The smug bastard. She wanted to say screw him, but bit her lip against saying anything she might regret. She met his whiskey brown gaze. “I don’t trust you.”
“Then we’re even.”
That stung, too. She stood, pulling away.
This was a bad idea.
Taggert sat, and the blanket pooled in his lap. Her retreat faltered, her gaze drifted lower. She couldn’t help admire the image they presented sitting side by side. The normal cynicism in Jackson’s eyes was absent. She couldn’t tell if the men were playing her or not, but she couldn’t deny the shiver that passed through her at seeing them in her bed.
A ray of light caught the chain, and any fantasy of having more fractured. He was a slave. Property to protect.
She gazed at Jackson and shook her head. “I’m not ready for that kind of exchange. For all I know, this whole thing could be a trap.”
“Why would anyone want to trap you?” The low pitch of his voice was soothing, comforting.
A lie. She felt invaded by them and their damn curiosity. “Like you said, lights out.” She reached for the light.
“Why bother with the switch?” Jackson rose, his eyes on her in challenge as he sat back down on his makeshift bed. Daring her, teasing her with the knowledge of how much he knew.
He never once looked away.
Plunging the room into darkness without so much as a twitch, Raven turned her back on them and went over to her desk. She should just leave. She didn’t understand why she didn’t.
The bed creaked, and she tensed. Risking a quick glance, she saw Taggert lying on his side, staring at her. “Don’t leave.”
Jackson’s heavy sigh forestalled any questions she might have posed. Her eyes narrowed. She had to get Taggert by himself. He’d tell her what she wanted to know and maybe she could find a way to pry Jackson’s ass out of her business. She ignored the little niggle of worry that spending more time alone with either of them would only draw them tighter into her life.
The phone rang, saving her from forming an answer.
She rose, but Taggert was faster. “Raven Investigation.”
“One moment, please.” Taggert extended the phone. “Detective Scotts for you.”
Raven winced and took the phone. Maybe Scotts wouldn’t assume they were sleeping together. “Scotts?”
He spoke without preamble. “I have another body at the morgue.”
She hesitated, cringing at the number of dead bodies in the vicinity of the morgue. She’d planned to sneak in later, but only after she had more time to lock her powers down tight.
She glanced at the men in the dark, their postures way too alert for her liking. She had a choice. More painful conversation or the small probability of accidently raising the dead? “I’m on my way.”
Even before she hung up the phone, Jackson stood, groping for his pants. Part of her logical brain stuttered at all that flesh on display. She blinked and shook her head, ignoring the way her hand shook at the urge to touch him.
“You’re staying.” She didn’t need company, especially if the place overwhelmed her, and she needed to detox.
“You can’t go to the morgue by yourself in the middle of the night.” He slipped socks over his feet, the boots came next.
“Stupid wolf hearing.” Raven shut down the computer from sleep mode and locked it in the desk. “You’re not trained for these cases or welcomed. You’ll get us both kicked out again.”
“You’ve tried to convince me that your detective is a reasonable normal. Prove it. He’d understand if I came with you as protection.”
Protection? Wasn’t that a laugh. Who would protect him from her if she lost control? “Not happening.” She nodded toward Taggert. “You were sent to keep an eye out for him. You’re staying.”
“Get up.” Jackson slapped the bed, and Taggert immediately complied. “I was also sent to make sure you were a suitable candidate.” His smile was all teeth. “Since you refuse to share the information, I have no choice but monitor you myself.”
She wondered if she could reach the car ahead of them, then sighed. They were wolves. Her feet would never touch the grass before they caught up with her.
Moonlight gleamed off Taggert’s backside as he bent over, and heat filled her face. She whirled around, flustered at the knowledge he slept nude. The fact that she’d sat within inches of him and had a conversation only made her cheeks burn more.
Raven clenched her fists and headed toward the door, running from the enticing images of them in her room and her life. If she had any hope of solving the cases on docket without more bodies piling up, she had to keep a clear head. That meant keeping her distance from them.