She’d turned his words on him but with a different connotation. This time his gaze carried no humor. She was glad he’d taken her statement seriously.
“I’m trying to help,” he growled.
“And I don’t doubt that. Not for a second.” Her heart softened a tad at his declaration. “I’m a hell of a lot more capable than you think.”
“Are you a good shot?”
“Trust me. In a duel, put your money on me.”
“Beautiful and deadly. That’s an image I’ll take to bed with me tonight.”
****
Nate choked back the urge to pull Kaycie behind him. To demonstrate his confidence, he let her enter her apartment first to ensure no surprises waited for them.
He’d made her angry enough for one day. Now wasn’t the time to test her patience.
She was working too hard to push him away. None of her tactics would stop him from protecting her or from trying to win her forgiveness. Like the old cliché said, he’d rather be sorry for something he did than something he didn’t do.
“Place is clear.” Kaycie waved him into the room.
Nate went back down to his truck and brought in the snacks and beer they’d picked up. They moved around each other in her kitchen as if they’d done this a thousand times before. She removed two beers, handing him one. His hand covered hers. Lightning strikes shot up his arm when she didn’t move.
She dodged his grasp, moving to a CD player and a collection of hundreds of discs.
“Place is too quiet. You still like country music?”
Nate followed her, reaching around to help choose. Her body went stiff. She grabbed his hands, backing the two of them to the middle of the room. When she faced him, her expression telegraphed fear.
“I have a question, and I need a truthful answer.”
“I’ll never lie to you.” He tensed.
“When you broke in, did you touch anything?”
“No. Why?”
“My CDs are kept in alphabetical order. It may mean nothing, but a couple are out of place.”
“I didn’t get near your music.” He remembered the eerie feeling he’d had after he’d picked the lock and entered her apartment. He’d blown it off, thinking the chill had come from being close to her things. “Show me.”
Sure enough, the first few were clearly out of order.
“The radio was on this morning. Did anybody play a CD before I got up?”
“No. Look through the apartment. You’ll be able to spot anything missing or moved.”
Nate followed her from room to room. A massive hand clamped around his chest and squeezed. Could her apartment have been bugged? It was a long shot but not one he could overlook. If a camera or microphone had been hidden, he’d find the damn thing.
He methodically searched and probed in every spot he could think of. The knot in his shoulders eased when he was satisfied the place was secure.
He walked back to Kaycie’s bedroom. “Anything else out of place?”
“Nothing.”
He opened a drawer on her dresser. “Underwear not disturbed?”
“No.” She crossed to him, reaching to close the drawer.
He caught her hand in his. Her gaze lifted, met his and held. Longing darkened her smoldering brown eyes. He moved closer.
“Hello,” Holly yelled from the living room, and Nate silently cursed.
“Let’s see if they found anything useful.” She turned and left him standing there.
He rubbed at his temples, forced his libido to the back burner, and followed her into the living room.
Holly’s eyes flashed wide, and she threw her arm around Kaycie’s shoulder.
“Did we interrupt something?”
“No.”
Kaycie snapped her answer a hair too fast, which pleased Nate immensely. It also pleased him to find Marcus and Tyrell were with Holly.
“Somebody’s been in Kaycie’s apartment,” Nate said.
“Any thoughts as to what they were looking for?” Tyrell asked, following Kaycie into the kitchen.
He opened a cabinet door and removed mugs. Nate bit back the haunting question of why Tyrell seemed to know exactly where things were stored.
“None,” Kaycie said. “A few CDs were out of order. Nothing else was disturbed.”
“That she could tell,” Nate interjected.
She pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth. Damn, she pretended this situation didn’t scare her, but he knew better. The urge to wrap her in his arms and tell her not to worry nagged him.
Right now, he needed to concentrate. He rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms overhead, trying to get his blood moving.
“You look like shit,” Marcus commented. A smile spread across his face.
“Thanks.” Nate returned the grin. “I’m glad you’re here to point that out.”
“You’re dead on your feet,” Marcus continued. “Let’s wrap this up. Let you get an hour or two of shut-eye. I’ll take watch tonight.”
“No. I’ll stay,” Tyrell piped up. “I’m between gigs. Time for me to pitch in.”
“Fine,” Nate agreed. “Let’s hear what Holly found.”
The small team gathered at the table. He inwardly hoped Kaycie hadn’t stumbled onto a human-trafficking ring. They were the scum of the earth. People who operated without remorse or conscience. Her situation moved up the critical ladder if she was right.
“The number of missing teenagers spiked around the time of the Super Bowl.” Holly slid an Excel spreadsheet to the center of the table. “Law enforcement expected these bastards to show up. Human trafficking and prostitution increases in every town before and during a large sporting event. Here in Dallas, the number of operations didn’t diminish as it did in other major venues. Three other investigators reported a rise in missing girls after the game was over.”
Marcus’s eyebrows pinched. Nate remembered the quiet man liked to collect his thoughts before speaking. Marcus glanced up from the documents. “The numbers are high, and so are the girls’ ages. These pedophiles prefer seventeen-or-eighteen-year-olds.”
“What?” Tyrell turned his gaze toward Kaycie. “That not usual. Is it?”
“No,” she said. Sadness filled her tone. “They’ve found a niche in the market.”
“So how do we stop it?” Marcus asked. “Should we expect pushback from the cops?”
“Count on it. From the FBI too, just as soon as they learn we’re digging around,” Kaycie answered. “First thing in the morning we need to see if we can link the missing girls. Where’d they hang out? Where were they last seen?”
