The Devil In Disguise (Bad Things #1)(22)

Garrick’s hand fisted as he clenched the ID. He took a surging step toward Luke. “Where is she?” His voice was low, deadly.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Rage surged inside of Luke. Dark and twisting, only…this rage was different. Not the usual fire that burned him when someone had done something very, very wrong and pissed him off. This was…like nails, like claws, cutting into his insides, and he wanted to lift his fist and drive it into Garrick’s bland face, breaking the guy’s nose, blackening his eyes because the bastard had known Mina, because he’d touched her, because he’d kissed her and—

Luke stepped back. “That’s what it’s like, huh?”

Garrick frowned at him. “What? What in the hell are you muttering about?”

Jealousy. I just had my first taste. And he didn’t particularly like it. Too bitter. “Did she…hypnotize you into f*cking her?”

Garrick’s face flushed bright red. “You’re making this a joke. Mina James is no joke. What she did to me, what she did to Eli, what she has done to dozens of other victims…it’s no laughing matter. The woman needs to be stopped.”

“And you’re just the man for that job.” Luke glanced down and realized that he’d clenched his own fists. Unacceptable. Humans weren’t supposed to stir that much emotion in him. He kept his control. Always. Even when fury rode him hard, he stayed in control.

Because when he lost control, well, his bad side came out.

And people died.

“I’m the man on her case. Half a dozen agents are down here. We’re hunting her. We will find her. She’ll be taken down.” Garrick’s gaze held Luke’s. “And anyone dumb enough to be helping her will go down, too. Collateral damage.”

“That almost sounds like a threat.” Luke shook his head. “Not very FBI-like, is it?”

Someone called out Garrick’s name. A woman with red hair who was sporting an equally boring suit. Probably another FBI agent.

Garrick pulled a small, white business card out of his pocket and handed it to Luke. “If you do see Mina, call me. I can help you.”

Luke took the card. He held it between his thumb and his index finger as he watched Garrick walk away.

The card started to burn.

Mina, you have very poor taste in men.

In seconds, the card was nothing but ash, drifting in the wind. Luke stared at that drifting ash, watching as it blew toward the ground. The ground and…

A spider.

His shoulders tensed. There was a big, fat spider on the ground. One that was scuttling fast as it moved to follow Garrick McAdams. The spider ran right up to him but before it could attack, Garrick glanced down. His lips tightened in distaste as he stared at the spider, then his shoe lifted and slammed down on the arachnid, squashing it. He twisted his foot, as if making good and certain that it was dead.

Luke focused his gaze on the charred remains of the bar. He looked down, staring at the ashes and the soot and…another big, fat spider scuttled out. Unerringly, it went straight toward Garrick McAdams.

But this time, it was the female agent who squashed the spider. Stomping it quick beneath the heel of her shoe.

He waited to see if more spiders would come, but they didn’t. Only two had been left. Two—because Eli was gone. They must have slipped from Eli before he’d been taken away. Those last two spiders had done their job, though. They’d shown Luke just what he needed to see.

The FBI agent couldn’t be trusted.

A good thing…because the instant Luke had found out that Garrick had an intimate past with Mina, he’d wanted to kill the bastard. Now, well, he had a more legitimate reason for the fury.

Even he had standards, after all. If you were going to destroy a man…

It helped to have a few reasons for the dark deed.

***

“Does he know where she is?” Madeline Slate asked. Her red hair was bright in the afternoon sun. Her eyes—a light brown—darted over his shoulder to peer at Luke Thorne.

“I think he does.” Garrick didn’t look back at the guy. Luke Thorne was a dick, but the guy was also their key to finding Mina. “We’re going to watch him when he leaves and follow his ass back to the island.” Once there, away from the prying eyes of the crowd around them, Garrick and his team would take control.

They’d get Mina back.

And Luke? Well, they’d deal with him, too.

“Is he already under her power?” A slight furrow appeared between Madeline’s eyes. “If he is, he’ll fight to keep her.”

“Doesn’t matter how hard he fights.” Garrick wasn’t even a little worried. Mina is close. I’m getting her back. “Our orders are to bring her in. She’s too valuable to the organization. We’ll get her back and she will cooperate.”

Madeline licked her lips. “If she doesn’t?”

There was no choice for Mina. Not after all that she’d done. “Then she dies.”





Chapter Seven


Footsteps.

Mina jumped to her feet when she heard the distinct thud of footsteps approaching her cell. She ran toward the bars, grabbed them, held tight and—

Okay, wait. This looks too desperate.

She immediately pushed back from the bars, smoothed her hair, straightened her robe—she was still wearing the damn thing—and tried to look as if she were totally and completely relaxed. When Julian had left her? he’d rushed out and left the door to the cell room open, so it only took a moment before she saw a flash of blond hair appear.