Choosing Rena (9 page)

“I’d like to know who the hell hurt
you so badly, Rena MacAllister, that you’d doubt your worth to me
as a friend, let alone a beautiful submissive woman.” Then he
turned and strode out of the room.

Neither surprise nor shock could cover
the emotions that hit her as she tried to take in what had just
happened.

Chapter Eight

Jackson wasn’t sure if he should go
out and find the asshole who’d done such a number on the woman he’d
just left standing in the kitchen, or if he should bend Rena over
his knee and paddle some sense into her for believing it. Raking a
hand through his hair, he paced back and forth in the living room.
One thing was sure, he needed to get a handle on his temper before
he did both.

A knock at the door forced
him to stop his pacing. Striding over to it, he gave the nob a
vicious twist, jerking it open to find Detective Sean Anderson
standing in the hallway. Somehow he wasn’t surprised that Jude had
requested that the detective be put on his case.
It’s good to have friends in high places at the
Chicago PD.

“Jackson.” A wry grin crossed Sean’s
face. “Somehow I had a feeling you were the reason I was handed
this case and then to find you at the crime scene. Well I guess I
shouldn’t be surprised.”

Jackson shrugged as if he had no idea
what the other man was talking about. “Sorry, I think it was Jude’s
hand this time, not mine. But thanks for coming. The report I read
afterward showed a blatant lack of good handling.”

A frown crossed Sean’s face. “Well
I’ve read the report and did notice some inconsistencies, but
nothing suggested the investigation had been handled
incorrectly.”

“Well come on in. I’ll let you look
around. I’m sure you’ll be able to help us get to the bottom of it.
Whether the crime scene was mishandled or not, it’ll get Jude off
my ass.” Jackson stepped back, allowing the cop to enter. “I can’t
tell you how much grief I’ve gotten from him of late, especially
after Olivia’s car was vandalized last night.” Shutting the door
behind him, Jackson wasn’t surprised to see Sean wrinkle his
nose.

“
Damn, the stench in here
is unbelievable.”

“Yeah that’s what happens when you
have a heat wave going on and the perp decided to defecate and
urinate all over the place. We’re dealing with one sick
fucker.”

A high pitch squeal came from the
kitchen, interrupting their conversation. A muffled thud followed
by a feminine curse had Jackson hurrying into the kitchen. Both he
and Sean stopped and stared as they encountered Rena standing on a
kitchen chair, proceeding to chew out the motion sensor at the top
of the slider. Some of the curse words were shocking to hear as she
prodded at the damn thing.

“Rena?” His voice rose to be heard
over the shrill shrieking of the alarm.

She turned on top of the chair, her
hands going to her hips as she glared at them. “Who was the wise
ass who decided to rearm the alarm? Isn’t it kinda like shutting
the barn door after the horse gets out?”

Next to him, Sean cocked his head as
if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Not that Jackson could
blame him. Rena had that effect on people when they first met her.
From her braids to the heavy metal t-shirt and her ripped jean
shorts, she looked nearly ten years younger than she was. Nothing
like what anyone would expect a competent investigator should look.
She was truly an enigma.

“Dear Lord, it’s true.” Sean shook his
head. “She’s an honest to God investigator? I just assumed she was
a bike courier, with the way she was dressed when she stopped by
the office earlier, for the paperwork to give to the security guard
downstairs.”

“Sorry, appearances can be
deceiving.” Jackson shrugged. Walking over to Rena, he lifted her
off the chair, allowing her body to slide down his. Desire
blindsided him as it reared its ugly head.
Now isn’t the time,
he told his body.
But it didn’t stop his traitorous cock from rising at the mere
brush of her body against his. And the answering catch of her
breath, as he caught her eyes, had him wanting nothing more than to
claim her mouth.

