by T B Mann
“Lost in the contract?” Kailee’s eyes narrowed in suspicion but then cleared. “The mail’s arrived and your load is bigger than usual. Jo left the cart since there was no where else to put it all.”
“What?” She followed Kailee’s finger to the overloaded mail cart near the door. Her brain ached at the thought of all the work before her. “Crap. I’m never going to get through all that. Not with the two contracts that need immediate attention and the brainstorming session set up for this afternoon to discuss leaking a fake relationship to the press for some extra mileage.”
“Well, since it’s a light day for me, I’ll give you a hand with the mail.”
She returned Kailee’s tooth-filled smile. “Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.”
With the contract relegated to the far side of her desk, she stood and walked over to the mail cart. “Shall we take this to the conference table?” She didn’t wait for an answer. Trusting that Kailee would follow, she walked out of the office, pushing the cart ahead of her.
An hour later, the two had piles of open mail spread across the table. Yet a pile, much smaller than earlier, remained on the cart.
“Oh my gosh. Laguna doesn’t usually get this amount of mail. It’s not her birthday is it?”
Sarah’s chuckle died mid-laugh. Her eyes widen as she scanned the open letter in front of her. Shit! Not another one! The hard back of the chair slammed into her spine. Laguna was universally liked, but as with every TV and movie star, she often received her fair share of mail from wackos which was different from those written by people with mental illness. But occasionally, she received threatening letters and security was called. The letter in front of her matched the other five currently residing in a locked drawer in her desk. Ones that straddled the line between threatening and nut job. They weren’t overtly threatening but were written in a stalkerish manner.
“Sarah, what is it? What’s wrong?”
She shoved the letter toward her friend, not caring if she added more fingerprints to it. The first letter, she’d ignored, but by the time the third one arrived, she’d alerted security who examined it briefly before announcing that it didn’t meet their criteria for additional scrutiny. Yet something about it raised the hairs on the back of her neck.
“Holy shit! Another one? How many does that make now?”
“This is number 6.”
Kailee gave her a look she knew too well. One that was a combination of a mother’s disapproving stare, a single raised eyebrow, pity, and concern, all rolled up in one. A look Kailee seemed to have perfected. Despite being almost ten years her junior, she often acted like a mother hen to Sarah, keeping her on the straight and narrow whenever the idea of hiding her true looks became too much.
On top of that, Kailee had wormed her way into her heart, becoming her best friend.
The rattle of the doorknob alerted them just as the door swung open. She snatched the letter from Kailee’s grasp as Kailee let out a screech of excitement. Rubbing her ear with her empty hand, she bent, giving Kailee a moment of privacy to greet her guest. Most likely the cousin that Kailee hadn’t stopped talking about since the phone call yesterday evening announcing the visit.
“Leelee! It’s so great to see you. And look at that hair. Do you have a license for that weapon?”
The deep voice rumbled through her, sending shivers. Visions of that same voice speaking dirty words into her ear filled her mind. Her body and more importantly her clit throbbed. What?
She stood, gathering a sorted stack of papers into her empty hand. She clutched the stalkerish letter in the other. She wasn’t about to lose this one by letting it out of her sight before it was locked safely in her drawer with the rest of them.
“Hey, Sarah.” Kailee’s voice interrupted her thoughts as she attempted to place the pile of letters back on the cart. “Let me introduce you to my cousin, Kai.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Sarah. Kailee’s talked about you so much that I already feel like I know you.”
With the papers successfully deposited, she turned. Her mouth popped open. Before her stood a vision, one right out of her dreams. His short cropped black hair and matching heavy eyebrows framed his deep, dark eyes. High defined cheekbones were almost hidden behind the light scruff that covered his cheeks and chin. A few scars kept his skin from perfection, although he looked perfect to her. But it was the full red lips that captured her attention. The warm, welcoming smile stood in contrast to the bad boy vibe he gave off, accentuated by the black leather motorcycle jacket that hung open over a tight black t-shirt with some sort of graphic design.
