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She couldn’t know about the cell, not an exact location, but I didn’t correct her. Knowing too much was as big a flaw as not knowing enough. It drew suspicion.
“How can we help?” That was the royal “we” as in me, my associates, whichever employees I instructed to speak with her. I would make sure we gave her enough to keep her quiet, keep her out of here. Cops sniffing around an illegal fight club was bad for business.
“Do you know a Moni Ballinger?” She retrieved a photo from the inside pocket of her jacket and slid it across my desk, her gaze ever closer to landing on the computer’s stream, but she backed away before she hazarded so much as a glimpse. I was starting to question her abilities as a detective.
I gestured to the window behind me. “As you can see, Detective.” I gave a quick glance at the dance floor, the pulsing lights flashing in time to the beat of the music, and the wall-to-wall bodies. “Thousands of college kids come in and out of this club every week.” Not a brag. Those were the facts. “I couldn’t possibly meet every single one, but I can check video surveillance and the receipts, certainly.”
“How kind of you.” Her voice was dry. Unamused. Detective Hall was most definitelynotenamored by my charms.
“Anything to help the police.” I quirked a grin, that clearly didn’t win me any favors, either.
Again, she inclined her head. “Of course.” She stood from her seat and skirted the desk to look out the window. “You have quite the view from here.”
“It helps.” I didn’t specify how or why it helped. She was the detective and could make her own inferences.
She didn’t elaborate. Hall must’ve had a bigger card up her sleeve. “Word around town is that you’re the champion in some underground fight club.”
Ah, “word” was a funny thing. Most rumors had a basis in truth. This one was based in fact. “You know the first rule of fight club…?” I smiled when she did. “There’s no fight club, Detective.”
“Well, Brad Pitt, if there is no fight club, why do you suppose everyone I’ve spoken to mentioned that the dead girl was at an underground fight club watching you and her boyfriend go at it?” She had too much information for it to be true, but not enough for her to be dangerous. Yet.
“That’s very interesting.” I pretended to think on it for a beat. “Maybe they have me confused with someone else. I’ve been told I have a popular face.”
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “If yours was a popular face, the world would be much prettier. But I bet you know that.”
I couldn’t decide if she was calling me arrogant or hitting on me. I shrugged, ever humble. “I do okay.”
She arched a brow, again her voice dry. “I’ll bet.” Moving away from the window, she made direct eye contact. An intimidation tactic that wouldn’t ever work on me. “Did you do okay with Moni Bollinger?” She smirked. “I’ve also heard you have a thing for the ladies.”
“You must have very big ears.” Who the fuck was doing all this talking about me and my club and the fights beneath it? I wanted names.
She tucked her hair behind one of her adequately proportionate ears and grinned. “All the better for listening to secrets.” Her tongue slid slowly across her lower lip. It was almost like she was determined to make it look like she was trying to turn me on without actuallytryingto turn me on. She was performing all the right moves, but without the sincerity behind it.
I quirked a brow, a question of her intent. “And who is telling these secrets?”
She tilted her head, full-on batting her lashes. “No one yet, but if you want to chat…”
I chuckled. “Very subtle.” And no fucking way was she as astute as I thought. No, she was more. Her act was perfect. She wanted me to believe she was awkward, to disarm me, to call out the chivalry she assumed I had inside me, bursting to be free.
“We all go with our strengths.”
If that were the case, she would dress better, because the body was definitely where her power lay. Had there not been a Riley, I might’ve been tempted.
“Unfortunately, the only help I can offer is credit card receipts and surveillance footage.”
Her enthusiasm died and she nodded, skirting the desk again, and I glanced at Riley on the screen. She hadn’t moved.
Detective Hall set a business card on my desk. “My work number and my cell. You can call anytime. I’m always up.”
I picked up the card.Detective Katherine Hall.And what an absolute pleasure it was to meet her. I could only hope we would be seeing one another again soon.
Until then, I went back to staring at Riley. It was going to be a long night.
Riley
The initiation chamber hadn’t been as bad as my mind had built it up to be. And no one died last night, so we’d all been released this morning, and I wasted no time getting the hell out of there. The dress was fabulous and form-fitting and made me feel beautiful, but it’d been hell for sleeping.
When the limousine brought me home, I hadn’t been sure of the etiquette—whether or not I was supposed to tip the driver. I hadn’t because I had no money to tip. It wasn’t like the dress had pockets. Next time I wore attire like I was about to have an audience with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, I would bring a bag and throw a couple bucks inside.
