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“Because I need it. You’re going to turn me over to the DAA at some point. We both know it. You have no choice.”
He wouldn’t let it come to that.
Zirkov reached out and traced her shapely eyebrow, then continued over her soft cheeks. “You’re hiding something from me, Magdalena. I will find out what it is.”
Maggie slammed the leather book against his chest. His cocks hardened from the fire in her. “Do what you have to do, Commander Kesk. As will I.”
* * *
MAGGIE
“You’re a stubborn female,”Zirkov said as he circled behind his desk, putting distance between them. The move felt like a slight, but nothing hurt as much as knowing Zirkov thought she wasn’t being honest with him. Technically, she hadn’t told him everything, but only because she hadn’t found the answers yet. Once she did, she’d tell him every little detail… even if the facts condemned her.
Maggie followed him, filling the narrow space behind his desk. Being only inches from him confused her senses. Her legs bounced, eager for her to push up on her toes and kiss him, all while she considered punching him. Two years she’d known Zirkov, and she’d never done anything to make him question her integrity.
“I’m not hiding anything, and I don’t appreciate the attitude. If you asked me here to berate me for not giving you information I don’t have—”
“It’s never been my goal to berate you. I’m on your side, even though you don’t believe that.” Zirkov took a calming breath. And she could see the change in his expression. Worry.
“I asked you to meet me to discuss the second dead og’dal. He worked with the one you identified as Bu’Tay, which is a common name on Dal. We’ve narrowed the suspects down to half a dozen males with access to ships.”
“Seymour.” The name popped into her head.
Zirkov’s hand drifted to the side of her breast. “That is quite an offer coming from a female who hates me.”
“No, notsee more. Seymour was his first name. Seymour Bu’Tay. Or rather the name he gave himself. I couldn’t remember it earlier. I read it in a few reports from women he sold to brothels. He thought it endeared him to the women he matched to alien husbands. That’s before he turned to outright kidnapping. He worked for the Shagwell Mail Order Bride Agency. A front for his illicit activities.”
“We’ll look into that agency and search for connections to the second og’dal. Thank you, Magdalena.”
Lightly, she squeezed his arm. “I don’t hate you, Z. I never have.” The thrumming in her lower half intensified the second she touched him. One night with him. That’s all she needed to get this lust out of her system.
He plucked her hand from his arm. “What else do you know about Bu’Tay?”
The dismissiveness in his behavior and tone stung. He wanted more from her. Information she couldn’t give. Not yet.
Think like a marshal, Maggie girl. Give him what you can without incriminating yourself.
“He used marriage contracts recognized by many planets. But for every woman he matched to a husband, he sold five or six to brothels and slave markets. He probably thought he could produce all those contracts and provide the names and locations of those happy couples to legitimize his business should Dal’s authorities capture him.”
“You have a good memory for details. I’ve been too focused on Dal and ship registries.”
“I talk to the witnesses you protect.” She tapped his chest with the leather-bound book, twice, instead of slamming it against him as she did earlier. “You have trouble seeing what’s right in front of you, Warrior.” She bounced her eyebrows, wondering if he’d pick up on her flirting.
“More rules?” he asked, his brows lifting in response. Was Zirkov showing a playful side? God, she hoped so.
Maggie couldn’t contain her smile. Then he added, “Your rules won’t help the situation you’re in.”
He was all business. Or he wasn’t interested in her. She’d taken a chance, leapt off that cliff without worrying about the repercussions for once, and splattered all over the pavement seconds later.
“This isn’t the MPACC manual,” she said, trying to keep the hurt out of her voice. “It’s my diary. Proof that I haven’t been doing anything illegal. Not proof that would stand up in court, but it’s proof to me. I read through the last few months of entries, including the date of the footage from the park. Those dates are blank, meaning nothing unusual happened.”
“That only means you’re too smart to leave a written confession.”
“If you think I’m guilty, then turn me in.”
“No.”
“It’s your duty, Warrior.”
