“Yep,” Mal said, staring down Force.
She audibly swallowed. “I don’t guess you’d torture somebody with a kitten in your pocket,” she mused.
“I give the kitten to somebody to hold if I’m going to hurt anybody,” Wolfe said reasonably.
“Is the kitten coming with us?” Pippa asked.
Wolfe shoved the door open behind himself. “Yep. His name is Kat. You can hold him if you want while we ask you some questions.”
She frowned and looked up at Mal. “Are you guys sure you’re with Homeland?”
At the moment, he wasn’t sure about anything. Except he wasn’t letting her out of his sight.
Force strode toward him. They were about eye to eye in height and close in weight. It’d be a hell of a fight if it came to it. “You know we need to corroborate anything she might’ve said to you. It’s the only way to clear her.”
Mal bit back a threat.
Pippa looked from one to the other. Then she moved toward Wolfe, holding out her hands.
Wolfe gingerly removed Kat from his pocket and handed the furball over to Pippa.
Mal’s shoulders relaxed just enough to be rock hard. Wolfe wouldn’t have given her the animal if he intended any harm. Probably.
“Trust me,” Force muttered, stalking past him and following the other two through the doorway, which he closed none too gently.
Mal stood there with the German shepherd by the elevator. Had he just made a huge mistake?
“Hey, Malcolm.” Brigid exited the control room and gestured for him to come that way.
He paused and then strode toward her, the dog at his side. “What?”
She smiled, her green eyes sparkling. “We have video in the interrogation rooms now. Angus figured you’d want to watch.”
Mal’s chest settled. Force couldn’t let Pippa know he was going to watch. “Trust, huh?” Mal followed Brigid into the computer room and took one of the three chairs. Maybe it was time to trust his team.
Even with the woman he was prepared to die for.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Angus Force finished the fourth hour of what could only be considered a grueling interrogation. Oh, not grueling for the sweet Pippa Smith.
For him. Between Pippa’s flip remarks, Wolfe’s growing adoration of her, and the meowing kitten, Angus wanted to put his own head into the wall by the time he’d learned everything he possibly could about Pippa. The woman had taken great pains to explain how well Malcolm could bring a woman to orgasm, because she’d promised to tell everything.
Angus could’ve gone his entire life without knowing how skilled Mal’s tongue was or how large his dick.
Several times, Angus had glared at the camera Pippa didn’t know existed. He could almost hear Malcolm laughing his ass off. Well, until she got to the part about his ball sac.
The woman had also been adamant that she had to go back into the family. That Isaac would tell her the truth.
She was probably right. There had to be a plan that would keep her safe, though. And Angus was convinced that she had had no contact with the cult the last seven years. In addition, her clients, even the construction company, weren’t involved with Isaac in any way.
Finally, Angus stood. “We’re done. It has to be breakfast time by now.”
“I could use a coffee,” Wolfe gave Pippa a shy smile while gently assisting her up. Then he put Kat back in his pocket. “There’s a coffee shop just a few miles down the road that puts salty caramel on top of everything. I could get you one.”
Angus shook his head. It was hard to believe this was the same guy who’d put Eagle into the wall. Several times. But his instincts with people seemed to be spot-on. If Pippa Smith was a terrorist, Angus was an astronaut. And he hated heights.
He stomped out of the room, figuring the other two could follow or not. Malcolm was already waiting in the bull pen. “Well?” Angus snapped.
