He’d been so nice, had put her at ease. Only until he’d gotten her away from Stephen, where he wouldn’t be there to defend her.
“I told you to stay the fuck out of it. Did you think I was kidding?”
“Seems to me I’m already in it,” she hissed back, refusing to give way to the fear. “The cut on my head and gunshot wound kinda prove it.”
He laughed. “It’s a graze. And trust me, you’re not involved. We got identity confirmation earlier this morning. Last night had nothing to with you, Katie.”
“Then who?” Because that only left Alex or Stephen. And as annoyed as she was with Alex right now, she didn’t want to see anything bad happen to him.
Alex’s jaw tightened, his irritation obvious. Then he gave her the silent treatment for the rest of the ride. Thank God it was only minutes. She jumped out of the SUV before it stopped moving and rushed toward her house, not even noticing that Ethan’s care was back in her driveway. Alex was right behind her, so slamming the door in his face was impossible.
“Your phone,” he demanded the second they were inside, holding out his hand. Jake ran down the stairs. Ignoring Alex, she scooped him up and brought him to the kitchen.
And stopped dead.
“You’re not getting out of this one, baby,” Xavier said, holding out his hand. “Your phone, please.”
Jesus, he was big. Bigger than both Stephen and Alex. And if she hadn’t been nervous before, she sure as hell was nervous now. From behind her, Alex laughed, the sound causing Jake to jump out her arms and run back the way they came, apparently no longer hungry. Alex snatched her phone and handed it to Xavier. “You broke into my house? But you’re an FBI agent!”
When he didn’t answer, she asked, “You’re involved in this too?”
But he didn’t fall for her fishing, as tight-lipped as Alex. “If you mean saving my brother from getting arrested for murder, then yes,” he replied, hooking her phone up to his laptop. Whatever they were planning, this wasn’t gonna be good.
“Shouldn’t we be working together?” Kat huffed.
“No,” Alex and Xavier said in unison.
“But—”
“You, Katie, are officially off the case. “Remember my threat? It wasn’t an empty one. Consider yourself under house arrest.”
“What?”
But he didn’t explain, not until Xavier was done with her phone. He handed it to Alex and Alex held it out to her but didn’t release it. “Keep this with you at all times. And don’t even think about ‘forgetting’ it at home. From six in the morning until eleven at night, if it sits idle for more than an hour, one of us will call.” He smiled, the devil-incarnate with those soulless black eyes. “Like a check-in with your parole officers.”
“But I go to bed at eight!” she yelled, grabbing for the phone, but he lifted it higher, laughing.
“It’s still light out eight. Summer, remember? And hear me on this, Katie. If you don’t answer, I promise, you won’t like the consequences. Think cement walls, orange jumpsuits, barred doors—”
“I can’t go anywhere?”
“Sure you can, but you’ll need pre-approval. And a chaperone.”
“You are such a jerk.”
“And you’re still breaking my heart.”
It wasn’t until long after Alex and Xavier had left that she saw the bottle of Chartreuse on the counter.
She’d missed dinner with Ethan.
***
“You what?”
Stephen’s roar echoed through the mountains surrounding the cabin, unleashing his aggravation on his brother.
She fucking left!
Snuck out like a thief in the night despite the fact he poured out his soul last night. Again.
“You shoulda taken my advice and kidnapped her,” Alex replied, unaffected by Stephen’s outburst.
That would have gone over well. About as well as the fucking stunt his brothers just pulled. Christ, she was going to be pissed. And no doubt, take it out on him.
“Listen, Romeo,” Alex finally snapped, all pretense of good humor evaporating in an instant. “Would you rather she be dead? Because that’s exactly where this is heading if she doesn’t keep her fucking nose out of this investigation. Those men last night? Guess who they have ties to?”
“Who?”
“Harrington.”
Stephen sucked in a breath, his head spinning with the ramifications. “You don’t believe he killed Emma.”
“I don’t believe you killed Emma. Everyone else is under suspicion,” Alex said tightly. “Remember Mancini?”
