Lifting my head back up, not breaking eye contact with her, I take a deep breath. “I’m Special Agent in Charge Rhys Abbot. I’m with the FBI.” I pull the chain on my neck that’s hidden under my shirt to expose my badge.
She steps back and crosses her arms over her chest, which forms a small line of cleavage peeking out from the deep V in her dress. I don’t look at it directly, but I can sure as fuck tell it’s there. “So, not a cop?”
Fuck me. She’s just like a cute fucking kitten, hissing and snarling while being held by the tail.
“Maybe a few pay grades higher. “
“Okay. Fine. Who were those men, and why aren’t you doing anything about the guy they stabbed? He might still be alive out there?”
“My men are taking care of it as we speak, but for now, I’m stuck with you.”
“No, you’re not stuck with me. I’m going to go back to the club and find my friend and call my brother to come get me. My brother is Delta Force, and my brother-in-law is DEVGRU. I’m pretty sure they are a few pay grades higher than you. They can protect me better than anyone you call.”
Well, fuck.
“No can do. I need to ask you some questions for all the fucking reports I have to fill out because of you.”
I’m not sure why I’m pushing this. Except that I want a fresh report with all the details, once someone goes home and goes to sleep, they forget things. And I’m just a little worried about letting her out of my sight.
That’s what I’ll keep telling myself, anyway.
“No can do.” She mocks me. “I’m going home. You don’t have any reason to hold me. You can ask me your questions tomorrow or whenever.” She tosses her hand in the air like she doesn’t have a care in the world and professional killers aren’t looking for her.
“I do have a reason to hold you, I won’t get buried in even more paperwork if they kill you before I can get someone to watch you. If I have to make something up, I will.” I think I’m enjoying this more than I should.
Anger twists her pretty little face again. “What could you possibly charge me with? Taking a walk on the sidewalk? Getting forcefully felt up by a stranger? A stranger who still hasn’t shown me any identification, except for a badge on a chain that I could buy at Walmart, by the way. Seeing a man get stabbed?”
Her rant wavers, and her eyes fall to my chest. I was about to call her on the ‘felt up’ part because my hands stayed a very safe distance from any place they shouldn’t have been. Fucking barely. But I watch the anger turn to sadness before her eyes flick back up to mine.
“Is he dead?” Her voice is small and so low I almost didn’t hear what she said.
Seeing her sad does something to me, and I fight the urge to touch her in any way, especially after her accusations, even though I want to reassure her somehow.
Taking a deep breath, I nod my head. “He’s dead.”
“So I watched a life end. It was so fast and final. He probably got out of bed this morning with a lifetime of things he still had planned. He put on his shoes not knowing he wouldn’t be the one to take them off.” Her eyes move to the wall next to me. It’s too dark to see any emotion, but I wish I could see everything. “Definitely something I’ll never forget.”
Sometimes I forget how desensitized to death and violence I am. The feelings people normally get when they are facedwith mortality left me long ago, but now I’m watching it play out in front of me. Damn it! Now I want to make it as easy as I can for her.
“Look, I’ll give you a ride home, but on the way, will you answer some questions for me? I promise I won’t touch you. No deception. Just a ride and some questions.”
Her eyes flick back up to mine, and she stares at me for several moments, long enough that I think she might tell me to go to hell.
“I don’t live in Tulsa. I live in Claremore, so it’s kind of a long drive, and my car is here.” She pauses, and anger presses her lips together in a tight line again. “Damn it! My keys!”
“I’ll make sure your car gets home, just tell me which one.” It’s like her mind is constantly jumping from one thing to the next. She looks at me, and her eyes narrow a bit. “And I don’t mind the long drive.”
“Fine, but fair warning, I always carry a knife on my person, and my brothers taught me to use it.” She pushes my arm down as she sidesteps me. “I won’t have a problem using it on you if you do something untoward.”
I press my lips together to suppress the smile that is threatening as my eyes follow one of the most beautiful bodies I’ve ever seen going down the steps. She stops and waits for me to tell her where to go, and I sweep my arm in the direction across the street where my car is, away from the body around the corner.
“Abbot!” I hear one of my men behind me running to catch up with me. She turns with me as we watch two of my men, Sanders and Swan, jogging toward me. “Coroner is on the way. We didn’t find them.”
I nod and look over their shoulder at the covered body slumped onto the sidewalk. “I’m taking Ms.…” I turn my head and look at the woman next to me.
“Harlow. Kinley Harlow.”
“I’m taking Ms. Harlow home. They have her clutch, so we’ll need to make arrangements.”
