From Sanctum with Love ARe

by Lexi Blake

  “Not a mention. I didn’t know he had one.” Which begged the question. “What did you do to him?”

  Kai wouldn’t cut a family member out of his life without cause. He wasn’t that guy.

  Jared was silent for a moment, looking away from her for the first time. “I slept with his fiancée.”

  Without even thinking about it, she reached out and slapped at his arm. “Asshole.”

  Of course it wasn’t like Kai had mentioned a fiancée either. There was some chick out there who he’d loved enough to ask her to marry him. Kai had gotten on one knee and pledged his devotion and that would mean something to a guy like Kai. He would have been faithful and loving and dominant, and he likely would have slapped that girl’s ass silly every night she wanted it. She could have walked around all her damn life with his mark on her and she’d chosen to sleep with the pretty boy?

  Shit. Maybe she wasn’t as self-aware as she thought either since she was now flaming mad at some woman for fucking over her boss. Or was she heart broken because Kai had loved someone? Likely someone thin and pretty whose hair didn’t curl fifteen different ways. Someone who didn’t piss everyone off the minute she opened her mouth.

  “Ow and yes, I was an asshole.” If Jared was seriously offended by her assault, he didn’t show it.

  “Hey, do you need help?” A big guy stepped out of the limo, his massive body barely contained in a tight T-shirt.

  Jared sighed. “No, I don’t need help taking a punch from a girl.” He looked down at her. “I call you a girl in this case because I know some women who can take me. Once you’ve had your ass handed to you by a female stunt double, you won’t ever discount women again.” His smile turned distinctly sensual and he leaned in. “Of course, if you want to move from girl to woman, I could help you out there. I have a lot of training in that area.”

  “We’re about to see how he handles taking a girl’s knee to his dick, Mr. Muscle,” she warned the bodyguard.

  Jared held up both hands as the bodyguard started to advance. “Get back in the limo, Bolt. She was pissed off because I explained to her why my brother hates me. I slept with his fiancée.”

  Bolt frowned. “You suck, Johns. Give him hell, girl. You need to follow through on your punches. I’ll teach you.”

  “Bolt?” Kori asked as the big guy slid back behind the wheel.

  “It was his pro wrestling name. I hired him because he told me that Dart was a stupid fucking show and I needed a serious trainer instead of a pansy ass Hollywood boy. I spar with him at least once a week. What can I say? I like honesty. I don’t get much of it in my real life. It was one of the reasons I always liked you. Why haven’t you told Kai what you used to do? Is it because he can be a judgmental prick?”

  She liked honesty, too, and the truth was Kai could be a little prissy sometimes. He had his hang-ups. “I don’t know why. At first I was embarrassed because I’d basically run out of LA with my tail between my legs. Then I guess I thought he wouldn’t like the fact that I’d lied to him. Also, he doesn’t think much of movies or TV. He’s more of a reader. Although now that I think about it, that’s probably your fault.”

  Jared shook his head. “Nah, he was always a snob. He was reading psychology textbooks in high school. Although at one point in time he read comic books to me. It was why I was so interested in Dart.”

  “I thought it was because you were an actor and you’d do anything to keep working.” It was pretty much the same way all over the entertainment business. You worked so you could continue working, a never-ending cycle of love and hate and joy. She did miss that part.

  “Maybe. But some of it was because I knew you were involved with the project and I greatly admired your work. Hey, do you want to grab some dinner? I’m going to this club thing later on tonight. I could tell you about it over a burger or something.”

  “You eat burgers?” She was so not going to any club Jared was likely to attend. It would be some superhot dance club where he and his entourage would sit in a roped off VIP section and let the little people oohh and ahh over the celebrity in their midst. Yeah, she would be at Sanctum hopefully getting her ass beat on by some baby Dom. She desperately needed to find some subspace after the day she’d had.

  He slapped his very likely rock hard abs. “I work out three hours a day. You better believe I eat a burger from time to time. Or some pasta. We could go and get some Italian. Maybe after we could have some cheesecake. I fucking love cheesecake.”

