From Sanctum With Love (Masters and Mercenaries Book 10) (37 page)

The minute she hit the stain on the floor she realized why Mia had told her to stop. Something had spilled and for the second time that night, Kori felt herself sliding and falling to the floor.

“Damn it.” She was going to sue. She was going to sue whoever thought it would be cool to coat the bathroom in…what the hell was that?

She started to push herself up, and that was when she realized she wasn’t alone on the floor. Lena was lying across from her, a gaping hole in her neck, her eyes staring at Kori with absolutely nothing to illuminate them.

She heard someone scream and then the lights seemed to fade to black.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Kori shivered as she looked around the small, utilitarian room. She glanced up at the clock. Two a.m. How the hell had it gotten to be two in the morning? She was supposed to be asleep by now, cuddled up in Kai’s arms. All her friends were supposed to be happy because she’d worked hard to make sure they got what they needed.

They weren’t supposed to be sitting in a chilly interrogation room.

“Why are we here?” Sarah asked. “If they think we did something wrong, shouldn’t they split us up?”

Kori looked over at Sarah, who sat beside her. “They took Mia away. Maybe they’ll come and take us one at a time to somewhere else.”

Sarah kicked off her shoes. “Are you all right? Because you look like hell.”

“Thanks so much.” Naturally Sarah looked damn near perfect. Her hair was still silky and smooth, and the woman knew how to set makeup so it lasted forever.

Kori had caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror when they’d allowed her to clean herself up. She looked like shit.

Sarah’s hand slid over hers. “I’m sorry. I’m worried about you. You’ve barely said a word since the police showed up. Why wouldn’t you talk to Kai?”

She’d hoped Sarah hadn’t seen that single exchange with her ex-boyfriend. Should she call him that? Did he count as an ex when everything he’d done had been to manipulate her to the point that he gained access to her friends?

The door opened and Kori was grateful because she wasn’t ready to answer that question yet.

Please, let me talk to you. Let me explain,
Kai had said, his eyes pleading with her, his mouth against her ear.

She’d looked up at him.
Tell me you didn’t do it.

He’d simply stared and she’d walked away, and a few minutes later she’d found herself being taken to this police station and giving a statement as to how she’d found the body. She’d expected to be let go, but they’d been left here for hours.

“Good evening, ladies.” The man was tall and well built, dressed in an immaculate suit. Even at this time of night, he looked well rested, energetic even. He had dark hair and piercing eyes that seemed to look right through her. “My name is Ethan Rush.”

“You’re a fed, right?” Kori asked, the words feeling dull in her mouth.

“How do you know that?” Sarah asked. “He could be a lawyer. Do we need a lawyer? Are we in some sort of trouble? When I got coffee ten minutes ago, I could swear I saw a couple of guys from the club walking around. Mitch and Harrison. They’re lawyers, right? Are you their friend?”

“No,” Rush said, still looking at Kori. “I’m Special Agent Rush with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I believe you’ll find the lawyers aren’t here for you.”

“Did Kai call them?” She’d known he was a fed from the suit and how he handled himself. At this time of night most police officers looked as haggard as she did. The detectives who’d come out on call to the club had worn suits, but not one as expensive as this man’s. She would bet he had money on the side, money that hadn’t come from the FBI.

“Yes.” Rush set a folder in front of them and settled his big body across the table. “And neither one of you is in trouble.”

“But Kai is?” Sarah sounded a little panicked.

Kai was in a lot of trouble. Kai was in trouble Kori would never have suspected, but then she was a very dumb girl. Always so dumb. “What do you need from the two of us? I already gave a statement.”

“Yes, you gave a very brief statement about finding the body. I need to know more. I need to know what went on tonight with Lena and the rest of the group. Lena’s body was found within an hour of her murder according to the medical examiner. I need to account for everyone’s movements during that period.”

