What Jake didn’t mention was that the usual stuff also included near misses with weapons of variable caliber. “You watch your back, Dean.”
Jacob Dean smiled. “You watch yours, too. Or rather let the lieutenant watch it. We got the update. You be careful. Any bullets fly your way, you hide behind Brighton. He’s tough. He can handle it.”
“Okay, turn him my way.” Adam had walked back over from his errand at the fridge. He held a small plate in his hand and a fork.
Karina turned the tablet and Adam suddenly had a shit-eating grin on his face as he held up what looked like a slice of lemon cream pie.
“The doctor’s visit went great,” Adam said. “Perfect. Serena is clear for activities of all kind, so that’s why she made me this pie.” He took a bite, obviously relishing it. “It’s the best pie, Jake. It’s after-baby pie. It’s ‘haven’t had any pie in three months’ pie. It’s all my pie because they don’t have this pie in Europe, motherfucker. Mmmmm. Don’t worry, I’ll eat your share, too.”
“You suck!” the voice from the tablet yelled.
Yeah, she was pretty sure Adam wasn’t talking about pie. At least not the one in his hands. “You two work out your shit. I have a job to do.”
She set the tablet down, grabbed her coffee mug, and started out of the kitchen. The whole time Adam kept telling Jake how good the pie tasted and how long it would be before he got any.
She nearly ran into Liam. Only his big hands stopped her from falling back.
“You all right?” Li asked, steadying her.
She nodded and was grateful she’d only half filled the mug. Derek had brought her coffee in bed this morning. They’d lain there, him watching the morning news and her sipping coffee while she rested against him. It had been peaceful. Just being around her Dom was comfortable. She could let her mind get quiet around him. Not her Dom. He was only hers for a while and she should remember that. “I’m good. What’s the word on the searches you ran? I would ask Adam, but he’s eating pie.”
Li’s eyes flared. “Seriously? He’s doing that in the break room? Damn, the minute Big Tag leaves, everything goes to hell.”
She chuckled. His mind would go there. “Real pie, silly. Serena’s not here. He’s got Jake on line and he’s giving him hell about something.”
Liam snorted a little. “Adam can wait a long time for revenge. I’ll remember that. Come on to my office. There’s been a development.”
She followed him down the hall toward his office. “What kind of development?”
“Apparently you got an e-mail. I just talked to Eve. We missed the meeting, but she forwarded the message to me.”
She looked back at the conference room, flustered. “How the hell did I miss the meeting? I just went to the bathroom and to get a cup of coffee.”
“And I was running a couple of minutes late. I think it was supposed to take longer, but Alex and Eve have some mystery appointment and the ADA got her panties in a wad about something. She was screaming into her cell phone as I walked in and she walked out. Something about a warrant out for her arrest.”
Karina gave him her most innocent smile. “Wow. I would not have expected that.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed. It was times like this she remembered he was a Dom. “What is she wanted for, darlin’, because I’m betting this is Karina karma coming to bite her in the ass. She was mean to you?”
“As far as I can tell she’s mean to everyone. And she cheated on Derek like five hundred times. Did you know she slept with his brother? While he was overseas. Sometimes the universe gets it wrong and it’s up to me to help justice along a little. I think you will discover that she’s had her identity stolen by a notorious madam who runs a house of ill repute.”
Li shook his head. “You’re incorrigible. Derek should tie you to a bench and smack that ass red.”
She would probably like that. “It will all get sorted out. I haven’t done anything that would really damage her, but if she keeps trying to set Derek up with other subs, I might.”
“That’s a whole other issue, K. Let’s deal with the serial killer first. Do you not check your e-mail accounts?” He opened the door to his office and strode to his desk, letting his muscular body slide into his chair. He flipped open his laptop, his fingers moving over the keyboard of his computer.
“I check my work e-mail.” She sunk into the chair in front of his desk and looked at the newest addition to his office. There was a small framed picture on his desk. Karina smiled as she looked at it. A glowing Avery held a tiny bundle in her arms. “How is Aidan?”