Seductive Reasoning

by Melissa Schroeder

  There was something in his tone that told Del that Adam knew a little more about Jin’s dating life than he let on. He’d have to corner his second-in-command soon.

  “Her obsession probably fed his own,” Elle said from the doorway. Everyone turned to her. “She put herself in the spotlight as his ally, and he probably couldn’t allow her to continue on her own. He had to possess her.”

  “That makes a lot of sense,” Adam said.

  “Wouldn’t he want her out there telling people about him, though?” Cat asked.

  “Maybe. If the theory of the Trinity, of there always being three, tells us that he probably has one more kill here. What better coup than to grab a woman in the spotlight? It will make world headlines if he succeeds. He craves it like an addict craves the drug.”

  “So far, he always has gotten away with it,” Cat said.

  “Yes, but he would not have stepped this up in this manner if he wasn’t after notoriety. He wants to get noticed, not caught. Many of them do in a way, but I think this bastard doesn’t. I think this is all about gaining air time. Who are they going to pay attention to? A regular single woman, or a single woman who had been following him?” She looked at Del. “He’s after making you look like a failure.

  “I got that. I don’t think it is something we need to worry about. We just need to focus on catching him.”

  “I need to get a dress,” Emma announced as she bounded back to his office where she’d left her things. He followed her.

  “You are still not going tonight.”

  “I can go because KT Corporation will be there. We bought two plates, so I will go. And you. Get a tux.”

  “This is not a good idea.”

  “What other ideas do we have? He has Jin, and we only have a short period of time to save her. It might not even be him, but we need to eliminate him as a suspect. We need to move forward and this is the first lead we have.”

  He realized his team was very interested in the conversation. He closed his office door and faced Emma.

  “The same woman you called a bitch yesterday.”

  “Not even she deserves this…and the longer she is with him, the worse it will be.”

  He sighed knowing in the end, she would win. Del understood the danger, and everything she said was true. They were looking at a ticking clock, and he could not even imagine what Jin was going through. Still, he felt he should try one last time.

  “I could call your brother and tell him.”

  “And then I would have to smack you with a two-by-four again.” She set her messenger bag down and stepped closer. She slid her hands up his arms. “Listen, I know that you will protect me. I will be safe with you there. He isn’t going to grab me. We might be able to rattle him. Then your team can step in and take the bastard down.”

  “You do have kind of a mercenary way of looking at things.”

  She shrugged. “I believe in Karma, and this wanker deserves the worst payback. I want to see you make him cry.”

  He chuckled and bent his head to brush his mouth over hers. “I like that about you.”

  “We should feel wrong for watching this,” Elle said.

  “Naw, it’s his fault for not drawing the blinds,” Adam said as he crossed his arms.

  “Yeah. And how can we not look? It’s so damned sweet,” Cat said. “Who would have thought the boss would fall for someone so fast? If anyone, I thought you would, Adam.”

  The two had known each other since he was in junior high and she was in the fifth grade. He had dated her cousin in high school.

  “And why would you say that?”

  “Marie said you were sweet.”

  He remembered the heartbreak he had felt at the time, as if his world was ending. “So sweet that she dumped me.”

  “Marie has issues.”

  “I guess we’re working the party tonight,” Marcus said.

  “Yeah, and I want you to see if you can double check these things for the boss. We need to make sure that others weren’t connected to the murders.”

  Marcus nodded. “I also want to check out the guy with him in the picture. He’s in a few of them.”

  Cat stepped closer. “His name is Frederick Morgan from what the caption says. He is in a lot of them, isn’t he?”

  Marcus nodded. “If anyone knows insider information, it’s that guy. Also, let’s hunt up the owner of the property. My guess is Stanton didn’t buy the property. He rents it.”

  “And if he does, the owner can give us permission to search.”

  “Depending on their lease, but yeah,” Marcus said.

  “I really hate weddings,” Graeme said out of the blue.

  Everyone paused and looked at the Scotsman. Adam glanced around at the team, then back at Graeme. “Is that a fact? And what does that have to do with this?”

  “Look at him. That man is going to get married, mark my words. And we’ll have to go.”

  “What’s wrong with weddings?” Elle asked.

  “You have to get dressed up, yes? I hate ties.”

  “Dude,” Adam said, “You’re in Hawaii. No one gets that dressed up, and when the boss gets married, I doubt it will be too fancy.”

  “I think the fact that you’re assuming there will be a wedding is a little premature. Remember, her brother isn’t married,” Cat said. “Maybe they are more about live and let live. I get that vibe from her.”

  “That’s because Sean lives with a man and a woman. They can’t marry one and exclude the other,” Adam said. “And, if you think Martin Delano, only son and eldest child of the Delano family, isn’t going to insist on a marriage, you don’t know our boss.”

  “I was at one last month. One of the interns got married. I would have killed to have worn a simple dress and been barefoot at my wedding,” Elle said. Everyone turned to face her. “What?”

  “You’re married?” Graeme asked, a thread of anger shimmering in his voice.

  “No. Was. Divorced now.”

