by Tate James
"Have a good day, you guys!" Lucas called out as I paused to strap on my gun and slide my feet into my Louboutin pumps.
Zed tossed his jacket over his own weaponry and jerked his head in acknowledgement to Lucas. "Remember what I fucking told you, Gumdrop."
"Yeah, yeah," Lucas replied, waving his hand dismissively as he turned his attention back to the laptop screen.
Zed gave me an exasperated look, and we made our way through to the garage. He went straight for the Shelby that Lucas and I had borrowed the day before and slid into the driver's seat. Then he scowled at me when I got in.
"Did you let Gumdrop drive my car?"
My brows hitched. "What? Uh... why would you even ask that?" Because apparently I wasn't capable of lying this morning. Dammit. I needed more coffee.
Zed's glare flattened. "I can tell. Does he even have a driver's license?"
I covered my smirk with a fake cough and looked out the window as Zed drove us out of his fortress. "Of course he does. He's nineteen, not nine." Then, before Zed could diss Lucas for his age any more, I changed the subject. "Any chance we can grab more coffee on the way?"
He gave a slight nod. "Yes, sir."
I gave him a sidelong look, letting amusement play over my lips. "And a bagel. I'm starved."
He shot me a quick look back. "Anything you want, boss. Literally. Anything." As if we needed more sexual tension in a small, confined space. Thanks a lot, Zeddy Bear.
12
En route to the Copper Wolf office, we stopped for coffee and bagels, then made another stop to drop off our DNA samples at the pathology lab that the Timberwolves funded. So by the time we got into Cloudcroft to the Copper Wolf headquarters, it was mid-morning.
That hadn’t deterred my pet FBI agent, though. She was seated on one of the lobby couches, waiting, and popped to her feet when Zed and I entered the building.
"Ms. Timber," she snapped as we approached.
I raised a cool brow at her and tilted my head. "I'm sure you're mistaken, Dorothy. It's Ms. Wolff."
Her jaw tightened with anger, but she jerked a nod. "My mistake, Ms. Wolff. I've been trying to get an appointment to meet with you, but your secretary has been more than difficult on the matter of your schedule."
Amusement rippled through me. Hannah needed a promotion. My company accountant was going to have to forgive me for stealing her assistant, but she was just too good at this.
"Well, I'm a busy woman, Dorothy. I'm sure Hannah did her best." I made as though to walk past the enraged agent, but she grabbed my arm to stop me and I stiffened.
Agent Hanson snatched her hand back off my arm again before I could say anything, and her cheeks reddened.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Sorry, I shouldn't have... Look, I need to speak with you, and this won't wait for an appointment next April."
Next April? Damn, Hannah was creative.
"Is Daria a suspect in a case, Agent Hanson?" Zed asked, intervening with a no-nonsense tone.
The FBI agent shot Zed a quick look, then shook her head. "Not on this case, no. Which is why I'm politely asking her to spare me ten minutes out of her busy day to chat. Or would you prefer that I escalate this and find some way to name her as a person of interest?"
I held a general disdain for most law enforcement because I knew first-hand how easy they all were to corrupt. But something about Special Agent Hanson amused me. She was ballsy, if a bit of a confused mess.
"You know what? I think I can make some time." I indicated to the elevators. "Come up to my office, Dorothy. I'm curious to know what is so important."
Zed eyeballed me like I'd just started speaking in Korean, but I simply strode across to the elevators and pressed the call button without acknowledging their looks.
Several other people got into the car with us, eliminating the need for conversation on our way up to Copper Wolf's floor. We stepped off, and I led the way through to my office, where I found Hannah at her usual desk opposite Macy. Gen, my legal counsel, was perched on the edge of Hannah's desk with a coffee in her hand, but she jerked to her feet when she saw me.
"Ms. Wolff," she greeted properly with raised brows. "Zed didn't mention you were coming in today."
I turned my head slightly to arch a brow at him, but he just gave a small shrug. "You were fast asleep, Darling, I didn't want to wake you." He placed a possessive arm around my waist as he said that and dropped a light kiss to my shoulder, making me shiver.
