Page 4 of Daddy's Little Spy

“You want a wife who looks as good as I do, it’s going to cost you, Emilio,” Amara returned dryly. “And anyway, that’s not the point of this conversation. I think she’s investigating some of her fellow officers.”

“What makes you think that?” Benny asked, leaning forward in his chair.

“She was telling me about how she discovered someone at her ‘business’ sharing insider information with the competition. And how she just had to finish putting the evidence together so she could take him down.”

Emilio resumed his tapping. “Annoying, but nothing we haven’t dealt with before. Do you think she can be bought?”

“I’m not sure. My instinct says no. There’s something about her that just screams righteousness.”

Grinning, Benny relaxed back into his chair. “Sometimes, the righteous fall the hardest. We just need to find the right button to push.”

Amara’s answering smile was a little too bright. “Which is exactly why I invited her to the ballet with me tomorrow.”

“You did what?” Emilio’s question was soft, but there was no way to mistake his tone for anything other than deadly.

But Amara had been going toe-to-toe with him since the day he’d found her in his bed with a syringe of what she’d thought was poison. Tilting her chin up, she met his glare with one of her own. “I invited her to the ballet. It’s stupid to try and buy her unless we know for sure she can be bought.”

“Then you investigate her, put a tail on her, ask Franks about her. You don’t invite her into our lives, Amara!” On his feet now, Emilio crowded in on his wife. “I swear you won’t sit for a month after this stunt, little girl.”

“I did what I thought was best.”

“You can decide if it’s worth it when I’m done with you tonight. Goddammit, Amara. You don’t get to put yourself at risk without consulting me!”

Amara’s ice blue eyes narrowed dangerously. “And if the tables were turned? You would have asked me before making a decision?”

“That’s not the same and you know it.”

Loyalty, and an abundance of affection for his cousin, prompted Benny to clear his throat before Amara could rip her husband to shreds. “If I may?”

Two heads swiveled in his direction, each wearing identical expressions of surprise, as if they’d forgotten he was in the room with them. A lesser man might be wounded, but he’d made a career out of blending into the background, so he considered it a testament to his skill.

“What?” Emilio snapped.

“Do you trust Amara’s instincts?” Benny asked, unruffled by his cousin’s ire.

“Of course, I do.”

Ignoring Amara’s smug smile, Benny continued. “As do I. If Amara is right, and it’s very likely she is, this isn’t someone we can win over by waving a wad of cash in her face. We’ll need to lure her in, get her in so deep she can’t find her way out. Or we kill her.”

Amara shook her head. “Killing her isn’t an option. The last thing we need is the BPD sniffing around after a dead cop.”

“Agreed. So, we let her play the spy, and we gather our own evidence. It won’t take much to build a convincing case against her. And when we have the trap built, we snap it down on her neck.”

“And if she doesn’t take the bait?” Emilio asked.

“She doesn’t need to. Some suspicious funds planted here and there, some incriminating pictures, and she’s toast.”

“You’re a devious man, Benito.” Stepping away from her husband, Amara bent to brush a kiss across his cheek. “It’s my favorite thing about you. Well, that and your cinnamon buns.”

Emilio’s scowl didn’t quite hide the humor dancing in his eyes as he returned to his seat behind the desk. “You spoil her.”

“All little girls deserve a bit of spoiling,” Benny returned with a shrug. “Even when they’ve been especially naughty.”

Pink tinged Amara’s cheeks. “I wasn’t trying to put myself in danger, you know. Nothing I did seemed particularly bad at the time.”

“That seems as good a segue as any.” Emilio’s expression hardened, the dynamics in the room shifting once again. “Go upstairs and change, then wait for me in the corner. We might as well get this discussion out of the way before dinner.”

Amara pouted, but didn’t argue. Obviously, she’d resigned herself to her punishment before she’d even returned home. “Yes, Daddy.”

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