  Graeme opened his mouth to say something that would probably result in a fight; thankfully, Del’s office door opened up. He and Emma came to a stop and looked at them.

  “What’s going on here?” Del asked suspiciously.

  “Looks like Graeme and Elle are about to have another fight. I gotta call Jaime, get some help. See you later,” Emma said, brushing her mouth over his jaw and heading off. Del caught her by the arm.

  He looked at Adam. “Got a moment? I have to call the mayor and give him an update.”

  Adam nodded and escorted her out the back door.

  “So, who won the bet?” She asked with a smile.

  Adam chuckled. “Doesn’t matter, money went to the Humane Society.”

  She slanted him a look.

  “Okay, if the money was to be won, it would have been me.”

  Emma smiled. “I had a feeling. You really do know your timing, Lt. Lee.”

  Emma was putting on a jade green cocktail dress when Jaime walked into her bedroom. “I think that’s the one that will do it.”

  She had been lucky enough that her brother’s lover understood her issues with shopping and had brought four dresses in her size. Along with the dresses, she’d brought a box from Liliha Bakery and bags of girl things.

  “I don’t really care. Just one of them will work. I have to look like I belong.”

  It was the fourth and final dress. If this didn’t work, Emma was worried that Jaime might overrule her and tell her she had to go out to a store. That worried her more than tracking a killer.

  Jaime said nothing as she helped zip up the back of the dress. “Now turn.”

  She did and blinked. The vision in the full-sized mirror was someone else; it had to be. Jaime had been right. The dress was perfect. The color matched her eyes and brought out the golden undertone to her skin. The cowl bodice made her look as if she actually had a chest. Her waist looked unbearably small, and accentuated the slight curve of her hips. The soft satin draped her body perfectly, and ende
d in a pool around her feet.

  “Oh, wow.”

  Jaime smiled. “That man isn’t going to know what hit him.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I keep telling everyone that the killer isn’t interested in me.”

  “I’m not talking about that wanker. I’m talking about Del.”

  Emma shrugged. “I think he prefers me with no clothes.”

  Jaime laughed. “Oh, you do make me happy, Emma. No one else would say that.”

  “Please, if you think about it, Randy and Sean are the same way about you.”

  She nodded. “Yes, but every now and then, it is nice to give them a pretty package to unwrap.”

  “That sounds wrong.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She watched as Jaime pulled out newly bought packages. “I don’t know. You know, all the people like to say he should like me the way I am.”

  “Oh, love, he does like you very much the way you are. But, dressing up every now and then is good too.”

  Emma looked at all the containers she had on the counter. She had never owned that much makeup in her life.

  “Out of the dress and put on a robe. Then we need to get down to putting on the makeup.”

  “I don’t do makeup.”

  “Tonight you do.”

  Emma frowned.

  “Don’t look like that. This is all part of the job. You will always stand out because of who you are, but part of watching this bastard is getting close enough to observe. From what you told me, unless Marcus can come up with something on him to get that search warrant, or gets the owner of the property to agree, you are left with getting the guy to slip up. Or, you need to buy time. Looking pretty and gaining his attention does just that. He knows you are involved with the investigation, so he will be watching. Distract him while you work on obtaining what you need to catch the bastard.”

  “It sounds like a long shot when you say it like that,” Emma said as she stepped out of the dress then grabbed her green robe and put it on.

  Jaime shrugged as she opened up some very dark eye makeup. “It is, but it doesn’t mean that you all can’t make it work for you. Now, wash your face with that stuff and let’s get to work.”

  Emma reached for the container, then paused. She looked at Jaime’s reflection in the mirror as she was setting out the makeup.

  “Thanks.”

  Jaime looked up, and smiled. “You are very welcome. It’s fun to have a sister to do things with.”

  A sister. Tears burned the backs of her eyes. A year ago, she had been alone. Now, not only did she have her brother, she had Randy and she had a sister. They were a family. Warmth filled her chest as she sniffed and blinked away the tears.

  “Emma, are you okay?”

  She nodded and smiled. “Yeah. And you’re right. It’s really nice to have a sister.”

  Del was having a difficult time trying to concentrate on the mission. He should be focused on the monster they were there to capture. He had been trained to work under all kinds of circumstances. The problem was, as he walked into the hotel, he could only think about one person. Emma.

  She was a beautiful woman, in mind and spirit, but tonight was the first night he’d ever seen her in makeup. He didn’t care one way or the other, but it had left his nerves frazzled. Worse, the woman had no idea the effect she was having on him.

  Worse, he was having to control his reaction. With the entire team listening, he had to be careful. It was bad enough that they were treating Emma and Del as their own personal soap opera to watch. Having it on a recording would be worse.

  “Do you know anyone here?” she asked.

  “Um, probably not. Although the mayor might be here. Seems like something he would support.”

  She nodded. The little sparkle of something shimmered in her hair. He had never seen her with her hair curled and up in such an intricate design. It looked like one little tug and the multitude of curls would come tumbling down around her shoulders.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Sorry, still trying to get used to you looking like that.”

  She shook her head. “Well, don’t. It’s not going to happen again anytime soon.”

  “Hmm.”

