The Men With the Golden Cuffs (25 page)

“Did you check for prints on the car?” Adam asked.

The door swung open again and Jake entered, followed by Ian Taggart. Jake sat down on the other side of her while Ian Taggart loomed over the proceedings like a large predator waiting to decide who to eat for dinner.

“Of course we’ll check for prints.” Hernandez leaned forward, looking right at her. “Do you have any idea who called the press? There’s a news van sitting right outside this place.”

No wonder Ian looked ready to kill.
Damn it
. Ian Taggart seemed to be a man who enjoyed his privacy. He wouldn’t like news crews lining up in front of his underground sex club. She was causing him an enormous amount of trouble. Would he drop her as a client? Would Jake and Adam hang around if no one was paying them to? How could they? She would need to leave town. She might have to change her name.

“Serena.” Jake’s harsh tone pulled her out. He gave her a faint smile and then turned back to the cops. “She does this thing where she kind of checks out when she’s panicked. I think it’s an author thing. They asked you a question, sweetheart.”

Question. Yes, they had asked about the press. She wiped her eyes. The last thing she wanted was her trouble to be splashed across the papers. “I don’t know. I certainly didn’t call anyone.”

Adam leaned forward. “She hasn’t called a damn person. She’s been in shock. I’ve been with her the whole time.”

Chitwood waved him off. “Calm down, Mr. Miles. We’re not accusing her of anything. Now, let me give you an update. We can print the car, but I don’t know what it’s going to tell us. The car came out of the shop earlier today, right?”

She nodded. “So anyone in the shop could have touched it.”

Chitwood tapped his pen on the face of his notepad. “Yes. I hate to tell you this, Ms. Brooks, but it’s going to be very hard to figure out who should or shouldn’t have left a print on your car. The car has also been sitting in a parking lot in the middle of the city. That makes things harder than if it had been in your garage the whole time. I’m a bit confused, though. Did you say the car was locked?”

Jake sighed. “I went over this. I opened the car. I opened the trunk first, and then I unlocked the doors. Adam opened the back passenger side, and that’s when we found the snake.”

It seemed surreal. A snake. She’d never seen a snake up close where there hadn’t been glass in between them. But someone had handled it. Someone had risked being bitten because it was more important to hurt her than to be safe. She felt so distant. She knew they were talking, but it seemed to come from far away.

“I’m just interested in how this person might have gotten around your car’s security system.” Chitwood wrote something on his notepad.

“I could do it,” Adam replied. “I’m sure there are a lot of people out there with the technical skills. You cops have to deal with this crap all the time. You know a criminal with purpose can get through just about anything.”

Hernandez stared a hole through her. “Or someone has a key.”

She felt her face flush.

Chitwood stopped writing and looked up. “Does someone else have a key, Ms. Brooks?”

“No one else has a key,” Adam said, and then he sighed. “Bridget or Chris?”

“Bridget is too disorganized. I left one with Lara. I sometimes lose things. I had two sets from the dealership and a valet key. I gave Lara the extra set. But she wouldn’t do this. The only way she would touch a snake is on a pair of Manolo Blahniks.” They couldn’t possibly think that Lara was involved.

The two cops exchanged glances. She could tell immediately that they didn’t believe her. They had decided that she was using them to further her career at the beginning of the investigation, and nothing had happened to deter them from it. They weren’t going to change their minds until they had a body on their hands.

Chitwood smiled, an unctuous little expression. “That can certainly be cleared up with a simple phone call. Don’t worry about it. I’ll call her myself tomorrow. Now, we have animal control determining the breed of snake.”

“It rattled. I think it’s safe to bet it was a fucking rattlesnake,” Jake said, his voice low.

“There are many different varieties of rattlesnakes, Mr. Dean,” Chitwood pointed out. “I would like to know the breed. I would like to know if it’s common or rare. Perhaps it was bought from a store that specializes in reptiles. There might be a money trail to follow.”

