Cooper tapped the photo of Lynette. “I’ll tell you I hesitated calling you in for this assignment because of this girl.”
Alex leveled her gaze on him. “Because she looks like me.”
“Each victim has been a strawberry blonde, though she definitely bears the most resemblance to you. If I send you in to investigate, there’s a possibility you’ll end up being bait. That’s not my intention.”
“Then what is, sir?”
A flash of approval moved through Cooper’s eyes at that. Alex got the impression he was looking for a straight-shooter and she was giving him exactly that.
“You’re familiar with the first three cases. You’re a damn good investigator. You’re driven and determined and I don’t doubt for a second if there is a connection between the first three cases and the latest two that you will find it. However, Kelli Darcy and Lynette Cross’s murders seem closer related than the previous three. I want you to focus on them, while keeping the possibility in your mind that their murders could be related to the other three.”
“I can do that.” She curled her hands around the edge of the desk and leaned on them. “Are you assigning me to work with a partner or am I going at this alone?”
“A little of both, though I won’t be the one doing the assigning. I’m sending you to Silver Island.” The corner of his lips twitched, though he didn’t let the smile come. “Be aware that the island was developed to cater to the alternative lifestyles, more specifically, ménage relationships and polygamous marriages. It’s heavy in tourist activity and has a decent-size community that resides on the island.”
“So our killer could’ve easily been a tourist, spent some time with Lynette Cross, killed her, and left the island?”
Cooper pursed his lips thoughtfully. “He could’ve been. However, Lynette Cross’s last known place of residence is Silver Springs. John Cabelly, the island Sheriff, put the island on lockdown when her body was found. However, according to records kept of the island’s tourists, her last visit to the island was a week before her body was found. She was seen on the mainland during that week, but there is no record of her returning.”
Alex straightened and resumed pacing. “Lynette could’ve been killed in Silver Springs, dumped into the Gulf, and washed up on his shore.”
“There are some connections you should know about that are unrelated to this case, but are being put into play. John Cabelly is a former US Navy SEAL. I’ve worked with him in the past. The investigation on the mainland is currently being handled by Silver Springs PD Homicide Division, the DEA, and now us.”
Alex shot Cooper a puzzled look. “Why is the DEA involved?”
“Traces of Silver Lining, a drug that has hit the streets hard in Silver Springs in recent months, was found in Lynette Cross’s system. Background information on her revealed she was a regular patron of a night club known as Castaways in Silver Springs. DEA Agent Harry Gosher has also reported remembering her when he was working a case six months ago tracking down a supplier of the drug.” He paused and then added, “Our path is also crossing with the DEA because I have Cameron Stone working our angle and he is romantically involved with Adrien Bingham.”
Alex smiled. “Ah, a tangled web of connections that could prove very effective.”
“I’ve informed Stone I’ll be sending you to the island. He’ll be there in Silver Springs if you need assistance. John Cabelly has also been informed of your impending arrival. He’s assigned two of his deputies who have more training in homicide investigation to oversee the case.”
Alex angled her head. “Am I going to get the cold shoulder from the local badges on this one?”
Cooper shook his head. “Cabelly has assured me Drake Palmer and Rhett Letson will work directly with you.”
Alex stopped in her tracks as the room started to spin. All breath expelled from her lungs as she forced herself to walk to the chair in front of Cooper’s desk and sit before her legs buckled beneath her. Grateful for her ability to keep her expression emotionless, she said, “About those connections you mentioned that you thought I should know about, sir.”
Cooper held her gaze, his expression as unreadable as her own. “I thought those names might ring a bell. You worked with both of them on the New Orleans PD, didn’t you?”
“Yes, sir.” Dear God, she’d deliberately not contacted either of them after she had left New Orleans. She’d ignored the phone calls she’d received on her way to Quantico and had deleted the voice mails they had left for the first two weeks after she’d been gone without listening to them. She’d convinced herself it would be easier that way. She’d made her choice. She’d accepted the invitation to join the FBI over their promises of forever. It had been the most cowardly move she’d ever made, leaving for Virginia while they’d been on shift, but she hadn’t been able to bring herself to face them.