She impressed Nate with her take-charge attitude. The young girl had become a woman who’d truly come into her own. He liked this stronger, more independent version. Her self-assurance made her even more beautiful. If that were possible. He folded his arms over his chest and let her run with the ball.
Kaycie removed a picture of Hank Walsh from a file she’d set on the table. “And were any of them seen with this man?”
Chapter 12
Kay kicked off the covers and stretched to the soulful sounds of Tracy Chapman. Tyrell must’ve taken charge of the radio and found a station that better fit his music preference.
She showered, put on a pair of jeans, a lightweight blue blouse, and her Western boots. If Nate had ridden his Harley, she’d be ready.
She walked down the hall to a surprisingly quiet apartment. Considering Holly’s monster crush on Tyrell, her morning chatter should be filling the kitchen with charm and cheer.
“Morning.” Nate leaned against the counter, looking entirely too comfortable. Tyrell lowered the newspaper and smiled.
“Back at you,” he said behind a flash of teeth.
“I’m shocked Holly’s not here yet.” Kay reached for the cabinet door, pulling down her favorite mug.
“Haven’t seen her.” Nate took the cup, filled it with coffee and handed it to Kay as if this were his apartment. “Marcus is late too.”
Kay breathed in the aroma of caffeine before she moved to the living room. Marcus and Holly had only met a few days earlier, but her spirited friend had been known to act impulsively. Kay shook off the thought. Marcus, although handsome enough to turn heads, might be too quiet for Holly. His somber mood and gray eyes painted a mysterious picture. Unfortunately, after his wife’s fatal car wreck, he’d taken himself permanently off the market.
“I’ll bet they’re here in a few minutes.” Kay sat on the couch, propping her feet on the coffee table.
Tyrell strolled over, eased down beside her, and then dropped his arm over her shoulders. His soul patch was expanding to his chin line. She rubbed his whiskers. “You trying to look like that guy on Criminal Minds?”
He narrowed his gaze. “He’d be lucky to look like me.”
Choosing to ignore his vanity, she suggested, “Let’s talk about who’s doing what today.”
Tyrell nodded. “Nate and I are going to try to find a connection between the missing girls. We’ll talk to their families and friends. You call those DPD buddies of yours and tell’em not to freak out if they hear we’re digging around.” He patted the back of her head. “Marcus will hang with you here.”
Heat rose until her cheeks burned. Who’d he think he was? Bad enough Nate thought he could boss her around. Tyrell’s voice droned in the background. It was time to stop him before she popped a blood vessel.
“You’ve gone completely out of your mind. Hell, I’m better qualified to investigate this case than both of you. Neither of you know crap about being a cop.”
“Kaycie, you’re right,” Nate commented, seemingly unfazed by her outburst. “But if you go anywhere, you’re safer with Marcus watching your back.”
Nate stretched his long legs out in front of him, the denim barely containing his muscular thighs. His gaze followed the line of Tyrell’s arm. She considered his expression for a second before realizing what was wrong with him. Nate was jealous. A piece of her heart twisted.
“Don’t think I’m not aware of that, but don’t treat me like I’m a child. You two may know military warfare, but that doesn’t automatically equate to analytical.” Their raised eyebrows stoked her anger. “Look in the dictionary. You won’t find the word ‘smart’ used in the definition of brawn.”
“Did she just call us stupid?” With a grin and feigning hurt feelings, Tyrell scooted to the end of the couch.
“She’s the boss. Doubt her ability and you could face consequences.” Nate chuckled. His black hair spilled around his face. He raked it back and tied it off.
“What the hell does that mean?” Tyrell asked, glancing at Kay.
She gave him an I-don’t-know shrug.
“It means Kaycie’s picking up the tab. She’ll work with me today. You and Marcus team up.”
Kay shook her head. “Nobody’s going to talk to those two brutes. They’ll just scare people. One of you go and take Holly. She’s never met a stranger.”
Marcus arrived with a box of bear claws, ending the argument. Kay decided Holly should be in on the jobs assignments, so she retrieved her phone from her bedside table and punched the speed-dial number. The call went to voice mail. Sleeping in wasn’t like Holly. Her missing the chance to spend one minute with Tyrell was downright unbelievable.
“I’m waking up Sleeping Beauty,” Kay said as she rejoined the meeting.
Three gorgeous men rose to their feet at the same time. Nate with his long black hair, strong jaw, and navy-blue eyes. Tyrell with his caramel skin, a mixture of his African-American and Latino heritage, and black flashing eyes. Marcus, the gentle giant with gray eyes and cupid’s-bow mouth. That they’d rally to her defense after all these years moved her. How had she not fallen in love with them all? Actually, she had, just in different ways.
Had Tyrell or Marcus kept the medallions she’d given them? That Nate still wore his stirred emotions she kept packed away in the recesses of her mind.
Nate’s broad shoulders moved into her line of vision, blocking her view and snapping her to the present.
“I’ll go with you.”
“Her apartment is across the hall and down two. You can stand in the door and watch me.” Kay stepped around him and made a show of clipping on her holster. She marched down to Holly’s door and knocked.
Warmth sizzled up Kay’s neck. She turned to check, and sure enough, Nate had stepped into the hall.
Waiting. Watching. Protecting.
“Hey, you. Wake up.” Kay tried the door. Panic sizzled up her spine as she turned the knob. “I’m coming in.”
Their floor plans were identical, and Kay easily spotted Holly’s purse on her blue faux-suede couch. Her car keys were on the oak coffee table. Kay listened for the sound of the shower running or anything to indicate her friend was awake. Her scalp tingled when she was met with silence. This couldn’t be good.