CHAPTER TWELVE
JOSH
––––––––
“You know, if this security gig doesn’t work out, you could start a Dear Josh online blog.” Scarlet winks at me.
I glare at her and calculate how much time it would take me to find out where she lives and get rid of her body.
Eight hours, I figure.
But it’s illegal to kill women just for being sassy and annoying, plus she’s Cassy’s best friend.
Right now, I’ve got a real murder to focus on. Aidan just called to say they’ve been listening to the police chatter and two people have been found dead in their home in Kansas.
The killer left a message on the living room mirror saying See you soon Cassy baby.
It can’t be a coincidence.
And the time of death was a day ago, so it’s likely he is now on the move. If I were him, I would’ve fueled up and ditched the bright orange jumpsuit.
So now the game has changed.
Isaac has resources and is clearly doing a good job of avoiding being seen and caught.
I need to update Cassy.
Still, I have a second to fuck with this short little pocket rocket.
“Are you married?” I ask Scarlet.
She pops a hip up and grins. “No. Got any hot friends?”
“Yes.” I deadpan her. “But they’d probably kill you an hour into the date.”
Cassy gasps while Scarlet grins wider. “I’m into knife play. Give them my number.”
A laugh escapes me.
Damn it.
I think I like this girl. Not the same way I like Cassy, but she’s tough and protective of her friend. I respect that.
“Scarlet. Jesus,” Cassy cries.
“Babe, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.” She opens the fridge door and pulls out a bottle of water, chugging it.
My smile fades when I turn back to Cassy.
Oh, shit. Knife play? Yeah, Cassy has some experience with that. But not in the same way Scarlet does. That is, if she’s not fucking with me.
I can’t just stand here and let Cassy get lost in her memories.
“Let’s chat,” I say, my hand landing on her hip as I guide her into the office.
I close the door.
“Sorry, she’s a bit—”
“Are you all right?” I ask, cutting her off because she doesn’t need to apologize for Scarlet.
Cassy nods.
Then I realize my hand is still on her hip and we’re standing really fucking close. Neither of us moves. We just stand there staring, breathing in each other’s oxygen.
Her green eyes are stunning this close. Those lashes must be the envy of many women. Thick, long, dark. They frame her bright globes and steal the show. But it’s the three freckles on her cheekbones that capture my attention.
I clench my fist, instructing my fingers to stay put.
You can touch me.
No. No, I fucking can’t.
“I’ve received some updates. What time can you leave?” I say to break the spell she has over me.
Cassy blinks, and I take a step back. The moment might be broken, but the need to touch her is still there. Just as it was this morning.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“What kind of update?” she asks, going pale.
“He’s not in California.” I don’t want her to panic. I tip my head toward her bags. “But we should go so you can process the news.”
She lets out a shaky breath and nods. “Okay. It’s my day off tomorrow. Friday, remember. Give me a few minutes to say goodbye to my team. Marie was my last client for the day, and I can do the admin from home later.”
“Do what you need,” I say.
Cassy’s business is very impressive. She has ten stylists and a tattoo artist. The whole place has been pumping since the doors opened this morning.
Watching Cassy work has been interesting. I feel like I know her a lot more. She’s funny and warm with her clients and it’s obvious she cares that they walk out of Ink & Mane with a smile. And they all have.
Well, except Marie, but that was my fault.
Paul isn’t going to propose. I’d guarantee he’s fucking someone else. Likely multiple women.
I open the door and follow her out into the salon again, but at a distance. When I lean against the wall, Scarlet—who stands at least a foot shorter than me—parks herself next to me.
“I’m worried,” she tells me.
I don’t say anything as I glance down, and we share a look. Then we both turn our attention to Cassy once more.
“Give me your phone,” I say, and Scarlet tugs it out of her pocket and swipes to unlock it.
I knew this girl was smart.
I take it, plug my number into it, and hand it back. “Here’s my number. Call me if you hear or see anything.”
Scarlet slips it into her pocket, then as if our conversation never happened, she grins at me and asks, “So, XXXL?”
The fuck is she on about with this t-shirt size thing?
I know I’m a big guy, but maybe it’s some new kink that chicks are into. She is into some dodgy knife shit.
“Extra small.” I grunt.
Scarlet snorts and walks off.
WHEN I FINALLY have Cassy in the car, I head toward the BHS headquarters.
“I need to stop off at the office to do a couple of things, then I’ll get you straight home,” I tell her.
While there, I’ll introduce her to Ryder, who will swap shifts with me at some point. I briefed him on the phone while at the salon earlier today.
