The Investigator: Norcross Series

by Hackett, Anna

  “Hi, Gia,” Harry called out.

  “Hi, Harry,” Gia replied. “You still fabulous?”

  “Always. So, I quietly asked some friends about Alek Volkov.”

  “And?” Rhys prompted.

  “He’s having a party at his big, faux-Mediterranean mansion in Sea Cliff tonight. Black-tie.”

  Haven gasped. “You think it’s the auction?”

  “No,” Harry said. “It’s a little pre-auction thing. To gauge interest.”

  Gia tapped a fingernail against her lips. “To see who’s willing to cough up to buy a stolen painting.”

  “Now, I went one step further.” Harry paused dramatically.

  “Harry,” Haven prompted.

  “I got you an invite to the party!”

  Rhys stiffened.

  Haven grinned. “You’re amazing.”

  “Baby doll, thing is, it’s just for you. No guest. And security will be tight.”

  “No.” Rhys’ jaw clenched. He was not letting her go to this guy’s place alone.

  She spun and pressed her hands to Rhys’ chest. “Rhys, I have to go. It’s our only strong lead to finding the painting.”

  “Don’t care.”

  “Rhys. Easton’s out millions of dollars.”

  He cupped her cheek. “He has more. I care about keeping you safe.”

  Her face softened and Gia made a sound.

  Rhys glanced over and his sister waved a hand at them. “Don’t mind me. Small emotional moment.”

  “Oh, me too.” Harry’s voice from the phone. “That one’s a keeper, Haven.”

  “I have to do this,” Haven whispered.

  “No,” Rhys bit out.

  “I’ll wear a wire. You’ll be right outside.”

  She didn’t understand that things could go to hell in an instant. He’d seen it happen on far too many missions. Seen people die.

  She could die before he even got to her.

  “Rhys, please.” Her blue eyes were pleading. “It isn’t just about getting Easton’s money back. It’s about preserving an amazing piece of art, a piece of history. And it’s also about taking charge of my life. Logically, I know I’m not to blame for the theft, but I still feel responsible. I want to sort out this mess and recover the painting, so I can be free and clear of all of this.”

  Fuck. “You’ll wear a mic. No risks.”

  Her smile was beaming. “I’ll go in, see what I can find, then get out.”

  “This Volkov might know who she is,” Gia said quietly. “The art world isn’t a huge one, right?”

  “If he confronts me, I won’t lie,” Haven said. “I’ll tell him that I want the painting back.”

  Shit. Fuck. This was too dangerous, but Rhys couldn’t see any other way to find the painting. And if he said no, Haven might sneak out and go to Volkov’s anyway.

  She touched his jaw, stroked. “I know you don’t want this.”

  “That is an understatement.”

  He dropped his forehead to hers. “What time is the party?”

  “Eight o’clock,” Harry said.

  She smiled. “Thank you for helping me do what I need to do.”

  “We need to get prepped.” Rhys wanted the Norcross team outside the building. Maybe he could sneak someone inside.

  “Haven, you need a fabulous dress for this,” Gia said. “Let’s get searching.”

  * * *

  Haven tried on another dress that Gia had picked. She was standing in a large, plush change room in Nordstrom.

  The long, black, slinky dress was nice, but not the one.

  “Here.” Gia stuck her head through the curtain, holding another dress.

  “Hey, I’m naked here.” Haven was only in her panties.

  “I’ve seen it all before. And I have boobs, too.”

  With a snort of amusement, Haven took the dress and Gia disappeared again. This one was a gorgeous, deep-green silk. She pulled it on.

  Ooh.

  It was a long, liquid column, with tiny spaghetti straps that crisscrossed into a complicated design at the back. The color was beautiful. Gia had a good eye.

  Her friend’s head reappeared and her eyes widened. “Stunning. I knew that color would look good on you.”

  Haven had never done this before. Her mom had died when Haven was young, and she’d never had someone to giggle with over clothes. “Thanks, G.”

  Gia blew her a kiss.

  A second later, Rhys slid through the curtain into the change room.

