Before he could argue more, his front doorbell rang. He wasn’t expecting anyone, so he figured it was someone who was lost.
“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?”