.

“There’s nothing wrong with me making sure you’re okay, Dante. Is there?”

“No, of course there’s nothing wrong.” In a way, he appreciated the concern, but there were times when Sky forgot about the thirteen-year age difference between them.

He’d never taken a prolonged vacation before─at least not one for more than two weeks at a time. And that was why Sky was sure there was something Dante wasn’t telling him; some medical condition he wasn’t sharing, some problem that he couldn’t manage. Dante had told Sky more than once that everything was fine and that he was in the best of health.

And now that he knew Sky was happily married to Haven, Dante had figured that this was the perfect time to finally enjoy his life for a change and take an extended vacation.

“Are you enjoying your time on the Oregon Coast, Dante?”

Skylar’s question made him rein in his thoughts. “Yes, I am. I get up every morning before dawn to take a swim, then I come back to the cottage to enjoy my coffee. The rest of the day, I take it easy and do whatever the hell I want.”

“Sounds like a good schedule, especially when you kick things off with a swim and then a cup of Avera coffee. I hope you don’t run out.”

“I brought a lot of it with me so that won’t be happening. How’s Haven?”

“Beautiful as ever. She’s adjusting to living in San Francisco. We went sailing today and she thoroughly enjoyed it. And she’s thinking of going to medical school to fulfill her dream of pursuing a combined MD and PhD degree.”

Dante smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. You married a woman who is not only beautiful but one who’s smart as the dickens.”

When he heard a loud feminine yell of, “Get away from me, you pesky bird!”, he glanced out the window and saw that Edgar was being a nuisance—again. “Give Haven my love, Sky. I got to run. Goodbye.”

He clicked off the phone, quickly eased it back into the pockets of his shorts, and rushed out of the house to assist the damsel in distress.

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