Driven to Danger (Mannhof 5)

Driven to Danger (Mannhof 5)
Alice Gaines
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2022 Alice Gaines

One short week ago, Megan Bristol would never have believed she’d find herself in an elegant dining room finishing off a dessert of crêpes suzette while listening to the rhythm of the Atlantic Ocean in the background. Across the table, her host studied her in a manner combining surface charm with an undertone of danger. Evan Scott might have the good looks of a leading man and the manners and accent of a British lord, but underneath all that beauty lay a cold-blooded killer, if she could believe the stories about him. And she had no reason to doubt the newspaper accounts.

Beside them stood the servant who had just set their crêpes on fire in a silver chafing dish. Another fellow in formal clothes stepped forward to refill her champagne glass. She quickly placed her hand over the rim. “No, thank you.”

One of Scott’s dark eyebrows rose. “It’s not to your liking?”

“The opposite. I like it too well.” Between the bubbly and the liquor in the crepe sauce, her head would begin spinning if she wasn’t careful. She didn’t dare give a man like Scott any advantage even if he had invited her to work with him and wasn’t her enemy. He still hadn’t explained why someone who remained always in the shadows had asked a journalist to his beachside estate in one of the most exclusive parts of Florida. But it wasn’t to give her the vacation of a lifetime.

“I think I’ve had enough strong drink,” she said.

“Pity,” Scott said. “I was going to ask you if you’d like some brandy while I showed you my automobile collection.”

“I’ll pass on the brandy, but the cars sound interesting.”

“Good. Shall we visit the garage?” He rose. “I think better while I’m surrounded by my toys.”

Before she could get up, yet another servant arrived to pull out her chair. Then she joined Scott for the brief walk across the terrace, and they headed down a brick path toward the huge garage.

For all she could tell from their surroundings, they could be the only people for miles. Except for the domestic staff, of course, and Scott’s security detail. The next estate wasn’t anywhere near Scott’s, separate by woods and swampland. The limousine that had brought her here from the airport had come along quite a drive from the road, culminating in perfect lawns and gardens, before reaching the main house. Now, warm evening breezes ruffled her hair. In a few months, the weather would become unbearably hot and humid. Now, it was simply perfect, like everything here, including her host.

After some time, they arrived at the garage entrance, and he opened the door for her to go in before him. At first, darkness blinded her, but then blazing light filled the space as Scott hit switch after switch. The beams bounced off dozens of polished surfaces, nearly stealing her sight all over again.

“Oh, my,” she said finally as she took in the magnificence around her.

“My greatest weakness,” he said. “Speed.”

Unfamiliar as she was with expensive cars, she couldn’t have named any of them, but each sat low and sleek, with curves designed to hug corners and leave other vehicles in their dust. There had to be at least twenty of them, each gleaming in perfect condition. She went to one of them, bent to lower her hand toward its hood, and then pulled back.

Soft laughter sounded behind her. “You can touch it.”