Somehow, miraculously, I didn't hate the way he used my middle name. Because Chase almost always called me Darling, it gave me full-body creeps when anyone else used it. But from Zed... I didn't hate it. Surely that was progress?
Or, maybe not, seeing as I'd just immediately thought of Chase. As shitty as it was, Zed and Chase were still majorly twisted together in my mind.
Gen's sharp gaze took in Zed's hand on my waist, and her smile slipped at his suggestive response. It sounded and looked a whole lot like Zed and I were fucking. And I did nothing to correct that assumption.
"Agent Hanson," Gen snapped, straightening up more as she spotted the FBI agent behind Zed. "This is turning into harassment."
"We're fine, Gen," I assured her. "I told Dorothy I could spare a couple of minutes." I indicated for the agent to accompany me into my office, and Zed closed the door behind us.
Circling my desk, I gestured to a vacant chair before slipping my jacket off and sitting down. Agent Hanson gave my gun a long look before sitting down herself and clearing her throat.
"Thank you, Ms. Wolff," she started, shooting Zed a cautious look. He'd taken up his usual spot behind me, leaning against the wall in a casual yet vaguely threatening pose. "This isn't, in fact, regarding any of my official cases."
I pursed my lips thoughtfully. "Explains why you weren't throwing your authority around to secure an interview. What is it regarding, then?"
With a short sigh, she pulled out her phone and brought up a photo. "This," she said, sliding the phone across my desk to show me the image, "is agent Harold Laurens."
I glanced down at the serious-faced young man in the photograph but kept my expression neutral as I looked back up at Agent Hanson. "And?"
She gave a small, frustrated frown. "Agent Harold Laurens was assigned an undercover mission just one week after graduating from Quantico."
I shrugged. "Is that uncommon? I'll admit, I don't pay a huge amount of attention to the inner workings of your bureau. I was under the impression that sort of work was fairly normal."
She shook her head. "He wasn't remotely ready for that sort of mission. Hell, he never should have passed basic training."
Zed shifted slightly in the corner of my vision, and I resisted the urge to look over at him for his opinion. I was leaning too heavily on him these days as it was; I needed to reassert myself as the boss.
"What does this have to do with me, Dorothy?" I kept using her first name because I liked to push people's buttons. She wasn't rising to the bait like most of her male counterparts did, though.
Agent Hanson gave a short, sharp exhale, her eyes flicking between Zed and me. "Because his placement was within Shadow Grove and he's since disappeared completely." She paused, but I said nothing. If she had a specific question, she needed to spit it out. "Look, everyone in the entire bureau knows you own Shadow Grove, and Cloudcroft too. Hell, you run most of the damn state. So, if anyone knows what happened to Agent Laurens... it's you."
I tapped my fingernail on the desk, carefully studying her face, her posture, her pleading eyes. She wasn't here on official business; this was personal. "Who is he to you, Dorothy?"
She drew a breath, her shoulders tightening. "My nephew."
I gave a small nod. I could understand where she was coming from, wanting to know what had happened to her family. But she was barking up the wrong tree thinking I could help her out. I hadn’t held my position of power as long as I had by incriminating myself to FBI agents. No matter what the circumstances.
&nb
sp; "I'm sorry; I can't help you." I folded my arms, sitting back in my chair. Call me paranoid, but I wasn't keen on leaving my fingerprints on her phone by pushing it back across to her.
Zed shifted his weight again, and this time I gave him a curious glance.
"Agent Hanson, why'd you say he shouldn't have graduated?" His frown was drawn tight, and he looked like he had something on his mind.
She sighed, patting at her hair. "I don't have evidence. But I know my nephew and all his shortcomings. His handwriting is appalling, to the point of being almost illegible. But I happened to see one of his written assessments, and the penmanship was immaculate."
Zed's brows twitched. "He cheated? Why didn't you report that?"
She grimaced. "I did." With a shake of her head, she tightened her lips. "Never mind. It was a long shot; I just had to try." She stood from her chair and offered me a nod. "Thank you for your time. I can see myself out."