  So did she. And pasta. Her roommate had been on a total cleanse for the last week. Sarah was the one who did most of the cooking and lately she’d been all about salads. Kori’s tummy rumbled. Maybe she should talk to him. Find out what he was really here for. Who was she to turn down a decadent and very likely free meal?

  “Kori!”

  She looked over and Kai was stomping out of the building, a frown on his handsome face. He seemed laser focused on one thing. Her.

  “Oh no. Caught by big brother. Well, that answers one question I had. I haven’t seen him that jealous since…well, I probably shouldn’t get into that.” Jared held both hands up as he backed away. “I wasn’t touching, Kai. I was only talking to the girl. It was a perfectly polite thing to do.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief. Jared wasn’t saying anything for the time being. “What did you need? I was about to head home. I dealt with the Erin situation. Tell Big Tag she’s got an appointment with Dr. Bates in the morning.”

  Kai kept on coming. He managed to maneuver himself between her and Jared. “It’s not even three. I have some notes I need you to type up.”

  “I can do that at home,” she started. “E-mail them to me.”

  “No. I need you here with me.” His hand closed around her arm in a surprisingly possessive manner.

  She’d never seen Kai so off-center. He was always centered. Well, except for that time she’d left the window open and the bird had flown in and he’d screamed like a girl when it landed on his head. Apparently birds were nothing but disease infused rats with wings.

  He was upset. Kai was the person who talked people down from being on the edge, and yet here he was.

  Who talked Kai down? Who helped him and stood by him? So often the man seemed like an island. Lovely for everyone to visit but no one lived there. No one took care of the place.

  She moved her hand down, lacing her fingers with his. For a moment she was worried he would reject the affection, but his fingers squeezed around hers and he moved his body closer. Like a big old caveman who didn’t want the newer, younger caveman to take his cavewoman away.

  What the hell was she supposed to do with that? Two years she’d been working for the man and he never gave her a second glance. Now Hottie McAction Star walked in and Kai was all over her.

  She should have been offended. She should have thrown him her happy middle finger and driven home.

  Instead, she nodded Jared’s way. “I’ll head on back to work now. You have a nice afternoon, Mr. Johns.”

  As Kai led her back in the building, she could have sworn she felt eyes on her. It was so odd, but someone was watching her. She glanced back and Jared was moving toward the limo.

  Her imagination must be coming back online.

  She shivered and followed Kai inside.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Kai sat in the conference room and wondered where the hell he’d gone wrong. It was probably because he’d come back to the States. That was it. He’d made his mistake years before when he’d left the Army. He should have set up a practice in a more exotic locale. Somewhere no one could find him. Bora Bora, maybe. The wilds of Siberia would have been a perfect venue. Not a lot of veterans who needed therapy there but maybe he could counsel the bears or some shit.

  And then his brother would get a fucking movie role that required him to star as a therapist to the bears and he would show up at Kai’s cave and force his way in. Jared would show up and loom over his admin like some creepy fucking stalker guy and Kori wo
uld smile up at him like she was a teen at a boy band concert.

  He would be damn lucky if she didn’t quit on him since he’d behaved like an idiot.

  She’d simply looked up at him as he tried to physically drag her away from Jared and suddenly her hand had been in his, gentling him and making him feel like so much less of a schmuck. She’d tangled their fingers together and walked back in the office with him, and when she’d tried to talk to him he’d run and slammed the door to his office and told her he’d see her tonight at Sanctum.

  He was such an idiot.

  “You look like a man who could use a drink,” a feminine voice said as the chair next to him pivoted. Eve McKay set a cup in front of him as she slid into the chair beside him. The beautiful blonde smiled. “I got you a green tea while I was getting mine downstairs.”

  “Too bad it’s not a bourbon.” But that would be irresponsible, and everyone knew Kai Ferguson was the responsible one, the one who always was the voice of reason.

  Eve’s eyes widened slightly. “You never drink before going to Sanctum. Actually, you don’t drink much at all. I think the most I’ve ever seen you drink is a beer.”