  “Hey, you shouldn’t be in here.” She met his gaze in the mirror.

  His big body moved in behind her. The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up, and those tattooed, muscled forearms made her want to weep with need.

  His hot gaze ran over her slowly, setting off tingles through every part of her.

  “Rhys,” she breathed.

  He pushed right up behind her and dropped a kiss to her shoulder. She watched them in the mirror.

  His hand touched her thigh, and slid her dress slowly upward. His lips moved to her neck, his tongue touching the mark he’d left there.

  Oh, God.

  Haven was on fire in an instant. His hand slid up under the dress, and a second later into her panties.

  “I don’t want anyone to see you in this dress.” He found her clit and rolled it.

  Haven writhed and bit her lip.

  “They will,” he continued. “But no one will see you like this. No one will touch you like me.”

  Her belly filled with liquid heat, her legs felt like jelly. Then he pulled his hand away and she made a small cry.

  “Uh-uh. You’re teasing me in all these sexy dresses, so no orgasm for you.”

  She ground her ass against the hardening bulge in his trousers. “Rhys.”

  He dropped the dress and it fell to her feet again. He gripped her hips. “Be good, naughty girl. You can be naughty later. Saxon’s here to discuss things about a different case. I’ll be outside.”

  He slid out of the change room and Haven let out a shuddering breath. God.

  Gia reappeared. “You need the right underwear to wear under that fabulous dress, and to drive a certain Norcross brother wild.” She hung a multitude of scraps of silk and lace on the hooks on the wall.

  “Thanks.” Haven studied the lingerie and smiled. She’d get her own revenge on Rhys.

  The curtain twitched again. “Oh no, Rhys, you’re not—”

  Leo stepped inside.

  Haven gasped. “You can’t be here.”

  His nose was swollen and he had bruises under one eye. “Haven, please—”

  “Just leave me alone, Leo.”

  He drew in a shuddering breath. “I know you don’t want to see me, but I do love you.”

  “If Rhys sees you, he’ll take you down. He’s not a big fan of yours.”

  Leo’s face twisted. “That dress for him?”

  “No, it’s for me. So I can sneak into a fancy party and find the painting that you had stolen from my museum.”

  Leo’s face darkened. “Haven, look—”

  The curtain wrenched open. All Haven saw was Rhys’ hard face, Saxon standing behind him.

  Oh, shit. “Rhys—”

  Her cry was cut off as Rhys grabbed Leo and yanked him out of the cubicle.

  Leo yelled, and Rhys shoved him to the ground.

  “Don’t hit me,” Leo cried.

  “Rhys,” Saxon warned.

  Haven raced out and saw startled, half-dressed women all looking out from the change rooms.

  “Rhys.” She hurried forward. “He’s not worth it. Please.”

  Rhys shifted back, and wrapped an arm around her. Saxon stepped forward and pressed a knee to Leo’s back. “Don’t move.”

  “I’m sorry for everything,” Leo spluttered. “I wanted to try to make it better. I wanted to tell you that I have a lead on the painting. They found a guy to authenticate it. I know who he is.”

  “God, I can’t believe this!” Anger spurte
d inside Haven.

  Rhys tugged her back. “Stand down.” He looked at Leo. “Name.”

  “Arthur Irvine.”

  Haven gasped. “But Mr. Irvine’s a lovely old man. He’s retired.”

  “He does off-the-books jobs,” Leo said.

  “I think Becker needs a visit to our holding rooms.” Saxon yanked him up.

  Gia appeared. “What is—?” She stared at the scene. “The douchebag ex, I presume?” Gia patted Haven’s arm. “You totally traded up, girlfriend.”

  “I’ll take Becker into the office,” Rhys said. “Sax, take Haven back to my place?”

  Saxon lifted his chin. “Sure.”

  God, Haven’s stomach turned jumpy. Was it a good idea to leave Rhys alone with Leo?

  “Rhys, why doesn’t Saxon—?”

  Angry brown eyes cut back to her. He was beyond pissed.

  “I have a few things to make clear to Becker,” Rhys said, tone deadly.

