The Men With the Golden Cuffs (5 page)

“What’s up, chief?” Adam had always had a bit of trouble with authority. Where Ian’s anger would make Jake more professional, it would bring out Adam’s sarcasm.

Jake sent Adam a stare. It was Jake’s “let me handle this” look. “I take it this is about the Serena Brooks case? We were planning on presenting it to the group in the morning.”

It was nothing less than the truth. He had all the notes on his laptop. He’d intended to go over everything later in the evening after he’d burned off some of his anger. He’d intended to run all of Serena’s information and have a perfectly polished PowerPoint presentation for the morning meeting. He’d planned on recommending that they take the case and then have Liam handle the whole thing.

He hated getting blindsided.

“Derek Anderson saved my life and the lives of three of my men, giving his own in the process. He was under my charge in Afghanistan. He was my responsibility. His sister was his only family. I owe her. She has asked me to do one thing in ten years. One fucking thing. She asked me to take care of her client who is being stalked and harassed. She asked me to take care of a single female in a professional fashion. Do you want to explain to me what the problem is?” No one in the whole world could ice over words the way Ian Taggart could.

“She did come in early,” Eve pointed out. “Not a one of us knew what was going on. You might have at least let Grace in on the situation.”

“I sent her an e-mail.”

Grace frowned, obviously not allowing Ian’s tone to intimidate her in the least. “Which I got about thirty minutes after Serena Brooks ran out of the office. Don’t you try to pin this one on me. I handled it the best way I knew how. The minute I found out she was dealing with a stalker, I called in Jake and Adam. They’re the close contact guys. They’re the only ones here who can do twenty-four seven since you put Liam on the Black case.”

Ian’s mouth turned down. “Well, the last information I have is that the bastard is in Europe. Liam has better contacts there than anyone else.”

“And I’ve contacted them. Now all we can do is be patient. But the big bastard here doesn’t do patient well. I can handle more than one case at a time. Especially when all I’m really required to do is keep my ear to the ground,” Liam complained.

Alex sat back in his chair, his hand scrubbing across his face. “I can handle it, especially if Liam can back me up.”

“Not the way we can,” Adam interjected. “And you have that corporate case you’re working on.”

Ian held out a hand and everyone shut up. “I always meant to put Jake and Adam on the case. Jake and Adam handle close contact, Eve profiles the asshole, and Liam can be the backup. From what I can tell, the cops assume this is a domestic dispute and are trying to stay out of it.”

Eve sat forward. The former FBI profiler pinned Ian with a stare. “Why do they think her husband is involved? Is there a history of violence? Do we have a file on him?”

Alexander McKay passed her a file folder. “I pulled together what I could after I talked to Ian. I knew you would be interested in this particular case. This is personal, more up your alley.”

Her warm brown eyes turned to her ex-husband. Jake didn’t know why the couple had broken up, but there was no doubting that they still cared. There was also no doubt that there was a wall between them. As Eve’s hand went for the file, she carefully avoided contact.

“What was your take on the husband?” Eve asked, her eyes sliding away from Alex’s.

Alex cleared his throat and sat up straighter, his usual professionalism back in full form. “I’m not half the profiler you are. I would rather you formed your own opinions. And he’s her ex-husband. They divorced years ago. He filed. She didn’t contest it.”

She started to flip through the file. “Then why would he start harassing her now? Especially if he’s the one who decided to leave?”

“That’s what’s thrown the cops off.” Ian finally took the seat at the head of the table. “Look, according to the cops, she’s somewhat suspicious.”

“Bullshit,” Adam said. “There was nothing suspicious about her.”

Jake thought about strangling his partner. He never knew when to shut up. He could practically hear Ian’s thoughts before he put them into words.

“Adam, don’t make me regret giving this to you. She is the client. Actually, she’s not the client. Lara Anderson is the client. Serena Brooks or Amber Rose or whatever you want to call her is to be handled carefully, and part of her handling is going to be figuring out what’s the truth and what’s complete fiction. She should know a little bit about fiction. She writes a bunch of it.”

“Are you trying to say she’s not trustworthy because she’s a writer? That’s ridiculous.” Grace looked ready to defend the author.

Ian held out a hand to stop her. “I’m saying she’s incredibly ambitious. The woman went from working part time at a retail store to publishing fifteen books in a two-year period. She learned the business very quickly. Lara said she’s never had a writer quite as prolific as Serena. She’s worked the whole e-publishing business to spectacular advantage, building a devoted following in a short period of time. A woman like that could use the publicity. Tell me, Grace, what is she known for? What types of books does she write? We all know it’s erotic, but there’s something more, isn’t there?”

Grace’s flushed face told Jake that Ian was right.

Ian shook his head in a brief arc. He wasn’t going to take silence for an answer. Ian rarely asked questions for which he wasn’t pretty damn sure of what the answer would be. “And what types of plots does she write?”

“Suspense.” Grace sighed. “She’s known for writing great suspense plots. Damn it, Ian, that doesn’t mean she’s making this up.”

“Has she ever written a stalker book?”

Grace’s head shook, but her words told the truth. “
Three Riders, One Love
. The heroine was being stalked. She ran to a small town and found her lovers there. But she’s also written serial killer books and books that feature Russian mafia hit men. They haven’t shown up in her life.”

Ian’s fingers drummed against the desk. “She’s very creative. This would make a great story. Aren’t all writers looking for a little publicity?”

“Then why hasn’t she publicized it?” Jake was a little surprised he’d said the words out loud. He’d intended to stay completely neutral, but those big green eyes were haunting him. Now that everyone else was leveling accusations, he felt a need to defend her a little.

Ian’s shoulder came up in a negligent shrug. “Maybe she’s waiting for the right time. I’m sure she has a book that will launch sometime soon.”

