Embracing Danger by Olivia Jaymes Page B

I think we should talk to some of these witnesses again if we can find them. See if they stick to their story.”
    “I had an answer but I’m not going to let you bait me.”
    Shane jotted down the names and addresses in a notebook. “Seems like you already have.”
    “You haven’t changed a bit. I’ve got teenagers in my classes that are more mature than you are.”
    He closed the file folder and tucked the notebook in his jacket pocket. “That wouldn’t surprise me, but then my joie de vivre is one of the reasons people love me. I’m fun.”
    Crossing her arms over her chest, she lifted an eyebrow in question. “Fun?”
    “That’s right. And might I say that you seem to be in desperate need of some. When was the last time you had fun, Arden? I mean real belly-laughing, gut-busting, I almost peed my pants fun.”
    The bravado she’d been displaying seeped out of her like air out of a balloon, and she sat there shoulders slumped in defeat. “I don’t remember.”
    He couldn’t stand on the sidelines and let that sad state continue.
    “Task number one. Have fun. Task number two. Talk to witnesses. So put on your coat and we can get going. We have a full day ahead of us.”
    He didn’t know what they were going to do yet but it was going to be something to remember. At least for him. One more chance to have a wonderful day with the woman he loved.

Chapter Fourteen
    ‡
    A rden was having the time of her life.
    When Shane had explained where he was taking them she’d been dubious but the reality certainly surpassed any of her expectations. He’d found what was known as an “escape room” where people paid for the privilege of being locked into a themed room and had to find a way out with puzzles and clues. Their room had been Sherlock Holmes’s study and it had been quite a challenge.
    She and Shane had been grouped with a few other people and the “host” explained that there were four different puzzles, each color-coded – yellow, blue, green, and red. Participants had to find all the clues in the room for each puzzle and they were marked with a colored sticker. Then they would use the clues to solve the puzzles and unlock the door. All in sixty minutes.
    Except it didn’t quite work that way.
    First, because they didn’t know the people they’d been grouped with, working together was a bit difficult. They tried but the fact was the others didn’t seem all that thrilled to even be there, let alone rip apart every nook and cranny of a room for clues.
    Second, and this part was rather humiliating, Arden found out she sucked at puzzles. Shane’s ability was top-notch but her own was severely lacking. She had always considered herself an intelligent person but when standing in front of those puzzles with those vague clues she’d been stumped. If it hadn’t been for Shane, it would have gone quite badly. Luckily they managed to solve two of the puzzles completely and almost finished the other two.
    Which meant the host had to let them out of the room and tell them what they missed.
    “I want to go again,” Arden pouted as they scarfed down a couple of burgers shortly afterward. “I’ll do better next time.”
    “Now that you know where all the clues are and what they mean?” Shane smirked. “I think we’d both do better. You didn’t do all that bad. I’ve been to one before but in a different city, so I had an idea as to what to expect. You did well for your first time.”
    Arden giggled as she remembered bumbling through the puzzles. “I did a terrible job but it was still fun. When did you do it before?”
    Streaks of red painted Shane’s cheeks and his gaze dropped to his burger. “During a trip to Los Angeles.”
    Her own heart dropped to her feet before she mentally gave herself a slap. If he’d gone on a date with a woman it wasn’t any of her business. She ought to be happy for him. She was the one that left, after all. She should be thrilled he hadn’t spent the ensuing