  She gave him a sharp glance. “What does that mean?”

  “Nothing.”

  “I can’t believe you’re getting all bothered by a little makeup and a dress. I would have never said Jaime would be right, but there you have it.”

  “Right about what?”

  “She said you would get distracted by me in a dress. I told her you would rather see me naked.”

  He snorted. “True. But then, wondering what kind of lingerie you have on under the dress, that would be interesting.”

  “I’m not wearing any lingerie.”

  He froze for a second, unsure if he’d heard what he thought he’d heard. Slowly, he turned to face her.

  “What?”

  She leaned closer, a little smile curving her lips. “My panty lines kept showing, so I decided not to wear any. The bodice makes it easy to go braless too.”

  Heat seared through his blood as it headed from his brain to his cock. Dammit, how was he supposed to think like this? There was no doubt about it, he had done something horrible in his life. It was the only explanation he had for it. He tried to swallow and found his mouth too dry to accommodate. He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her out onto the patio. He found a secluded spot.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing…just had to do this.”

  He cupped her face and bent his head to brush his mouth over hers.

  “You are acting very weird.”

  He smiled at her. “You think? I think I’m being terrifying.”

  She frowned and opened her mouth. He pressed his fingers against her mouth.

  “Don’t. We don’t have the time, but just know this—you have made me fall head over heels for you.”

  For a second, she looked stunned. He drank in the confused look, then his heart sang when her lips curved. That look on her face made him feel like he owned the world. Who would have thought making Emma smile was all he needed to get through the day? But right now, the entire ballroom full of people had faded away, and it was just the two of them. He wanted to tell her, wanted to let her know exactly how he felt. That his little comment did not do his feelings justice.

  “Indeed?”

  He nodded. “You and I are going to have a serious talk.”

  “Now?”

  He shook his head. “No. When we get done with this. All of this.”

  The expression in her gaze told him that she knew what he was talking about.

  He led her back into the room. “I need to get us some drinks. I’ll be right back.”

  “Wait,” she said.

  “What?”

  “Just that?”

  He stepped closer and leaned down so only she could hear his voice. “Well, the thought of pulling up that dress and taking you on the balcony had entered my mind, but since we’re on a job tonight, I thought I would refrain.”

  She shivered as he pulled back from her. “I’ll be right back.”

  She nodded and he walked away. They needed to get this case closed because they definitely had a lot to discuss.

  “Uh, Boss, I’ve been told by Adam to remind you that we are all listening,” Marcus said chuckling.

  Fuck. He had just reminded himself about that, then completely forgot the moment he got close to her. He seemed to have been losing his head over her from the moment he’d met her.

  “I would suggest that you all forget about it. And, if there are any bets about us per that conversation, just know whoever initiates them will end up working weekends for the foreseeable future.”

  Emma tapped her foot to the music as she watched Del make his way through the crowd. There was something so alpha about the way he cleared a path. He said nothing. People just moved out of his way. She chuckled to herself. It was quite impressive, see
ing that the room was filled with leaders from all the Hawaiian Islands. Even those people in charge were intimidated by Del.

  She heard a sound beside her and realized she had lost track of her surroundings. It was a common thing when she was around Del—not to mention stupid.

  Turning, she found a well-dressed man with a strong jaw, a wealth of blond hair, and an expensive smile within a few feet of her.

  Richard Stanton was standing beside her.

  “I’ve been wanting to meet you all night, Ms. Taylor.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The air around Emma seemed to still, as if all of it had been sucked out of the room, as she looked at Stanton’s smiling face. Her blood chilled to ice, as she tried to come up with something to say. Her brain took a few seconds. Fight or flight? Which way would she normally respond? If she didn’t know what she knew about him, would she be afraid?

  Hell yes. Just looking at the expectant exuberance in his expression had her wanting to take a step back. She often got that response from people at the conventions and conferences she had been going to over the last few months. It made her want to go find a hole to hide in.

  “Excuse me, do we know each other?”

  He shook his head. “No, but I was reading one of your articles in Southeast Asian Business Monthly, and was intrigued by your thoughts on green energy and how it should be implemented in Southeast Asia.”

  She blinked, feeling a little flustered. He had read her article? “I think I explained it well in the article.”

  He took a step closer, and Emma had to fight the urge to step back. A man like him would be aroused by any fear she showed. Instead, she straightened her backbone and kept eye contact.

  “Yes, but as a businessman who builds in the area, I was intrigued by your thoughts on how it would be more profitable.”

  “Indeed?”

  “Yes,” he said, his eyes lighting up.

  Most people would not be put off directly by the man. He was attractive, and he definitely knew how to wear a tux. It had to have been tailored especially for him—and from the finest fabrics. However, when one looked into his gaze, there was something else present. Many others would dismiss it, but those people who paid attention would notice the way his pulse hammered in his chest. And his eyes were another tipoff. The quote they were the window to the soul was not far off. His unhealthy gleam should make anyone uncomfortable. Once again, with his money and looks, people would dismiss it and only look at the surface. The expensive clothing, the styled hair, and the perfect teeth would dazzle them. They would never see the sociopath beneath the surface.