She was so damn numb. Shouldn’t she care more that Lena was dead? It was like discovering Kai’s betrayal had left her utterly hollow and nothing could quite reach her. “Check the security cameras.”

“Kori?” Sarah leaned in. “We should be more helpful.” She looked up at the special agent. “I’ll tell you everything I remember, but I was on the dance floor for most of that time. I know Lena walked away shortly before I left. She’d been arguing with that guy. One of the brothers. Brad or Tad. Have you talked to them?”

“They’re being questioned even as we speak. Why don’t you go and grab another cup of coffee. I need to speak with Ms. Williamson alone.”

“Maybe she should have a lawyer.” Sarah’s hand was shaking this time when she placed it over Kori’s.

Obviously whatever Rush had to say, he wanted it to be for her ears only. It was time to start protecting her friends. She’d done a fucking poor ass job of it up until now. She’d never seen the web they’d stepped into until the spider had come out all ready for dinner. Kori gave Sarah what she hoped was a confident smile. “I’ll be fine. I don’t need a lawyer. Special Agent Rush knows I didn’t horribly murder anyone.”

“Ms. Williamson is not a suspect,” Rush affirmed. “She is, however, a very important witness. There’s an officer outside who will take your statement and record anything you can remember. Thank you so much. I’ll be done with your friend very soon and you’ll be free to go home.”

“Okay.” Sarah picked up her shoes and gave Kori a pat on the back. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

The door closed and she looked at Rush. “Say what you need to say.”

Rush’s sensual lips quirked up. “Tough girl, huh? It’s funny because I happen to know you aren’t a McKay-Taggart agent, but you sure behaved like one tonight. That statement you gave was very careful. Normally witnesses to a murder are all over the place. Their statements are difficult to follow because they haven’t processed yet. Not yours. You were careful, as though you knew someone you cared about would be accused of the crime and you wanted to mitigate any damage you might do.”

Jared. Kai’s brother would be looked at. If Mia had managed to gather that much information, it stood to reason someone else would, too. Hell, the very presence of the FBI led her to believe they’d likely been watching Jared. “Why are the feds here so soon?”

If this wasn’t a serial case that crossed state lines, there would be no feds. This should be handled by the DPD. The body wasn’t even cold yet but here was a guy in a suit. She’d done enough research to know when and where the feds would be called in. Likely the Rangers would be called in if the murder case was big enough or crossed county lines, or the locals weren’t equipped to handle them. The Texas Rangers acted like a state bureau of investigations for Texas. The FBI would only be called in for special reasons.

Like the search for an international serial killer.

Was all of this about hiding something Jared had done? How well did she truly know him? He was sweet and funny and charming, but then she suspected Ted Bundy had probably been, too.

“What do you know about Jared Johns?” Rush asked, obviously getting down to interrogation mode.

She shrugged. “He showed up last week. I’ve spent some time with him. He’s living at my office right now. That sounds weird. Uhm, you see my boss owns the building and his office is downstairs and he lives upstairs.”

“Your boss or your boyfriend? Or is he better described as both?”

She felt herself flush. Some exhibitionist she was. It was funny how she could be naked in front of a crowd at Sanctum and it didn’t bother her at all, but having someone know her emotions made her feel so damn vulnerable. Still, it was apparent that he knew what was going on. “Kai and I have a relationship outside of work.”

Had, she amended silently.

“Did you know he had a brother? How often did he talk about him?”

She shook her head. “Never. I didn’t know about Jared until he showed up.”

“Do you think he would cover for his brother?”

“I don’t know.” She would have said no. Absolutely not. She would have said Kai was incapable of protecting a killer. But then they came to the problem of Mia and her phone. What other reason could he have? Mia was investigating Jared. Case and Kai had worked very hard to figure out a way to bug Mia’s phone. The only reason Kori could think of was they wanted to know how much Mia had figured out. “They aren’t close. I can’t tell that Kai has anything but negative feelings for him.”

Which would be a good front to put on if he wanted to help his brother get away with murder.

