by Kat Martin
“‘Gallagher and Company Management Consulting,’” she read. “I’ll let Mr. Wells know you’re here. Perhaps he can spare a few minutes.”
Kate smiled. “Thank you.”
As the woman walked away, Jase walked up to Kate. Anticipating this particular visit was the main reason he had worn the blazer and button-down shirt he had bought at Neiman Marcus. He had a fairly extensive wardrobe. When he was hunting a skip, he had to blend in. At least today he looked more like a PI than a bounty hunter.
The receptionist returned. “Mr. Wells has a few minutes between appointments. If you’ll please follow me.” The woman turned and started walking. Kate flicked Jase a sideways glance, and they both fell in behind her.
Preston Wells was a tall, attractive man, with thick brown hair, brown eyes and a salon tan. He wore an expensive Italian suit and didn’t look anything like the pervert he actually was. Jase had no problem with a guy’s personal kinks—as long as nobody got hurt.
Wells walked around his desk to greet Kate, his eyes running over her head to foot. Jase wanted to punch him.
“Ms. Gallagher? I’m Preston Wells. What can I do for you?”
“Thank you for seeing us. This is Jason Maddox. He’s a private investigator. I hired him to look into the murder of my sister. She was using the name Tina Galen. I thought you might know her.”
He frowned. “You thought your sister was one of my clients?”
“Actually,” Jase drawled, “we thought you might be one of hers.”
“My sister was a runaway, Mr. Wells,” Kate explained. “She was working as a prostitute.” Her mouth edged into a smile that really wasn’t. “Word is you enjoy a working girl’s talents on occasion.”
Wells looked offended. “I don’t know what you’re implying, but—”
“We know you were arrested for assault,” Jase said. “Beating a woman so badly she ended up in the hospital.”
Wells’s mouth thinned. “Those charges were dropped. What happened is none of your business, but because I don’t want any more trouble, I’ll tell you this just once. Heather and I were engaged in consensual sex. She liked it when I used my belt, and I wanted to give her pleasure.”
“You put her in the hospital,” Kate said. “That doesn’t sound like pleasure to me.”
His shoulders moved in a shrug beneath his expensive jacket. “Accidents happen.” His gaze ran over Kate. “Have you ever been punished for pleasure, Ms. Gallagher? Perhaps your big friend, here, would do the honors. Or if you prefer, I would be happy to oblige.”
Jase lunged forward, grabbed Wells by the lapels of his coat and hauled him up on his toes. Kate stepped between them, blocking the punch he wanted to throw and saving Wells a couple of missing front teeth. She set a hand on his chest, and he was sure she could feel the anger vibrating through him.
“It’s all right, Hawk,” she said. “Preston isn’t my type. In his case, I’d prefer he was the one getting the beating.”
Jase let him go. “Step aside and I’ll gladly make it happen.”
Kate turned back to Wells. “So you never knew Tina Galen?”
“Never heard of her. And unless she was into the S&M scene and a willing participant, I never would have.”
“Where were you on the night of April 29?” Kate pressed.
“I was at a company function—which, if you’d checked with Detective Benson, you would have known.”
Jase’s back teeth clenched as he worked to rein in his temper. Good to know Roger Benson had actually done some legwork on the case.
“Let’s get out of here,” Jase said. Kate linked her arm with his, not quite trusting him not to bash Wells in the face, and led him toward the door. They didn’t stop until they were back in the elevator, the doors sliding closed behind them.
“Do you think Wells was telling the truth?” Kate asked.
“So far there’s no evidence to suggest Tina was into the S&M scene. According to the ME, the cause of death was blunt force trauma. Looks more like killing her was some sort of retribution or maybe someone was delivering a message.”
“Punishment or a message,” Kate said. “Like what Eli Zepeda was doing to that girl at the station.”
“Could be.” He pressed the button for the parking garage, and the elevator began its decent.
“Which brings us back to Tina’s pimp,” Kate said. “If she had one, we need to know his name.”
