Aside from his brothers in the military,lovewasn’t a word in his vocabulary.
He paused for a moment to speak to Chase as he walked out of his office. Chase liked to be kept in the loop so Jase brought him up to speed on his current cases, then walked down the hall to the employee lounge and sat at the round oak table to eat his lunch. He inhaled the burger and fries, and was stuffing the wrappers back into the bag when Bran Garrett walked into the room.
The youngest Garrett brother was thirty-three, same as Jase, same dark hair and blue eyes. Bran was about six-three, with a lean, hard-muscled build. He was former army spec ops, which gave them a bond. And they just flat-out liked each other.
Bran poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table opposite Jase. “I hear you stole one of Chase’s clients.” Bran grinned. “I also hear she’s a sexy blonde with a dynamite body. Nice work.”
“We’d met before.”
One of Bran’s dark eyebrows went up. “That’s it? ‘We’d met before.’ End of story?”
“Okay, I met her and I liked her.A lot. Her sister was murdered. She needs help and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Bran sobered at his serious expression. “Maybe I can help. What have you got so far?” Bran’s specialty was personal protection. He was one of the most sought-after bodyguards in Dallas. Since the Garretts were rich as Croesus, he could pick and choose his clients.
He was also a licensed PI who kept his ear to the ground, same as Jase.
“Haven’t got much so far.” He filled his friend in on Chrissy Gallagher aka Tina Galen and what he’d been able to come up with, which was mostly a big fat zero.
“Tonight I’m going down to Mean Jack’s, see if I can find someone who knew Tina, maybe figure out why the killer would dump her body in the alley behind the bar.”
“You want company?”
“Unfortunately, I’ve already got company. Kate insists on being involved in this. She managed to con me into taking her with me.”
Bran laughed. “Dude, you got it bad.”
He grunted. “Yeah. Hopefully, once this is over and I take her to bed, I’ll get my head on straight again. Both of them.”
Bran laughed. “Mean Jack’s can be rough. Not a great place to go courting.”
“That’s what I told her, but Kate’s got a stubborn streak a mile wide.”
“Just like you. No wonder you like her.” Still smiling, Bran took his coffee and rose from the chair. “Let me know if you need some help.”
Jase rose, too. “I will.” Heading for his desk, he sat down and made some phone calls, then set up his laptop, caught up on his email and started digging on the internet again, clicking around on erotic websites to see if Tina Galen popped up anywhere interesting.
When nothing came up, he thought about calling Tabby, but she’d get back to him as soon as she could, and there were other things he needed to do.
The office officially closed at five thirty, but the men and women who worked there, being independent contractors, were in and out at all hours. Jase finally packed up and headed out to the Yukon. As dumb as it was, he was looking forward to his evening with Kate.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Kate turned in front of the mirror, inspecting the fourth outfit she had tried on for her trip to Mean Jack’s. Satisfied with the ultrashort silver miniskirt, silver midriff-baring top she’d pulled on over a pushup bra, and sky-high silver heels, she put away the black leggings and black leather vest she had considered, along with her high-heeled black boots.
Returning to the bathroom, she made a final check of her makeup and hair. She had teased her heavy curls into a big-hair look. Too much glittery eye shadow, too much mascara and too much rouge turned her into the hooker she was pretending to be. She figured Maddox could get up close and personal with a lady of the night, but that didn’t mean the woman would tell him her secrets. But perhaps another streetwalker could get one of them to talk.
Imagining what Maddox would say when he saw her, she bit back a grin. She was sure he was going to go ballistic, but she wasn’t backing down. Maddox could just get over himself.
The intercom buzzed. Jase was waiting in the lobby. She grabbed her small silver purse and slung the chain over her shoulder. Adjusting her top, she pulled it down far enough for her cleavage to bulge to near overflowing.
She grabbed a lightweight trench coat from the hall closet and put it on. She still had a business to run and an image to protect. Besides, Maddox would be easier to deal with if she revealed her outfit after they were already at the bar.Hopefully.
She walked out of the elevator, the coat flapping around her legs as she strode toward him. He was definitely in the game, wearing black jeans and scuffed black cowboy boots, a black T-shirt under a black leather vest with an American flag on the back.
Her stomach fluttered. The man had some serious macho working for him.
“You sure you want to do this?” he asked, clearly hoping she would say no.
