“Don’t do anything stupid.”
I brushed my knuckles under her chin. “You know me.”
“Ladies and gentlemen. Let’s gather around. We wanted to make a few announcements.”
Betty was standing in front of a microphone.
“That’s what I’m afraid of, Maverick. Don’t go too far. Not when…” She stopped mid-sentence, offering a smile. “Go do what you need to do.”
As Betty began to tell the story of the firm, I only had eyes for the beautiful woman. If only she understood that I’d walk through fire if necessary to protect her.
Right now, I was going on a hunch, but I refused to ignore one ever again.
The moment shared was even more intimate than when I’d had her in my arms. I’d never felt so close to another human being. It was true that during some of the roughest times for a person, you found your inner self. In this case, I’d found what I’d been missing, searching for in every book I’d written.
Her.
There was no other explanation for the fact I could suddenly breathe again. It was crazy the way I felt about her, powerful in every way.
And as possessive as it was protective.
“What were you going to say?” I asked her.
“Just that, um…” She brushed a strand of a hair behind her ear.
“The associate of the year is Alexia Martino. Alexia. Please come up here.”
Alexia laughed. “I’ll hold that thought for now. Remember, don’t go too far.”
“Trust me. I won’t.”
The entire audience started clapping and the photographer moved closer. I took the opportunity to back away, heading to the elevator.
Something was very off about Timothy. Even Betty was acting strange. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why except for one thing.
Timothy should have had no way of knowing what had occurred with my other partner. Only the killer seemed to know, other than my boss at the time.
I don’t know what I was looking for but now was the only opportunity I’d get to look around.
As soon as I was on the floor, I grabbed my phone and dialed Chase. “I need you to check on something quickly for me.”
“Aren’t you at a party?”
“Yeah, I am, I need you to run a quick check on Timothy Chambers. He was my first partner at the FBI who quit and went into law school.”
“What the hell am I looking for?’
“Any anomalies. And I need to know who his father is.”
“You sound frantic,” Chase told me. “Do you need the team?”
“Not frantic but something is off with this party. Push Ruger. I need to know what happened to Samuel’s house. I also need to know about the board members listed with Landers and Jacobson, the firm Alexia works with. And I need that information on Betty Landers.”
“Wait. You think her boss knows something?”
“Yeah, I do. And I’d bet the farm on the fact Timothy Chambers does as well.” I moved through the offices until I found Betty’s at the end of the hall. “Call me the moment you find something. Another woman was taken, another attorney. The killer is tossing crumbs right and left. Cross reference everything we have.”
“Got it. We’re on standby. Don’t take any chances.”
