“Do any of you understand the words ‘usable’ and ‘evidence’?” They were going to kill him. He might catch the guy, but McKay-Taggart’s highly suspect investigative techniques would put him right back out on the street.
Sean shrugged. “If he gets off on a technicality, we’ll let Jesse kill him. Jesse hasn’t killed anyone in a while. He needs to let off a little pressure.”
Derek turned to him. Sometimes he couldn’t tell when they were joking. The last thing he needed was another dead body. “Are you serious?”
Sean held a hand up. “Chill. I promise we’ll figure out a way to do this by the book when you arrest him, but for now we need a break. We need to know where to look. As far as I can tell the doc over there has been seen at all three clubs where the victims played. I think he’s definitely a person of interest. He might have been just trying to find the right club or the lawsuit was the inciting incident that set him off. Eve’s going over all the files tonight. She wants to see how he behaved during the deposition. She couldn’t do it earlier because she and Alex were meeting with the adoption agency, but she swears she’ll get to it tonight. I also got the info you asked me about.”
Alex and Eve were adopting? That was nice. Maybe a passel of babies would calm the group down. Or just start another generation of evil geniuses. Did Karina want babies? His parents were always on him about grandkids. He wasn’t getting any younger.
“Derek?”
“Sorry.”
Sean shook his head. “I know that look, man. Just give in.”
He wasn’t about to argue with Sean. He kind of already had given in. He could tell himself it was best to distance from Karina but he flat out didn’t want to. He wasn’t going to lie to himself anymore. He wanted her. He didn’t want some unknown sub who would mindlessly obey him. He wanted Karina and she needed him. She didn’t need a part-time play partner. She needed a Dom. Hell, she needed a husband who protected her, who loved her.
“I don’t know if she’ll let me in. I fucked up earlier today. We’re fine right now, but she’s probably counting the hours until she can kick me out.” Master Will and his sub moved to the bar. Fucker. Still, if he rushed over it would look weird. He had to stay calm. Trust Karina. Trust the team.
“Tell me you didn’t accuse her of sleeping around.”
He winced a little. “I would love to tell you that, but my mother taught me not to lie.”
Sean groaned. “Dumbass. Karina isn’t Maia.”
He stared at her as she smiled up at Master Will. Now that he was really looking at her, the real Karina and not the one he’d made up in his head, he could see the difference in her smile. She was giving Master Will her best “client” smile. Pretty, friendly and warm, but without the all-out glow she saved for her friends. And without the heat she reserved for him. “I know. Not even close. If it makes you feel better, I accused her of sleeping with you as well as O’Donnell and the big guy. She didn’t give me enough time or I would have thrown the Brit in.”
He was such a fucking dumbass and he had to pray Karina could forgive him.
Sean had a great poker face. His expression never changed. “Don’t you ever tell the women. Ever.”
Shit. He hadn’t thought about the ramifications. “You think they would be mean to Karina?”
Sean huffed and rolled his eyes. “No, they love Karina. They will be more than mean to you. They will take off your balls and do crafts with them or some shit. You do not want to piss off the subs. Seriously. They’ve union ized. We should never have let them start that book club.”
The idea of the Sanctum subs looking for a little revenge spooked him. He didn’t want to know what Charlotte would do to him. “Yeah, let’s keep my stupidity between us. Do you think it would help my case if I ask her to marry me?”
Sean’s poker face dropped away. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I don’t think she’ll say yes.” He’d thought he’d never get married again. He thought he’d control the relationship by keeping it to a contracted D/s partnership with securely placed boundaries.
He didn’t want boundaries between them. He didn’t want fucking walls. He just wanted her. He wanted his wife. He wanted to take her home and have his mom fuss over her and his dad tell her she was far too good for his son. He wanted to get dragged to church and sit beside her and hold her hand.
“Well, then we’ll have to set the subs on her,” Sean said with an evil grin. “A few casually placed words about how she broke your heart and they’ll be all over her. They love drama and more than that they love matchmaking. I would be utterly terrified if I wasn’t married to the ringleader. Grace believes it’s her mission in life to make sure everyone gets married. I think she’s getting kickbacks from a wedding planner.”