“Okay, then. It looks like we both have a few things to work on.Together.”
16
ROSE
The guy had read me like a freaking book.
Phoenix Steele had single-handedly stripped me naked, raw, ripped me open, right there in my own office. Assessing me with that gaze that knocked me off balance, no matter the length of my heels.
Phoenix had been right on all counts of his assessment of me, and this told me several things about him. One, his cognitive reasoning and judgment weren’t as impaired as the reports suggested, which also made me wonder how many other tests he’d manipulated. I had to remind myself that Phoenix had spent decades running special ops in the deepest depths of hell. He knew how to handle—manipulate—a situation, how to read a situation, and how to turn it around to his advantage.
I couldn’t help but wonder if his sudden openness to accept his three goals wasn’t just a ruse. A stepping stone to his goal, which was to do anything to get his freedom back.
Was it all a game to him?
Was I a pawn?
Was he willing to say or do anything to get what he wanted?
How far would he go?
And perhaps a more unnerving question… how far would I let him go?
He knew he was knocking me off my game. He knew he was turning the tables by reminding me that I was not perfect, therefore, stripping my confidence, andthereforestripping my authority.
Yes, Phoenix Steele knew exactly what he was doing.
As I settled in behind my desk, trying to regain the position of authority in the room, I watched him, watching me. Two screwed up humans seeing right through each other, but neither willing to concede.
I see you, Phoenix.
I see that you are going to be my most difficult case to date.
I’d just picked up my pen when my cell phone rang. My heart skipped a beat as the caller ID blinked.
“Excuse me.” I grabbed the phone and pushed out of the chair. “I need to take this.”
He nodded to the door, as if granting me the approval to exit. After stepping into the hallway, I checked the front desk to make sure Zoey was gone, then I answered.
“Hello, Rose Floris here.”
“Hey Doc, it’s Andrew from the morgue. Man,” he chuckled. “I never get tired of that opening.”
“Did you get ahold of your brother?”
“Well, no, but I definitely have something you’re going to want to see.”
“Tell me you found prints on Creepy-Ted?”
“No prints. Something much more interesting, though.”
“What?”
“A mini video recorder.”
My heart dropped to my feet. “I’m sorry, there’s no way I heard you?—”
“Yep. There was a small spy cam secured in the middle of the bear’s bow.”