Neither Zed nor I made any move to follow her as she retreated out of my office once more, and when the door closed, I swiveled my chair to look up at my second with a curious gaze.
"That was unprofessional of her," I commented.
He rubbed a hand over his stubbled cheek, nodding his agreement. "Very. But also very interesting. That kid in the picture looked familiar."
"He should," I murmured with a grimace. After all, that was the undercover agent I'd shot in the knee weeks ago underneath Anarchy. "Cyanide pills for a brand-new FBI agent during his first week on the job? Doesn't add up."
Zed frowned. "Not even slightly. Chase, on the other hand..."
"Makes sense that Harold was on Chase's payroll. The poison pill is much more his brand." I leaned back in my chair, keeping eye contact with him as I analyzed the thought on the tip of my tongue.
Zed narrowed his eyes. "What's that look for?"
I almost shrugged it off but then inhaled deeply and found my big dick energy once more. "Why do I feel like you're keeping something from me, Zed?"
A lightning-fast flash of shock crossed his face, gone as fast as it appeared, and he pretended like it'd never happened as he gave me a confused look. "Like what?"
I shook my head slowly. "I'm not sure. You just..." I trailed off, not actually having the words to describe how his whole energy had changed since we'd arrived at the office. "Never mind," I finally murmured. "Maybe I'm overthinking things."
Maybe it was the way Gen had fluttered her lashes at Zed when we walked in that had set me on edge. I wanted to say I wasn't used to feeling jealous of the female—and male—attention my best friend drew, but that was a lie. I'd been jealous of his revolving door of women for a long time, I just hadn't identified that's what it was. Now, though? Now I could see it for what it was. Primal, irrational jealousy.
Zed leaned down, bracing his hands on the arms of my chair as he smirked at me. "I already confessed my deepest secret to you, Dare. There's nothing else to hide."
He leaned in closer but stopped when our lips were just an inch apart, and I stopped breathing.
"I want to kiss you so fucking bad," he confessed, his voice a rough whisper. "But I can't stand that conflicted look in your eyes."
My soul screamed in frustration, but no sound exited my mouth. I just sat there frozen as he straightened back up and quietly left my office. But what the fuck could I have even said back to that? He was right. Every damn time we kissed those dark memories flashed across my mind. No matter how briefly, no matter whether I even consciously acknowledged those memories, they left a mark. It tainted the emotions of Zed’s kiss and left me... conflicted. Uneasy. Vulnerable. And I hated that.
I sat there at my desk for a long time, mentally berating myself for being such a damaged, broken bitch. Screaming at myself internally for pushing Zed away when he was one of the best things to ever happen to me. And yet I didn't get to my feet and rush after him. I just... I wasn't there yet. Maybe I never would be.
The sound of Zed's low voice and Gen's laughter outside my office made my teeth grind together, but I just pushed it all out of my mind. Turning my stereo on to drown out the distractions, I went to work on my digital to-do list that Hannah had kindly compiled for me.
Putting my mind into work mode, I flew through all my outstanding tasks, then put together an email to Hannah offering her a promotion to my full-time assistant. Before sending it, I sent Macy a quick message to inform her that I was poaching her assistant.
My accountant emailed back almost instantly, telling me she'd already been training Hannah's replacement for the past week.
I snorted a laugh at that and hit send on the job offer to Hannah. Then I shut down my computer and grabbed my shit to leave.
"Yes!" Hannah squealed as I opened my office door. "Yes, I accept!" She popped out of her office chair and launched at me like she was going to hug me, then caught herself halfway and ended up on her ass at my feet.
I peered down at her with one brow raised. "Are you okay?"
Cringing, she nodded. Her thick black hair was up in two high buns like an anime character, and they bobbed with her head in a slightly comical way.
"Um, yep. Sorry, sir," she replied, scrambling to her feet and smoothing her hands down the front of her skirt. "Got carried away."
I didn't prolong her obvious embarrassment, just gave her a nod and continued out of the office. Zed and Gen were nowhere to be seen, so I was going to assume they were downstairs. Even if Zed wanted to piss me off, he still had business on his mind, and we were due for a meeting with Alexi over at Anarchy in the afternoon.
