He swallowed.
“So, Mr. Hunter, the storm is coming. The bull’s-eye is painted on the White House. Are you willing to bet your wife is clueless? Or are you smart enough to know better?”
Ethan could have kissed her.
She was playing this exactly how he would have. Keeping it from being personal cleared both of them. Marcus would have to come clean or risk it. That took the pressure off of them and put the culpability on him.
It was his choice.
His show.
His rodeo.
“As for this questioning, you’re free to go. I have nothing more at this time. Anything else that I feel is pertinent to this case excludes you. If that changes, I’ll let you know.”
She walked out.
“Ethan?” he asked.
He stopped him.
His wife had kept her part of the deal. Yes, she made him squirm, but she interviewed him in-house, and wasn’t going to walk up to Marylou and rat him out. That was what Marcus bargained for, and that was what he got.
Period.
“You asked me to tell her NOT to tell your wife. She isn’t doing that. She’s doing her job. You can’t possibly be asking her to blow this case to save your marriage.”
He was sweating.
“Who matters more?” he asked. “Your wife or your mistress? That’s where the choice lies. You said Landry is that one woman who you can’t control yourself around. She’s not married anymore. If you really think she loves you, and you don’t love Marylou, then make that choice. We are not involved.”
The man was still sweating.
“As for our working relationship, this outcome is now controlled by you. We’re clear. The US Marshals and the FBI have no bad blood. My wife gave you an out. You have to decide if you want to use it.”
He stood.
“I need to go home.”
Yeah, he really should.
“And from friend to friend?” he asked.
“Yes?”
“I don’t envy your choices. This is bad for everyone involved, Marcus. Your wife, your children, you, and the First Lady.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yes?”
“Would you ever have an affair?” he asked.
He didn’t have to think.
“Yes.”
“Really?” he asked.
“Certainly. If I was married to someone else and met Elizabeth, I would have known she was the one. For that, I would risk a marriage. While my brother is stronger than I am, and wouldn’t break his vows, for that woman who just left? I’d break them and burn in Hell for it.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
Yeah, and that was only one of his problems.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Forty Minutes
Later
She knew too much.
That was the reason she had to die. The woman knew and saw the things that needed to be hidden.
If she ran her mouth…
Yeah, so many people would be hurt by what would come out.
That couldn’t happen.
So many already had been damaged, hurt, and broken by his sick ways.
So, walking into the strip club, Black Magica was strutting her stuff.
With a wave, they made eye contact. Once her attention was refocused, there was a plan. Pointing at the exit, Black Magica got the hint.
There was no doubt she saw dollar signs. That was the ONLY reason she would leave the stage.
Well, that was perfect.
Outside, by the dumpster, she was there.
“What’s going on?”
“Who have you told about his sex parties? What have you told people?”
She laughed.
“No one! He said to keep it quiet. I did my part of the deal. He’s dead now. I saw the news. I bet people would love to know who they voted for too.”
Well, there it was.
Black Magica was going to try to play that game. The common whore had no morals.
Well, it was decided.
She was going to die before, but now…
Yeah, now, she was going to have to meet her maker in anger. There was no doubt that there was no way to keep her quiet.
Pulling out the baton, it was time.
“Wait! What are you doing?” she asked, seeing the weapon.
There was no answer. Instead, she was hit so hard that she fell backward. Her teeth exploded from her mouth, and she gasped in pain.
The baton hit her again.
And again.
And again.
The wailing continued, and when she was dead, she was lifted up, tossed into the large dumpster, and left to be found.
Then, like duty called, the killer slipped away into the night.
All the loose ends were tied up.
The man who did the deed.
The hooker and stripper who had a role in the rape, playing his sick game.
And the woman who turned a blind eye.
It was done.
And now, it was time to hide and help the damaged heal.
With love.
Chapter Fifteen
Harmony’s House
Wednesday
S he invited him into her home for the second time, and he wasn’t stupid. This was a gift, and he knew it. Max was going to spend as much time with her as possible. There was something about the woman that made him a jumbled-up puddle of nerves. She tied him in knots.
“Do you like burgers?” she asked.
He tried not to act like a bumbling idiot.
“Uh, what man doesn’t?” he asked, putting all of their investigative tools on her dining room table. When Elizabeth said they could work anywhere, they picked her place.
It was roomy.
It was private.
It was good for him.
“You didn’t eat any pizza,” he said. “Are you hungry?” he asked. “I’ll make you something, or I can run out and get you food.”
That had her attention—the first part.
“Do you cook?”
“Yes. I come from a single-parent home. When my mom worked late, and my dad, the short time I had him in my life, had to work, too, I had to eat.”
