The Men with the Golden Cuffs (Masters and Mercenaries #2)(35)

Hernandez crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. “I hope you’re right, but something feels off about the whole thing. I don’t like the fact that it escalated just as we told her not to worry about it.”

“It’s not the first time we’ve seen something like this,” Chitwood said. “I started working this division about a year ago, and I’ve already seen at least three cases where the ex-wife sets up the ex-husband. She was either looking for full custody or more money.”

Adam felt his face heating with indignation.

“Miles? Hey, it’s good to see you!” Derek Brighton’s deep voice pulled Adam out of his fantasy where he beat the shit out of the two cops sitting in front of him.

It wouldn’t do a lick of good. He forced himself to turn and smile because he genuinely liked the Lieutenant. Lieutenant Brighton nodded in greeting toward the detectives and then herded Adam away.

“Hey, how bad did they piss you off?” Brighton asked.

“They sent Jake running for the hills,” Adam admitted, following the big guy into his office. He shut the door, happy to not have to listen to the cops anymore. “Can you get this case reassigned? They’re totally prejudiced against her.”

Brighton slumped into his chair. “I could, but you would run up against the same thing . Look, you work this job long enough and you get cynical about everything. You have to. Chitwood out there worked vice for ten years. He came over to this division because he was sick of hauling in hookers and he finds himself in the middle of some of the nastiest domestic disputes we’ve ever seen. And Hernandez, hell, he was born cynical. It didn’t take five years as a cop for that one. This ain’t the Army, buddy. Things aren’t cut and dried here. Sometimes it can be hard to tell who the enemy is.”

“What do you think?” Adam winced as he asked the question. He probably didn’t want to know the answer.

Brighton sat back, his face turning thoughtful. He breathed out a long sigh before speaking. “If I was just going on instinct, I would tell you that girl is a natural sub and she’s not capable of doing any of this. She would rather have positive attention. I would say she would actually go out of her way to avoid negative attention because she prefers to please the people in her life.”

Brighton was a good cop, and from what Ian had told everyone, he was also a damn fine Dom. “That’s what I think. Have you run that theory by your underlings?”

He snorted. “By straightlaced Chitwood and Mike goes-to-mass-four-times-a-week Hernandez? No. I haven’t mentioned that I have BDSM training that tells me she’s submissive. I can imagine how well that would go over. They’re good cops. They’ll handle the case and anyway, now that you and Jake are on her, I suspect you would rather handle things your way.”

He was right about that. “Can I get everything you have? Even the stuff that’s not in the reports?”

“I sent it to you five minutes ago. The techies hunted down the IPs the perp is using. Libraries. Nice. My tax dollars at work. The perp is using suburban library computers to contact your girl when he uses e-mail. We went out and talked to a couple of the librarians, but they don’t really remember much. Apparently they’re underfunded and busy.”

But they might be talked into monitoring more closely. Computers at libraries were notoriously out of date. They wouldn’t have camera functions he could turn on, but he could monitor them. It was a problem for tomorrow. Today, he had to deal with the security company and rearrange Serena’s schedule. If she didn’t get words on the page, she would feel crappy, and she had enough anxiety in her life right now. He’d had a little talk with her agent, who seemed to adore her. But Lara had made it clear that Serena’s work was what had gotten her through the hard times.

The times couldn’t seem much harder for her.

He thanked Brighton and promised to call if anything else broke.

He walked through the doors of the division and into the long hall. He had another problem. He was supposed to take Serena to Sanctum. That meant finding her proper clothes and preparing her. And prepping Jake to handle the situation, though he’d have to do that without Jake noticing it or he might get set on his ass.

His world had become a delicate web he had to navigate with thought and care. But if he managed it, he just might get everything he’d wanted. And if he failed, he could lose it all. Ian would be pissed. Jake would be furious. Serena would just go away.

He walked out into the sunshine and caught sight of them. Serena sat at one of the outdoor tables, her hair shining in the sun. She threw back her head and laughed. And Jake. Fuck all, Jacob Dean was beaming at her. He turned slightly, and his eyes found Adam. He nodded for Adam to join them.

Serena followed Jake’s eyes and suddenly that smile lit up Adam’s whole world. She pushed her glasses up and and waved for him to come over. She pushed out the seat she’d saved for him.

He belonged there beside her.

He jogged across the street. Yep. It was a dangerous game he was playing, but if he won, he got a family out of it.

That was worth everything.





Chapter Nine


Two days later, Serena sat in her backyard, a mug of tea in her hand, her computer screen filled with words. It was barely five o’clock, but she’d doubled the word count she’d needed for the day.