“Sure, I can come shuffle things around for Saturday,” Ryder said.
“Not yet,” I replied too quickly, then added, “just need more of a handle on things before I get you to step in.”
“Is there anything I need to know?” Ryder asked.
No.
Except I like this woman way too much and don’t want any of you good looking fuckers near her.
I wasn’t insecure. I couldn’t claim Cassy as mine, but I sure as fuck wasn’t standing aside while any of my team did.
Or any man. You realize that, right?
I pushed back the thoughts and reminded myself why I cannot have a woman in my life.
“Nope. I’ll bring her to the office this afternoon to meet everyone, so if you are there—”
“I’ll make sure I am,” Ryder said.
“Great,” I replied through gritted teeth.
Cassy rummages through her handbag and brings me back to the present. “That’s fine, but can you please tell me what is going on with Isaac? Or should I ring the Prison Bureau?”
No. Fuck no.
We shouldn’t have this information. My team hacked the police airwaves and...a few other communication tools to keep up to date with Miller’s movements.
Or potential moments. Some of the data we are receiving—stealing—is from unconfirmed sightings.
He’s on the move, we know that now, so the danger has increased.
It’s tempting to make some phone calls. My contacts go pretty fucking high up. To the top if I need to. This job doesn’t require that, but if I need to take any action to keep Cassy alive, then I’ll be dialing.
In this job, picking your battles is important. So making those big phone calls is better saved for when I’m stranded in the middle of the ocean on a Russian ship or some annoying fucking situation like that.
It was one time.
The more I analyze the situation, the more BHS resources are better at tracking Isaac, and if the local law enforcement doesn’t catch him, then we wait until he arrives in California.
It’s also easier politically than stepping on officials’ toes. They get antsy at us when we do.
Cassy is right beside me. There’s no threat to her right now and if need be, we will apprehend him and then hand him over to the cops.
I glance at Cassy who is tapping her damn teeth together. “Anyone tell you how annoying that is?”
She stops. Then nods.
“Tell me what’s going on. We left early so you could tell me, so start talking.”
I slow for a red light and lower the music. I’ve put it off long enough because I know it’s going to upset her. But she has a right to know.
Hopefully, one good thing will come out of it. She might cancel her plans to go to this award ceremony next week. I reminded her to email them to cancel her attendance, and she nodded half-heartedly.
Which means no.
I might not be married, but I know when a woman is mollycoddling a man.
So I lay it out there.
“Miller has killed two people in their homes overnight.”
Cassy gasps audibly. “Oh, my god. No.”
This time my hand goes out, and she squeezes mine. I shouldn’t do this, but I can’t stand the fear and look of distraught on her face.
“Why? Why did he do that?”
“For clothes. Food. Money,” I answer, even though I’m sure she can work this out herself. The light changes and I press my foot on the gas but don’t let go of her hand.
“If he has money now, he’ll get a car and be in California soon,” Cassy says, calculating the time in her head.
I nod and let her process what that means.
“They can track the car.”
I nod again.
“Can you do it?” she asks.
I turn and pull into my personal space outside BHS. Sliding it into park, I twist my body.
“He left their car and went on foot. Isaac is smart. But you’re right, he could have a vehicle by now.” I release her hand because it’s not right that I sit here and hold her. Not right that I want to cup her face and kiss her, so she forgets about all of this.
Or pull her onto my lap and watch her lower onto my cock while my team hunts down Isaac and puts two bullets into his forehead.
One after the fucking other.
Not right that I’m thinking about her like this.
But I am.
“We can’t interfere with the investigation,” I say, because that’s the official position.
But it doesn’t mean I won’t.
If he didn’t have a flashing red light over his head, I’d kill him myself and not lose a single wink of sleep over it.
Cassy is right to be scared, but then her eyes drop in resignation and something snaps inside me.
“Hey,” I say and take her chin, turning her face back toward mine.
Big watery eyes look at me in question.
“He won’t get near you. I promise.” My voice sounds way too raspy for the situation.
Fuck, I want to kiss her—
A bang on the glass makes Cassy jump.
Fine, it also surprises me.
I turn to find Marshall Adams standing beside my window grinning.
Fucker.
“Dude,” he says when I open the door. “Can’t believe I got a jump on you. SEALs, aye. You should’ve joined the army.”
Idiot.
“I knew you were there, Marshall.” I lie, circling the vehicle and guiding Cassy into the stairwell. “How long have you been back?”
He follows us.
“An hour. I’ll have my report to you tomorrow.”
I nod.
He’ll need sleep. He might look fresh with that stupid grin, but I saw the exhaustion in his eyes.