Page 18 of Not Ready

My fists clench as I try to hold myself back from swinging. They’re both dangerous in their own right, but I think we all know who has the highest kill count in the room.

“That’s not what happened,” Mercy says, sighing heavily. “And for the record, she stated that she would help, but only if it was okay with you.”

“I still think it’s shady you’ve spent the last two years practically a monk, and she shows up here—” Holt cuts off as Mercy slams two fingers into his carotid artery.

Mercy is big on minimal effort for maximum return. The move cuts off Holt’s blood flow, and he sways, slapping Mercer’s hand.

“Hey, I’m just looking out for the big guy. You know how bad he’s got it for her.” Holt steps back, rubbing his neck.

“I saved you from swallowing your teeth. Be grateful,” Mercy says in his cold and calculating tone. He looks at me. “I sent Hargrove and Merryweather to secure the roommate. They should be at her apartment within the hour.”

“And the suspect?” I ask, yanking my hair out of the tie and pulling it back up. The flyaway pieces always drive me insane.

“Nothing yet, but we’ve got a first name, general location, and the club he prefers to frequent. I’ve got Merrick on it,” Mercy says.

Merrick is a tech genius. He’s been with the company for years, but he lost someone important to him earlier this year, and he hasn’t been the same since. He’s still more than capable of handling the assignment.

“I’m going to send him the pictures I grabbed this morning. They’re blurry, and there’s no chance he’ll be able to clean them up, but it’s better than nothing,” I mutter, more to myself than to them. I pull my phone out and email every single one to him. “The website has a block. I couldn’t grab screenshots, but I did take pictures with my phone.”

“May I?” Mercy asks, suddenly at my side. I send the email to Merrick and pull up one of the cleaner pictures before handing Mercy my phone. His thumb flicks across the screen, and I’m assuming he’s scrolling through the pictures.

“Does she know you have these?” Holt asks.

“Ehh, she knows I was watching, but not about the pictures. I will tell her, though.” I’m not big on keeping secrets, but this morning wasn’t the time. “I was afraid she’d ask to see them. I needed her out of there and somewhere safe, in case she panicked.”

“Yeah,” Holt agrees, shaking his head. He curses under his breath, and I can tell without seeing the phone that they got to the ones that almost sent me over the edge. “Okay, so this is clearly a stalking case. Have we checked her vehicle and belongings for trackers?”

“I scanned her bags before I brought them up, but not the vehicle,” I admit.

“It’s unlikely he’d proceed once he got a look at the place, but it certainly would wrap this up quickly,” Mercy says, shutting off my phone and handing it over.

“I’ll teach the toddlers how we do a full sweep of vehicles.” Holt spins around and heads off without another word.

“Bishop?” Vale’s voice startles me into action.

I shove my phone into my pocket as I stride out of the kitchen and to where the stairs spill into the downstairs area. It’s not quite the kitchen, the formal dining room, or the living room. It’s a weird area that connects all three. There are a couple of club chairs and a small table along the wall, but past that to the right is a door to one of the patios. To the left is the stairwell.

“You okay?” I ask, jogging up the steps two at a time.

Vale’s long blonde hair cascades around her shoulders and down her back in wet waves, but it’s the fact she’s only in a towel that has me nearly missing a step. She moves back from the landing, sliding around to the banister that looks over the lower level.

“Yeah, but I think there’s a possibility you missed the two bags on the front floorboard. I wasn’t really paying attention earlier, and when I checked the closet…” She shrugs. “That, or I forgot all my clothes.”

“I didn’t grab anything from the front,” I admit. “Come on. We’ll get you something. It’s chilly and your hair is wet. I don’t want you to catch a cold.”

Her wide blue eyes sparkle as she laughs, holding on to the knot of her towel. “You know, we’ve talked about this before. I’m pretty sure that’s still not how germs work, but thank you.”

I chuckle, nodding toward the hallway. “We’re not going to put it to the test. Come on, you adorable pain in the ass.”

My hand falls to her lower back to guide her toward my room.

Did I specifically put her in the guest room that links to mine via a shared bathroom?

Yes, I did.

No, I do not feel even an ounce of guilt.

If I thought it would pass as appropriate, I would’ve put her in my goddamn bed, right where she belongs.

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