Amazing as it was, he’d only tasted
her luscious lips once and he was dying for another taste. Not even
during that incredible night in Ireland had he indulged. After
seeing what that well-needed release had wrought, he’d been content
to hold her, his own sexual needs overshadowed by those which were
driven to protect. But that wasn’t now, and he could almost feel
the plump firmness of her lips against his. His head dipped when
there was a clearing of a throat behind him, reminding Jackson they
weren’t alone and indulging in his need was going to have to
wait.

“You gonna turn that damn thing off,
Levough, before we have half the department over here?”

He nodded before slowly
stepping back from Rena, careful to keep his back to Sean. As usual
his closeness to Rena had tented his slacks and normally he
wouldn’t care if another man knew he was aroused. In this case
however, he was sure Rena would, so until he had
junior
a little bit more
under control, discretion was the better part of valor. Punching in
the corporate override code into the keypad next to the door, he
silenced the alarm. “Is that better?”

“So exactly what were you doing when
you set off the alarm, Ms. MacAllister?” Sean moved closer to
inspect the motion sensor.

“I needed to see the outside of the
door.” Without giving Jackson as much as a glance, she joined the
detective at the door. “Please call me Rena.” She stepped outside,
her voice coming back muffled. “There’s just not something right
here. According to the police report, it’s assumed the perp came in
through the balcony, but the point of impact is so low…”

“…
that the original
responding officer assumed the perp used a rock found inside to
break the glass near the lock, so they could reach through to
unlock it.”

“And then triggered the alarm when
they slid the door open.” Rena took out her tape, quickly measuring
the distance between the hole and the lock.

Jackson joined them on the balcony as
she measured the size of the hole and did some quick calculations
on her tablet. “Okay. We need to take off the plywood, the figures
are definitely not adding up here. They suggest the hole isn’t
large enough for a person to reach the lock without cutting the
hell out themself.”

“And according to the report there was
no blood found on the glass or floor.” Sean frowned, before
glancing over Rena’s shoulder. “Are you sure about the figures? I
can’t imagine C.S.I. made an error like this.”

“Dude, I have a minor in forensics
from Berkeley College to go along with my security training. I know
what I’m talking about.” She referenced the file again. “It doesn’t
say here but honestly I’m not sure if they even did the math, or
just made the assumption because of the broken door that it was the
point of entry and by…”

Understanding dawned on Jackson.
“…unboarding the door, you can see if it’s physically possible or
if the broken glass was just a red herring.”

“Pretty good, White Boy,” she sassed
him, pushing past him to go back into the condo. “Where does Jude
keep his tools?” Heading for the kitchen sink, she poked under it,
before rummaging through the drawers on either side. She looked up
when neither he nor Sean moved. “Well, what are you waiting for?
Get your butts in here and help me.”

Sean caught his arm as
Jackson moved to give his woman
or
soon-to-be
woman a hand. “Is she for real?
Does she realize how many protocols this breaks?”

A slow grin crossed Jackson’s face.
“Oh, yeah, a hundred percent real.” He leaned forward. “And somehow
I don’t think she cares about your protocols.”

* * * *

Standing back as the men removed the
plywood and propped it against the wall beside the balcony doors,
Rena grabbed a nearby hand towel and some duct tape from her tote.
Jackson dusted off his hands before stepping back.

“Okay, now what?”

She held up the duct tape. “You let me
turn you into a mummy and then we test my theory.”

Cocking his head at her, he
gave her a look. “And you honestly expect me to let you tie me up?
I thought the shoe was on the other foot when it came to
bondage,
ma
peekôn?”

Propping a hand on one
hip, she raised her eyebrows. “And you need to get your mind out of
the gutter, Jackson Levough.” She glanced at the clock on the wall.
“I have plans in less than two hours, so quit your damned stalling
and get over here.” She paused a moment. “On second thought, never
mind. I’ll use Detective Anderson’s arm instead.”

“Afraid
to touch me, Rena?” Jackson’s grin was wicked. “Or afraid you won’t
be able to control yourself if you did?”