Had she really thought that? It was inconceivable. That wasn’t Kai. But then she would have said Kai wouldn’t use her, wouldn’t manipulate her emotions in order to get what he wanted and then dump her.

I’m happy to help, but this stuff with Kori has to stop. It makes me sick. I can’t keep this up.

Sleeping with her made him sick.

“Would you cover for your boyfriend? Would you allow his brother to go free?”

She wanted to go home. “I don’t know anything.”

Rush flipped open the folder, turning it so the photos were facing her. “This is why I’m here. These women are why I’m here, and I want to make sure you don’t allow your soft heart to aid and abet the man who killed them. Kori, I’m here to make sure you’re not next, that your friend Sarah isn’t next.”

She looked down and her stomach flipped. The women in the photos were all dead, their vacant eyes staring up. They’d all been stabbed like Lena had been. Kori couldn’t forget the way the white shirt Lena had been wearing had turned to a bloody color, the way it smelled.

There were so many of them. So many.

She couldn’t help it.

“There’s a trash can to your right, sweetheart,” Rush said.

She stumbled out of her seat and dropped to her knees, emptying the contents of her stomach into the can. She could hear Rush at the door calling for someone as she heaved.

Who could do that? She’d worked on movie sets and they always laughed as they poured blood on the “dead” actress, who usually joked and complained the whole time. She’d played around with retractable knives and goofed off with prop guns.

This was real. Those girls were dead. Mia’s friend was one of them. Someone had stabbed her over and over and left her behind like she was nothing more than trash to be picked up.

She didn’t know Jared. She didn’t know Kai the way she thought she did. She would have said Kai wouldn’t hurt a fly, would never do anything secretive. How could she think she knew Jared if she didn’t even know the man she’d fallen in love with?

An emptiness swept through her. How could she know anyone if she couldn’t know Kai? He’d been everything to her.

Maybe this time she would go somewhere and be truly alone. She had some money saved. There were places she could go where no one could ever touch her again.

“Here.” Rush stood over her, a washcloth in his hand. “When you’re ready, I’ve got a cold soda for you. It should settle your stomach.”

She took the cloth and ran it over her face. It was cold and it seemed to seep into her skin. She rose, refusing Rush’s hand up.

She was alone now.

Kori made it back to the table. Loyalty had kept her mouth shut, but there was something more going on now. Those girls were real.

“Kori, when we found Jared, he was with Sarah,” Rush said, his voice gentler than before. “He’d taken her to a private room. I don’t know what would have happened if we hadn’t gotten there in time. There might have been two victims.”

She still wasn’t sure it was Jared. Her heart ached at the thought, but she shoved it aside. Her heart was a stupid thing.

Justice. That was all that was important now.

“I’ll start at the beginning of the evening. Jared had a limo pick us up. Me and Jared and Kai.” She settled back and began her story.

* * * *

“What the hell is taking so long?” Kai demanded as he paced.

He’d been separated from Kori for hours. Every minute that dragged by was a minute too long. What the hell was happening and why were they being detained by the police? There was zero question in Kai’s mind that this was a detention. Oh, there might not be a lock on the door, but he suspected if he or Jared tried to leave, they would be stopped and quickly.

“I don’t know.” Jared sat in one of four metal seats, his head in his hand. “I can’t believe she’s dead. I didn’t see her. You did. Are you sure it was her? Maybe it was some other woman.”

“It was her.” He’d never forget the sight. He’d run in at the sound of Kori’s scream, and for a moment he’d thought it was Kori’s blood that coated the floor. For a moment he’d thought something horrible had happened to his Kori, and his life had stopped. He’d fallen to his knees, ready to do anything to save her when he’d caught sight of Lena out of the corner of his eye. She’d been laid out in the largest of the stalls, likely falling where she’d been murdered. She’d been on her side, her knees close to her chest, so Kai could believe she’d tried to protect herself.