Deadly Fear (Deadly #1)(4)
Her. Oh, Jesus.
Luke wasn’t aware that he’d sucked in a sharp breath. He just knew his cock was twitching, and the temperature in the room had gotten very—
A snort from beside him. “Don’t even think it, man. Not going to happen.”
But Luke didn’t take his eyes off her as he and Kenton slid into two empty chairs in the back.
The woman stood at the front of the room, her hands lightly gripping either side of a podium. Her midnight black hair teased her cheeks, the short blunt cut ending just under her slightly pointed chin. The woman’s skin was smooth, perfect and pale, and her eyes—
So blue.
Monica Davenport. Already a legend in the department, and she was barely easing past thirty. One of the best profilers going. She had like, what? Three, four degrees?
And a hell of a lot of field experience. An agent who didn’t take shit.
One who also had a reputation for being pure ice.
Pity, because from the outside, she sure was the stuff hot, wet dreams were made of.
His dreams, anyway.
Those brilliant eyes locked on him. His lips started to curl. But not even a flicker of recognition crossed her face.
Ice.
Her voice, smooth and easy, continued without so much as a hitch. “With assistance from our team, local authorities in Waylon, Virginia, apprehended the perpetrator last night, and the Midnight Strangler’s latest victim, Julia Marcus, was returned alive to her family.”
A round of applause. A whistle from the Lucy Liu lookalike up front.
“This is the ninth serial case closed by the SSD since its inception six months ago—”
“But our work is just getting started,” a deep, could-be-the-voice-of-God rumble interrupted. Luke straightened. He knew that voice. Keith Hyde. Hell, the guy was the Serial Services Division. The group was his idea, his baby, and he’d handpicked every member of the team.
Luke had been passed over in that first handpicking, but when Mark Lane had taken a leave of absence from the team, he’d fought and finally shoved his way inside the all but closed door. This was where he wanted to be. Needed to be.
The briefest hint of a smile lifted Monica’s full lips as she ceded the floor to Hyde.
Hyde nodded to the assembled agents. The guy was huge, with thick shoulders and skin as dark as night. He smiled, a real smile, not like Monica’s, and flashed his perfect, white teeth. “We’re kicking ass, people, and I’m proud of every single one of you.”
Some laughter there. Grins lightened the tense faces of some of the other agents in the room.
“But we’re just gettin’ started. Nine down, the f*cking rest of the serials to go.” Hyde’s eyes zeroed in on him. “And… we’ve got a new member on our team. One who finally decided to show up.”
Luke winced.
“Better late than never, huh, buddy?” Kenton murmured.
When Hyde’s eyes narrowed, Luke shot to his feet. “Sir. Glad to be a part of the division—”
“You should be. We’re the best in the business.” He pointed to the lady beside him. Lucy Liu. Uh, no, she was—“This is Kim Donalds, and don’t let her size fool you, she’s one of the toughest agents I’ve ever seen.”
Kim turned to face him fully. Almond shaped eyes—dark green—stared up at him, measuring him. Weighing.
A sprinkle of freckles covered her nose. Small, delicate, but— Deadly.
He knew about Kim, too. Pretty package, one slyly concealing the perfect hunter inside.
“You’ve already met Kenton.”
The guy saluted him.
“This is Jon Ramirez, he’s an—”
“Ex-sniper.” Luke gave the hard-eyed shooter a nod. “I’ve been doing my homework, sir.” Jon Ramirez had fought like hell with the army in the Middle East, only to come home and join the Bureau.
“Then do you know me, too?” Another woman. A tall, thin redhead with wire-framed glasses. Her lips pursed as her gaze met his.
“Samantha Kennedy, computer genius extraordinaire.” Yeah, he knew about her. She’d gotten her Ph.D. in computer sciences from MIT before she’d turned eighteen, and been drafted by the government within the year. She’d made a switch to the Bureau just a few months back.
Samantha flushed and dropped her gaze. “Ah… yeah. That’s me.”
“And you’re Luke Dante…” Low, husky.
Monica.
“The bad-ass from the South who managed to bring down the Sorority Stalker all by yourself.” One black brow rose. “Impressive.”
Not really. He’d stumbled onto the * when he’d been tracking down witnesses. He’d gotten lucky—another two inches, and Carl Malone’s knife would have driven into his heart, instead of just giving Luke his latest tough-guy scar.
He forced a smile. “I do what I can.”
Hyde glanced between them. “So I’m guessing you also know our lead profiler, Monica Davenport.”
Yeah, he did. “We’ve met.”
Glacial blue eyes held his.
“Good.” Hyde reached into his briefcase and yanked out a stack of manila files. He passed one to Luke and handed another to Monica. “You two are heading out on a plane to Jasper, Mississippi, in about…” A quick glance at the gold watch on his wrist. “Three hours.” Two more folders were tossed to Kenton and Samantha. “You two are backup.”