It was just like the
damned hormone ridden man to think that way. “No, Romeo. His arms
look like they’re a bit longer than yours. If he can’t reach it,
then I doubt you’ll be able to.”

“I’m
game,” Sean interrupted, ignoring Jackson’s responding scowl. He
shrugged as he stepped forward. “So sue me. I’m curious to see if
she’s right.” Sean held out his arm. “I’m assuming since the lock
is on the right hand side, you’ll want to wrap my right arm, since
I’ll be reaching in from outside?”

Amusement filled her.
“Very correct, Watson.” Folding one tea towel in half, she wrapped
it around his arm, securing it with a couple of strips of gray
tape. “There. Can you bend your arm?” Flexing it a couple of times,
he nodded. “Good. Go outside and we’ll try this.
”

As Sean positioned himself outside,
Rena shut the door and locked it once more. Behind her, she felt
Jackson’s presence. Ever since their near miss earlier, her body
had been super-aware of him. The remembered flavor of his mouth
from the one and only kiss they’d shared outside of this very
building should’ve faded it, but it hadn’t.

“Okay. Reach through and try to unlock
it, Sean.”

Reaching through the hole, Sean
attempted to flip the lock. He did fine until he reached his elbow.
A loud curse could be heard clearly as the glass sliced through the
tea towel along the back side of his triceps, nicking him. The
bright spot of blood had Rena calling a halt.

“Okay, Sean stop.” She unlocked the
door and motioned for him to come in. “I don’t need you to slice
yourself up anymore.”

“Thanks, I appreciate the concern.”
Sean’s dry tone wasn’t lost on Rena.

“Oh, get in here and let me look at
it. Men are all such big babies when it comes to cuts.” She turned
to grab her tote and ran into Jackson, who already had her
bag.

“I’ll take care of him.” The gritty
tone had her eyes widening. Before she could protest, he leaned
closer. “I can’t guarantee I won’t clock him if I see your hands on
him again, Rena. Don’t push.”

She stared after him as he
stepped around her to set the bag on the table in the breakfast
nook. His hot and cold crap was driving her nuts. First he was the
caring Dom, who wanted to heal her, and now he was possessive as
hell.
What the fuck is his
deal?

As Sean joined him at the
table, Rena slipped from the kitchen. The last thing she needed or
wanted was a possessive man who wanted to take care of her. Rena
MacAllister needed no man to care for her. She’d proven that when
she’d walked out of Louis’s penthouse nearly a year ago. She was a
strong woman who could and would take care of herself before
letting a man have that much control over her life again.
Or at least that’s what I keep telling
myself.

Chapter Nine

Arriving at the hotel where Elizebetta
and Dieter were staying with mere minutes to spare, Rena did a
quick check of her make-up in the vanity mirror on the back of her
sun visor. After leaving the kitchen, she’d done a quick
walkthrough, paying attention to details of both Olivia’s master
closet and the hope chest. Both had taken the majority of the
perp’s anger. Rena could only conclude it was because of the BDSM
items both contained.

“Someone is either seriously pissed
off at Olivia or hates the BDSM world in general.” The utter
destruction of everything in the master suite, which also smacked
of the lifestyle, had horrified her. Even the bed had not come
through unscathed. The shreds of what remained of the silk sheets
had been dotted with both feathers from the pillows along with
excrement. More specifically cat feces and urine. How the officers
had even begun to think that it was human was beyond her. Cat
excrement had such a unique stench to it.

Her watch beeped, reminding her she
had places to be. “But enough of that. I’ll check in with Jude
tomorrow after the lab confirms my suspicions.” Grabbing the folder
on the seat next to her, she quickly exited the car before entering
the rather elegant Hilton Orrington.

Rena paused, letting her eyes adjust
to the dim interior, before heading to the desk. The young woman
behind the counter gazed at her with such disdain, Rena wanted to
deck her, but she forced herself to be polite. “Excuse me, I’m
looking for Elizebetta Vayarti and Dieter Schmidt. I was told to
meet them here.”