“Yes.” He was a possible suspect during Ethan’s shooting. A drug dealer who escaped a raid and then disappeared.
“He was arrested in Washington, D.C. five weeks ago and struck a plea bargain. Long story short, he swears Matthew Harrington, Senator Harrington’s son, is alive and we just got proof.”
“Matthew Harrington? Didn’t he die in a meth lab explosion?”
“So we thought. Conveniently right before he was going to be arrested on drug trafficking charges,” Alex said.
Stephen sucked in a breath. “He was with the NYPD.”
“Was being the operative word. He went over to the dark side a few years ago. Apparently, the investigation was just about complete before the explosion. Instead of being arrested, he died a hero.”
“You don’t think the senator was behind the explosion?” Stephen asked.
“No. That’s not to say the senator didn’t have plenty to gain with Matthew’s death. He definitely knew about Matthew’s career change. The scandal would have ended his political career. Harrington has used his son’s heroic death to his advantage in every campaign speech since. He’s made the war on drugs one of his pet projects. Rumor has it he was going to run for president in the next election. Imagine if the public found out his son was not only alive, but Public Enemy Number One. The scandal would ruin him.”
“Does the senator know he’s alive?”
“We don’t know. But guess who did?”
It didn’t take a genius. “Emma Anderson.”
And now she was dead.
“Is that what you were warning her about?”
“Yes. But you know Emma. Knew Emma,” Alex corrected. “She lived for political scandals and there was nothing juicier than this one. The problem is, both Harringtons had reason for wanting to keep Matthew’s identity buried. And it gets worse. Since Matthew’s bogus death, he’s built quite an empire, amassed more money than God and amassed even stronger connections. And he’s targeting informants and undercover officers.”
“He’s been killing them?” Stephen asked.
“Yes. We just couldn’t prove it yet. We were positive there was a leak somewhere and I swear we were on the verge of cracking the case wide open. Then they pulled it.”
“What? Who?”
Alex shrugged. “Alessandro said it was passed off to the FBI,” Alex said. “I asked Xavier if he could look into it, because I didn’t really believe him. Thought it was a load of bullshit, but when I questioned Alessandro, he wouldn’t confirm or deny. It wasn’t…pretty. Alessandro told me to take a break. I’ve been off the grid ever since. About three weeks now.”
Stephen stared at him in shock. “Are you kidding me? You’ve been out there alone—”
“What the fuck was I supposed to do?” Alex said. “Every single day, more undercover agents are being killed—”
“Like the man in your apartment?” Stephen asked.
“Exactly. He was a warning, like I told you yesterday. Only I don’t know what it means because the MO changed,” Alex said heavily. He turned and stared out the window. “The man in my apartment wasn’t a cop, he was an informant. Normally it would have gone down like this: They’d kidnap him, torture him until he gave up a name. In this case, mine. But they wouldn’t leave his body yet. They’d wait until they tortured me into giving them another name, then leave his body. Like a vicious fucking circle. I think they get off on taunting us.”
“So the police couldn’t pinpoint the next target,” Stephen said.
“Exactly,” Alex said again. “But this time, they left the body before they got me.” He turned to Stephen. “My informant knew I was an undercover agent, but I didn’t think he knew my true identity. I was wrong. My guys confirmed that I’d been followed to your house last night.”
And the bullet meant for Alex had hit Kat instead. A few inches to the right and she’d be dead.
Holy fuck.
“You need to lose the hair and beard—”
“So I look like you? No way. I’ll put a guy on you just to be on the safe side, but so far, going after family is a line Matthew Harrington hasn’t crossed. And there’s no way in hell I want him going after you by accident.”
“Is it possible the senator and his son were working together?”
“Again, we can’t rule out the possibility, but we haven’t been able to verify that.” Alex showed him a picture on his phone. “This is Matthew. Mancini gave us this. And that guy with him? That’s—”
“Mark Prescott,” Stephen said. “Senator Harrington’s campaign manager. Do you think they’re laundering money?”