“With any luck, we’ll find out when we talk to Lollie tonight. In the meantime, just to be sure we don’t leave any loose ends, I’ll check with Benson, make sure Wells’s alibi’s been verified.”
When the elevator doors slid open, they headed for the Yukon. Since the day was pretty much shot to hell and they were planning a trip to the Sunshine Motel that night, he drove through a Burger King to get something to eat, then took Kate home.
“I’ll see you later.” He walked her across the lobby, couldn’t resist leaning down to brush a kiss over her lips.
He ran a finger down her cheek. “I don’t like seeing you with filth like that. I wish you’d let me work the case on my own.”
She just shook her head. “Not gonna happen, big guy. Besides, look what an education I’m getting.”
He liked that she could bounce back from trouble the way she did. He still wished he could convince her to let him handle things.
Since he knew her mind was made up, he just nodded. “Later,” he said, turned and walked away.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Kate’s cell phone rang as she walked through her apartment door that afternoon. She smiled at the her friend’s name on the caller ID, her dark mood lifting. She pressed the phone against her ear.
“Hey, Cee, how are you?”
“I’m fine, but Lani and I have been worried about you. I knew you were taking a few days off to handle the...um...arrangements for your sister, so I was hoping you might be at home. If you can handle some company, I’m only a few blocks away.”
“I’m home. Just walked through the door. I’d love to see you. Come on up.” Kate ended the call, then used the intercom to let the front desk know she was expecting a visitor. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang and Kate hurried over to welcome her friend.
Cece leaned in for a hug. “It’s so good to see you. I’ve really been worried.” She was several inches shorter than Kate, with shoulder-length dark brown hair cut in a bob, and moss-green eyes. “How are you holding up?” She was pretty, with a fabulous figure.
“I’m doing okay.” Kate led her farther into the apartment. “A lot’s been going on. How about a Diet Coke or a glass of iced tea, or something?”
“Diet Coke sounds great.” They went into the kitchen and Kate pulled two diet sodas out of the fridge. Filling glasses with ice, she joined Cece at the breakfast bar and set the glasses and cans on the counter.
Cece poured Diet Coke into her glass, sending up foamy bubbles, eyeing Kate over the rim as she took a sip. “You seem a lot better than the last time I talked to you.”
“If I seem better, it’s because I’m doing something to find my sister’s killer. I hired a private investigator...well, he’s actually a bounty hunter, but he’s also a detective. His name is Jason Maddox.”
One of Cece’s dark eyebrows went up. “You hired a bounty hunter?”
“That’s what he does most of the time. Either way, he finds people, which is the kind of help I need. We met kind of by accident at the Sagebrush Saloon. I ran into him again at The Max. It’s a security company. Maddox sort of took a...um...personal interest in my sister’s case.”
Cece sipped her drink. “Has he made any progress?”
“Things are moving along. I insisted he let me help with the investigation. We’re going out again tonight to interview a prostitute who might know something about the murder.”
Cece knew that Chr
issy was a runaway who had ended up on the streets. She studied Kate with speculation. “You’ve been spending time with this guy, Maddox, right?”
“I told you we’re working the case together.”
“So this bounty hunter slash detective? What’s he look like?”
Kate could feel the heat creeping into her cheeks. “Well, he’s...” The sexist man alive? “Jase is a good-looking guy, but I wouldn’t have hired him if I didn’t think he could help me.”
Cece grabbed her purse and whipped out her cell phone, started digging around on the internet. Jason Maddox, she typed, her fingers flying. She glanced up. “Middle name Hawkins?”
“That’s right.”
“Oh, my God—that’s him?” She turned the phone around so Kate could see the photo she had pulled up.
Jase, of course, looked amazing. You could even see his gorgeous blue eyes. “That’s him. Hawk Maddox.”
Cece’s gaze remained on the photo. She pulled up a couple more, one that showed him next to a swimming pool in a skimpy Speedo swimsuit. “Wow! That dude could definitely lift my spirits.”
