“Stop. I’ll give you a call as soon as I’m ready.”
She gave him another kiss on the cheek and then slipped out of the conference room. He stood there for a while, fighting the need to follow her. There was something off about this, something that stuck in his gut. He was about to do that when his cell rang. He recognized Maria’s number immediately.
“Hey.”
“Hey, I got the info on the other women. Every one of them had some kind of altercation with police in the six months leading up to their murders.”
Irritated, he bit back a curse. “I can’t believe they didn’t figure that out before now. I can’t believe I missed it.”
“Not easy to find. Not all of them ended up in the permanent files, and not all of them had the dealings in their own city. None of them were arrested for anything, though. Nothing that would raise a red flag.”
“But something should have told us.”
“Yeah, because the FBI and the HPD are both perfect and never make mistakes.” He could hear the laughter in her voice.
“I thought you’d be pissed.”
“I am. I should have caught it. I was looking at the big picture, so it was easier than say, well, you. Your main objective is to catch the guy killing your residents. “
“So what’s the plan now?” he asked as he saw his chief walk by and motion for him to come to a meeting.
“We need to go back to the club. Hiding in your house isn’t going to cut it.”
Rome knew that. The best way to get the killer’s attention would be to attend the club nightly. It was asinine, but he didn’t want another man looking at her. It wasn’t as if he had some kind of claim to her, but taking her to the club just didn’t sit well with him. He could lie to other people and say it was the danger of the situation, but deep in his gut, though, he knew it wasn’t true.
“Rome?”
Her voice brought him back to earth, out of his musings. “Okay. We’ll go tonight. I gotta go to a meeting and then I’ll be able to break away.”
After hanging up with her, he headed off to the department meeting, his mind still on the night ahead. His cop instincts knew Maria’s plan would work, and soon. Their guy knew a lot about them, about every case. He would know Rome was investigating and that he was involved with a sub. More than likely, he was casing Rough ‘n Ready looking for his next woman. With Maria in the crosshairs, there was a good chance he would zero in on her.
Rome just hoped he didn’t lose his sanity or his focus on the case. He didn’t want another mistake like before. Of course, having an agent as good as Maria would definitely keep things squeaky clean. The investigation would probably not be a problem.
His heart, now that could be a major problem. Amy was right. They all were. He was falling for Maria, and hard. He knew it was more than her looks. She was perfect for him in that department, but there was something else, that elusive vulnerability he saw last night…it made him want to risk loving again. He doubted she showed many people that side of her. The fact that she did so for him made him feel special.
Jesus, he had to get a grip on his emotions. Or he would be talking to Evan and Micah like they were on an episode of Dr. Phil.
“Carino, get your ass in here,” the captain yelled.
All worries about Maria and what would actually come of their relationship faded to the background as he hurried into the captain’s office.
· · · · ·
Three nights later, they were at the club again, and Rome was getting antsy. The case was getting under his skin. There hadn’t been a peep out of their guy in days. Worse, he was really having a hard time being at the club every night with Maria.
She did nothing more than accompany him to the club. She did not flirt and behaved like the perfect sub. Rome, though, was ready to beat the living hell out of anyone who looked their way. He couldn’t help the need to touch Maria. He wanted everyone to know who she belonged to. In all his years as a Dom, he had never been so territorial. The double-edged sword was that every time he touched Marie, his frustration rose. Just being this close had his libido running hard.
“Do you want anything to drink?” Maria asked. She had to lean closer, her body rubbing up against his. Her scent captured him, as did the heat of her body. Just thinking that reminded him of the way it felt to slide into that tight little pussy of hers. Nothing had ever felt so right as when he was inside of her.
“Rome?”
He drew himself back from the edge.
“I’ll take a soda.”
She gave him a look, but there was no way either of them would drink. Even after going over all the information they had, there didn’t seem to be any interest from anyone. Not over the top, like someone who might be killing girls would. The sexual tension mixed in with the tension of the case had him ready to scream. Hell, they’d made love before coming out, and he wanted her again.