  Because he was the sober and serious one. He was also the one who didn’t make Kori smile the way she had at Jared. She’d been frowning when he’d closed the door between them. “I was joking. It’s been a long day and it’s not over yet. Thank you so much for the tea. I can use it.”

  “I’m very interested in this case. Alex sent me the file earlier this afternoon. Now I understand why he’s been so secretive about it,” Eve said. It was no surprise to Kai that she’d been brought in. Eve McKay had been an FBI profiler for years before joining the private sector. Kai was interested in her take on the case and the potential killer. She had more experience in criminal psychology and profiling than he did.

  “Why did he wait so long to bring you in? He’s known about this case for a few weeks.”

  Eve sat back. “I think Alex is trying to do it all himself right now. He’s been trying to take things off Ian’s plate so Ian can focus on his family. I also think he was doing it out of respect for you. It’s why we’re bringing so few people into this. Alex wants to give you the chance to decide if you want to make the relationship public or not. I have to think there’s a reason you never talk about your brother.”

  He could come up with a million. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one who could out them as related. “My relationship with Jared is complicated, but I doubt I’ll get out of this operation without it coming out in the open. I might keep my mouth shut, but Jared won’t. He’s got some kind of agenda.”

  There was always drama with Jared. Whether it was his career or the collection of women who were always willing to fight over him, or himbos at the gym arguing over who had the best biceps, drama followed his brother wherever he went.

  “What if his agenda is to have a closer relationship with you?” Eve asked, her voice soft.

  He didn’t even want to head into that territory. “How many other people know about Jared at this point?”

  “Nice deflection,” Eve murmured before continuing on. “Pretty much everyone at the club should know about our guest by now. Big Tag sent out an e-mail earlier today asking that everyone treat Jared like a regular club member and that the first person to drool, scream, or ask for an autograph will be shot. I’m hoping that was sarcasm. I can’t tell these days. The film crew is going to shoot in Sanctum during times that the club is closed, but they’re looking for extras. That particular e-mail went out about an hour ago. It didn’t talk about Jared’s relationship with you. I don’t even think Charlotte knows about it yet.”

  So that explained how Kori hadn’t known about the film crew. He was still mulling it over. She’d been shocked to see Jared standing there. Horrified actually was a better word.

  Jared knew why and he wasn’t talking unless he got what he wanted.

  The door opened and the team selected for this op started to filter in. Big Tag held the door open as his wife, Charlotte, walked through, followed by FBI Special Agent Rush, Alex McKay, and Big Tag’s brother Case Taggart. With the exception of the FBI agent who had contacted McKay a few weeks back, this particular op was a family affair.

  Case was the only one of Big Tag’s biological brothers still working with him. Ian had started McKay-Taggart with his brother Sean at his side. A few years later, younger half brothers Case and Theo had joined him after Sean had left to pursue the only slightly safer job of chef. With Theo gone, Case was Tag’s last brother in the business. It wasn’t so surprising he kept his baby brother close.

  Case dropped into the chair across from Kai. “What can I do for Kori? Anything. I swear that girl needs a handy man, I’m her guy. She likes flowers, I’ll fill her house up.”

  Ian chuckled as he took the seat at the head of the table. “He’s happy Erin’s going to the doctor. And he doesn’t even have to go with her. He was willing to do that. You should have seen Erin’s face when he offered to be her coach. You made her throw up again, dude.”

  “I think that was the baby. Any baby of Theo’s is going to be trouble.” Case’s lips curled up and then he sobered as if remembering his brother was gone all over again. “Anyway, I’m grateful Kori’s helping out. With Faith and Ten back in Africa for a couple of months, Erin needs a friend.”

  “Kori seems to know how to handle her.” She’d definitely known how to handle him. By the time they’d gotten into the elevator, he’d been calmer. Her thumb had moved over his skin as she’d held his hand, soothing him and easing him back to normal.

