“I can’t afford them. I don’t work for some big corporation with endless pockets.” She grinned a little. “Tag is my biggest client and I overcharge the hell out of him so I can work for the little guys. Most of my clients can’t pay me crap, but it doesn’t mean they don’t need me. It does mean that I can’t afford a big nice place. This is stretching my budget as it is.”
Sean snorted a little. “I knew there was a reason I loved you, K. You keep sticking it to big brother. I’ll never tell.”
Liam chuckled. “You always were one to fight the good fight, love. Now let’s talk about how to ease ourselves into your daily life.”
They were worried that the unsub would figure out something was wrong if she suddenly had a bunch of men in her life. It made sense. If he’d been watching her for any amount of time, he’d likely seen a woman who worked and went to clubs and not a whole lot else. “I thought you were going to work at one of the clubs. Can’t I meet you there?”
“Alex had an in. He got me a job as a bartender at the club we’re most interested in. Li’s going in as a bouncer. I don’t want to overtax our resources so we’re going to put our emphasis on that club. Three of the four victims had been known to play there. But I think we need a story about why Li and I come in and out of your place so often, and you need to stick with it with anyone who doesn’t know the truth. I mean anyone, Karina.”
“That wouldn’t be a whole lot of people, guys,” Karina admitted. “I work most of the time. The people at Sanctum are pretty much the whole of my social group.”
“Good,” Liam said. “The less people we have to deal with, the better.”
There was a knock on her door.
Sean frowned. “I thought you said you didn’t have friends.”
She shrugged. “Maybe it’s Brighton. He said he was coming over. He’s early though.”
Karina crossed the small space to the door and opened it, expecting to see the big gorgeous cop who she was absolutely, one hundred percent not going to sleep with. Her mouth dropped open. “Terry?”
Her brother-in-law stood in the doorway, grinning from ear to ear. He was a younger version of Kevin in the face, though he was much more slender in build than her husband had been. “Hey, Karina. Bet you’re surprised to see me.”
Well, that threw a big old wrench into her plans. “You could say that.”
He held up his arm, and Karina could see the beginnings of a cast wrapped around his hand. The rest was in a long-sleeved shirt, but she could see the outline of the cast went almost to his elbow. “Come on. Let me in. I’m injured. I only have a couple of minutes until I have to go see my therapist. He’s just up the road a bit, so I thought I’d stop by to let you know I’m in town.”
She shook her head, completely in shock. She hadn’t seen Terry in years, hadn’t even spoken to him in almost six months. Terry was the only one left from Kevin’s family besides some distant cousins and uncles and aunts, who hadn’t been close. He was older than she remembered, thinner. “Of course. What happened to your arm?”
He sighed as he stepped inside. Her small apartment was getting crowded. “The usual. I was in the Caribbean making a little cash by taking the tourists deep sea fishing. They got drunk and harassed the girl I had serving drinks. Asshole broke my arm. Needless to say I’m no longer welcome at the Bermuda Fisherman’s Club. I have a friend who’s a therapist here. I’m staying with him while I rehab.” He turned and caught sight of Liam and Sean. “And you have friends over. Wow. I didn’t expect that.”
She felt herself flush. There was no way to miss the disapproval in his voice. It was stupid, but the idea of Kevin’s brother thinking she was screwing around really made her nervous. It was almost like Kevin finding out. Utterly irrational, but she found herself floundering. “Guys, this is Terry Mills. He’s Kevin’s brother. Terry, uhm, this is…”
Sean’s face went from hard to smooth in a heartbeat and he stepped up. “Her very good friend. I’m Sean. This is my boy, Li. I would call him my husband, but we’re not allowed to do that in the state of Texas. It’s a shame you know because our wedding would be fabulous.”
Liam stared at Sean. “Are ya kidding?”
Sean rolled his eyes negligently. “Don’t mind him. He doesn’t want to spend the money on a wedding. He’s a tightwad. So you’re Karina’s brother-in-law? I have to admit we’ve been curious about our girl’s family.”