“Of course, it could all be normal. You know we do have snakes in Texas,” Hernandez said. “Sometimes they find their way into cars.”

Serena shook her head. “I can tell you what kind it was. It was an eastern timber.”

“You’re an expert on snakes?” Chitwood adjusted his tie.

“I’m an expert on my own work,” Serena replied, her voice a flat monotone. She was sure what she told them next would do nothing but confirm their suspicions about her. “In
Sweetheart in Chains
, I had a scene where the bad guy slipped an eastern timber rattlesnake into the hero’s car.”

“Shit,” Jake muttered under his breath.

“I really kind of wish I hadn’t written that particular scene now. Next time I’ll make it a fluffy bunny. It seemed so exciting when writing it, but it was actually quite terrifying.” She looked at Adam, who had come so close to that snake. He’d pushed her backwards and taken her place. If he hadn’t been there, she would have surely climbed in and been bitten, possibly multiple times. “Did I thank you?”

His hands squeezed hers. “No, but it’s all right. You can make it up to me later.” Adam yelped a little as Ian’s hand came out and swatted him on the head.

“Forgive my employees, officers,” Ian said. “They’re the best in the business, but they can be a little unprofessional at times.”

Adam frowned back at Ian. “Hey, I very professionally shot that snake.”

“He did. He didn’t girly scream or anything.” Jake shot him a smug grin.

Adam’s middle finger came up, pointing directly at Jake. “As if.”

Jake shrugged. “I can still hear the screaming you did on that op in South America.”

“I got caught by a twenty-nine-foot anaconda. Fucker broke two ribs and I still managed to finish the mission.”

“And you still screamed like a girl.”

“Shut up, both of you,” Ian said.

Jake stood up. “I don’t see why, boss. It’s obvious they aren’t going to help. They’ve made up their minds.”

Chitwood stood as well. “That’s not at all true, but we do have to look at all the angles. This isn’t cut and dried. Usually in stalker cases, the stalker lets the victim know who he is. He wants the victim to fear him in particular. This is different. This person seems to have a point to make. He seems to want Ms. Brooks to understand that what she’s doing is wrong. His words, of course. Now, I understand you’re looking at the CCTV footage? Do you have anything on it yet? We couldn’t find any matches.”

“I’m playing around with the software, trying to refine it,” Adam explained. “I should know if it works in the morning.”

“If you get anything, we expect you to share it with us,” Hernadez stood and stretched. “I know you guys are professionals, but it’s obvious that you’re personally involved. I don’t want any vigilante justice.”

“It might be the only justice we get,” Adam said, earning him another slap on the head. “Damn it, Ian. Stop it.”

“I will when you stop saying dumb shit in front of the cops.” Ian walked to the door and opened it. “Officers, I thank you for your time. I assure you, the press has been dealt with. The news vans are gone. The only story that will run tonight will feature one of my employees and her encounter with a snake. It will be explained away as she and her boyfriend must have picked it up when they went fishing. If the station runs the story at all, it will be nothing but a minor, humorous story.”

“You’re very good at manipulating people, aren’t you, Mr. Taggart?” Chitwood frowned at him.

“Remember that.” Ian closed the door behind them. He turned back. “Those two are useless. They think she’s working the system, and nothing is going to change their minds. Adam, how close are you to being comfortable with the CCTV shit?”

Serena took a deep breath. “You still believe me?”

Ian shrugged. “Serena, you’re the client. I’m asking you right now. Are you playing some sort of game that’s gone wrong? Did you start this and someone else is finishing it? Tell me right fucking now because it’s the only way I can protect you.”

It was the first time anyone had just asked her flat out. She really appreciated it. “I didn’t have anything to do with it. I don’t know what’s happening. I’m really scared.”

Ian Taggart’s face softened slightly. “All right, then. Don’t worry about the cops. This is our op. We’ll take care of you.” His eyes narrowed as he looked at the men in the room. “Besides, I get the feeling you’re part of the family now. You fuck her, Jacob?”

