Deadly Ties by Vicki Hinze

getting it appeared slim to none, though when she’d surprised him jumping into his arms today. Of course, he’d blown it, dropping her on her backside like that. What had he been thinking? Moron .
Joe snatched one of Sam’s pretzels. “Maybe now that she’s practicing, she’ll have time for a life, and you’ll have the chance to get her used to the idea.”
“Just tell her, Mark,” Nick said. “She talks straight, she’ll hear straight too.”
“Absurd.” Tim returned to his seat, then went on. “A man never just tells a woman anything. It’s suicide, Nick. You should know that.” Tim cut his gaze to Joe. “Step in any time, Romeo. It’s obvious your expertise is needed.”
Joe did have a way with women. “Normally I wouldn’t reveal my secrets, but you guys are way too lost to ever be found. The answer is simple, bro. Charm. Clean and simple.”
“I’m charming.” Nick scowled.
“Me too. So’s Tim and Mark.” Snarling, Sam swiveled on the stool. “You saying we’re not charming?”
Joe lifted one hand. “I’m saying there’s charm,” he said, then lifted the other, “and then there’s charm . The secret is sincerity. Charm isn’t telling her she has a nice body. Or pretty teeth.”
Sam stood. “He’s talking about that little waitress down at Ruby’s Diner—and she did have pretty teeth.”
Nick gave it up and cracked a smile.
“Joe?” Mark prodded him. “Sincerity about what?”
“Seeing into her heart and validating her dreams.”
“What the spit does that mean?” Sam twisted his cap, as if deciphering that puzzle had fried his brain.
“It’s an incredible insight.” Tim nodded and slapped his knee. “That’s it, Mark. Charm her. Sincerely.”
Just looking at her made it impossible to think straight, and he was supposed to charm her sincerely? Man, he could take down terrorists, but was he up to this? “I’ll give it my best shot.” Serious doubts crept in. “No, I’m going to be myself. It’s who I am, and it either works for her or it doesn’t.”
Still, fear burned in him, and he let the guys see it in his eyes. “Really, it’s just going to depend.”
Joe frowned. “On what, bro?”
Mark met and held his gaze, unflinching. “Whether or not we can keep her alive.”

6

S he’s here!” From the receptionist’s desk at Crossroads Crisis Center, Melanie shouted to the others. “She’s parking the lemon at the curb.” Mark smiled. Mel had abandoned her preference for seriously funky and worn a simple black dress. It matched her nail polish and worked with the neon-green streaks in her hair. She’d gone all out for Lisa, and that endeared her to Mark—and apparently to Sam. Mark gave him the two-finger “eyes only” signal.
“She’s over twenty-one,” Sam whispered. “College student, right?”
“Touch her and die.”
Joe relaxed into a cool smile. “That’s our Mark. Cutting to the bottom line. The lady is hands off, Sam. Got it?”
He frowned, clearly disappointed. “I got it.”
Nick dropped his voice. “What’s the lemon, and why are we here? We’re supposed to be at Three Gables for a party, right?”
“Praying together here first is a tradition—for Lisa in her practice—and the lemon is her car. Well, the car she drives. Someone donated it to the center a couple of years ago. The gray Pontiac.” Mark nodded past the bank of arched windows to the curb. “Everybody calls it the lemon.” He nudged his tie.
Nick grunted. “Always breaking down, eh?”
“Get real, bud,” Sam said. “Mark wouldn’t put up with that. Not her car.”
“Sure he would.” Joe chuckled, a twinkle in his eye. “Or am I wrong?”
Mark didn’t answer.
“Ten says you’re not.” Tim slid a knowing glance from Joe to Mark. “Why do I sense you’re behind these breakdowns?”
“Because I am,” Mark confessed. “They’re a cover to facilitate communications between Lisa and Annie. Otherwise they’d never get to talk.”
The light dawned in Tim’s