Free Dance Away, Danger by Alexa Bourne

done.
    “That’s why it came in the mail instead of him dropping it off next week. It had to be shipped from the company.”
    He flipped over the top flaps and scanned the handwritten address label. “I don’t think so. If it came directly from the company, Jason wouldn’t have been able to put your card inside.” He reached in, grabbed the pink envelope, and passed it to her.
    “I’m sure he picked a pink envelope to irritate me,” she said with a smile as she opened it. “I detest pink.” As she read it, she choked up. Still, though, no tears fell. Matt leaned closer and peered over her shoulder. A birthday greeting from a caring brother to his little sister. Inside were some jokes about getting old, a message full of love, and Jason’s signature.
    No clues.
    Double damn.
    For a moment, he thought about his own sisters, about how he hadn’t exchanged a phone call, much less a birthday present, with either one in close to ten years. The bond the Gage siblings shared was a foreign concept to him. A beautiful, chest-tugging bond. Maybe if he’d had a similar relationship in his past, he wouldn’t be so alone.
    On his own, rather. He’d chosen the single lifestyle because it was exactly what he wanted.
    But damn, Jason was lucky.
    “Can you help me take it out of the box?” she asked innocently, as if it really were her birthday and no strange situation had thrown them together. As if they were a normal couple.
    But they weren’t. Would never be. He didn’t need to be tied down to anyone. One beautiful woman who kept surprising him at every turn wouldn’t change that.
    “When is your birthday?” he asked as he helped her remove the delicate replica from the box.
    “December third.” She tugged at the wrapping still attached to the base. “It kind of stinks, being so close to Christmas, but....” She bent down and looked on the bottom of the replica. Her fingers skimmed over his hand and sent a jolt of lust straight through him. “There’s something stuck on the bottom.”
    Matt lifted the castle higher. Attached with a lone piece of tape were a key and a tiny piece of paper.
    He smiled. Jason came through for him. Again. “Go ahead and pull them off,” he said.
    Her nail scraped along the bottom a few times before he heard the crinkling of the tape. “Got them.”
    Gently he set the palace on the far side of the desk.
    Tessa unfolded the small square of paper. “It’s part of an address.”
    “Yeah.” He sighed, taking in Jason’s scrawled letters and numbers. “Mine.”
    “So Jason knew what he was getting into.”
    “And he figured you could turn to me for help if something happened to him.” He’d counted on Matt to remember his debt. Regardless of the fact Jason knew he wanted a simple life with responsibility only for himself, her brother had sucked him back in.
    Yet, how could Matt really be angry? He’d owed Jason. And Tessa, although not nearly as much trouble as Matt had expected, clearly couldn’t handle the situation on her own. For both of them, he wanted to come through. Unfortunately, with each step they took, the harder the plan became.
    Matt took the key from her and turned it over in his palm. “Did Jason have a lock box somewhere?”
    “I’m not sure.”
    A woman’s high-pitched voice invaded the studio.
    Tessa’s eyes widened. “It’s Alice,” she whispered.
    They’d spent too much time there. Crap.
    She remained still, as if her slightest movement would give away her presence.
    Didn’t matter. In seconds, whoever had come in would be on the dance floor and see them both standing in the office. He stuffed the key into his pants pocket.
    A male voice responded to the woman. Tessa gripped Matt’s arm with surprising strength. “Oh my God! Dave’s with her!”
     
     
    ****
     
     
    Dave couldn’t be there. Tessa and Matt hadn’t figured out the clue yet. They needed a chance to get away.
    Dave Walgren smiled as he stepped onto the dance floor and headed