Never at a loss for words—considering she worked among Hollywood stars and gorgeous men all the time—she still found herself struggling to form words. “Um, yes, hello. I-it’s nice to meet you.”
She took his outstretched hand in hers and gasped. An electric shock began at her fingertips and travelled down to her clit. It reminded her of the time she’d grabbed the side of a live outlet when she’d helped her father hang drywall. Instead of making her fingers release like when she grasped a hot pan, this one, like the electrical socket, tightened her muscles in a spasm. Unable to let go, she glanced up at him.
Kai wore an expression that she hadn’t seen since her rebellious teenage period. During that time, she’d returned to her natural raven hair and allowed it to grow out. Light make-up accentuated her features. Everywhere she went, males stopped and stared, offered her help, or even gifts. Each one wore an identical expression. One of awe and desire.
She blinked and the expression was gone. Only his highly infectious, panty-melting smile remained. He squeezed her hand and then released it as if nothing strange had happened. Could she have dreamt the whole thing? She didn’t think so considering the throb between her legs, but Kai had already turned back to his cousin, discussing lunch plans.
“Come with us, please?” Kailee batted her eyelashes and stuck out her lower lip.
A shaky laugh escaped through her own. “Oh, I couldn’t interfere.” She prayed Kailee didn’t notice the breathless quality to her voice or she would never hear the end of Kailee’s matchmaking.
“You won’t be interfering. We’d love to have you.” His smooth voice was steady but her knees weren’t.
“You won’t leave me alone with my cousin and his friends. I’ll never survive. Please, please, please.” Kailee clapped her hands together.
Her stomach rumbled, removing the next excuse on her list. With a shrug of her shoulders, she rolled her eyes and gave in with a soft smile. “Fine, I’ll come.” She glanced around the table. “Let me know where you’re going, and I’ll meet you. I have to return these to the office and”—she waved the letter in her hand—“lock this one up.”
“No way. I’m not giving you a chance to not show. I’ll help to put things away.”
It took only a few minutes to gather all the various piles, put them on the cart, and return them to the office. She placed the letter inside the locked desk drawer using the key attached to the lanyard around her neck. Relief flooded her system as they left the office. Just holding the letters always took so much out of her, almost as if the threat was against her instead of her employer.
The elevator door slid shut, locking her in the tiny, enclosed, and crowded space with him. Her nose filled with a spicy cologne that emanated from his body. Her stomach rumbled again. This time it wasn’t food she hungered for. Stop it, Sarah. This is your best friend’s cousin you’re thinking about. Kailee’s told you how she thinks of him as an older brother, making him off limits. Yet for all her stern mind lectures, she couldn’t stop the shiver when he moved slightly, pressing up against her back.
“Hey, Sarah. Are you going to contact security about the letters?”
“I did after the third one, but they said that they’re harmless.”
“But now there are six of them. And they don’t read as harmless to me.”
She pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders. The same thoughts cro
ssed her mind with each one, but there wasn’t anything she could do. She’d already informed security and let Laguna know about them. Neither party appeared to care.
The doors slid open, allowing the people to spill out into the lobby of their downtown skyscraper. She took a deep breath before stepping outside into the no less crowded sidewalk. “Hope you made reservations, otherwise I’m not sure if we will get to eat in time.”
“No worries.” Kai’s hand grasped her elbow, pulling her out of the path of a businessman on his phone who didn’t appear to be watching where he walked. “My friends, Dylan and Zale, are waiting at the restaurant for us.”
Dylan and Zale. Their names alone sent tingles up her spine. Maybe they would be as hot as the forbidden cousin.
Zale sipped his bland iced tea, the taste not quenching the dryness of his throat. Oh, what he would have given to have a beer. It was what he should have been doing. His plans for their leave had been to talk his buddies into flying south to a beach somewhere where they could relax in the sun with hot, nearly naked ladies and cold drinks. Instead, he was working, sitting nowhere near the water, even if the sun was nearly as hot. It was almost the same as his time in the Navy, minus the salty sea air.