  It had been right there in his mind to ask her to pull up her skirt, pull down her panties, and bend over his desk. He’d needed to blow off some steam and reddening her sweet ass would have worked magic on his nerves. He would have started with his hand, slapping her cheeks until they were pink, and then he would get nasty. He kept a ruler in his desk, not because he normally needed to draw a straight line or answer some third grade measurement question. No. He kept one in his desk because he loved the way it sounded when it smacked against a sub’s skin.

  Instead, he’d locked the door between them and tried to find his calm through meditation. He’d sat in the middle of his office, trying to find that place of peace, and all he could see was Kori bound and gagged and ready for his pleasure.

  In the war between peace and perversion, his freaky side had almost won this afternoon. He’d breathed a sigh of relief when she’d knocked on his door and told him she was going home.

  “Well, I’m glad the pregnancy is out in the open,” Charlotte said. “We can start making plans for how to support her through this.”

  “Or we can all huddle down and pray we survive Hurricane Erin,” Big Tag shot back.

  Charlotte shook her reddish blonde head. “You never know. Pregnancy could calm Erin. Sometimes it chills a woman out. Like it did for me.”

  He’d never actually seen Big Tag’s jaw drop. “I don’t even know what to say to that. Yeah, pregnancy made you so chill. Erin will probably turn into a happy fairy when she’s got a baby bouncing on her bladder. I’ve found that makes all women happy. It’s why I hid the guns during your last trimester. Enough baby talk. Let’s introduce the new guy, for those of you who haven’t met him. This is Special Agent Ethan Rush.”

  Rush was a big man in his mid-thirties. With dark hair and blue eyes, he looked like a businessman in his three-piece suit and expensive loafers, but according to Alex, the former football star took his job very seriously. He’d shown up on McKay-Taggart’s doorstep with the working theory that Kai’s brother was a serial killer. Which was utterly ridiculous. Jared was an asshole, but other than dipping his dick where it didn’t belong, his brother wasn’t dangerous.

  Or had the years changed Jared? Should he really take a look at his brother? If he sat back and tried to think about the situation professionally, would he change his mind?

  Fuck, no. Jared wasn’t a killer. He wasn’t capa
ble of it. No way. No how.

  “Thank you all for allowing me the access you have. I assure you the FBI is going to share any information we can on Hope McDonald,” Rush said, passing out folders to the group. “We’re working with Langley and a couple of foreign agencies to try to find her. She managed to get away with enough money that she can hide for a while, but I’m certain we’ll find her. According to our profile, she has a deep need for credit, and I think that will eventually lead to her downfall.”

  That answered one question. Big Tag wouldn’t put his club in danger if he wasn’t desperate to find the woman he blamed for Theo’s death. Hope McDonald hadn’t pulled the trigger, but she’d been there and she’d backed her father. Finding Hope McDonald would likely lead to new information on the shadowy group known as The Collective. Big Tag would get his revenge. The feds would get information.

  Quid pro quo.

  Wasn’t that what Jared was offering him? Information on Kori in exchange for Kai listening to him whine about how hard it was to be an international movie star?

  Had Kori lied to him? How did she know Jared? She’d pretended she didn’t know him at all, but Jared had known her name. Naturally Kai knew she’d lived in LA for years. Had she been one in a long line of women to grace his brother’s bed? She was his type. It was a shame that he and Jared had always been attracted to the same women. They both liked them curvy and pretty and feminine and healthy.

  Rather like this serial killer.

  He forced himself to focus. This was serious business. “Have you filled in the rest of the group?”

  “Mr. Taggart and Mr. McKay understand the situation, but I was asked to explain it to the rest of the group,” Rush said, nodding toward Eve, Charlotte, and Case. “Approximately six months ago, an analyst came to me with a theory about a cluster of murders occurring over a three-year period of time.”

  “A serial working over long periods of time isn’t unusual,” Eve said. “I take it this killer is a drifter or someone who travels. Obviously, since this has something to do with the movie that’s about to start filming here in Dallas, I would suspect you think the killer is involved in the film industry. They move around a lot if they’re working on location.”