No Limit (Armed & Dangerous #1)(33)

“If I’m putting my identity on the line, I need something in return. I need to talk to your girls. There are a couple of men I’m investigating and I want to know who have spent time with them.”

“Are you going to tell them you’re with the FBI?”

“No, I’m going to pretend I’m just like them and interested in working for you. It’s come down to the point where I have to find out more about these men. We can’t lose another girl.”

Sighing, she pushed me toward her car. “Let’s go then.”

We all got in and as soon as Harold shut the door, Ronnie lifted the privacy window. Across from me, Diane was on the edge of her seat, waiting for the window to seal us off. I counted down the seconds until she blasted off on me. Three . . . two . . . one.

“I can’t believe this whole time you’ve looked right in my face and blatantly lied to me. Is your name really even Aylee?” she asked, her voice laced with hurt.

“Yes, my name’s Aylee McFadden. I didn’t want to lie to you, but it’s my job. I know my betrayal hurts, but I had to find out as much as I could about the people I’m after. I have a feeling you already know something by the way you tried to keep me from whoring myself out to your friends.”

Her eyes went wide. “Drake? You didn’t . . .”

“Have sex with him?” I finished, watching her cringe. “Hell no. I searched his house and couldn’t find anything. I’m not ruling him out just yet. Unfortunately, I have others to investigate as well.”

Ronnie spoke up next. “And how do you think the police got the tip off about those men?”

I looked over at her. “Other than the eyewitness, I don’t know. They didn’t reveal the source.” She nodded over at her sister. I gaped at Diane, completely in shock. “It was you?”

She sighed. “I see William’s friends with Veronica’s girls all the time. Sometimes they’d be passed around multiple times in the same night. When they started turning up dead, I kept getting this uneasy feeling in my gut. The guys didn’t seem to care their playthings were being killed. They’d simply move onto others.”

Ronnie patted my leg. “My girls know their profession is dangerous. I’ve lost a couple over the years, but never four within six months. When Diane and I started getting suspicious, that’s when I temporarily shut down my business. I wasn’t about to lose anymore girls, but it doesn’t matter what I do, I keep losing them.”

“That’s why I called the police,” Diane confided. “I didn’t want William to know I was doing it, so I made sure to keep my name anonymous. He refuses to believe that any of them could be capable of murder.”

“You don’t think he has anything to hide do you?” I asked regretfully.

“No,” she exclaimed, shaking her head, “not my William.”

“But you haven’t told him about your conversation with the police?” She shook her head. “Does that mean you’ll keep today a secret from him too?”

“Yes. The more people who know about you, the more dangerous it’s going to be. The thought of you doing this alone . . .” She paused and put a hand over her mouth, eyes wide. “Oh my God, you’re not alone. Jason’s with the FBI too?”

I shook my head. “He’s an undercover cop I had the privilege of meeting when I took on this case. As soon as it’s all over, we’ll go back to our regular lives.”

“But you’ve fallen for him, haven’t you?” Diane inquired.

Averting my gaze, I focused on the city view sweeping past the windows. I hadn’t known Jason long, but my heart hurt knowing that one day soon I wouldn’t be with him anymore. At least for the time being, I didn’t feel alone. It was an amazing feeling. “It doesn’t matter. I’m here to do a job. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, right?”





“Jason?”

I glanced over my shoulder at the younger version of Drake Blackwell. “Blaine, right?”

He held out his hand. “The one and only. I heard you were coming by today. Where’s your lady friend?”

I shook his hand and laughed. “Doing what women love most.”

“Ah, shopping. I know how that goes. If you want, you can follow me. I’ll take you to my dad’s office.”

I followed him down the hall until we got to the end. He opened the door just as Drake finished a call and stood, extending his hand. I shook firmly, smiling when I felt his knuckles crack.

“Got a hard grip there don’t you, son?”

“You know better than I do, you can’t be a limp-wristed bitch in this business.”

Tossing his head back, he bellowed, “You’re completely right. See, I knew I liked you. I didn’t take you away from the poker tables this morning, did I?”

“Nah, I figured I’d take a break. What can I do you for?”

“I thought I’d see if you wanted to catch lunch with me and some of the guys. You interested?”

“Sure. Where we going?”

Waggling his brows, he reached for car keys. “You’ll see. Come on. You can ride with me and Blaine.”

As we made our way to the door, Blaine excused himself. “Actually, I have a meeting with Tim Forrester on his new building project. I’m supposed to meet him in fifteen minutes.”