AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Ten
Easton silenced another missed call from the office as he turned down his street. Two cars were already parked out front. Gus’s SUV and Kinley’s car. There were things he needed to talk to Kinley about in private, but he couldn’t deny it felt good that the cavalry had shown up at his door, especially given the events of the last hour. Although, now that Kinley had her car back, he’d have to talk to her about the importance of staying. Of being safe. He wasn’t sure who to trust, but one thing was certain—he could always rely on his siblings to have his back.
Before he could stop the car, the garage door whipped open and Sasha jogged down the steps, bright red hair bouncing over her shoulders. She was at the passenger side door before he could kill the engine, opening the door for Kinley. Sasha wrapped Kins into a crushing hug before throwing one arm around her shoulders to walk her inside. Gus’s fiancée waved at him and mouthed a hello as they rounded the car. The garage door rattled closed, and for a moment, he allowed his head to drop, his eyes to shut. That shit had been too close.
Kinley wasn’t going to relive any more pain from her past. He wouldn’t allow it. Yeah, right. She’d have his balls just for the mere thought of shielding her. Pain radiated through his skull, and he pinched the bridge of his nose to ease the ache. He couldn’t let himself forget that the mission was to rid her and the world from the worst humanity had to offer, not interject himself into her life in a way that would hurt them both in the end. Except he couldn’t wipe that kiss clean from his mind. In less than a minute, and with just one taste of her full lips, molten heat had devoured him from the inside out. And that wasn’t even the dangerous part.
No, that came when the kiss tapered off, and she gave him soft and sweet. That was a direct hit to his battered soul. The way she gently nibbled on his lower lip and held on to him was his undoing. Made him wish her trauma wasn’t a reflection of his own. How could he ever help her heal from what she’d been through when he wasn’t truly whole himself? He released a long, jagged breath and pushed open the car door. His shoes were silent against the poured concrete, but the pulse throbbing at the base of his neck resounded in his ears. He sucked in a long breath before he climbed the three steps to the door and entered the mudroom. If he could keep his emotions in check around Kinley, he might just survive this mission.
He strode down the foyer hallway and rounded the corner. The scent was the first thing that hit him. Jules had made her famous lasagna. There was garlic bread cooling, and a half-assembled salad waited on the counter. A low growl emanated from the floor at his feet.
“Nice to see you too, Gilligan.” He wasn’t sure why Jules insisted on bringing that ornery chihuahua everywhere. Good thing the angry little elf was getting used to him—he’d needed stitches in the space between his thumb and index finger after their first meet and greet. His cat was probably off in some corner, stewing and plotting on the best ways to make him pay for their canine visitor. The conversation halted the moment Jules glanced up at him. She crossed the room, stood up on her toes, and threw her arms around his neck.
“Why can’t my brothers ever stay out of trouble?” she whispered in his ear before releasing him. “I told Kinley to wait on updating us until we’re all around the table. That way you guys only have to tell it once.”
“Nothing to tell, Jules. It’s an active investigation. One I want you nowhere near.” His sister had witnessed enough darkness in her life. They all did their best to shelter her from the atrocities they experienced at work. The dark web was host to stomach-turning information, never mind what Gus witnessed as a homicide detective and Isaac as a SEAL.
Her lips pursed. “Thought that might be your answer. And so I’m not left feeling like the useless one in the family, there’re some casseroles in your freezer.”
He bent down and gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head. “You’re an angel.”
“Sasha and I will finish dinner while you three talk.” She tipped her head toward Gus and Kinley. Gus’s fiancée was slicing cucumbers and arranging them in the salad. He nodded at his sister, infusing as much appreciation as he could muster into his expression.
Gus and Kinley had crossed the room and were talking in hushed tones. As he got closer, the lines furrowing her brow and the way her hand fisted at her sides burned through his gut. He hated to see her hurting. “What’s going on?” His words were sharper than he intended.
Gus raised one eyebrow, then glanced between himself and Kinley. One side of his brother’s lips quirked into a smile before he neutralized his expression. Gus cleared his throat, masking the low rumble that emanated from his. Where the fuck had these protective, possessive urges bubbled up from? Isaac and Gus always described him as the laidback one, but around Kinley, he felt anything but easygoing. The rope of calm and collected ripped through his hands, no matter how tightly he tried to grasp ahold. Where she was concerned, he wanted plan on top of contingency plan. No chances. No fuckups. Not with her.
“We have some information,” Gus began.
“Let’s go to my office.” He didn’t care how many smug looks he got from Gus, the tension was shedding off of Kinley in layers so thick, it was hard to breathe past the strain in the air. He grasped her much smaller hand in his, offering his support. The way she accepted his touch though, and welcomed it, splintered something in his chest. The sharp pieces that fell away revealed something smooth and soft beneath. Something that felt a lot like contentment, or maybe even peace.
The room was located at the end of the hallway off of the living room. Originally, it had been designed as an additional main bedroom, but he’d been more than happy to fill the space with a sleek horseshoe-shaped desk with built-in cabinets lining the walls. There was a gentle hum of a hard drive cooling fan on one of numerous computers. His command center—the one place he was truly in control and could make a difference. Intel he’d uncovered during his career had led to the rescue of missing and exploited children, underage sex trafficking rings, and the prosecution of pedophiles. Yeah, he was damn proud of what he did.
Rarely did he have company in this room, but he did have a few extra chairs just in case. He dragged one of the rolling chairs away from the desk and positioned it toward Kinley.
“Thanks,” she mumbled. “I’d rather stand, though. I don’t think I could sit still if I tried.”
“Might want to sit.” Gus sighed and sank into his own chair across from her.
“That good, huh?” Kinley crossed her arms over her chest and began to pace. She was wound tight, and he hated the circumstances that caused her this angst.
He sat near the chair he’d pulled out for Kinley. “Give it to us.”
“The victim was identified by her family as Becca Murray. Multiple priors for solicitation in Worcester, Boston, and even New York. Back in the early two-thousands, though, Murray was an informant on a federal case that took down a prostitution ring in Southie. Cause of death intentional poisoning. Batrachotoxin was found in the victim’s system and in the mug.”
“I’ll pull the names of everyone who worked that case.” Maybe Becca Murray’s killer had known her. Perhaps lured her to the abandoned home with the promise of compensation for new information on criminal activity.
“Batrachotoxin?” Kinley scrunched up her nose. “What the hell is that?”
“I had to look it up,” Gus said. “It’s a cardiotoxin and paralytic found in some frogs.”
He’d already turned his chair back to the monitor to search where someone would get their hands on something like that. “Golden Dart Frogs.”
“Seriously?” Kinley let out a bitter laugh. “From the great rainforests of New England? Where does that lead us?”
Easton smiled at Kinley’s snark. It was so much better than hearing the pain in her voice. “Looks like you can order one online, have it shipped to you live for around eighty bucks. Highly prized among amphibian enthusiasts.”
“Why do people buy pets that could potentially kill them?” Kinley quipped.