“I happen to think men who can cook are sexy. Want to prove it?” she asked. Already, she thought he was sexy as hell. The way he doted on her, protected her, and followed her around was so damn sweet. It gave her that warm feeling in her belly.
AND lower.
He laughed.
“What’s funny?” she asked.
“You confuse the hell out of me.”
“How?” Harmony asked.
“I look at you, and I see this woman who I know could kick my ass, but I also want to hover all over you until I keep you safe. I know it’s totally sexist, but I can’t help myself. Now I want to dazzle you with my cooking skills.”
Then he realized that admitting that to her might be a very bad thing. She was watching him.
Oh, shit!
“I just screwed this up, didn’t I?” he asked.
Oh, quite the opposite.
“No, not at all. Today, I feel very alone. I feel like I’m lost, and right about now, I’d love to have someone anchor me to them. I don’t know what to think about you either, Maximus. You confuse me too.”
That was a damn good thing, and he knew it.
He moved toward her.
“I meant what I said. I’m going to stick close. I want to make sure you’re safe. I want to make sure that you’re not in danger, Harmony. I want to protect you.”
She stared up at him, his body so close to hers. Gently, she placed her palms on his chest. His heart hitched beneath her hands, and hers did the same.
“Let me show you how it should be,” he said.
Max let it sit there.
It had to be her choice.
“So, protect me.”
He wrapped his arms around her body, holding her to him. The way she
felt against him made his whole body come alive.
She felt amazing.
He held her, and she couldn’t help but feel like this was what she’d been missing. She’d been missing him.
“We should work,” he said, huskily. If he didn’t set her free, he was going to do something insane. The scent of her perfume was making it hard to think.
“I don’t know if I can focus on work. I am a little hungry.”
Yeah, for him.
“Want me to cook?” he asked. “Lead me to your kitchen, and I’ll dazzle you.”
She grabbed her laptop so she could work and watch him. Well, mostly watch him. Harmony enjoyed the way he rolled up his sleeve as she pointed at the refrigerator.
Then he grabbed things from it, pulled off his tie, and got down to business.
She’d never seen anything sexier.
Max had grabbed an apron and put it on over his clothes. His strong arms were visible from beneath his dress shirt, and she couldn’t help but stare.
God!
She was insanely wild about him.
“How do you like your burger?” he asked, massaging the meat and adding spices from her spice rack.
“Medium.”
“Me too.”
He wasn’t really hungry, but he’d eat just to spend some time with her. As he worked on the burgers, she worked.
BULLSHIT.
He could feel her eyes on him.
It made him hard.
Thank God for the apron.
“How many women have you cooked for?” she asked out of curiosity.
“Two,” he said, “My mother, and a girl I wanted to impress in college.”
“Did it work?”
God knew she was impressed.
“Not really. She wanted into my pants.”
She started laughing.
The thing with Maximus Chase was that you didn’t know what he was going to say. He went from serious to teasing in a heartbeat, without warning, and he said it so deadpan that you still weren’t sure.
“You had to feel cheap,” she teased.
“Very. It wouldn’t have worked out in the end. It was a short stint. She wasn’t my type.”
That intrigued her.
“What’s your type?” she asked.
“I need an independent woman. My mother was one, and I liked that even after my dad died, she was tough. That toughness comes from someone who has been knocked down and still gets up again.”
She listened.
“I also seem to be attracted to the kind of woman who is ballsy. I’m intrigued that on a daily basis, you go through doors ready to be shot. That’s terrifying and sexy.”
She smiled.
“You did save me on our one adventure,” he admitted. “I haven’t forgotten that.”
“Want some wine?” she asked.
“The last time, I gave you a bath with it. Do you think it’s safe?” he teased.
She loved his smile. There was such warmth and calm in it. That rocked her to her core. With Max, he was steady.
Reassuring.
Sturdy.
Yeah, he was her type.
It made her heart skip when she realized it.
“I think I can handle it. I’ve learned to bob and weave with you, Maximus.”
He winked.
“Always sexy. In that case, I could use a glass.”
Harmony went to the wine chiller and pulled out a bottle of Pinot Noir. She worked on the cork and poured two large glasses for them.
“Trying to get me drunk?” he asked.
She laughed.
“I think it’s more about trying to forget today and the last couple of days.”
He kept watching her.
“Everything that’s happened the last couple of days? Was anything worth it?” he asked, talking about them.
“There was one redeeming part of this week. He’s making me a burger.”
That was the best thing he’d heard.
Max formed the patties, popped them in the grill pan, and washed his hands. Then he grabbed the wine.
She stopped him.
“To you, Maximus Chase. To a man who makes me smile, isn’t afraid to allow me to go through doors, and can wear an apron without having his ego dented up.”