“Well, at least it’s hot.” Dylan echoed his thoughts.
“Yeah, but no water and no babes in bikinis.”
“There’s supposed to be a large lake about an hour away.” Dylan shrugged as his eyes turned toward the restaurant door. “And I’d love to see her in a nice polka dot one.”
He whipped his head around, anxious to see who’d grabbed his friend’s attention. Half the reason behind his planned vacation was to get Dylan to relent from his self-imposed celibacy of five years and the other half was to help Kai not give up on the fairer sex after his latest failure. As shifters, they expected to settle down with their mate, but not everyone found theirs. And sometimes it took decades or centuries to find one.
With the life they’d led, back-to-back missions throughout the world in some of the worst places, exposure to a wider spread of potential shifters gave them a greater chance of finding their mate. Yet, at the same time, all their trips had given them less of a chance. They never stayed anywhere long enough on those trips to truly meet a mate and even if they did, a strict no fraternization rule applied. Which is how the three remained mateless and single.
Not that anyone cared if they settled down with a human. After all, with their elongated lifespan, they could easily have a human lifespan relationship before ever meeting their mate. However, neither one of them wanted to do it. The idea of falling in love with someone only to hurt them when they met their mate wasn’t something they wanted to experience first hand. Watching it occur second hand was bad enough. And each of them had experience, seeing it occur within their families. But that didn’t mean they weren’t opposed to a short-term fling.
“Shit, yeah. That’s what I’m talking about. Well spotted D-man.” They fist bumped, but then his eyes popped to match the giant O made by his lips. He slammed his jaw shut. His eyes focused on Kai who leaned over the woman in question and said something near her ear. From where he sat, and with his better than human vision, the shiver running through her body was unmistakable. “Well, fuck. That didn’t take long.”
Dylan relaxed back into his chair. His sapphire eyes lost some of their earlier excitement. “I’m happy for him. He deserves it after ol’ what’s-her-name and the way she treated him.”
Zale didn’t discount Dylan’s sentiment, but the moroseness of his voice triggered a tightening in his chest. Kai deserved to have some fun, someone to remind him that not all human women were cut-throat, selfish bitches, but this was the first woman to turn Dylan’s head in years. Until this moment, they’d been the ones to point out beautiful women to him, only receiving a non-committal agreement in return.
But before he could say anything, a tiny red-haired hurricane threw herself onto his lap.
“Zale. It’s been too long.” Kailee wrapped her arms around his neck, choking him.
“Thanks, Lee-Lee. Can’t breathe.”
The arms loosened as the body in his lap shook with laughter before jumping up. “That’s what you get, Kale, for sitting on your ass instead of standing and greeting me properly. Maybe next time, don’t stay away so long and you’ll remember.”
His fingers snaked through her hair, latching onto one of her red spiral curls and yanking. “I remember. And I saw you just last year, brat.”
She chuckled as she jumped into Dylan’s arms for a bone crushing hug. His smile could have fooled a passerby, but it didn’t fool Zale. Dylan’s eyes remained warm but lacked the spark they had when Zale looked at the woman with Kai. Shit. Why did Kai have to meet the other woman first? Dylan needs some loving in his life.
Kai cleared his throat. His arm hidden behind the woman, pushing her forward, closer to the table from where she’d been hiding behind him. “Zale. Dylan. I’d like you to meet Kailee’s co-worker and friend, Sarah.”
The smile that graced her face was small and demure, yet Zale thanked his lucky stars that he was seated from the way his knees shook and cock hardened.
“Hi.” She offered a small wave of her hand.