  “I love her,” Leo declared. “And she loved me—”

  “Actually, I never loved you, Leo.” Everything that had happened, everything that was going down with Rhys, it had her questioning everything she’d ever known.

  Something rippled over Leo’s face.

  “The past is done, Becker,” Rhys said. “It was my cock she came on this morning, and last night. She’s mine.”

  The raw words made Haven jolt. Wonderful, Rhys had just told the world that they were having sex. A lot of it.

  Leo scowled, fury burning in his eyes.

  Rhys spun, wrenching Leo’s arm up behind his back. “Let’s go. Feel free to cause trouble and make me punch you.” Rhys looked at Haven. “I’ll see you at home, angel. Stay with Saxon.”

  She nodded.

  Gia slid an arm around her. “Come on. Get changed, and we’ll buy that dress.”

  Haven pulled in a breath.

  “It’s a killer dress,” Saxon said. “I’m partial to green.” His gaze shifted to Gia’s green shirt.

  “Shoo.” Gia flicked her fingers. “We don’t need you hanging around, and Haven needs to change.”

  Sliding back into the change room, Haven put her clothes back on. They paid for the dress, and she said goodbye to Gia. Her friend and Saxon traded a few glares, then Haven headed with Saxon to his SUV.

  It was a quiet ride back to Rhys’. She was worried about him.

  “Rhys will keep it in check,” Saxon said. “The man is the king of control.”

  He wasn’t so controlled when they were in bed together. She licked her lips. “I just want this over with. I finally had my life on track, a job I love—”

  “Rhys will help you get there.”

  “After this, Rhys and I will be over, too.”

  Saxon laughed. He had a deep, sexy one.

  “What’s so funny?” she demanded.

  “Rhys isn’t going to let you go.”

  “He’ll lose interest.” She looked out the window. “He’ll move on.” She hunched her shoulders.

  “We talked a lot on missions.”

  She glanced over and saw that Saxon’s handsome face had hardened.

  “Some missions can push you to the edge, past your limits. Once, I was shot up badly.”

  Haven gasped. She hadn’t known. She wondered if Gia knew.

  “We were far from help. We got an evac point, but it was ten miles away. I could barely walk, and we had a bunch of bogeys between us and the helo.”

  Haven twisted her hands together.

  “Rhys carried me. He carried me every step, while Vander and the others on our team provided cover. He talked to me the entire time to keep me conscious. Said he hoped everything he did in service to his country earned him something sweet. Said that when he found the right woman, he’d burn the world down to hold on to her and keep her safe and happy.”

  God. A burn started inside Haven’s chest.

  “He also said he was happy to have a shit-ton of fun until he found her.” Saxon glanced over. “He’s one of the best men I know, Haven.”

  She just stared. So many emotions writhing inside her.

  Then her ringing phone cut in and she blinked. She looked at the screen. It was Rhys.

  “Hi,” she said.

  “Angel, just wanted to tell you that I got your ex in the holding room. No blood was shed.”

  Her fingers squeezed on her phone. “Okay. Good.”

  “You all right?” he asked.

  “Yeah, baby.”

  There was a long pause. “Baby. I like that. See you soon.”

  “Rhys… Thanks. For everything.”

  “You never have to thank me, angel.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Haven looked in the mirror. Her makeup was perfection, and the green dress was gorgeous. She’d left her hair loose, and it fell in waves around her shoulders. She looked like a million bucks.

  She just wished she was wearing it on a night out with Rhys, instead of to some criminal’s party.

  She’d borrowed some jewelry from Gia, and diamonds winked in her ears.

  All her own jewelry was gone. Her belly turned over, as she thought of her mom’s silver bracelet. It was the only thing of hers Haven had left, and now it was gone forever. She sighed. She’d always have her memories. Those could never be stolen or destroyed.

  Haven straightened. As she always did, she picked herself up and dealt with things. That was all she could do.

  She walked out of Rhys’ bathroom and found him in the bedroom, pacing.

  He looked up and his face changed. “Angel, you look stunning.”

  She blushed, and absorbed the hit of pleasure. “Thank you.”

