Beneath the Secrets, Part Two (Tall, Dark & Deadly)(2)

“You’re good at justifying why you kill someone,” Ignacio said. “I’m good at making bodies disappear.”

“Interesting,” Blake said dryly.

Ignacio scowled. “What does that mean?”

Blake shrugged. “Just taking in the details, man. Finding out who is who in this operation.”

Ignacio bristled, clearly not liking that response, and without warning, his gaze snapped to Kara. “Why are you here?”

Kara opened her mouth to reply, but Blake beat her to the punch. “She’s here because I want her to be.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her under his arm, sending heat darting through her body.

“And how does my uncle feel about you wanting his secretary?”

Secretary. Kara liked that word. It downplayed her many skills outside the office. Exactly why she kept her mouth shut. Good little secretaries didn’t tell nasty drug-smuggling cartel members to go f*ck themselves. Good girls in general didn’t tell people to go f*ck themselves, but she’d left the good girl behind several months ago.

“Your uncle is pleased to give me whatever resources I need to ensure his operation is without problems,” Blake assured him.

“So he loaned you his secretary?”

“I wanted her,” Blake stated flatly. “I generally get what I want.”

Kara tried to hide the tension coiling in her spine at the obvious declaration that she was now Blake’s woman and his property, but she knew his motivation. The men in this world didn’t kill each other’s women. It was like some unwritten code of honor, when they had so little anywhere else. Blake was trying to protect her, but that didn’t make it easier to play the role of his bedroom bunny.

Ignacio’s gaze raked over Kara, hot and sticky like a summer day you wanted to escape but couldn’t, before he cut Blake a look. “I hope she’s as eager to please as my uncle is to punish those who cross him.”

“Punishment is underrated,” Blake said dryly. “I guess that’s why your uncle hired me. I get what he wants. And, on that note, I’ll be getting back to work.” He drew Kara’s hand into his and started to walk away, pulling her with him.

“Wait,” Ignacio called, halting them in their footsteps.

Blake turned back to him, casting him an expectant look.

“We’ve gotten off on the wrong foot,” Ignacio said. “Why don’t I buy you a drink?”

Blake turned back to him and Kara did the same. “It’s a little late for a drink, don’t you think?”

“Welcome to my world, where we sleep in the daylight and make the most of the night.”

Blake’s lips compressed. “Are the restaurants open late?”

“Twenty-four hours,” he said. “It keeps the activity looking honest.”

“All right then,” Blake said. “A drink at one of the restaurants works for me. I’d like to see how they operate.”

Ignacio’s gaze flicked back to Kara and she saw the suspicion in his stare, the hate. “Will she be joining us?” he asked, as if she wasn’t even there when he was looking right at her.

“Yes,” Blake said. “She will.”

“Excellent,” he commented. “Always happy to buy a pretty lady a drink.”

Oh yes, Kara thought. He was ready to buy her a drink all right, and then find a creative way to drown her in it. He’d decided she was a problem and he’d stay away from her for now, but later, if he had the chance, he’d smash her like a fly. But he wouldn’t get the chance, she reminded herself. She’d smash Ignacio long before he smashed her, if Blake didn’t beat her to the punch. She had a feeling he just might.

“Pine Street’s the closest location,” Kara said tightly, seeing this as an opportunity to get inside the restaurant she’d been scouting for some time, and perhaps inside the back warehouses the cameras kept her away from.

“Pine Street it is,” Blake said, lacing his fingers between Kara’s. “We’ll meet you there.” He didn’t give Ignacio a chance to reply. He pulled Kara with him and started walking toward the parking garage. His pace was steady and calculated, but she could feel the urgency building inside him, the fire about to combust. It was as if the instant they stepped away from Ignacio, something inside him snapped. Had something just happened or had he been containing this back there with Ignacio? And if he was, my God, how?

“What’s wrong?” she asked the instant she felt they were safely out of earshot.

“Not now. Wait.”

His tone was sharp, his grip on her hand tight. “Blake—”

“Not,” he ground out, “now.”

Tension crawled inside Kara and took root, and her hand went to her purse to once again grasp her weapon. She could only assume someone must be following them, close enough that he feared they would be heard if they spoke, or worse. That they were about to be attacked and he was trying to hear a perp’s approach. Ignacio was as low as they came. It would be nothing for him to kill them right here and now. And, as he’d said, he was good at getting rid of bodies. She knew that for a fact. Knew it in an intimate way she wished she didn’t.

The entrance to the parking garage came into view and Blake seemed to speed up, not slow down at the dimly lit tunnel it resembled. Kara relaxed marginally, seeing that as a sign he felt they were leaving the trouble behind.