Читать книгу Broken - Rebecca Zanetti - Страница 14

Chapter Six

The woman looked a mite grumpy in the morning as she walked out with the binder she’d had on the bed the night before. Wolfe fought to keep his face stoic and quickly poured Dana a cup of coffee, shaking the whipped cream bottle he’d bought earlier and spraying generously before nudging a fresh pan of cinnamon rolls across the table. “Pippa brought these over.” He’d already eaten three before running quickly to the store.

Dana took the coffee, inhaled deeply, and then drank. “Thanks.” She’d donned another pair of faded jeans with a green striped button-down shirt that somehow hugged her curves. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and with no makeup, she looked about sixteen. He really liked the freckles across her nose. Did she have them other places?

Damn it. He had to stop thinking of her as anything but a friend. When he’d almost kissed her the night before, he’d realized he had to get a grip. “What are your plans for this Sunday morning?”

She took a seat and eyed the cinnamon rolls. “Well, I’ll probably eat one of those, regret it, do some research, compare notes with you, and head home.”

So she was still on that track. “You need to stay here.”

“No, I don’t. I’d also like to work out, but I can do that later tonight.”

Yeah, she had nice muscle tone but was still curvy. Not that he’d noticed. “I turned the garage into a gym. Feel free.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Thanks. Also, we need to compare notes and figure out why we have two different names for the same dead guy.” She looked up, her green eyes clear. “Care to explain why you think you’ll be invited to another Captive party after you scattered last night the second the body dropped to the floor?”

He lifted a shoulder. “That’s easy. Half of the people there made a run for it once the cops were on the way. It’s a BDSM club, and many of the members want that part of their life to remain private. There were some influential people there.”

Her frown wrinkled her forehead. “They think you’re influential?”

He grinned. “They think I’m a mercenary who founded my own business and became a millionaire. Some of it’s accurate.” Should he have another roll? If so, he’d need to jog a couple extra miles tonight. “But not the millionaire part.”

“Huh.” She sipped her coffee, her lips a pretty pink against the cup. “I’m surprised they’re having another party so soon.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I think they’re looking for leads on who murdered Albert Nelson. I checked with the local cops, through Angus Force, and there are no leads. The cops are frustrated at the lack of cooperation on the part of witnesses.”

She nodded. “Who do you think killed Albert Nelson?”

Wolfe had his suspicions but wasn’t ready to speculate. “That’s what we need to find out. Let’s eat and then we can share our case files and strategize for the next party.” He knew her well enough to assume that she was all in, even if it meant wearing a skimpy outfit.

She bit her lip. “If we’re really going undercover at a sex club party, we’ll need to get some rules in place.”

Man, she was cute when blushing and being bossy. Obviously she’d been giving it some thought since he’d dropped the challenge on her the previous night. He sat back, enjoying his second cup of java, although he’d only bought whipped cream and forgotten the sprinkles earlier. He’d have to go to the store again. He was out of dish soap, too. “All right. What rules?”

She picked at a piece of roll. “If there is a party next Tuesday, we both go as guests. No cuffs and no touching.”

“No.” He calmly took another sip. Yeah. Definitely needed sprinkles.

She coughed and then sputtered. “Excuse me?”

“The next party is members only, and they’re courting me for membership, so I’ll barely get in. The only way you get to go is as my sub.” More importantly, that meant she’d stay near him, where he could keep an eye on her.

“How about you find me a different date?” She gave in and took a roll.

The idea of her playing with another man awoke something dark in him. Something deep that he had to quell. “Another man who thinks you really want to be a sub for the night?” His tone came out a little grittier than he’d intended. “You sure you want to go that far undercover?”

She was having a hard time meeting his gaze. “Good point. I’m not exactly the submissive type.”

“It’s up to your dom to get that from you.” Yeah, he was having a good time messing with her.

She frowned. “Are you—I mean, I have no problem with alternative lifestyles, but are you really a dom?”

Was she scared or interested? Either way, he wasn’t going to start lying to her now. “No. I’m undercover, looking for a source, and you of all people know I don’t like clubs or group activities.” He took another cinnamon roll. Why not run extra miles? “I also don’t like labels. Or rules.” He chewed thoughtfully. “Or contracts that govern intimate relationships.”

She finished her breakfast. “I think the contracts are necessary when you’re talking trust and pain.”

“Oh. I also don’t like pain. Giving or receiving it.” He pushed the pan closer to her. “However, if I eat another one of these, punch me in the nose.”

She chuckled.

He cleared his throat. “You don’t have to come to the party. I can do enough investigating for both of us.” Although, as a sub, she’d be allowed in different areas than he, and she could talk to other subs.