He glanced down.
“I look good in pink. Don’t forget that, Harmony,” he added much to her amusement.
“Yeah, you do.”
“So do you, Harmony.”
Her heart skipped as he watched her.
“How did you know I liked pink? That first day, when you sent me the flowers. How did you know?”
“I wish it was some amazing man skill or flower radar, but Elizabeth told me.”
He didn’t lie.
She appreciated that.
“Why did you ask me out, Maximus? Why me? Out of all of the women in DC, why me?”
Where to begin?
“You have amazing eyes that make me think of so many romantic things, and you have a nice ass.”
She laughed again.
“You don’t lie, do you?”
“Not really. There’s a time to lie, and there’s a time to be honest. Right now, I feel like honesty is the way to your heart.”
He stopped talking.
“I mean...”
“Stop. You’re right. It is. I can’t be with someone I can’t trust.”
He needed to know.
“Why did you let him go?” he asked, referring to Scott. “Why did you let him go if you loved him?”
“Because I couldn’t fight for us both. Sometimes, Max, you need someone to fight for you. You need someone to do the legwork. He walked. I needed someone at that moment who wouldn’t bail on me.”
“I wish I was here. I would have stayed with you, Harmony. I would have healed you.”
Only, there was one huge issue.
“I would have pushed you away.”
“Then, I would have fought for you. When you see something worthwhile, you work for it. I was the youngest detective in Boston. I worked hard at it.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-seven in two days.”
“I’m older than you. WAY older than you, Max.”
That made him curious.
“How old are you? Are we talking crypt keeper with a really good moisturizer, or are we talking early thirties?”
She snorted.
“The latter.”
“And? What does a number have to do with it?” he asked. “What does that number mean in the grand scheme if two people connect?”
God!
He had a point.
For someone so young, there was such wisdom. Max got her, and she connected with him.
“I guess nothing.”
“Humor me. Put a number on it,” he stated.
“Thirty-two.”
“Oh my God! You’re a cougar. So hot.”
She laughed.
He flipped the burgers.
“When this case is over, Harmony, I’d like to further our relationship, if that’s all right with you. I would like to keep seeing you.”
Oh, she wanted that too. Harmony had never wanted anything more than that moment. She could see herself with Max. She could really find this happiness with him every day.
“Will you cook dinner for me?” she asked.
“Can we eat steak and burgers? I can cook, but it’s limited,” he said, feeling that excitement rising.
“Can you toss in pasta?”
“Yes.”
“Okay,” she stated.
“You’ll date me?”
She smiled.
“Yes, I’d like that, Maximus Chase.”
He moved closer to her.
“May I kiss you?”
She stared up into his eyes. No man had ever asked her before doing it. There was something so sexy about that. He was being a gentleman.
She lacked that in her life. She hung with other cops. They tended to be rude, crass
, and treat her like one of the boys. She wanted to be a girl in the worst way.
“You can kiss me anytime you want. I really like it. You’re not the only one who likes honesty, Max.”
His heart thumped.
“That works for me.”
Max pulled her mouth to his, and their lips sealed together. Then they opened, and the kiss deepened as her arms wrapped around his neck.
Max sighed.
There was that happiness. He’d chased it for years, and here it was.
With her.
When he set her lips free, she was watching him. His face was mired in so many emotions.
“What do you want, Max? You look like you need something.”
Oh, she didn’t know that half of it.
“You can say that.”
Harmony held onto him. “What do you want to do about it?” she asked.
“I want you, Harmony. I’m not hungry for burgers. I’m hungry for you.”
Her heart skipped.
“Maximus,” she said, enjoying how he was watching her. There was something sexy about that gaze. The way he always wrapped himself around her, protecting her, and it made her insane.
It was a gift.
She had always wanted to feel alive again, and it was happening. Harmony still couldn’t believe that she’d been given a second chance.
Scott ran.
Max wouldn’t.
It gave her butterflies.
“Where?” she asked.
Max would take her on the wing of a plane if offered. He wasn’t particular, but there was one thing he loved.
Bed.
Max liked sex in her bed. It smelled like her, it felt like her, and it made him feel permanent.
“Let’s go to bed, Harmony,” he said, his voice thick with need.
She loved that idea.
“Turn off the burgers.”
He did.
“Lose the apron.”
He did.
She took his hand and led him up the stairs. The entire time, she knew he was watching her. It heated her blood.
In the room, they stood there, face-to-face.
“Fast romp or sexy fun?”
He laughed.
“I can’t lose with either.”
She picked the later.
Moving toward him, she reached for his belt. Max held his breath. When she removed his gun and badge, placing it on the nightstand, he loved how that looked.
All the King's Henchmen Page 56
