Page 75 of Deadly Secrets
She sat in his home office at his desk, combing through thousands of files on killers in California who had marked their victims. “I need to stay in case Shane gets a hit on the Masked Man.”
They’d started using MM to designate the man who’d broken into Brooke’s car, taken her things, and left the notecard to differentiate him from The Reverend. Petit’s body recognition system had gotten three different hits, but none seemed viable.
They still had nothing, and while recognition software could be wrong, Emit Petit’s was better than any of the alphabet soup companies run by the US government. Although Homeland and the rest of the US government agencies wanted Emit’s Shadow Force International group buried, Roman knew private companies like that could be helpful hunting down a variety of criminals. Harris agreed. Through less than official means, they’d asked for another favor—to run Brooke’s adoptive parents through Petit’s TrackMap, which found relationships between people even they sometimes didn’t know about.
So far, they still had jack squat.
Which had only made Brooke more determined than ever to find any lead, no matter how small.
“Brooke,”—he slid a stack of files away from the edge of the desk and hefted one leg to sit on it. Outside of forcing her to eat and sleep, she’d become obsessed with the case and had been glued to his desk here at home, and to her own temporary one at DTT headquarters. “We’ve been at this nonstop for days. It’s okay to take a break.”
Her head bowed over the latest file, fingers tapping the page as she skimmed the facts about a killer in Northern California who’d killed both of his stepdaughters and their mother, covering their bodies with tattoos of crosses and draping rosaries over their folded hands before offing himself. “I take breaks. You make sure of that.”
“I mean for more than lunch or to walk outside and get fresh air.”
Her head came up and she pinned him with her tired eyes. “You make me workout in the gym and have sex every couple of hours.”
Therewasthat. “And your boxing has improved.” Just that morning, he’d laid her out naked inside the boxing ring again, and the memory made his dick hard. He’d taken her hard and fast like usual, and a few minutes later, she’d rolled him over and gone down on him. The woman was insatiable. “How about after the party, we hit the gun range and do some target practice?”
That sparked her interest and her tapping finger stopped. “Bribery? Does that usually work for you?”
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had to bribe any woman to do what he wanted. Brooke was definitely different. He’d never worked a case with a lover. Never taught a lover to shoot or box. “Brooke…I need you.”
“Oh yeah?” She tipped back in his chair and her fingers ran over his knee, up this thigh. “How badly?”
His already hard dick smacked against his zipper like a caged animal determined to get out. “Do me this favor and I’ll return it with anything you want.”
A smirk lifted one corner of her lips. “Why are you so determined to take me to meet your family?”
It wasn’t about them so much as he didn’t—wouldn’t—leave her here alone. At least that’s what he’d told himself.
At the same time, there was no way he would let his mom and dad down. “I need a favor. I’m thirty-four, still single, and my Mom and sisters are on me all the time about getting married and settling down. You know how my job is—it’s not like I can share the day-to-day grind with ninety-nine percent of the women who’d be interested in me. You, on the other hand, are perfect. We can talk work, you’re an accomplished PhD, and you’re the most interesting person I’ve ever had inside my boxing ring.”
“First bribery, now flattery.” She stroked him through his jeans, coming out of the chair and leaning into him. “If I hold out a little longer, will you sweeten the pot even more?”
Those ripe lips of hers smiled at him, hanging like fruit on the vine, teasing, taunting him to take a bite. “No need to hold out any further. I’ll marry you right now and make you sole heir to my fortune if you’ll just pretend to be my girlfriend for two hours.”
She laughed, tilting her head back and hanging on his neck. They both liked to play these games, and he was only partially kidding.
Partially? I’d give her everything in this moment if she’d have me.
Because she really was the perfect woman for him. The sliver of that thought had emerged when he’d first become aware of her work and seen her at a conference, but he hadn’t known her. Now he did, every part of her, inside and out, and the flesh-and-blood Brooke Heaton standing in front of him was one hundred percent his ideal partner in every way.
She tipped her head back down, still grinning, and stroked her fingers along his jaw line. “It’s Sunday. The courthouse isn’t open today, so no quickie marriage, I’m afraid.”
He grabbed her hips and tugged her as close as he could get her. “Rain check?”
Her grin grew bigger. “Be careful, or I’ll hold you to it.”
“I know you will.”
She sighed heavily. “I have nothing suitable to wear to your shindig and I’m really not good at socializing with strangers. You might regret taking me.”
He gently kissed her lips, letting his tongue have a taste. “Never.”
Another sigh. “All right. I’ll go. But you’ve been warned.”
He hugged her tight, making her laugh again. “Thank you.”
