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“I’ll handle your commander. Are you looking for Marco and Luca Boneiro, the ones who escaped?”
“That’s what Jared is trying to establish.”
Paxton leaned forward to stare at the various images flashing on the different monitors. To the right, the photos of the two in question were prominently displayed. Marco portrayed the barbarian he was, whereas his eldest son, Luca, had movie star looks.
“From just his appearance, it’s hard to believe Luca Boneiro has a criminal background.”
“Which is exactly why it’s so easy for him to manipulate people. He changed his name twenty-three years ago to Drake Baxter when he officially joined the mob ranks as a young twenty-year-old soldier. He is now the underboss of the Boneiro Mafia group. We came across the information on the dark web. To the community, he’s a successful property developer who aims to make the world a greener environment. Baxter Eco Development LLC is global and worth billions. Not many people know he’s the feared Mafia Boss’ son.”
“All a front, of course. The company is also used for money laundering?”
Cruz glanced at her. “You’re a quick study.”
Paxton smiled indulgently. “It would be a mistake to underestimate the Red Reign women. Don’t let our stilettos fool you. We didn’t get to be one of the most sought-after private investigation agencies on the West Coast because we’re females. We kick ass because we’re intelligent and competent.”
“Maybe so but correct me if I’m wrong. There are only the four of you, right?”
“Because we deal in specialized cases that many agencies won’t accept. Customers that require highly skilled operators who excel at thinking outside the box, uncovering information through surveilling, computer hacking, and other creative endeavors, call on us. We’re not interested in chasing cheating spouses or runaways, except if there appears to be a twist. We accept cases where lives are in danger or could potentially end in disasters affecting many others. Our main function is surveillance, information gathering, tracing, and finding. Recovery in most cases is handled by relevant authorities.”
“Very noble, Miss. Lee. Your own words define why you’re not capable of standing up to Boneiro.”
Paxton shot a glance over her shoulder as Jared’s deep voice spoke from behind.
“Where did you come from?” She looked at the door he’d disappeared through earlier. It was in her line of vision but she didn’t see him return.
“Just because I allowed you access into this stronghold, doesn’t mean I’m going to divulge all of our secrets.” He leaned against the wall as he studied her. “You completed your mission and returned Senator Wilson’s daughter to him. It’s over and this...” he nodded toward the monitors, “is not your concern.”
“You and Senator Wilson made it my concern.” Her voice was taut and edgy. She’d had it with his pretentious attitude. Her eyes widened as she watched him remove a pair of padded leather gloves. “You’re torturing those men, aren’t you?”
“I think I’m going to see if the kitties in the kitchen need help with those snacks.” Cruz subtly retreated and left Jared to deal with Paxton. It was a battle he would relish observing from a safe distance, having never seen a woman like her go toe-to-toe with Jared. It was just the prelude to a first round. It was all that he would witness before getting the nod to leave.
Jared waited until Cruz left before he responded. “We don’t torture. We extract information. We are bound by the Geneva Convention but there are times when enhanced methods are employed to obtain intel. We only cross that boundary where National Security is at stake.” He claimed Cruz’s empty chair and swiveled around to face Paxton.
“We’re not a PI agency. We deal with hardcore white-collar criminals and murderers. Giving them a pat on the back and asking nicely for information doesn’t work. This particular case is about more than a kidnapping, although, I have to admit, I’m impressed with how quickly you discovered their location.”
“Thank you, Commander,” she replied with a subtle nod. “I’m well aware of what it is you do. What I don’t understand is how you arrived just minutes after we did. Why don’t you share some intelligence? Who are you working for?”
Paxton never minced her words. Jared suppressed a smile as her folded arms displaced an amply endowed pair of breasts that swelled out of the triangular opening of her unbuttoned blouse. For a woman of petite stature, she was all business. There was nothing superfluous about her. Nothing was wasted. She was as mentally fit as she was physically. A complete athlete and as badass a species as ever there was. He appreciated that... more than he should.
He studied her intently to decide if he should follow his gut instinct. He was rarely wrong about people. His respect wasn’t a cheap commodity. It had to be earned. Due to the nature of the cases they undertook, he didn’t trust easily— and never with any information revealing their operations. It was key to remaining invisible and staying alive. But then, there was the rare occasion when the rules could be bent. It was with Paxton Lee that he was willing to play the odds. He hoped his judgement wasn’t going to come back to bite him in the ass.
That she didn’t prod him further but instead waited patiently, counted heavily in her favor. She was a woman with unimpeachable credentials. That much he already knew from the thorough background check Cruz had done on her and the other members of the Red Reign PI group.
“Who we work for is not important. What is important is that your presence, tonight, compromised our mission. We’ve been on Marco Boneiro’s tail for the past five years, waiting for him to slip up, giving us a solid, legal reason to apprehend and charge him with a crime severe enough to put him away. A man like him with all of his extensive political contacts, you only get one chance. We can’t afford to slip up. If we don’t have an airtight case, he and all his operatives are going to walk free.”
Jared stretched out his legs and watched her flinch when his calves rubbed on either side of hers. The boss kitty was not as unaffected by his closeness as she’d like him to believe.
“It seems his eager youngest son, Stefano, fucked up by taking Courtney to the family home. It’s a location that hasn’t been on our radar since the property isn’t registered to any of the entities the Boneiros are associated with. In their eagerness, they slipped up and we managed to trace them there.”
He didn’t divulge that they had stumbled across the Red Reign’s assignment to find the Wilson girl due to the fact that they’d been keeping an eye on the senator, himself. She only needed to know enough to make her understand the danger she was in.
“Somehow, I get the impression you’re not happy with the outcome of what happened tonight.” Paxton did her best to keep her feet in place and not move them. Her skin tingled where their legs touched, sending a sizzling tremor all over her body. It hampered her concentration on what he was saying.
Why the devil is he affecting me like this? It’s not the first time I've been in his presence.
Maybe it’s because it’s the first time he’s going all Dom on you?
The echo of her inner debate did little to calm her nerves. Handling a forceful black ops commander was one thing and so far she’d held her ground. The Dom factor had caught her off guard, especially since the submissive inside her was drawn to him like a magnet on steroids. In all the years she’d been in a BDSM lifestyle, it was the first time a Dominant affected her like this. Her late husband had never achieved such a strong reaction.