Still, I breathed a long sigh of relief when I found him leaning against the door of his car. Alone. Waiting for me.
13
Our meeting with Alexi only produced more headaches. According to him, several of the staff from 7th Circle, who we'd been trying to place in other clubs so they wouldn't be out of work, had gone missing or, at very least, weren't responding when my team tried to reach out to them about shifts.
An uneasy, anxious feeling twisted my stomach as Zed and I left Anarchy some time later. We'd done everything we needed to do, work-wise, but the issue of 7th Circle staff not responding was plaguing my mind.
"Do you think Chase has a hand in this?" I asked Zed after we were back on the road. "Or am I just being paranoid?"
"I don't think there's such a thing as being too paranoid when it comes to him right now," Zed replied with a heavy sigh. "We thought he was bad before... He seems a hundred times worse now. What has me curious, though, is why now? It's been five years. Why is he coming for you now and not years ago?"
I nodded slowly. "You think something triggered him? Or... he was waiting for something?"
Zed shrugged. "No fucking clue. It's just bugging me. I wish I could work out what the connection was."
"Same here." I groaned and ran a hand through my hair. "Can we stop and grab pie from Nadia's on the way? I feel like I need the sugar hit."
He arched a brow at me. "You wanna go to a Reaper business right now? We're not exactly their favorite people."
I wrinkled my nose. "Yeah, I know. But we also have to remind them who is in change. And Cass isn't actually dead."
"Alright. But maybe let's keep it quick. I don't fancy needing to clean up bodies and bullet holes tonight." He grimaced. "’Cause you know Cass would shit a damn brick if we left that mess at his grandmother's café."
I jerked in my seat. "What?"
Zed blinked at me. "What?"
"Nadia is Cass's grandmother?" I gaped in shock. "Since when?"
He gave me an amused chuckle. "Uh, I imagine since her daughter gave birth to his grumpy ass. That's usually how someone becomes a grandparent. Isn't it?"
"Oh, ha-fucking-ha. Smart ass. Why didn't I know this already? And how'd you know?"
He gave an easy shrug. "I pay attention."
I scowled at the side of his face, knowing full damn well he was winding me up. "You're insufferable, Zeddy Bear."
He shot me a quick look,
a relaxed smile playing over his lips. "You love it."
I bit my tongue before I could lie and tell him I didn't. Ugh, maybe I needed to find a good therapist to help me work through all my unresolved trauma. Maybe then I could let go of all my nasty, icky hang-ups and let myself love Zed the way I already knew I did.
But then again, what kind of therapist could work with a mind as messed up as mine?
"Have you thought any more on what to do about Chase?" Zed asked after a long silence. "I know we can't just kill him, but we should at least get his DNA sample to rule him out as Gumdrop’s mysterious big brother."
I blew out a long breath, fluffing my fingers through my hair. "Fuck me, I wish we could just kill him once and for all. How easy that would be."
But Chase wasn't that stupid, and he knew I knew he wasn't that stupid. Like he'd proven with the explosives placed around Demi's Italian home, he had his bases covered. I knew it was no coincidence that he'd mentioned my FBI tail, too. He had someone in the feds firmly in his pocket, and I'd put money on it that if he went "missing," I would find myself in a jail cell faster than you could say evidence. Or worse, someone I loved might take the blame.
I couldn't risk it. Not until I was sure it was safe. Then... Well, they do say revenge is a dish best served cold. I'd bide my time. For now.
"What if Chase really is related to Lucas?" I murmured, putting voice to the fear that had kept me out of Lucas's bed last night.
Zed gave me an understanding look. "Or if one of us is?" He shrugged. "Doesn't make a difference, does it? I mean, sure, if you're related, then that's something that will probably need a whole lot of therapy because you guys used to fuck like rabbits. Ow!" He rubbed his arm where I'd just whacked him with the back of my hand.
"You're a prick," I muttered, "but you're right. Blood doesn't mean shit, even if he is related to that sick fuck. I do sort of have a plan for getting Chase's sample. It'll just depend on getting close enough."