Big Easy Temptation (The Perfect Gentlemen #3)(66)

The hard look left his eyes, and just for a second he looked like her Dax again. “What are you talking about? Holland, what do you mean you’ve been investigating for the last three years? And the Russian mob? That’s the lead I have.”

She inched away from him. She wasn’t going to fall into the snare of that gorgeous male face or those chocolate eyes. She needed to get out of this building because she wasn’t going to let anyone see her cry over this asshole ever again, least of all him. “Yes. They called me three years ago, just before we split up, and told me if I didn’t drop the investigation and persuade you to do the same, they would kill you and your family. I made the decision to save you. It’s all in there. You’ll see the details when you read my files. Good-bye, Dax.”

She turned and walked out, her head held high.

They were finally over, that chapter of her life closed for good. Somehow it wasn’t the relief she’d thought it would be.


*

Dax stared after her. What the hell had just happened?

He was stuck, unable to move, unable to do anything but stare after her. Even when she walked out, he still stared.

He hadn’t meant to say any of those things to her. He’d meant to be civil, polite. Cold, yes, because she wasn’t a friend and apparently never had been. She’d been a bitch out for money and fame, like the rest of them, but he’d gotten past it. Despite what he’d said to Connor, he was over Holland Kirk.

Hell, he’d even tried to make his marriage to Courtney work. He’d woken up the day after with a hangover from hell and a marriage certificate and decided that if he couldn’t have Holland, he’d do his best with Courtney.

She’d been sweet and she’d tried, too. More than he had. He’d been happy to ship off for six months and to ignore the leave he was offered. He’d chosen to re-up his commission and gone back to sea. When the divorce papers had shown up along with a note that she’d fallen for someone else, he’d written her a healthy check and wished her well.

Courtney had cheated on him and the last time he’d seen her, he’d given her a big hug and asked about her new husband. He’d felt absolutely no rage toward her.

The minute he got in the same room with Holland, he called her a whore.

His cheek still hurt and he’d deserved it.

What the hell did she know about the Russian mob? He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked his e-mail. Sure enough, there was a massive file from Holland he’d received minutes before. Too big to open on his phone. He would have to wait.

Had she lied to protect him? Or was she lying again?

“Holy shit. Are you Spencer?”

He glanced up and there was a tall woman who looked like she could take him in a fight. She had platinum hair cut in a fashionable bob, but somehow it didn’t soften her. “I’m Captain Spencer. I was here to meet with Special Agent Kirk.”

The woman’s lips curled up. “I gotta teach that girl how to fight. She should have punched you. Maybe she could have broken your jaw. An openhanded slap reminds me of all those bitchy housewives on TV, and that handprint shows. Real women punch. Or kick. You deserve a good kick to the gnads, Captain. We’ll see how awesome you are when your testicles hit your abdominal cavity.”

“You’re very specific in your threats, Special Agent . . . ?” He needed a name to call her besides Ball Buster.

“Gemma White. I’m Holland’s new partner. I say new, but we’ve been working together for almost two years now. That’s new in law enforcement since our partnerships tend to be long-term. Unlike you Navy boys we don’t change out crew every year. We know how to watch each other’s backs. And how to take out the trash when we need to.”

So she was a fan. “I didn’t come here to cause trouble.”

“Good, because I have zero intention of allowing you to. You want to explain why you’re here?”

“My father’s case.”

She shook her head, sending him a glare that told him she thought he was a flaming idiot. “Your father’s case was closed a long time ago. He was guilty. End of story.”

It still got his back up. “He was not and I have some proof now.”

“Care to show it to me?”

“I think I’ll keep it to myself for now.” He had zero idea who this woman was. Given all the danger he’d endured with Gabe and then Connor, he wasn’t going to simply trust anyone around him because their badge said they were law enforcement.

Gabe, Connor, Roman, and Zack. They were the only ones he would trust with this information. Mad was dead because he’d stumbled into a sliver of it.

Had Holland been warned off? Had she known something about this conspiracy years before? Been threatened by it?

“You broke her heart.”

“Yeah, well, she broke mine, too.” Did it really matter if she’d been doing it to save him? It only proved that she didn’t trust him. If she had, she would have divulged everything, given him the chance to decide with her.

He needed to read her documents, see the files for himself and make a decision. The last thing he should do was what his every instinct screamed at him—chase after Holland and get her under him. Make her beg for his forgiveness. And maybe, just maybe, he would fuck her until he got her out of his system.