woman. He hated to see her giving those bastards
so much power over her.
So he was doing what he did best. Making sure the bad guys
were off the street. It was the only way he could protect her. And once he
found the missing piece and wrapped this case up, they could start having a
real relationship. Not that he was complaining about what they had right now.
It was nice to play knight in shining armor. But as much as he loved rescuing
damsels in distress he realized it didn’t make a solid foundation for a future.
Damsels tended to move on after the dragon was no longer terrorizing them. And
he didn’t want her to move on.
“You look like shit, Jacky-boy.”
He glanced up in greeting as Marcus walked over to his desk.
“I’d say the same but it’s got to be old news for you by now. After knowing you
for five years I can’t recall a single day you didn’t look like shit.” It was a
flat-out lie. The man was one of the best-looking agents on the force. But Jack
was pretty sure his ego could handle a little teasing.
And sure enough Marcus smiled at the good-natured rib.
“You’re just jealous. Some of us are pretty boys and others are the thinkers.
But a rare few are both.”
“I don’t think having a smart-ass mouth qualifies you as a
thinker.”
“Now you’ve wounded me.” He put his hand over his heart as
if injured. “And here I was going to give you a gift.”
“A gift you say? What kind of gift?”
Marcus held out a data chip. “I think you’re going to find
what’s on here very interesting.”
“Just so you know, I’m seeing someone now. So if this has
images of your cock, I’m not interested.” He slid the chip into the slot on his
reader as he spoke. “The guys downstairs might be though.”
“Ha. Ha. Ha.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Like I’d
waste such a precious gift on you. I did, however, send one to your new
girlfriend. You can thank me later.”
He smiled at the comment but didn’t bother to look up. The
images on the chip had captured his attention. “Who’s this talking to the
suspect? Is it his lawyer?” Thomas was in a prison uniform so it’d obviously
been taken after the bust. The man sitting across from him was in an immaculate
and expensive suit. Everything from his mannerisms to his air of authority told
Jack he wasn’t just another overindulged crime lord. This man knew how to fit
into society.
“Nope. He doesn’t have one. Doesn’t trust them. He thinks
they report back to us.”
“Not to fuel his paranoia but we are recording him.”
“Without sound.”
He nodded as he continued to watch the recording. “Which is
a damn shame. I mean, since it’s not his lawyer. It’d be nice to know what
brought Mr. Fancy to the detention station.”
“Yeah. Especially since that meeting never happened.”
That made him look up from his reader. “What?”
“Oh now I’m suddenly important again?”
“Come on, Marcus. You know I’d sit around staring at your
gorgeous face all day long if I had the time. But alas, I’ve got a life. So
what do you mean the visit never happened?”
“It’s not on the books. Whoever he is, he didn’t log in.”
He’d heard of a couple of “mistakes” in the past where
guards had allowed visitors into the detention center without having them
register. But he’d thought they’d taken care of that. The person must have been
able to make some pretty impressive promises to get the guards to look the
other way after the bloodletting that took place last time. “That’d take a lot
of power to accomplish.”
“Not to mention money.” It wasn’t comforting to know that
Marcus had the same suspicions. “And that’s not all. When I went to get the
recording, they told me it didn’t exist either.”
He’d gone to a great deal of trouble to obtain this. Jack
owed the man a dinner. “So how did you come to possess it?”
“You don’t want to know. Plausible deniability.”
Hell, maybe he owned
so much power over her.
So he was doing what he did best. Making sure the bad guys
were off the street. It was the only way he could protect her. And once he
found the missing piece and wrapped this case up, they could start having a
real relationship. Not that he was complaining about what they had right now.
It was nice to play knight in shining armor. But as much as he loved rescuing
damsels in distress he realized it didn’t make a solid foundation for a future.
Damsels tended to move on after the dragon was no longer terrorizing them. And
he didn’t want her to move on.
“You look like shit, Jacky-boy.”
He glanced up in greeting as Marcus walked over to his desk.
“I’d say the same but it’s got to be old news for you by now. After knowing you
for five years I can’t recall a single day you didn’t look like shit.” It was a
flat-out lie. The man was one of the best-looking agents on the force. But Jack
was pretty sure his ego could handle a little teasing.
And sure enough Marcus smiled at the good-natured rib.
“You’re just jealous. Some of us are pretty boys and others are the thinkers.
But a rare few are both.”
“I don’t think having a smart-ass mouth qualifies you as a
thinker.”
“Now you’ve wounded me.” He put his hand over his heart as
if injured. “And here I was going to give you a gift.”
“A gift you say? What kind of gift?”
Marcus held out a data chip. “I think you’re going to find
what’s on here very interesting.”
“Just so you know, I’m seeing someone now. So if this has
images of your cock, I’m not interested.” He slid the chip into the slot on his
reader as he spoke. “The guys downstairs might be though.”
“Ha. Ha. Ha.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Like I’d
waste such a precious gift on you. I did, however, send one to your new
girlfriend. You can thank me later.”
He smiled at the comment but didn’t bother to look up. The
images on the chip had captured his attention. “Who’s this talking to the
suspect? Is it his lawyer?” Thomas was in a prison uniform so it’d obviously
been taken after the bust. The man sitting across from him was in an immaculate
and expensive suit. Everything from his mannerisms to his air of authority told
Jack he wasn’t just another overindulged crime lord. This man knew how to fit
into society.
“Nope. He doesn’t have one. Doesn’t trust them. He thinks
they report back to us.”
“Not to fuel his paranoia but we are recording him.”
“Without sound.”
He nodded as he continued to watch the recording. “Which is
a damn shame. I mean, since it’s not his lawyer. It’d be nice to know what
brought Mr. Fancy to the detention station.”
“Yeah. Especially since that meeting never happened.”
That made him look up from his reader. “What?”
“Oh now I’m suddenly important again?”
“Come on, Marcus. You know I’d sit around staring at your
gorgeous face all day long if I had the time. But alas, I’ve got a life. So
what do you mean the visit never happened?”
“It’s not on the books. Whoever he is, he didn’t log in.”
He’d heard of a couple of “mistakes” in the past where
guards had allowed visitors into the detention center without having them
register. But he’d thought they’d taken care of that. The person must have been
able to make some pretty impressive promises to get the guards to look the
other way after the bloodletting that took place last time. “That’d take a lot
of power to accomplish.”
“Not to mention money.” It wasn’t comforting to know that
Marcus had the same suspicions. “And that’s not all. When I went to get the
recording, they told me it didn’t exist either.”
He’d gone to a great deal of trouble to obtain this. Jack
owed the man a dinner. “So how did you come to possess it?”
“You don’t want to know. Plausible deniability.”
Hell, maybe he owned
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