Into the Fury (BOSS, Inc. #1)(24)

“Guy left a second note,” Ethan said. “Threatened to kill another model if the women didn’t repent.”

Luke hissed in a breath. “You need some help?”

“Appreciate the offer, but it isn’t more men we need; it’s a lead that’ll give us a way to find this guy.” His brother might be a little wild at times, but he’d been Delta till he’d taken a bullet next to his heart on some secret mission too classified to talk about. He was capable, reliable, and strong as steel. And beneath his lighthearted banter, Luke was the kind of man who believed in protecting a woman at any cost.

“I’ve got to check my messages,” Ethan said. “Then I’m heading up to see Sadie. I’m hoping she can help.”

“Good idea.”

Ethan walked toward his desk.

“Listen . . . sorry about that crack about the girls. I was just trying to fire you up a little. With the trouble you’ve been having with Ally and Hannah, you’ve seemed a little down lately. I meant what I said—you need help, just call.”

“Thanks. I will.” Aside from being his brother, Luke was a man Ethan could count on. He wouldn’t hesitate to ask for his help.

Crossing the office, Ethan sat down at his desk and picked up the phone. The days of an actual person taking messages were long gone, so he checked his voice mail, which he usually did from his cell. Unless it was necessary, he didn’t give out his cell number. He liked to keep his private life private.

There were only a couple of messages, phone calls that pertained to his last assignment. Those he returned, then headed upstairs.

Ian’s office door stood open, the room decorated in the same black-and-chrome motif as the rest of the building. Sitting behind his desk, blond hair a little rumpled, head bent over as he worked, Ian looked up as Ethan approached.

“How’s the show going?” his cousin/boss asked. He was tall, like the rest of the Brodies, with an athletic build and a too-handsome face. There was a time Ian had had women falling at his feet, but since he’d met his wife Meri, those days were past.

“Everything was going just fine till one of the models got murdered last night.”

Ian came out of his chair. “Sonofabitch. What the hell happened? Christ, don’t tell me it was that crazy who sent those notes.”

“Looks like. The vic was strangled. Her name’s Delilah Larsen. The police don’t have jack. I’m here to talk to Sadie, see if she can come up with something.”

“Good idea. You get into the crime scene?”

“Yeah. Looked like a burglary gone bad till they found another note in the victim’s safe. Note made a second threat similar to the first. Be best if they canceled the show, but that’s not going to happen. We really need to find this guy.”

“Yes, and the tour leaves for Dallas on Tuesday. Security’s going to be a bitch.”

“Exactly. Sadie’s usually in on Saturdays. She in her office?”

“She’s there.”

“I’ll head on down. I need to be back at the theater before showtime.”

“I’ll do some digging,” Ian said. “If I come up with anything, I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks.” Heading out the door, Ethan strode down the hall into the office that was Sadie Gunderson’s domain. She sat at her desk behind three computer screens, a big woman in her fifties, broad-hipped, with very curly shoulder-length silver hair.

There were photos on the desk: her son and his family, her daughter and her two kids. Ethan thought of Hannah and felt a pang in his chest. His daughter lived in Seattle, but he rarely got to see her. Nick, Luke, and Ian lived there, too, but the rest of his family was spread across the country.

He and Luke had been born and raised in Texas. Their mom had died five years ago. Two years later, their dad had remarried and moved to North Carolina. Jim Brodie was happy again, had adopted his younger wife’s two kids. Ethan and Luke were both glad for him.

Ethan looked at Sadie and eased farther into the room, approaching quietly, like coming up on a Doberman chewing on a bone.

“Sadie?”

She glanced up, lines instantly forming across her forehead.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I’ve got a problem and I’m hoping you can help.”

Shrewd green eyes fixed on his face. “Everybody has a problem, hotshot. You’ll have to get in line.”

Ethan didn’t back off. He was used to Sadie, whose bark was worse than her bite. Mostly. “My problem’s murder, Sadie. And if I don’t come up with something soon, it’s going to happen again.”

The woman’s hard look softened. “Well, you better sit down, then, and tell me what’s going on.”

Ethan sat in the chair beside her desk and laid it all out: the notes the top-ten models had received, Delilah Larsen’s murder, the second note left in the safe.

“So where do you want me to start?” she asked.

“I’m thinking we start with the women, each of the models who received a note. Get into each woman’s past, go deep, see if we can find someone with a grudge, a guy who’s willing to murder to get even.”

“If he’s mad at one of them, why would he send notes to ten of them?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he doesn’t care which one pays. Maybe Delilah was just the easiest to get to. Look at their backgrounds, their religion, since he keeps calling them sinners. Look at guys they’ve dated, anything that might give us a lead.”