“Infection is just as deadly as bullets,” she continued, in a mildly scolding tone. “Don’t let me find out you didn’t check-in with her.”
“What’s gonna happen if you do?” KC asked with a flirtatious grin. “You gonna spank me, Dee?”
I wanted to punch him in the face. On the opposite side of where blood ran down his neck, of course.
She chuckled. “In your dreams, Keegan. Now, move. I’ve got to finish up here so I can go home and get some sleep. Unlike you, I have a day job to report to first thing in the morning.”
“My debrief with your team is complete,” I stated, feeling left out of a conversation that seemed way too familiar. To my partial relief, her response to KC was more of a soft rejection, than shared interest. And to be honest, KC wasn’t really interested in anybody other than Joy Lynn Howard, his on-again-off-again girlfriend for the last fifteen years. Until my brother finally grew the fuck up and decided Joy was the one who deserved to carry his last name, he would be out in these streets pushin’ up on any woman that caught his eye.
I didn’t like that Dakota Donovan seemed to have done just that. But I wasn’t in the habit of sniffing around another man’s lady.
“I’ll come by in the morning so we can figure out the next steps.” My stern tone did exactly what I expected it would, and KC turned his attention back to me, his expression somber.
“Good. I’mma hit you with a name in a few. Gotta answer these texts, then I’ll head over to Mel’s.” He flashed Dakota one last smile. “Always a pleasure working with you, Dee.”
“Same here,” she replied and turned to leave.
I watched her walk away. Admired the sway of her hips, the curve of her voluptuous ass and the lingering scent of lemons. I inhaled deeply just to make sure I wasn’t totally losing it, since we were standing inside of a warehouse that just forty minutes ago had five dead bodies on the floor. Blood was still pooled in areas of the concrete and was splattered on one of the walls andwindows. The clean-up crew would handle all of that once we cleared out; the clean-up crew that she was apparently on.
“She fine as fuck,” KC said.
I thought he’d already headed to where the rest of his team stood waiting for his direction, but he was still next to me.
“How is she related to Cade?” I asked, my eyes continuing to track her movements. She’d met up with two others dressed the same as her and they were talking.
“Little sister,” KC replied. “I’m surprised you haven’t already met her. Especially since you and Cade been working with your little secret society.”
He was referring to the Alliance—the network of power brokers between law enforcement, members of the underworld, and politicians who wanted some sort of balance in a world where justice and neutrality were threatened every day. I joined them five years ago, around the same time that I decided to transition from the president role with the Platinum Ryders.
“She’s a Donovan and she cleans up shit like this?” The Donovans were like Black royalty across the world. Aside from just being born into the right family, they were each wealthy and important in their own right. There was no way a woman like Dakota belonged in a place like this cleaning blood off the floor.
“She owns the clean-up company,” KC said. “Cade gave me her card a couple months ago when he picked up some special pieces I had for him.”
He cursed, and my attention shot back to him.
“Fuckin’ blood is drippin’ on my new shoes.”
I looked down to where blood had indeed dripped from his left hand onto the pristine white of his vintage Air Force One’s. “You’re the dumbass for wearing new white shoes to a fuckin’ buy. And you’re bleeding more.” Grabbing him by the right arm, I started walking him toward the entryway. “You’re goingto see Mel now and I’m driving. On the way, you can tell me what the hell you were doing here when Rylo was supposed to be handling this.”
I planned to resist asking him for more information about Dakota Donovan. I would find that out for myself.
And I did find out more. Then I fell in love.
Dragging a hand down my face I stood staring out into the darkness, recalling the first time I met her. That was eighteen months ago. It was also the last time I was able to think of any other woman but her.
So much had happened in that time, so many emotions I thought I wasn’t capable of feeling had taken root in this soul I was convinced had been lost. My chest hurt with the fear that plagued me for the first ten minutes after hearing Trill’s, “She’s gone.”
“Whoa, what the fuck is up with you?” KC asked when we were in that safe room. My hand was clenching my phone so tightly it was a wonder it hadn’t broken.
After coming up on the opposite side of me, Rafe eased it out of my hand.
“Dakota.” The name which was a whisper in my mind every morning I awoke, slipped out in a rasp. “Trill said she’s not at her house, but her truck is still there. He watched her go in after work, but now, she’s not there.” Lifting my eyes to lock with my brother’s, I continued, “Find her.”
KC nodded and reached out to Rafe for my phone. “It’s right here, bro. Just be cool. It’s right here on your phone.”
I watched as he swiped on my phone and pressed some buttons. All shit I could’ve done if my heart wasn’t threatening to beat out of my fuckin’ chest and my head didn’t feel like it was in a vice. Just moments ago, I was fine. In charge of the current situation and in the leadership position I’d been trained for since birth. I was the pseudo-president of the Platinum Ryders, theCEO of the Blackbond Corporation and one of the deadliest men on the East Coast. Yet that call had crushed me.
“Okay, good. Good.” KC lifted the phone to my face. “See, she’s right here. Look at the red dot on the screen. She’s right here, Fury.”