“Oh, I’m going.” Her chin lifted. “I just wish I could wear flannel.” Her smile jolted electricity through him.

He had to stop looking at her lips. “I’d pay to see you in a flannel corset,” he murmured, meaning every word. He had no doubt she’d conducted extensive research before going to the first party, but she seemed uncertain. “Do you understand the dom/sub dynamic, these types of parties, and Captive in general?”

“Yeah, I understand how clubs like Captive work and the appeal to some folks. I’d rather take a date fishing or rafting down the river, you know?” She sipped at the coffee.

He couldn’t agree more. Peace and quiet with few people around was his idea of a good day. It was too bad he was damaged and probably going to get killed taking out his enemy. Why couldn’t he have met Dana before the explosion that had sent his life to hell? He shook his head. Even as a kid he’d known not to play the what if game. Reality was reality, and he couldn’t change it. “Let’s talk about your story. Why were you looking for the dead guy?”

Her face got that stubborn look that perversely turned him on. “Oh, no. You first. Why were you at the party in the first place, and how did you know the dead guy?”

He considered what he could tell her. “On my last mission, somewhere I can’t tell you about, my unit was hunting for a group smuggling drugs. It turned out somebody close to us was a traitor. Five out of seven of us were killed, and I’m going to find the Judas and take him down. Albert Nelson was my connection to somebody who might know where Rock is.”

“Rock.” Dana pounced on the name like a hound on a quail scent.

“Yeah. Nickname. We all had them, and it won’t help you to find him. The military has been looking for six months, and even the top intel folks can’t find the guy.” Wolfe grasped her wrist, needing to get through to her. No way would he give her Gary’s full name. “Leave him alone. No research, no calling in favors, no nothing. You will not do anything to make him aware you even exist. Promise me.”

She surprised him by asking, “What was your nickname?”

He shrugged. “Wolfe. It’s easy and it’s my name. People have always called me that.”

“Tell me more about Rock.” She tapped her fingers on the table.

“He’s a trained killer, one of the best, and I’m fairly certain he’s a sociopath who actually enjoys the killing more than the endgame.” Wolfe had spent too many restless nights trying to figure Rock out, trying to understand how he’d blinded everyone to his true nature.

She tilted her head, those intelligent green eyes studying his face. “Is Rock better than you?”

“We’re about to find out that answer to that question.” Lacking empathy or any sense of loyalty just made the bastard all the more dangerous. “Your turn.”

She visibly tried to banish emotion as she told her own story. “I was friends with Candice Folks, who worked for the Times.”

Wolfe frowned. “The journalist who disappeared?”

“Yeah, and I believe she was murdered. There was a lot of blood in her apartment, and there’s no way Candy would just disappear and not stay in touch with her elderly mother. She was a business reporter, usually covering the stock market, upstart businesses, and so on.” Dana licked whipped cream off her lip.

Wolfe’s groin tightened.

Dana went on, having no clue she was killing him. “Candy was working on a series featuring up-and-coming corporations owned by women, and according to the few notes I’ve been able to decipher, Albert Nelson was one of her sources.”

Wolfe took another drink. “You think he had dirt on one of the businesses?”

“I have no idea. Candy doesn’t usually follow dangerous stories, so this is confusing.” Dana rubbed her hands down her jeans. “I met with Albert once, and he was sketchy. I knew he had more information.” Her voice hardened. “I conducted a deep dive, discovered his affiliation with Captive, and was going to expose him unless he told me everything he knew.”

None of that sounded good. “Any chance your friend is still alive?”

Dana pressed her lips together. “I’ve been interviewed by the police detectives a couple of times, trying to give them a lead or two for Candy, but I just didn’t know anything. They shared some of the facts of the case the way they would for any friend of a missing person. The blood in her apartment was identified as belonging to her, and there was enough that the doctors said no way could somebody survive losing that much.”

“I’m sorry,” Wolfe said. Not just for the deceased journalist, but for the fact that Dana wouldn’t stop until she found out who had taken her friend, regardless of the danger.

“Me too,” Dana murmured. She patted the now closed binder on the table. “I also stopped by the newspaper where Candy worked; her assistant had already made me a copy of her notebook before handing the original over to the police. We’re old friends, too.” She flipped open copied pages that had been placed in a binder. “It’s all in code, and I haven’t been able to figure out how to break it, yet. Her assistant has no clue, either. Candy was secretive that way.”

Maybe Brigid could help when she returned. Wolfe made a mental note to give her a call. “I don’t suppose you’d agree to just go home to your parents’ house in Tennessee for a couple of weeks and let me handle this?” he asked.

Her snort was kind of cute and not a surprise.

His phone buzzed, and he looked down to read a text from Brigid. Finally. “I have a line on the guys who shot at us from the black truck.”