Because every time you faced them, you wanted to stay.
A dart of suspicion shot through Cooper’s eyes. “Do you have a problem working with them again?”
She answered his question with one of her own. “When do I leave?”
She couldn’t let it be a problem. She couldn’t let the past affect the present. Cooper didn’t have to spell it out for her. This was her shot to become part of his A-team. If that meant she would have to find a way to work with two men she had never been able to forget, then so be it. She’d always faced challenges head-on. Coming face to face with Drake and Rhett again, having them close by and seeing them on a daily basis again, would be no different. She would do her job, solve the case, and return to Waterston without looking back…just like she’d done before.
Chapter Three
“We’ll be working with the FBI on this one. Do either of you have a problem with that?”
Rhett exchanged a look with Drake. They’d gathered with the sheriff and Marcus Winters in the conference room of the Sheriff’s Department. Pages of notes were scattered on the rectangular table between them. He knew why Marcus Winters was in attendance. He, his brother Kenneth, and their wife Charlotte had developed Silver Island to be a safe haven for any and all who lived an alternative way of life. They’d opened it to tourists as well as residents and had hand selected those they hired into positions to keep the island and those who stepped foot on it safe. Lynette Cross was one of those who had stepped foot on the island. Someone hadn’t kept her safe.
Across the table, Drake shifted in his seat to face the sheriff. “Are they assuming full jurisdiction?”
“Joint. They won’t be taking over, but they have reason to believe Lynette Cross’s murder is connected to a series of four others that have occurred across the states lining the Gulf over the span of several years.”
“We don’t have any issues with the feds.” Hell, at this point, Rhett figured they could use all the help they could get. It had been a week since Lynette Cross’s body had been found and they still hadn’t determined if she’d been killed on the island or had washed ashore from the mainland.
“Good. The agent Adam Cooper is sending has a history with three of the previous four cases. It’ll help to know for sure if Lynette Cross’s murder is connected or if it was an isolated incident.”
“Do you have an arrival time on this agent?” Drake asked.
Marcus Winters glanced at his wristwatch. “He should be on the island now. Kenneth was set to meet him at the docks. He’ll take the agent to the cottage we’ve set up for him, drop off his bags, and escort him here.”
“I crossed paths with Adam Cooper a couple of times when I was with the Teams. He’s a hard ass, but he’s the best of the best. He handpicks the agents on his team and has assured me Special Agent Alex Sykes is the man we need on this case.”
Hearing her name hit Rhett like a physical blow to the gut. He heard himself make the sound of a man who had been sucker punched and collapsed back in his chair. Five years. It had been five years since she’d walked out on him and Drake. Drake had been the first to give up on her. Fo
r the first couple of weeks, they’d tried to reach her by phone. They’d argued about tracking her down at Quantico. Then they’d started to endure. Rhett had waited out the twenty weeks he’d known it would take her to complete the FBI academy. He’d held out the additional time for her to go through special agent training, knowing Alexandria wouldn’t stop until she reached the top.
She hadn’t. He’d followed her career for a while before he’d finally forced himself to stop. Coming from a long line of cops, detectives, and agents, he had the connections he needed to know where she was almost at any given moment. It had become too much. Torturing himself over a woman who had chosen her career over him and Drake had started to wear him down. He’d known the only way to heal was to let her go. Except he hadn’t. Not really. He still dreamed of her, longed for her, and loved her with every ounce of his being.
He felt John Cabelly’s and Marcus Winters’s gazes on him, but it was Drake he looked at. His friend hadn’t moved a muscle. His expression hadn’t changed and his eyes revealed nothing. Drake had taken a different road in his healing process. He’d taken what he’d felt for Alex, joined it with his feelings of rejection and betrayal, and turned it into anger. A trace of that anger when he spoke was the only indication of the effect she still had on him.
