And if this situation with Cassie wasn’t so damned important, she’d abandon her computer and tackle him to the floor and have her way with him right here and now.“Unmasking Cassie’s stalker.”
“Hmm.”He kissed the side of her neck.Took mercy on her and moved up to her temple before studying the screen.“Find anything interesting?”
“Working on it.Or I was, until you came in.”
“Don’t let me stop you.Carry on.”
She didn’t usually like people watching her work.Even him.But Cassie was his employee, and he already knew everything related to what was happening.“Your smell is distracting me.”
“My smell?What do I smell like?”
“Edible.”
He made a low sound of approval and skimmed his fingertips down the other side of her neck.She squirmed slightly in her chair.The man was diabolical.“Stop that and let me do my thing.”
“I love watching you do your thing.It’s damned sexy.”
She smirked, appreciative that he recognized and admired her capabilities, tech and otherwise.Not that he’d seen all of them.There were certain ones she hoped never to have to use again, let alone in front of him.
Using the files she had just found, she accessed their court records, found the pertinent documents naming which prison both of the men had been sent to.From there it was simple enough to get the prison records.
“What exactly am I looking at?”Walker asked when she enlarged the document.
“Cassie gave me a list of possible suspects earlier.Two are in prison.Thought I’d save you and Ryder the trouble and see what I could find on my own.But maybe you should close your eyes for this part.”
“For plausible deniability?”he said dryly.
“Exactly.”They were very different, in personality, temperament, and life experiences.But they both had a strong need for justice.His background in intelligence meant he was no stranger to working in shades of gray.Though she took that to a whole other level.
“Okay, they’re closed.”
“Thank you.”She worked her magic, broke through several firewalls and a stubborn security measure on the federal penitentiary system.“They still closed?”she asked a few minutes later.
“Yeah.Been napping this whole time.”
She huffed out a laugh.“Liar.You’re on the edge of your seat, same as me.”She was so close to finding what she needed.Now that she was in, it was just a matter of entering the full legal names and dates of arrest and incarceration to find what she was looking for.
And then...“Well, shit.”
“What?”
Not what she’d expected.
“This guy.”She pointed to the name on screen.“He was at the top of Cassie’s list.She told me he’s still in prison.But he’s not.”
Walker planted a hand on the edge of the desk and leaned in over her shoulder, his face next to hers.“She should have been notified if he was released early.”
“Well, she wasn’t.And based on everything else that’s happened, I’m betting that wasn’t an accident or oversight.”Corrupt fuckers.Rotten all the way to the core, if this was true.
“Can you track him?See if he’s been anywhere near the area recently?”
“I’ll see what I can find.”One hundred percent in the zone now, she tuned Walker out of her awareness and methodically began chipping away at the usual things she used to begin a search.Credit card statements.Tax records.Last known address.Next of kin, and social media.
Walker stood motionless behind her the entire time, watching her work without a word.That was sexy too.
Okay, she hadn’t tuned him out as well as she’d thought.
“He’s been more careful than most,” she said after her initial search didn’t turn up anything.“Hasn’t left any obvious tracks for me to follow.No social media at all.Must be using cash because there’s no card activity either.But then he shouldn’t have left obvious tracks, given that he’s a former cop.”She preferred a challenge anyway.