Jason in a swimsuit. Kate took a good long look herself. Long, powerful legs, sculpted chest and amazing biceps. Heat scorched through her just looking at him.
Cece’s gaze swung back to Kate. “Just how well do you and Mr. Hot Bounty Hunter know each other?”
Kate snorted a laugh. “I haven’t slept with him, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Why not?”
Good question. “Because we need to solve Chrissy’s murder first. But if things work out, I intend to.”
“No kidding.” Cece took a long swallow of her drink and glanced back down at the picture. She fanned her face. “I’m getting a hot flash just thinking about it.”
Kate laughed. Cece always made her smile. “I’m really glad you stopped by.”
Cece leaned over and hugged her. “Me, too.” She took a drink of soda. “So fill me in on what’s been happening with the case. Especially the part where you’re going to end up in bed with Hawk Maddox.”
Kate found herself smiling again, a welcome change from the terrible sadness she had been feeling since she’d found out about her sister.
Kate told her about the visit to Mean Jack’s, the fistfight, and the creepy men she and Jason had been questioning. Her friend seemed fascinated but also worried.
“Investigating a murder...it’s got to be dangerous, Kate. Are you sure you shouldn’t let the police handle this? Or maybe this Maddox guy?”
“I need to be involved. I can’t just sit around and do nothing.”
“I hope you’re at least being careful.”
Kate didn’t mention her hooker outfit, or the guy who had slapped her and tried to drag her out of the bar. “Of course I am.”
They talked a little longer before Cece had to leave. She managed a restaurant called The Turtle, an upscale bar and grill where she worked a split shift.
As soon as her friend was gone, Kate went back to the plans she was making for Chrissy’s funeral in Rockdale.
The moment the phone was answered at the Rockdale Mortuary, any joy she had been feeling slipped away.
* * *
It was late afternoon when Jase walked into The Max. Mindy Stewart, their receptionist, stopped him as he passed on the way to his desk.
“A guy named Tommy Dieter has been calling you all afternoon, Jase. He says your phone goes straight to voice mail, and he needs to talk to you right away. I tried to call you myself, but I couldn’t get through, either.”
Jase pulled out his cell. He’d turned it off before they went up to see Preston Wells. He didn’t like to be interrupted during an interview, but he’d been so damned mad when he left, he’d forgotten to turn it back on.
“I’ll take care of it. Thanks, Mindy.” He checked his messages, saw a string of them from Tommy, punched the number and the kid picked up right away.
“Hawk, I got trouble,” Tommy said.
Any guy who ratted on rats for a living was asking for trouble. Apparently Tommy was just now figuring that out. “What’s going on?”
“Someone told Randy Harding I been keeping tabs on him. He’s coming after me, Hawk. I don’t know what to do.”
Tommy was over twenty-one, but still just a kid and not the brightest bulb on the string. “Come on down to my office. I’ll stake you enough to get out of town. You need to lie low for a while, till I can get Harding off the street. Once he’s in jail, you should be okay.”
“Thanks, Hawk. I won’t forget this. I owe you. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
The call ended and Jase went back to work. He phoned Detective Benson, who verified Preston Wells’s alibi. Benson hadn’t spoken to Terry McCollom, or to Marco Bandini, the other name Tabby had come up with.
“From what you’re saying, doesn’t sound like McCollom’s our guy,” Benson said. “I’ll talk to him and Bandini, but unless the guy gives us something new, we’ve just about reached a dead end.”
It wasn’t good news, but it wasn’t a surprise. Benson had a stack of murder cases to solve, and the stack grew bigger every day. A dead prostitute wasn’t a top priority.
“I’ll let you know if anything turns up,” Jase said. If Benson didn’t come up with something, he’d talk to Bandini himself. He liked to get his own take on a suspect. And he didn’t trust Benson not to brush a possible lead under the carpet.