The chair rattled next to him. A glance revealed Dylan’s arms trembling while his fingers, white knuckled, curled over the back of the chair. As he watched, each finger unfurled, releasing the chair with exquisite slowness, revealing a crack across the top. What the fuck? Dylan never loses control like that. He tapped his foot. This wasn’t good. They needed to be strong and work together if they had any hope of solving this case. The last thing they needed was Kai to use this woman, the first one Dylan noticed, as a rebound. They didn’t need dissension between them.
Dylan wore a tight-lipped smile as he greeted Sarah, but Zale watched it soften when Kai moved to pull out a chair for her. This is so fucking bad.
Before Kai could help her into her seat, he stood and pointed to the bathroom hall. “Kai, I need to speak to you for a second before we eat.”
“Okay.” Kai cocked his eyebrows but walked around the table in the direction he’d pointed.
He jerked his head to Dylan, trying to tell him to help Sarah with the chair. “Excuse us for a moment.”
He spun on his heel and followed Kai. The scraping of chair legs and the swoosh of Kai’s pants as he stood and helped her into the seat brought a picture of delight to Zale’s face. Now he just had to figure out how to get Kai to back off, not that they hadn’t dealt with two or more of them initially liking the same woman in the past. But as brothers-in-arms, they chose to all back off or to let the one who saw her first have her. This time he needed Kai, who had first right, to relinquish his claim.
Kai stopped, spinning to face him. “What? Actually, this was a good idea, I needed to talk to you and Dylan as well without Kailee and Sarah hearing. We might have a lead. It seems like the actress Sarah works for is receiving letters as well. We need to find out more without raising their suspicions.”
“Wait… what?” He lifted his hand and used it to rub the back of his neck. “Are you saying that another woman is already in danger?” They’d received word that the first missing woman had been found dead just before they boarded the plane, changing their case from a possible serial abduction to a potential serial killer. And one of the questions they’d been attempting to answer was the timeline. Most serial killers kept to a specific routine, only increasing their pace as the compulsion started to overtake their life. But the timings didn’t fit a normal pattern. Nor did it fully react like a sex slavery operation. In this case, the timings were too slow. Usually, the kidnappings happened close together so that they could transport the women quickly to the new country. These kidnappings or disappearances were too spread out. But they had put out a call across North America and Mexico to discover if there were more cases they weren’t aware of.
“I don’t know it all, but I did help them to put away the fan mail before we left for
lunch. Sarah looked a little shaken, but I thought nothing of it. It was in the elevator ride that Kailee asked Sarah if she was going to give the letter to security since it was the sixth one.” He lifted an eyebrow. “She told Kailee that she took them to security after the third one, but security thought they were harmless. I got the feeling that Sarah didn’t agree.”
Now it was his turn to raise his eyebrows. Could this be a lead?
“She locked up a single letter in a compartment in her desk. I saw more letters within it. I’m sure those were them.”
He dropped his hand and shoved it into the front pocket of his Khakis. They needed to see those letters and find out more. It would be a big break if they stumbled across the lead up to a disappearance. It could help them rescue the missing women before any others died. “Okay then. You bring it up, and I’ll jump in with some questions. I’m sure Dylan will catch on and throw in a few as well.”
“Thanks. We should get back.” Kai began to walk back to the table. “Shoot I forgot. What did you want to talk to me about?”
“Um, nothing.” He stared without blinking at Kai who looked back over his shoulder at him. Now wasn’t the time to bring up Dylan’s apparent interest in Sarah. Maybe Kai’s was only to get close to gather information. If so, then everything would work out without his interference. And if not, they’d deal with it then. Besides, if Sarah was involved in their case, even on the outskirts, neither would become involved with her… it just wasn’t done. Getting the women back was their top priority.
Kai gave a curt nod and then strode across the restaurant, leaving him in the dust. He bit his lip. A bad feeling settled into the pit of his stomach as he prayed Kai’s eagerness was related to the case and not Sarah.
When he returned, Dylan greeted him from his seat next to Sarah. “I ordered you another iced tea.”