Jake sat back in his chair, a little smile on his face. “Yep.”

Adam frowned. “I haven’t yet.”

“Dear god, Serena, fuck Adam. He’ll sulk until you do.” Ian opened the door. “And keep me up to date. Liam’s on his way with a new car. You two take her back to your place. Whoever this asswipe is, he knows where she lives, and he’s getting more dangerous by the second. I’m having cameras installed around the parking lot. I’m sure the guests will love that, but it looks like someone cut the power to our lights. I don’t like any of this.”

“I can’t go home?” Serena asked. Her laptop was at home. Her notes were at home. Her dog was at home.

“Give Alex your keys and the code to your alarm. He’ll go and pick up a few things for you. You have a dog, right? Is it dangerous?” Ian asked.

“Not unless Alex is worried about having his leg humped,” Jake shot back. “Tell him not to forget her laptop.”

“Or her notebooks. Or her schedule. I haven’t switched her over to a PDA yet. She’s still writing shit down. And she needs her IPod with the purple ear buds. The white ones don’t fit right, and she gets frustrated with them,” Adam said.

He’d noticed that?

“And socks,” Jake continued. “She likes her fuzzy socks. Her feet get cold.”

Ian’s brows climbed up his head. “Is there anything else Princess Serena needs? Would you like to pick out her panties for her?”

Jake and Adam managed to answer that one at the same time. “She’s not allowed to wear panties.”

Ian closed his eyes as if gathering the reins of his patience. When he opened them again, he sighed in obvious defeat. “Well at least I taught you something. Adam, I expect a call as soon as you figure anything out.”

He walked out the door.

“Does everyone have to know about the panties?” Serena asked.

Adam shrugged. “I don’t want Alex to waste time packing something you’re not going to need. Panties are a privilege, not a right.” He reached out and pulled her into his lap.

She didn’t hesitate. She wrapped her arms around him, feeling safer than she had in an hour. Adam surrounded her.

“I can’t go home.” She knew she sounded forlorn, but she couldn’t help it. It had seemed real before, but now it was super-HD-3D-Technicolor real. She couldn’t go home. She had two men whose job it was to make sure she stayed alive. This was her life.

“It’s all right, baby,” Jake said, his hand in her hair. “We’re not going anywhere.”

She clung to Adam and prayed Jake was telling the truth.

* * * *

Adam took the bag from Alex’s hand and stepped aside as Mojo trotted in. Alex had brought everything they needed, including the laptop he’d left at the club. It was still on and still running its program. Adam quickly went and plugged it in, unwilling to lose the data.

“That dog is useless,” Alex said, a glimmer of a smile on his face as the big mutt wagged his tail. “He barked once when I walked in. I told him to stop it in a slightly deeper than normal voice, and then he followed me around with his tail between his legs. He’s a sub dog. How did she find a sub dog?”

“I think like attracts like in this case,” Adam murmured, petting the dog.

“Is she okay?” Alex asked.

Adam nodded. “Sort of. I think she’s still in shock. Having her laptop will help. I really appreciate it, man.”

“No problem.” Alex stopped. “You’re serious about this girl, right? Because Eve actually thinks she’s a little fragile.”

“She’s not fragile. She’s been through a lot.” She was strong.

“I think Eve’s worried about you hurting her.”

“Why the hell would I hurt her? I’m trying to protect her.” He defended himself, but he’d already hurt her once tonight.

“You throw yourself into these things without really thinking it through, and Jake can be like a cactus sometimes. I’m a little worried about what happens to her if this thing doesn’t work out. This is her fantasy. She’s been dreaming about this, writing about it. I’m just worried about what happens when the bubble bursts.”

“It won’t.” Adam was getting a little sick of everyone warning him. He wasn’t a kid. He was thirty freaking years old, and he knew what he wanted. He wanted Serena. He intended to have her.

Alex held up his hands in mock surrender. “Just make sure you let her down easy if the time comes. That’s all I’m saying.”