Time slipped past. Mindy left for the day, along with Chase and Bran and anyone who had plans for the evening. Jase and a PI named Jax Ryker were the only ones still working.
It was after seven when the front door swung open and Tommy Dieter rushed into the office. One of his eyes was black, his lip cut and bleeding, his plaid shirt torn and hanging open to expose his skinny white chest.
“Hawk!” Breathless, he staggered toward the desk. “You gotta help me!”
Jase rose from his chair, his gaze shooting toward the door.
Ryker also came to his feet. He moved to the window, careful not to stand in front of it to check outside. “I don’t see anyone out there.”
Jase focused on Dieter, who was breathing hard, his eyes darting back and forth between Jase and the door. “Take it easy, Tommy. Tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s...it’s Harding. When he found out I was tipping you, he sent...sent two of his buddies after me. They followed me out of The Liberty—you know, that little bar downtown? Dragged me into the alley and started punching me in the face. I got lucky, saw this police car and started yelling. The cops came running and I—I managed to get away. I came straight here. You said...said you’d help me.”
Ryker headed for the back door. “I’ll check around, make sure he wasn’t followed.” Jax was a former navy SEAL, six feet tall, short dark hair, built like an armored tank. A good guy Jase could always count on.
He nodded as Ryker made his way toward the rear of the office and disappeared out the back door.
Tommy glanced wildly around. “I don’t think they followed me, but I don’t...don’t know for sure.”
Jase opened his desk drawer, opened the locked box inside and took out a money clip stuffed with bills. Keeping a butt-load of informants on the payroll was expensive, but in his line of work, it was worth it. Plus Tommy was basically a good kid. Jase didn’t want something bad happening to him.
He peeled off three hundred-dollar bills and handed them over. “So Harding’s back in Dallas?” he asked.
Tommy folded the money with shaking hands and stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans. “I’m not sure. These guys said Randy was a friend. Said they’d heard I was passing info on his whereabouts. They started beating me, said they’d show me what happens to a guy who interferes in other people’s business.”
Jase didn’t say what he was thinking, that the kid was lucky to be ali
ve. From what he’d heard, Harding had some tough-ass friends. “You think he could still be in Waco?”
“I think there’s a chance he is. They mentioned Ray’s Auto Body in Houston. Said I shouldn’t have told anyone Harding was there. Harding probably thinks he’s still safe in Waco.”
That was good news. Jase set a hand on Tommy’s shoulder. “Come on, I’ll follow you out of town. Make sure no one gives you any trouble. You got family, someplace safe you can stay for a while?”
“My sister lives in San Antonio. I can stay with her.”
“Once I get Harding off the street, you should be able to come back.” But currently, he was working on Chrissy Gallagher’s murder case. With Tommy in danger, he might have to rearrange his priorities. Jase wasn’t looking forward to having that conversation with Kate.
Ryker walked back into the office. “All clear. Nobody out there.”
If Jax said it was clear, it was clear. “Thanks, bro.”
“Anytime,” Ryker said.
While Tommy went out front and climbed into his little red Toyota pickup, Jase went out back and loaded into his SUV. Tommy pulled into the street and Jase drove up behind him, checking his surroundings and keeping an eye on his rearview mirror as they rolled off down the road. Tommy made several evasive turns to make sure he wasn’t being followed, then finally drove onto I-35 and headed south out of town.
It was dark, the wind picking up, blowing papers along the gutters in the street when Jase turned back toward his town house. He had enough time to go home and grab a bite to eat before he picked up Kate, maybe lift a few weights, burn off some of the restless energy he felt just thinking about her.
He tried not to imagine what she might be wearing to their interview with a prostitute, but his mind shot back to that night at Mean Jack’s. A memory arose of the soft white cleavage bulging out of her indecently low-cut top, the short skirt that outlined her perfect ass, and he started getting hard.
Jase sighed as the Yukon rolled along. He needed to find Tina Galen’s killer. He needed to take Kate Gallagher to bed and put his obsession with her to rest.