“Two weeks,” Grace said.

Eve looked Grace’s way. “Could you give me a list of her books? You can tell a lot about a writer from her work. Writers can be…unstable. They can also be wonderfully sane. Rather like the rest of the world. The good thing about writers is they usually give you a view of their soul, right there on paper. Well, in her case, on an e-reader.”

Ian frowned. “Just buy the books and expense it. That’s going to look great on our tax forms. Mommy Porn.”

“It’s not porn.” Grace practically fumed.

“You know what they say about porn, you know it when you see it.” Ian slapped his hand against the desk, a sure sign that they would be dismissed. “Start tonight, you two. And bring her into the office to meet with Eve tomorrow afternoon. And Adam, try not to sleep with her until we figure out whether or not she’s fooling us all.”

Adam gave him a snappy salute. “I will try, chief.”

Ian sighed as though he knew Adam wouldn’t try very hard. “Don’t fuck up.”

Jake sighed. At least he had his marching orders. Don’t fuck up. If only he hadn’t fucked up so brutally in the past, he might actually look forward to the assignment.

Adam couldn’t help the thrill of excitement he felt as Jake pulled the SUV into Serena Brooks’ drive. He hadn’t expected to see her again so soon—maybe not at all. He’d felt a connection to her the moment he’d seen her. He didn’t even want to deny it. He was naturally optimistic. The thing with Grace hadn’t worked out. She was happy with Sean. Adam was happy for her. Now it was his and Jake’s time to find what they needed. He had the strangest feeling Serena Brooks was it.

Her house was a neat little ranch-style house in a fashionable section of Dallas. It wasn’t Highland Park, but it was certainly upper middle class. According to his records, this wasn’t the home she’d shared with her husband.

Her yard was lush and green, the house set back amidst a small copse of old trees. There was a small patio at the front of the house with a little fountain. It was hidden by Spanish style walls and a gated entry that wouldn’t keep a three-year-old out. It was a lovely house, but tactically it was a bit of a nightmare.

“Fuck,” Jake said as he put the SUV in park. “I hope her backyard is bare.”

“Probably not. It’s more than likely as much of a nightmare as the front.” Adam knew what Jake objected to. There were far too many places to hide in that front yard. It wouldn’t be difficult at all to conceal a body in any number of places. The trees were huge. The porch itself was surrounded by lovely brick walls, covered in ivy. Adam was sure it was beautiful in the daylight, but in the gloom of night, all he could think was how easy it would be to hide there and attack the lovely homeowner as she searched for her keys.

“She parks in the driveway. That means she has to walk all the way across the yard. Anyone could walk right up to her and force her to let him in the house.” Jake’s low, angry voice gave Adam a tiny bit of hope. He wouldn’t be this upset if Serena Brooks hadn’t moved him in some way.

“We’ll obviously have to talk to her about some security protocols. She needs to park in the garage. Well, if she has a garage door opener. God, I hope she has one. And an alarm system.” Adam snapped the hold on his seatbelt. “That is if she doesn’t slam the door in our faces. What time is it anyway?”

“Almost ten. I doubt she’s gone to bed, but I intend to lecture her if she actually answers the door.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

Jake shrugged. “Then I’ll praise her for being smart after we’ve broken in and proven to her she doesn’t have enough security.” Even in the dark shadows, Adam could see that Jake’s face was set in stark lines. It was a bad sign. Adam knew his partner. Jake could be dangerous when he was on the edge.

Adam kept his tone light and easy, not wanting to feed Jake’s beast. “Come on. Hasn’t she been through enough? Shouldn’t we go a little easy on her?”

“I doubt this stalker, if there is one, will go easy on her. And if she’s playing us all, then it might do her some good to get a little scared.”

He was so fucking frustrating. Adam took a deep breath. How long was this going to go on? It had been over a year since they’d tried a long-term relationship. Adam had known almost immediately that Lila wouldn’t work out, but he’d been so sick of one-night stands that he’d held on for four months. “You know not every woman in the world is out to screw you.”

Jake turned back, his mouth a flat line. “And not every woman in the world is trustworthy. Can we figure out which one Serena Brooks is before we sacrifice another career for a woman?”

“Don’t you blame me for Jennifer. You found her. I didn’t even particularly like her.” He slammed the SUV door, hoping it would give the poor woman some warning that they were here.

Jennifer had been the reason they got their asses kicked out of the Army. Jennifer was the reason his family no longer spoke to him. He’d lost as much as Jake. It had been years, and the bitterness had faded. He still didn’t talk to his father or his brothers. He was still the first Miles in four generations to get kicked out of the Army. But he wasn’t going to give up on life.

Jake walked down to the end of the yard. He looked up and down the quiet street. There were cars in the driveways and at the curbs. No one would probably notice someone parked and watching.

“I bet she doesn’t know her neighbors past the ones on either side,” Adam commented. The world didn’t work like that anymore. Especially in an upscale neighborhood. These were two-income, highly ambitious families. They sent their kids to private schools and worked twelve-hour days.

“If she even knows those.” Jake pointed down the street. “Those lights are out. I wonder why they haven’t been fixed.”

“I’ll call the city tomorrow.” It would be first on a list of things he was going to have to do to make her home safer.

“And she doesn’t have motion sensor lights. We’ve been standing out here for five minutes. She should have called the cops by now.” Jake’s head shook in disappointment.

Adam looked back at the house. The shades had been drawn in the front. The house looked neat and tidily shut up. He strode up to the door. The gate opened, creaking slightly, but there was no movement inside the house. No one opened a shade to check outside. If she was listening, she hadn’t heard him. Her porch light was off, the small enclosed space locked in gloom. Even if she looked out the peephole, she wouldn’t be able to see the person requesting entry to her home. He sighed and rang the bell.