“I don’t know. I don’t exactly have a forensic accountant on hand. But before his wife died, Harrington’s numbers were dropping. Could be he needed more cash.”
Stephen studied the picture. Matthew Harrington looked nothing like Stephen remembered. Dark brown hair and eyes had replaced his golden good looks. Even with plastic surgery, he looked far older than his age. “What does Jessica Adams have to do with this?”
“She’s Senator Harrington’s half-sister.”
“Shit,” Stephen breathed. “I didn’t even know he had a sister.”
“Most people don’t. They didn’t grow up together. They share a father, who by all accounts was a nasty son of a bitch. And obviously a cheating asshole on top of it since they were born within a year of each other. We were still piecing together their relationship when we were pulled of the case. They’ve never publicly disclosed they’re related, but they’re close. Jessica stays out of the spotlight, maybe because she’s embarrassed of her past, or maybe she didn’t want to bring any scandal down on Harrington. She grew up dirt poor. Harrington’s family was well off, certainly not rich, at least until he married into it.”
“So Jessica was feeding Emma information? About Matthew being alive?”
“We don’t know. We’re only surmising Jessica knows Matthew’s alive because Emma knew. And other than verifying that one fact, Emma refused to answer any other questions. She’d only just showed up on our radar when she went to see Jessica Adams. That was the day before the party. I was already on my way back up, had just learned about my informant,” he looked at Stephen. “Before you found him.”
“Who beat Jessica up?”
“Again, we don’t know. And we don’t know why either. We’ve only been watching Jessica Adams for about a week. But there’s only three of us and we can’t be everywhere at once. It was just pure fucking luck we were at her house yesterday before Kat showed up. We went to her house figuring we’d use Emma’s death as excuse to talk to her.”
“And have you?”
“Not yet. I’ve been too busy trying to arrange for protection,” Alex said.
“And Kat? Is she on their radar?”
“I don’t think so, but if she keeps digging, she will be.”
“She’s gonna be at the senator’s party the day after tomorrow,” Stephen interrupted.
“So will we. You already know she was at Jessica’s place. I told her it was Jessica’s soon-to-be ex-husband to put her off the trail. So as soon as Xavier gets back with your new phone, I want you to go up there, tell her I verified it and do whatever you need to do, say whatever you need to say, but get her off this fucking case.”
Knowing Kat, that would never work. “Did you even ask her what she knows? What she’s working on?”
Alex’s expression said everything. “Damn it, Alex. You can’t just leave her in the dark! You know her, know she won’t leave this alone.”
“It’s too dangerous—”
“Yeah, I get that, but at least listen to what she’s found.” He looked at the clock on the microwave. “Give me an hour to smooth things over.”
Chapter Eighteen
“I’m here,” Kat growled into the phone before stabbing the disconnect button. She’d spent the day answering Xavier’s phone calls. Every damn half hour as ordered, her aggravation increasing with every minute that passed. Of course they’d given Xavier the task. She’d go off on Alex or Stephen, but Xavier…she didn’t know him like she knew his brothers. He remained somewhat of an enigma, she couldn’t get a read on his personality. He always seemed so calm, but something told her she really didn’t want to find out what lay beneath the surface.
In between phone calls, she was trying to figure out how the hell she could investigate a case while she was essentially on lockdown. At least she didn’t have an ankle monitor. But she wouldn’t put it past Alex to slap one on her.
“You’re home.”
Kat nearly jumped out of her lounge chair as she looked up at Ethan. His eyes were burning with a touch of anger, a touch of something else she couldn’t read. And that suddenly, all her senses were on full alert, the instinct to run nearly overwhelming, but she couldn’t fathom why she’d feel that way. This was Ethan, after all. But every hair on her body stood up, her skin prickling with…fear wasn’t the right word, but she wasn’t sure what the right word was.