“I believe that would be Alexandria Sykes, Sheriff. Female.”
Cabelly made a considering face. “I suppose it could be. Cooper didn’t say either way and I didn’t feel the need to question.”
“Does that change things for the two of you?” Marcus Winters wanted to know.
“No, sir.” Drake’s answer was clipped and curt. “Alexandria Sykes is smart. She’s a solid professional driven by her career. Her first priority will be the same as ours, finding Lynette Cross’s killer.”
John Cabelly’s eyes turned coolly calculating. “I’m not going to pry, gentlemen. I don’t want details. However, I am going to ask, is she the one?”
The one. Those two words summed up Alexandria Sykes in a nutshell. She’d been the one since the moment Rhett had met her. She’d been the one for Drake, too. And, damn it, whether either of them wanted to admit it or not, she was still the one.
Rhett wasn’t surprised by the question. While Drake had managed more successfully to keep his emotions under wraps, he knew his own reaction to her name had set this ball rolling. Silver Island might as well be a little hick town in the country for all the secrets it was able to keep. Word mysteriously got around about things. No one ever passed judgment, but somehow the residents always got wind of things about their fellow residents’ lives. For him and Drake, that thing was how they’d once had a ménage relationship with the love of their lives that had ended badly.
“Yes, sir,” Rhett finally answered. “And before you ask, we can handle working with her on this case. We want Lynette Cross’s killer found and, if that means joining forces with her to see it happen, then that’s what we’ll do.”
John Cabelly nodded. “That’s all I need to know.”
* * * *
For the second time in as many days, Alexandria paused outside a closed door, squared her shoulders, and took a deep breath. She lifted her hand to knock, realized it was shaking, and lowered it again. Shooting a glance left and then right, she assured herself the hallway was clear before she rested her forehead against the doorframe.
Get it to-fucking-gether.
The nerves wreaking havoc on her system today were far worse than those that’d had her insides shaking outside Adam Cooper’s office. If she’d thought she’d had to come across as calm, cool, and collected in front of Cooper, she knew damn well she would have to do that and more when she faced Drake and Rhett.
The sound of muffled male voices came through the door. They were both in there. It might have been years since she’d heard Drake’s rusty voice or Rhett’s softer one with the slightly rough edge, but she recognized them instantly. They were waiting on her. Or rather, they were waiting on the special agent being sent from the FBI. Had the sheriff told them it was her? What kind of wrath would she have to face when she walked into that room?
Oh, God. What was she doing? She was a professional. She’d made her choice. She’d followed her dreams, joined the FBI, and hadn’t let anything stand in her way. Being here now, assigned to this case by Adam Cooper, was a sure sign she was on the fast track to the top. She’d worked her ass off to be the agent standing right here, right now. She couldn’t let the feelings she’d buried five years ago for Drake and Rhett affect what she’d come to this island to do.
With a death grip on the handle of her briefcase, she took another deep breath and lifted her other hand again, pleased when it held steady this time. She knocked once, waited a beat, and pushed the door open. Drake and Rhett sat across from one another at the conference table. The similarity in features of the man sitting next to Drake and the man who had met her at the docks confirmed him to be Marcus Winters. That left the sheriff, John Cabelly, sitting at the head of the table.
All gazes locked on her as she walked into the room, closing the door behind her. “Gentlemen.” She greeted them in unison with a slight nod of her head as she stepped to the end of the table opposite the sheriff and placed her briefcase on top.
Marcus Winters rose from his chair, rounded the table, and extended a hand when he reached her. “I’m Marcus Winters. Welcome to Silver Island. I hope your trip was uneventful.”
