“Why didn’t you want him here?”
“He wasn’t needed. And his wife is about to give birth. It’s their first, and it’s been a difficult pregnancy. I can understand that he would want to be there with her.”
Rome shrugged. “Then why did you bring him?”
She sighed. “My supervisor wanted me to have backup in case…”
“Let me guess? He expected me to buck you?”
“That, and there are standards, and people gossip. This way he covers his ass.”
“You were surprised when I agreed to help.”
She laughed. “You really have no choice but to let me butt in. I appreciate it, and I understand why departments get so pissed. Hell, the way we’ve been going into cities and taking over has led to some really bad relations over this case. I do know that they almost let a murderer get away because they lumped one woman’s murder in with The Dom. Turned out it was just her ex.”
“You’re sure this is the same guy?”
“Letting you handle the investigation, we can find out. If the others had come in, there was a good chance they would have taken over. Plus, this is an ideal place to corner the bastard.”
He studied her for a second or two. “Explain.”
“On the mainland, it’s harder to keep up with who has come in and out of a city. Here, it will be easier to find out who was here and on what dates. Being that it is an island allows us to study a very small list of people. Well, a smaller list of people.”
“That makes sense. So what is this plan you have? You’re going to have me investigate, and you’re going to do what?”
She could tell from his skeptical tone that he didn’t trust her. Which made him a smart man.
“You’re a member of the club.”
He studied her for a second then nodded. Brownie points to the detective for not lying about that. “It’s not a big secret. But I don’t have anything to do with this.”
She waved that away. “You’ve never been to the other clubs. Plus, you don’t fit the profile, and the only other city you were in was Seattle. Of course, that wasn’t during the killings there.”
Again, he studied her. She knew she was being weighed, tested in some way again. Her father had often looked at everyone that way—including her.
“So what’s your role in this? Other than resources, what are you going to offer me?”
She drew in a deep breath and decided it was time to bite the bullet. Waiting was only going to prolong the issue, and she wanted to start right away.
“I’m going to be bait.”
Chapter Three
Shock held Rome immobile for a few seconds. His brain just refused to function. He heard the words, but they just didn’t seem to make sense. In that next instant, anger blazed through his blood.
“No fucking way.” He ground out the words, more than a little surprised by the vehemence in his tone. Even to his own ears, he sounded territorial.
She frowned at him. He didn’t know if it was his language or his reaction that she objected to. He didn’t really care.
She straightened her shoulders. “I wasn’t asking.” Her voice had turned a little bit prissy, and dammit, he even found that attractive. There was something definitely wrong with him.
“I said no.”
“I didn’t really ask.” Her tone told him that she wasn’t happy with him. Hell, he wasn’t happy with himself. It wasn’t that it was a stupid idea. Part of him realized it was probably a good plan. But the thought of her strutting through Rough ‘n Ready had his blood running cold. Or hot, thinking of what he would do to the first man who approached her. He pushed aside the oddly possessive feelings and put his mind back on track.
“There are a ton of reasons you shouldn’t do this.”
Her brow furrowed. “Can you think of one reason I shouldn’t?”
“First, it’s too dangerous.”
She rolled her eyes and took a sip of her wine. “Yes, of course. I can’t handle myself. I’m only a trained FBI agent. Heck, I traveled with my father from the time I was thirteen. I know how to handle myself.”
For a second, he was sidetracked by her comment. “You went with your father on jobs?”
She shrugged. “After my mother was…after she died, we had little to no family to take care of me. When my father made noises about quitting, his supervisor made sure I could go along with him if he got called out.”
Being considered one of the pioneers of criminal profiling, John Callahan could probably have asked for just about anything and gotten it. But what kind of man dragged a thirteen-year-old with him while hunting down the most disgusting scum of the universe? And just what the hell did it do to the woman sitting in front of him?