A Little Harmless Submission 6 (5 page)

“I’ll be right back.”

She said nothing as he walked away. When he opened the door, he found Micah himself standing on the stoop, along with his wife, Dee.

“I hope you have a moment to talk,” Micah said.

Dee rolled her eyes. “What Micah means is he hopes you aren’t busy.”

“I’m actually working.”

Dee looked down at his bare feet then smiled up at him. “Really?”

He needed to get them away. He knew that if Callahan knew they were here, she would definitely approach Micah about her plan. And while he counted Micah as a friend, he would do anything to protect Dee and the women at that club. It probably wouldn’t take much for him to be persuaded.

“Rome, are you going to invite us in?”

“Yeah, Rome, are you going to invite them in?” Maria asked from behind him.

He could feel his lip curling into a snarl, but he suppressed the urge to growl. Barely. Dee looked around him, her intelligent eyes taking in the situation, her gaze moving down Callahan’s impressive length to her bare feet. When she looked up at Rome, she didn’t even try to disguise her interest. He gritted his teeth. There was no way around it now.

“Yeah, sure, come on in.”

· · · · ·

By the time they were all seated on the lanai, Maria was fuming. Dammit, she had thought more of Rome Carino. She’d read his file, had seen he had no problem working with women. There was a little something about a woman in Seattle, but other than one personal involvement, there was nothing else. In fact, his last captain in Seattle had been a woman who gave him glowing marks. She hadn’t thought he would go all Neanderthal on her.

“So there’s a connection to the Dom murders?” Micah asked.

She turned her attention to the co-owner of Rough ‘n Ready. She had read his file and had seen his picture, but it was hard not to be impressed with the man sitting across the table. He was tall, strong, exactly what you would think a sexy Native American male would look like. And a woman would have to be crazy to be able to resist all that long, dark, silky hair.

“We think there is. Since he leaves no DNA, it’s hard to say, but everything points to the fact that he’s the same guy. It is downright freaky the way he doesn’t leave any evidence.”

“There was a mistake with that one guy in Dallas, right?” Dee Ross, Micah’s wife asked.

Maria turned her attention to the woman who seemed to have tamed Micah Ross. She wasn’t a big woman, kind of petite, but she packed a punch. Long, straight blonde hair, blue eyes, and a quirky little smile that told Maria that Dee Ross wasn’t anyone’s fool. Maria could feel Rome’s study. “Yes. That’s why I could convince my supervisor that we shouldn’t even let the local law enforcement know about us being here.”

“But you told us,” Dee said.

“Yes, I need your cooperation. You own the club, and if we’re going to be running around there, you should know about it.”

“No.” Rome’s hard denial caused all three of them to look at him. “I said no. I mean it.”

Micah studied them for a second or two. “You want to do some kind of sting at my club?”

She nodded even as she could feel Rome’s anger building. She had the training, and he was just being an ass about it. “I think it would work if I went undercover as a sub. I fit the build of the women. Plus, if the detective who is in charge is interested in me, it would probably gain his interest.”

“They’re all subs, so it makes sense you’d go in as one,” Micah said.

“And you’ll want to dress the part. I take it you don’t have a lot of clothes that would fit the bill?” Dee asked.

She smiled, excitement sizzling along her blood. Ross’ agreement would make it much easier. “No. I can go shopping.”

“I can take you. May will need to know also,” Dee offered.

She opened her mouth to agree, but Rome stood and said, “There is no fucking way I’m doing this. I’ll call DC and report you if you think to do it on your own.”

With that, he stomped off, leaving the three of them staring after him. She glanced at Micah and Dee and realized this wasn’t regular behavior from the strange looks on their faces. “I guess I should go talk to him.”

Micah shook his head. “No, you stay. I’ll talk to him.” He brushed his mouth over Dee’s cheek then left in search of their irritated host.

Dee looked at her. “I guess you know about my family?”

“That your father was organized crime, and both he and your brother tried to have you killed.”

“Thank God.” Dee sighed, the sound filled with relief. “I hate explaining that to people. So, how you liking Hawaii so far?”

· · · · ·

“Not acting normal there, bruddah,” Micah said from behind Rome.

