Free Strike Zone by Kate Angell

weight on the outer edge of her foot. Short, precise steps kept her balanced. Given the clench of her jaw as well as the white lines that bracketed her mouth, she was in pain. No way would Taylor be trekking the Sahara in four days.
    “I came to check on Addie’s party,” Taylor announced, addressing Eve. She crossed to a filing cabinet set against the brick wall, opened the top drawer, and plucked out a manila folder. Flipping it open, she ran her finger down the typewritten page and nodded her approval. “The caterer, decorations, RSVPs, everything’s come together. Addie’s birthday is good to go.”
    A birthday party? Sloan didn’t care who Addie was; he wanted an invitation.
    “I’ve added Jacy and Risk Kincaid to the guest list,” Taylor told Eve as she closed the file and returned it to the cabinet. “Addie adores them both.”
    “Mayor Talbott invited himself,” Eve informed her sister. “Addie’s involvement in senior citizen reform caught his attention. I think Talbott’s more interested in a photo op than allocating funds for community transportation.”
    Taylor sighed. “Seniors could use those buses. Many no longer have their driver’s licenses, and they can’t get around town. Maybe if we all jump Talbott at the party, he’ll make a commitment.”
    Seniors in need of transportation—Sloan stored the information.
    “We’ll definitely work toward that goal,” Eve agreed as she collected the printed receipt on Sloan’s itinerary and slid it across the counter to him. He noticed she avoided any contact this time around. “Jingle bells.” She gave him a tight-lipped smile. “May you live to put out milk and cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve.”
    The woman didn’t believe he’d return in one piece. He had every intention of enjoying the holiday. Maybe even enjoying it with Taylor. Surely she’d be home for Christmas.
    “Stop back anytime,” Taylor invited as he strolled toward the door. “Eve’s here every day to show videos on the various locales and to answer questions. Even the most hard-core thrill seekers get the jitters before a trip. Eve’s good at soothing nerves.”
    Soothing? Eve had the personality of a porcupine. “No jitters,” he assured Taylor. “I’ve nerves of steel.”
    “Easy to say now.” Eve’s words hit him square between the shoulder blades. “Wait until you face an uninterrupted vertical drop of five thousand meters. You’ll be quaking in your snow boots.”
    “I don’t quake,” he tossed back. “The only time I shudder is in orgasm.”
    He caught Eve’s reflection as he shoved open the glass door and walked into the night. Her jaw had dropped and her eyes had gone wide. Her braid had worked its way over her shoulder, the tight-ass tip tweaking her right breast.
    Satisfied he’d shaken her up, he left her to imagine his shudder.

CHAPTER FIVE
    Anger shook Eve Hannah when she faced Sloan McCaffrey four days later at the front door of Addie’s town house. “You’re crashing my eighty-year-old grandmother’s birthday party?” Her tone was disbelieving. “Are you out of your mind?”
    “I like older people,” he said defensively. “I had no plans for the evening, so I thought I’d drop by.”
    Eve stared at the broad-shouldered man in the gray T-shirt, black leather vest, and distressed jeans. His hair was still damp from a recent shower. He hadn’t bothered to shave for what appeared to be days.
    A motorcycle helmet hung from his left hand. She looked down her nose at the big, bad bike parked on the lawn. “Is that your ride on the new sod?”
    “It’s a 1951 Vincent Black Shadow,” he said proudly. “Hand-assembled. There are only eighteen hundred in existence.”
    “Shouldn’t it be showcased? Preserved in a garage?”
    “I’d rather show it off.”
    “You could have left it on the street.”
    “Parked between the golf carts and three-wheel bicycles?” He was all shock and indignation. “No way in hell. It stays on the