  He was dressed all in black—black cargoes, a tight, long-sleeved, black T-shirt. She could see the ridges of his abs outlined under the fabric. He looked dark and dangerous.

  It was a reminder that tonight was dangerous.

  His hands gripped her arms. “You can do this.”

  She smiled. She knew he really didn’t want her to do this, but he was still giving her a pep talk to try and calm her nerves.

  “It helps knowing you’ll be right outside,” she said.

  He stroked his fingers along her cheekbone. “After, I’m going to bring you home and make love to you all night.”

  Tingles ignited through her body. “Sounds like a good deal to me.”

  “I’ve got something for you.”

  He grabbed a long, narrow black box off the bedside table.

  Her chest hitched.

  He flicked it open. Inside was a necklace. It had a delicate silver chain, with a teardrop diamond pendant.

  “Rhys,” she breathed.

  “I’ve never bought jewelry before, but I know that you lost all of yours. I saw this, and I imagined it against your beautiful skin.”

  She turned and lifted her hair so he could put the necklace on her.

  “It’s so beautiful,” she whispered, touching the diamond.

  He turned her to face him, then kissed her. His firm lips moved over hers and she pulled in the taste of him.

  “Don’t ruin my makeup,” she murmured against his lips.

  He smiled. He was so damn sexy. He kissed her again, long and deep. She was completely in a daze, and wanted to stay right there in his arms, all night.

  Then he lifted his head. “You might need to fix your lipstick, baby.”

  She nodded.

  “I have something else for you.” He held up a small, metallic box this time and flicked it open. “A microphone.”

  She peered in and saw the tiniest, thinnest mic she’d ever seen inside. “It’s tiny.”

  “Vander pays for the best and latest tech. Some of it is still experimental, and not available on the open market.”

  The tiny microdot was cream-colored, and would blend with her skin tone.

  “This adheres to your skin,” he told her. “No one will find it.”

  She nodded. He lifted the dot on the tip of his finger, then with his other hand, h
e nudged the V neckline of her dress down. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and as his gaze took in her breasts, fire ignited in his eyes. He ran the back of his hand against her breasts. She bit her lip, her nipples beading. “Rhys.”

  He pressed the small dot between her breasts. “There.”

  How was she supposed to concentrate on what she needed to do, when all she could think about was how much she needed Rhys?

  “Time to go,” he said.

  His serious tone made her desire stutter, her belly tangling with knots. She quickly slipped into the bathroom and fixed her lipstick, then headed out to the kitchen. She pulled up short.

  Holy cow. The mother lode of badass hotness stood in Rhys’ kitchen.

  Vander, Rhys, and Saxon were all dressed in near-identical, black outfits. They just needed guns strapped to them and she could picture them rappelling out of some stealth helicopter.

  She took another couple of steps, and spotted two more big, broad-shouldered men. One was Rome—the dark-skinned, green-eyed hunk she’d seen at Norcross. He met her gaze and nodded.

  Definitely the strong, silent type.

  She looked at the final man and blinked. It took her a second to realize that it was Easton.

  Sometimes she forgot that her boss was former military. He wore the mantle of successful businessman so well. Tonight, there was no designer suit. Instead, he wore black as well, and looked just as badass as the others.

  Rhys came to her and took her hand.

  “Haven, that dress was worth every penny,” Saxon said with a sexy smile.

  Rhys scowled at his friend, but Haven managed a smile.

  “We’ll test the microphone in the car,” Rhys said. “You have your invite?”

  She held up the heavy, cream invite that Harry had delivered to her. She slipped it into her small clutch, and lifted her chin. “I’m ready.”

  Something moved over Rhys’ face, and she thought it might be pride. She basked in the light of that as they left the apartment.

  They stepped into the elevator. “Rhys will act as your driver,” Vander said. “The rest of us will take position outside Volkov’s mansion.”

  Okay, it was good to know they’d all be there.

  “Don’t take any unnecessary risks.” Vander’s midnight-blue gaze bored into her.

  His dark, commanding tone made her swallow and nod. There was no way she’d dare disagree with him.