Alexandria turned to the man and gave him her best professional, but warm, smile. Though she kept her gaze on Marcus Winters, she could see Drake’s and Rhett’s profiles in her peripheral vision. Both men wore tan uniforms. Drake’s ash-brown hair was longer than she remembered, the tips reaching the folded collar of his shirt, and his skin was deeply tanned. Rhett still wore his sandy-blond hair short and he, too, had a deeper tan than he’d had back in New Orleans.
Focusing on Marcus Winters, she shook his hand as she introduced herself. “Special Agent Alex Sykes. Thank you for the kind welcome and, yes, my trip was uneventful.”
She’d flown into the Keaton Airport in Silver Springs, a private airfield owned by Angelina Keaton-Graham, FBI Special Agent Jackson Graham’s sister-in-law. She’d realized then just how close those connections Cooper had spoken of that were unrelated to the case, but being into play, really were. Jackson Graham was one of Cooper’s top agents. He was also married to Mallory Stone, another of Cooper’s top agents and Special Agent Cameron Stone’s sister.
“Did my brother take a few minutes to show you around the island?”
“He tried, but I declined his offer. He was kind enough to take my luggage to the cottage he said the two of you reserved for me. I asked him to bring me straight here.”
“I suppose you’re eager to jump in. I won’t hold you back any longer.” Marcus released her hand, turned toward the three men, and continued the introductions. “Sheriff John Cabelly and his deputies, Drake Palmer and Rhett Letson.”
Not yet ready to meet Drake’s or Rhett’s gazes head-on, she started with the sheriff. Cooper had told her John Cabelly was a former Navy SEAL. No doubt about it, the man definitely looked the part. He got to his feet, though he didn’t move from his end of the table, and she got a better look at his frame. An assessing glance told her he was about five foot ten inches of solidly toned muscles. He looked at her through a set of light blue eyes in a warrior-hardened face topped by white-blond hair.
“Thank you for coming, Special Agent Sykes.”
“Alex is fine, Sheriff.”
His lips twitched in a hint of a smile. “Then call me John.” He gestured to the chair in front of her. “Please, have a seat.”
Though she’d rather stand, she decided there was no reason to come across as being difficult. He waited until she was seated before he sat back down and propped his elbows on the table.
“It’s my understanding you, Palmer, and Letson are already acquainted.”
It took every molecule of stoic control she possessed not to re
act to that statement. Rhett and Drake had told the sheriff they knew her? Okay, so that wasn’t a big deal. Hell, the sheriff could’ve put that together himself if he’d checked into her employment background. Rhett and Drake had been detectives at the New Orleans PD at the same time she’d been employed there. It stood to reason they would be acquainted.
“Yes, sir, we are, though it’s been a few years.” And her time was now up. She couldn’t put off looking at either of them any longer. A small, subtle difference in the set of Drake’s shoulders drew her attention to him first.
“Deputy Palmer.” She purposely called him by his rank and last name, determined to hold onto her composure despite the instant burn that ignited in her pussy.
Holy hormones, how could she have forgotten how incredibly sexy he was? She liked the new length to his ash-brown hair, so much so that she curled her fingers into fists on the table in an attempt to stop the tingling need to touch the satiny strands. The longer hair gave him an even more dangerous edge than he’d had five years ago. And Drake Palmer was dangerous wrapped in a six-foot-three package of drool-worthy sex appeal. Green eyes the color of leaves on a summer day looked back at her, but rather than the warmth she’d always seen in them, she saw a coldness that brought goose pimples to the surface of her flesh.
A muscle ticked in the strong line of his jaw and his lips parted long enough to return her purely professional greeting before thinning again. “Agent Sykes.”
Though he kept his expression carefully blank, she sensed his anger at her and knew he had every right to feel it. She’d walked out without saying good-bye. She’d led him and Rhett to believe she would be in town for another week before leaving for Virginia and had ignored their attempts to reach her. Running from them the way she’d done had been the most cowardly act she’d ever done. She still hated herself for running the way she had even though she was as convinced now as she had been then that it was the only way.
Safe and Deputized with Ecstasy [The Heroes of Silver Island 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 5