Rome continued to rinse the plate off and said nothing.

“If this is because of what happened back in Seattle, this is totally different. You’re partner there was dirty. She put herself in that situation.”

He rolled his shoulders. “It isn’t because of that.”

It would be easier if it was because of Renee and her duplicity. Rome feared it was much worse.

“Worried about getting in trouble over this?”

He turned off the water and faced Micah. He hadn’t made a lot of friends since moving to Hawaii. It was his way of making sure to keep his nose clean and his reputation above reproach. After getting to know May and Evan, he’d been pulled into a friendship of sorts with the little group of friends that included Micah and Dee. Then, after a few months, he’d been offered a free membership at Rough ‘n Ready. He started getting invited to picnics, weddings…hell, he was like a member of their family now.

“No. Actually, I think it might work.” That was the problem. If her father had trained her, she would do anything to get her man. Anything that could end up getting that pretty neck of hers wrung.

“Then why?”

“First, she’s not a sub. She knows nothing of the life.”

Micah crossed his arms over his chest and studied him. “You asked?”

“No.”

His friend shrugged. “It’s a role. She’s done undercover before according to her, right?”

He shoved his hand through his hair and tried his best to come up with a reason. He was afraid he knew the real answer, and he wasn’t going to admit that to Micah. “This is very dangerous. This guy…you haven’t seen what I have, Micah. The man is a sadistic fuck. And she’s saying she wants to put herself out there and wave her arms around and yell ‘come get me.’”

Micah leaned a hip against the counter and studied him for a moment. “She’s trained. She knows what she’s doing. I have a feeling that she knows exactly what she’s getting into.”

“Yeah. Big John Callahan’s daughter would know.”

Micah frowned. “Why does that name sound familiar?”

“He’s been profiled a lot. He hunted serial killers. He wrote a lot of books.”

Micah’s eyes widened. “Ah, yeah. I saw something on one of those ‘true life’ shows one time about him. He’s done a lot of consulting. She does know what she’s doing, I bet. Besides, bra, I think you’re wrong about the submissive thing.”

That caught his attention. Micah was good at listening to his gut. Being a former bounty hunter, his friend was good at reading people. “Yeah, and why do you say that?”

Micah shrugged. “I just have a feeling. Of course, I had the same feeling about Dee when everyone thought I was insane.”

Just hearing Micah say it had Rome’s curiosity peaked. He could just imagine her now, strapped down, her ass red from a spanking.

“Ah, I thought so.”

He felt the heat of blush in his face. Jesus, he was blushing. He hadn’t done that since he was a teenager. Rome pretended to be very interested in the dishes. “What?”

“You’re attracted to her. That’s why you don’t want to do this.” Micah held up his hand. “Don’t even deny it.”

He rinsed off a dish. “She’s an attractive woman.”

Micah nodded. “She could be, but she tries her best not to be. If she’s going to succeed, we need to get her all decked out. I’m sure Dee will help her with that.”

Rome sighed, knowing that he had already given over to the idea of doing this undercover together. It was actually a great idea. He was known at the club, so a woman who would intrigue him would also grab the attention of the killer. That is, if he was hanging out at the club. Or around it.

“Okay, just make sure it doesn’t get any further than you and Evan.”

“And May and Chris and Cynthia.”

Rome rolled his eyes. “Okay, but not outside the family.”

Micah’s lips twitched. “Sure. Guess we should head out. Why not come by the office tomorrow? I’ll tell Evan to take the day off, and we can make sure all the security is up to date.”

Rome nodded, knowing now there was no backing out.

· · · · ·

Maria looked at the few tourists that walked down the streets of Honolulu and sighed with relief. “I guess this means you agree.”

Rome said nothing as he turned onto Kalakaua Avenue and headed back to the hotel. There was no music, no noise inside the car. He’d barely said a word since Micah and Dee had left them alone. They’d talked over the case, but he hadn’t talked unless it had to do with work.

Grinding her teeth together, she tried to keep her temper in check. She hated the silent treatment. It was something her father had used on her the few times she had rebelled against his plans for her. Days would go by without a word. It was enough to make a girl go crazy.

