She turned surprisingly clear green eyes toward Force. “Brigid. Informal, remember?”
“We’re going informal?” Wolfe asked. “Cool. Call me Wolfe. First guy who calls me Clarence gets hit in the face.”
Brigid chuckled, the sound lilting and somehow sweet. “Clarence? Like the angel?”
“Exactly,” Wolfe said, craning his neck across the bull pen. “Why is the dog eating a tie?”
Mal leaned back against the far wall. Why did he feel like he was caught in the middle of the most macabre comedy ever? His head pounded and grit irritated his eyes. Maybe hewouldtake a coffee. “We have to get serious, gang. Enough with the fun.”
“None of this is fun,” Force said quietly. “But your point is well made. We have work to do.”
Malcolm studied the group. “Is this the entire team?” He pointed to the nearest desk, which was just as beat up as the rest of them but had all the knobs still in place on the drawers. “If so, I’ll take that one.”
“We have one additional member, but he’s unavailable until later in the week,” Force said.
“Another investigator?” Mal asked. They could use one more, probably.
Force shook his head. “No. Philosopher. Need his help with the serial killer case.” He glanced at the sad walls. “All right. Two cases, so let’s split up into two teams. Mal, Wolfe, and Brigid, you work on identifying the two guys Mal wants out of the cult. Come up with a plan by morning.” He gestured toward the case rooms. “Raider and Nari, let’s start the investigation into these bodies who might’ve been cult members. Then we’ll all meet up in a few hours, before Mal has to leave.”
Brigid stepped closer to Wolfe. “Is that a kitten in your pocket?”
Raider cut her a sharp look.
Mal sighed. There had to be a punch line in there somewhere, but he was too tired to worry about it.
Wolfe nodded. “Yeah. That’s Kat.”
Brigid sighed. “Oh, I love kittens. Can I hold him?”
“No.” Wolfe turned and strode in his big boots toward the computer room.
“Huh.” Brigid glared at his back. “Not nice.” Then she brightened. “A wolf with a kitten. It is kind of cute.”
Yeah. That was Wolfe. Cute. Mal caught Angus’s eye. “I need a minute before we get to work.” His mind wouldn’t stop churning, so he let problems flash through in order. There were too many.
Force gestured toward his office and moved to walk into it. “You got it.”
Mal followed and shut the door once inside.
Force held up a hand. “Don’t give me a hard time about Brigid. She’s a brilliant hacker, and we need her.”
“Don’t care.” Mal faced him. “You can hire anybody you want. My concern is Pippa. She’s not stupid, and I left in the middle of the night to go push papers. We have to think about my telling her the truth.”
Force rubbed his chin. “You think you’ve gotten all you can from her undercover?”
All he could get from her? Like multiple orgasms and cuddling after nightmares? Mal kept his expression unreadable even as irritation clawed down his neck. “You’re just fine with me nailing her, aren’t you?”
Force lifted his chin. “Yeah. I’m absolutely fine with that.” He waited expectantly.
“You’re a prick,” Mal said, heat flushing along his skin.
Force nodded. “I’m also fine with that fact. And you’ve gotten emotionally involved.”
Mal lunged for him, standing an inch apart from the agent. “You can’t go undercover without doing so. Trust me.” Then he forced a smile. “Don’t tell me for one second that you’re not emotionally involved in the Lassiter case.” Even if Lassiter was dead. A half-finished bottle of whiskey peeked out of the file cabinet.
“Again, I’m all about self-acceptance.” Force’s lip twisted. “You’ve stepped awfully close to me. Either kiss me or hit me, West. I have work to do.”
Amusement grabbed him, and Mal barked out a laugh. “You’re the last guy in the world I’d kiss.” He took a step back.
