He hadn’t told me to leave, so I chose to stay.
“I heard the Steel Vipers were a dangerous crowd.” I cocked my head to the side and examined him from the tips of his black boots to the top of his coal-black hair.
Long strands fell forward over his eyes, the shaggy undercut meeting up with a five o’clock shadow that accentuated his strong jaw and jutting chin.
“If you heard that, why are you here?” His voice was a low growl that bordered on sinful.
I lifted one shoulder and let it fall like I couldn’t care less about the danger I might be in.
Truth be told, my heart had been threatening to burst since the moment he stood up from behind the thick mahogany desk covered in that same unique scrollwork I’d seen on the door.
It reminded me of something from an Edgar Allan Poe poem. “I have this problem where I don’t believe everything I hear. I like to find things out for myself. Take you, for example.”
Knowing my fellow detectives were listening in, I emphasized my next words. “Rafe Maddox, leader of the Steel Vipers. The papers call you a menace to society, the leader of a bikergang known to cause chaos and suspected of smuggling illegal substances.”
He remained completely silent, but he crossed his arms.
Defensive move or a sign of guilt?
I’d learned how to read body language, but Rafe gave off mixed signals that made it impossible to understand him. “I personally believe you’re not that bad.”
Would he believe the lie?
I had no thoughts one way or the other and chose to reserve judgment until I had facts.
But stroking a man’s ego usually helped them loosen up.
He took a single step toward me.
I’d never seen a man move with that kind of powerful grace.
It was beautiful and terrifying all at the same time.
He twirled his finger in a circle. “Let’s go.”
Confusion brought my eyebrows down. “Excuse me?”
He took me by the arm–in a surprisingly gentle way–and steered me around to face the door.
As soon as I turned away from him, his hand settled in the small of my back in a touch I felt all the way through my spine and into the pit of my stomach.
“You’re not kicking me out, are you? I swear I didn’t know that was your office.” I forced words out in a rush, plying him with a pleading look. “I’m really sorry for intruding, but I really need this story.”
I didn’t let myself think about what Captain Delaney might think of my next words. “My boss is a total ass, and he’s making me write this article. I want to do justice to the whole thing, you know? Anyone can write a shit piece that makes you out to be bad guys, but I want to know the truth.”
His fingertips dug into my skin an instant before his hand fell away. “Our reputation is far too excessive to be undone by one article.”
I forced my laugh to come out light and cheerful. “Then you’ve never read one of my articles.”
No one had.
Because I was a fucking detective and I’d never written a journal piece in my life.
Playing it cool became increasingly more difficult when Rafe loomed at my back.
His scent rushed over me when we passed an overhead vent that pumped hot air into the hallway.
If sin had a scent, it would be Rafe.