She shook those horrible memories away.

“Listen, I understand you might wonder if I am up to the task”

“I know you can do it.”

Those few words spoken very softly told her that he really did believe it. She tried to fight the sharp sense happiness that his belief in her gave her, but it was hard. She worked with men who would never acknowledge her intelligence even if their life depended on it.

“Then why did you object?” she asked.

His hand tightened on the steering wheel. “I understand you know your job. But, you haven’t been there. The torture this man gets off on, well, it isn’t pleasant. I’ve seen the bodies. And if he finds out you’re FBI, that will make you a prize.”

“I’ve seen the photos, and believe it or not, I’ve been on several murder scenes. Hell, my father took me to my first one when I was sixteen.”

“Your father let you go to a scene when you were a teenager?”

She fought the urge to defend her father. She knew Carino was trying to sidetrack her.

“Yeah.” He opened his mouth, but she plowed ahead, trying to forestall any other questions on that subject. She needed his agreement on the plan or it wouldn’t be as successful. Carino was the only backup she had on this case. That she’d ever had. She brushed that thought aside. “I have a feeling getting you interested in me will make me even more of a prize.”

Rome slanted her a look that told her he was still pissed. “So that’s another part of your plot.”

Maria could tell it wasn’t a question and just decided to let it go. He had agreed to do it. That was all she cared about. After a day or two, he would release the worry he had about it.

When they arrived at her hotel, she expected him to drop her off at the front, but instead, he parked the car. After tossing his keys to the valet and grabbing the ticket, he took her by the elbow and headed to the Tapa Tower. Amazingly, they found themselves on the elevator alone.

“I don’t care for your methods.” She inwardly winced at her tone. She sounded like a prude.

He slanted her a look. “Yeah?”

“I understand you might not like it, but being a petulant child pouting over losing an argument doesn’t make you look good. I won’t take the silent treatment.”

Before she knew what he was about, he grabbed her wrist, slipped in front of her, and then released her arm to cage her into the corner of the elevator.

“If you’re going to play the submissive, you’re going to have to be a little better at taking orders.”

She couldn’t speak. Her heart was beating so hard, she’d bet he could hear it. She raised her gaze from his chest to his face, and eventually made eye contact. Good God. Her whole body went on alert at the heat she saw flaming in the depths of his hazel eyes. She wasn’t afraid of him, but the arousal that now slid through her body scared the bejesus out of her.

“You don’t tell me what to do at the club. That’ll tell people right off the bat you aren’t serious about it. And if you want to play sub to my Dom, you better get used to doing exactly what I tell you.”

He leaned forward, nuzzling her neck. His breath feathered out over her flesh, and she couldn’t stop the shiver that racked her body. This kind of behavior shouldn’t be turning her on. She didn’t like ‘take charge’ kind of guys, and she definitely didn’t like public displays. Apparently her body disagreed. Her nipples hardened and her breath tangled in her throat. She thought she felt his mouth on her skin, but the door dinged open, and he pulled back. It took her a second to yank herself out of the sea of lust he’d tossed her in. He stood by the door, keeping it open as if nothing strange had happened.

She drew in a deep breath, gathered up her senses and some of her pride, and stepped into the hallway. He walked behind her, a silent companion, but now her nerves were frazzled. What was it about this man? It wasn’t that she felt she had to prove herself to him.

She stopped at her door and glanced back over her shoulder at him. “You didn’t have to do that. I understand what’s expected of me.”

“Really?”

She fought back the irritation. “I’ve researched it. I would never suggest this if I didn’t know what I had to do.”

He nodded but still looked skeptical.

“I can play the role. You didn’t have to pull that stunt.”

He studied her for a moment, no expression on his face. Then, he placed his hand on the wall next to her head and leaned closer, as he did in the elevator. Gawd, he smelled good. Earthy and sensual, and all wrapped up in a dominant package of a man. She shouldn’t want to attract him, but everything in her being was telling her to do anything to get him in her bed.

“What stunt are you talking about?”

For a moment, all she could do was look at his mouth as he spoke. His lips were full, sensual, and utterly irresistible.