“Of course I am.” She gave him a little laugh along with a look of confusion. As if she’d been there all along, although they both knew that wasn’t true. But the subtle shake in her voice gave way to the truth of her nervousness.
“I was worried.”
He was always worried, treating her with those damn kid-gloves that never came off.
Wrong, Kat. They’re definitely off now.
Her heart pounded. Ethan still hadn’t moved a muscle, but it didn’t make her feel any less trapped, pinned against the lounge chair by his stare alone. “I’m sorry. I should have called.”
He gave her a slight nod of acknowledgement, stalking a little closer so she had no choice but to look up at him. Kat finally willed her legs to move, swinging them off the chair as she tightened the cover-up around her bathing suit, feeling beyond naked. Slowly she stood, refusing to acknowledge that her legs trembled a bit, wondering if she could make a run for it before she told herself the thought was ridiculous. This was Ethan, she reminded herself again. “Next time—”
“Oh, sweetheart,” he chuckled. “There won’t be a next time.”
He said the words casually, a hint of humor in his tone. It took her too long to catch up, to comprehend what he’d said, and by then it was way too late.
Ethan moved fast. One second she was still rounding the lounge chair, the next he had her lifted and pinned against the back of her house, his mouth crashing down on hers.
There was no gentle press of his lips. No warning. Just an insistent invasion of his tongue as it thrust against hers, demanding a response. She raised her hands to his shoulders, intent on pushing him away, but it was already too late. She was already lost, transported back so many years, giving in to a temptation she’d long been denied. And the box where she’d shoved all those feelings, not just opened, but exploded. Her arms wrapped around his neck without conscious thought, as if they had a mind of their own. And in another second, she was meeting every thrust of his tongue with her own, six years of want and need exploding through her in that one moment as she clung to him, praying he wouldn’t ever stop.
And then he changed the kiss. Slowing. Taking it from a desperate attack to a slow seduction when he felt her surrender.
“You’re mine, Kat,” he said against her lips, before tugging on her hair until their eyes met. “You’ve been mine since I pulled you from that fire.” Then he was kissing her again as her heart swelled agai
nst her chest. His words…how long had she been waiting to hear those words? Sooo long. Too long. She heard her own whimper, pathetically desperate, Ethan’s answering growl, his arousal obvious as he pressed against her.
Kat wrapped her legs around him at the same moment he slid his hand up her side, brushing over the wound and she yelped. Ethan froze, tearing his mouth from hers.
“What’s wrong?” he managed to choke out.
She couldn’t answer, her heart beating too loudly in her ears. So loud she wondered if Ethan could hear it, too. She sucked in a breath, or at least attempted to, her body still trembling with aftereffects. She leaned forward, not yet ready for him to end the kiss, not wanting the questions, but he moved his head back.
“What happened, Kat?”
Wasn’t it obvious? she wondered in a daze of lust. He’d kissed her and just like that, she’d surrendered. So easily. Stephen was right—
Stephen.
Oh, God. What the hell had she just done? She pushed against Ethan’s chest, clamoring for escape when he let her feet drop down to the floor, breathing a sigh of relief. Prematurely. Because in the next second, Ethan’s hands were all over her, frantically skimming up and down her body and she was unable to hold back her cry of pain.
“What the fuck happened?” His voice was a furious whisper as he yanked off her cover-up.
“Ethan!” she yelled, fully out of her haze of desire. Understanding finally dawning that he’d been asking about her injuries. “What the hell?”
Ethan untied the back of her bathing suit, leaving her fully exposed to him. He sucked in a breath before his gaze moved from her breasts to her side. Kat gasped, covering herself with her arm, furiously trying to escape when he grabbed her other arm, gently but firmly, lifting it, his eyes on the bandage. She tried to back up, to keep her arms around her bare breasts, but it was useless. He pulled back the medical tape.
“What. The fuck. Happened?”
“I fell,” Kat said through gritted teeth. “It’s not a big deal. Let me go.”
“That is not from a fucking fall! What the hell did he do to you?” he roared, so loud it shocked her.
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