Dungeon Games(10)

Of course she wasn’t wearing a handy, frothy skirt. No. None of that for tough PI Karina. She had on a sturdy pair of jeans and a high-necked T-shirt. Masculine. He preferred her in a corset and thong.

“The Rangers are in charge, Brighton.”

As attempts to regain control went, Derek thought it was fairly weak. “Yes, the Rangers are in charge of the investigation, but I’m in charge of you.”

Let her sit on that for a moment.

“No.”

“Yes.” It was time to get a little firm. “You will report to me during this operation or I’ll have you in protective custody and in a safe house before you can take your next breath. If, at any time, I decide you’re a danger to the operation or yourself, I’ll place you in protective custody. If you step out of line or disobey me, I’ll…”

“Have me in protective custody,” Karina finished with a bitter note. “Yeah, I get it. I know this case better than you.”

She was obviously recovering. “You didn’t even realize it was a serial case.”

“Yeah, well, you didn’t even realize it was a case at all, Mr. Hotshot Homicide Detective. I bet Amanda wishes you hadn’t dropped the ball on that one.”

There was the righteous bitch he knew so well. She was hard on a man’s ego and she’d managed to score a perfect shot. Amanda had given everyone around her hell, but that didn’t mean he wanted her dead. He should have protected her, should have seen what was going to happen.

“Derek, I shouldn’t have said that.” She leaned forward, her eyes sympathetic. “That was rude of me, but it points out all the reasons we shouldn’t work together. Believe it or not, I’m actually quite thoughtful. I’m very rarely rude to anyone, but you bring out the worst in me.”

And the deep need to lash right back at her had damn near overwhelmed him. Somehow she managed to hurt him more than anyone else. He’d always given in to those instincts before, but he needed to deal with her fairly and in a D/s fashion. “We should settle on punishments first then. Every time you’re rude to me, it’s a count of twenty. I don’t expect you to obey me in everyday life, but when we’re working, there will be stiff punishments for any infraction of the rules. I understand that you’re a professional investigator, but you are no longer in charge of this case. You will turn over everything you have to the Rangers and consider yourself under my charge until this is cleared up.”

He kind of loved the fact that her jaw had dropped and she shook her head in a slightly stunned fashion. “No. I…no.”

He reached for the phone. “All right. I’ll make sure the protective custody officers find you someplace nice.”

It wouldn’t be nice. It would be some rathole because that would be all the department could afford. He was sure if Big Tag hadn’t been traipsing around Europe he would lean on someone and get Karina off the hook, but without him, Karina was at Derek’s mercy.

And he had none. Damn, but it was good to have the advantage for once in his life.

Her hand shot out, staying the call. “Don’t. I’m not spending the next two weeks in some fleabag motel eating bad takeout. This is stupid, Derek. You can’t want this. Besides, isn’t it going to throw this guy off if I suddenly show up with a Dom?”

“Two of the vics had full-time Doms. Amanda had been seen playing with a Dom she’d dated for a month. She hadn’t been collared, but he was with her just a few hours before her death. The unsub doesn’t give a shit about whether you’re taken or not. Very likely he’ll find it a challenge to try to kill you right under my nose.” Something about the crimes screamed arrogance to Derek. This perp was proud of his work. He was showing off.

“Or he’ll get scared off.”

“That’s better than the alternative.”

“What alternative?”

“He actually kills you.”

She snorted, an entirely unfeminine sound that he should have found offensive. Should have. “Like I would let that happen.”

“Amanda was a cop. She might have had a nasty personality, but don’t think for a second that she didn’t know how to handle herself. She’d taken all of her self-defense courses. She was perfectly fit. And she’s dead. So I don’t give a damn what you think you can handle. You can handle working with me or…”

She snarled a little as she finished the sentence for him. “…go into protective custody. You’re starting to sound like a broken record, Brighton. You need to get some new material. Damn it. You see what you push me to? I am not this girl.”