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“Ms. Carella, your husband is on comm line two,” came the saccharine voice from the receptionist area. “Do you want me to take a message?”
“Oh, um, pardon me, but this is important. Would you like to wait a few minutes?”
I said, “Yes” at the exact moment Kol said, “No.”
I glanced at him, but he offered his hand and lifted Ms. Carella from her seat and swept a small bow over her hand. “We’ll be in touch, Ms. Carella, if need be. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to call us if you think of anything you might feel is important.” He slid a business card into her hand and gestured for me to go. “Come, Ms. Creed.”
Flustered, but not wanting to start a scene, I stalked out the door in front of him, ignoring the blonde ogling him as we passed. As soon as we were out the door and out of eyesight, I spun around. “What the hell was that? This was my interview, and I wasn’t finished.”
“She gave us as much as we needed. There’s nothing more she could tell us.” He walked past me. He’d apparently gleaned something that I hadn’t picked up on.
“What did you discover? All she said was that Maxine wanted to date a Morgon. That’s nothing special.”
We were at my car. He stopped and turned so abruptly, I bounced off his chest and fell back against the passenger door. Ignoring and not apologizing for the bungle, he braced one arm on the roof right beside me, his forearm and bicep flexing.
“What else did she say?”
I reran the conversation in my head, scrutinizing every word. “Nothing. She was the adventurous type. I don’t get how that helps.”
“What else?” He waited, patient and still, fixed and focused, while my frustration mounted exponentially.
“That she was wild. So what?”
He remained silent as if pondering whether to continue toying with me or to let me in on his secret. I held his gaze, refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d gotten to me.
“Fearless, Ms. Cade,” he finally replied, his voice low and deep. “Maxine was fearless.”
My throat felt thick all of a sudden. “What does that have to do with anything?”
His mouth tilted into a devilish half-smile. Immediately, my heartbeat picked up pace, knowing I was in the presence of a dangerous individual, even with all my bravado of not being intimidated.
“Dominant Morgon men.” He dropped his voice deeper, causing a rare fluttering in my belly. “We like a challenge.”
“Are you telling me there’s another kind of Morgon man?”
A grin cracked the hardness of his expression. “Some Morgons are more docile, preferring to keep their beast at bay. Others aren’t.” He inched closer. “We like our women spirited. Aggressive.”
I swallowed hard. “So?”
His gaze swept over my face and neck, resting on my lips a split second before meeting mine. “So, Maxine was a challenge. This tells me that our Butchers weren’t simply looking for a limp body, pardon the phrase. They wanted someone who might be a mate, someone who would fight back.”
“I don’t understand.”
Kol’s grin widened, showing teeth and everything. His facial scar drew tight, distracting me. Why was my heart palpitating so fast? I had to gain control and calm down before he sensed my heart racing and got the wrong impression.
“Maybe they’re not looking for victims. Maxine lasted longer before they killed her. Perhaps they’re looking for a particular kind of human woman. Perhaps the desired end result isn’t murder and mutilation after all.”
“Then what is?”
“I don’t know.” His hand came up, wrapped my braid, which had fallen over one shoulder, and slid his hand down the length. I shifted back, flipping it out of reach. He chuckled, a deep throaty sound. He was teasing me. Again. Trying to make me nervous. Aggravating the hell out of me. “But you’re exactly the type to lure them in. Maybe you are the perfect Morgon bait.”
I had no smart comebacks, reeling from the energy required to stay on top of my game in his presence.
He shoved off the car and out of my personal space, smiling at his own private joke. He walked away a few steps before lifting off into the air with intense speed, a wake of air brushing against me along with the woods-in-winter scent I now associated with him. I sucked in a deep breath, finally able to do so unencumbered.
Because I knew I was the perfect temptation for the Devlin Butchers, and even more because of the predatory spark in Kol’s eyes, I was walking a course out of my control. One that would bring me to certain victory or to ultimate destruction. But as always, I was never afraid to take the unknown path. And certainly not if a righteous cause steered me forward. I’d do whatever I could to prevent one more horrific murder of innocent life. Even if that meant risking my own.
Now, regarding Kol, I was playing with fire. And I knew it. He wasn’t one of those docile Morgons he mentioned to me. He was the raw, in-your-face, take-what-you-want, dominant Morgon man. That alone should make me run for the hills, because something in his eyes warned me he intended to be more than my partner in investigating this crime. And at this point, I had no idea how I’d respond to that.
