“Who’s your top choice for who set you guys up?” she asked as she remoted into one of her favorite programs. She didn’t have to download any software and could use it anonymously. In addition to running their financials, she wanted to do a search on these men to see if they were linked to any shady organizations. Looking for keywords in certain forums and other areas on the Net was her first order of business.
When he didn’t answer, she glanced up to find him leaning against one of the counters, arms crossed over his massive chest. He was like a big, really sexy statue. She should be uncomfortable with him, but instead, the longer they spent together, the more she found herself attracted to him. At first she thought he wouldn’t answer but then she realized he was thinking.
“My gut choice is Daniel Vane. He’s an asshole and hated Max. But I think that’s more of an emotional reaction. Raul Widom is the more realistic choice. With Max dead he’s in a position to move up the ladder faster and the guy is seriously power hungry. One of those people you hate working with because he doesn’t seem to care about anything but himself. It’s all about closing cases and getting the media spotlight for him, not doing the job right. A born fucking politician,” he muttered in disgust.
“That’s good.” Karen moved the two men to the top of her list, but all five men had to be viable to even be on it in the first place. She hadn’t realized how much time had passed until the timer on the stove beeped. She started to get up, but Tucker waved her back.
“Do your thing. I’ll set this up. What do you want to drink? She doesn’t have much, but there are water bottles, coconut water”—he made a disgusted sound, making Karen smile—“and Red Bull.”
“Will you check her pantry?” she asked without looking up from the screen. “I think she’s got a bottle of red wine.” Karen was going to replace everything they were using, and while she felt a twinge of guilt for invading her friend’s space, it was such a huge relief to be sitting safely somewhere that it outweighed most of it. Plus, she knew her friend wouldn’t actually mind if she knew Karen was here. Carline was one of those people who would do anything for a friend.
“She’s got two bottles. Same brand,” he said, pulling one out. He didn’t say anything else, just searched around until he found a bottle opener.
When he placed a plate on the table in front of her, she didn’t bother moving the laptop out of the way as she grabbed a slice. Right now she didn’t care about manners.
“If I talk to you, will it mess up your concentration?” Tucker asked.
She glanced up at him and shook her head. The man looked like a caged animal, all tense energy thrumming off him. It was clear he didn’t like sitting still. No, he was definitely used to being a man of action. It was undeniably sexy. “Not really. I’m just running some programs to start basic profiles on these guys. Actually you can start telling me about each of them. Overall thoughts, family life, relationships at work, anything that has to do with their personalities. Often we’ll have a psychologist read files of certain individuals to help round out our information. Especially when we have a wider suspect pool. Start with Daniel Vane.”
Tucker started talking, the steady cadence of his voice soothing. Not too fast, not too slow, just right. Gah, what was wrong with her? She didn’t need to be noticing anything else about this man. It was so damn hard not to, though, when he had such an incredible presence. Sitting so close to him, she seemed to have perpetual butterflies in her stomach.
He continued peppering her with information as dusk fell outside, and while she created yet another file for one of the suspects, he turned on a dim light in the kitchen so they wouldn’t be in complete darkness. It was more than enough for her to work in.
Hours later she was pleased with what they’d come up with as she scanned the file. This information was gold, the type of stuff that wasn’t easily searchable online. When they were done, she looked up at him once again.
Now he was leaning against one of the counters, water bottle in hand, instead of sitting across from her. “What is it?” he asked, suddenly straightening, as if he read her mind.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about him reading her so easily. Not because she felt in danger with him. After everything that had happened, that wasn’t even a concern anymore. He was way too protective for her to worry about that. The protective edge to him made her wonder if he felt something for her.
Pushing back from her seat, she stretched her legs out in front of her. Thankfully her ankle wasn’t bothering her more than a dull ache she’d been ignoring the past couple of hours. “I want to send all this in to the office.” Because she wanted Elliott and whoever else Wesley had on this task force to combine their information. And it would show her team that she’d been working behind the scenes—and prove that Tucker hadn’t hurt her.
Tucker nodded. “Okay. Do it. I’m willing to go in now.”
“You’re sure?” She shouldn’t even be asking, because it was time, but she surprised herself with the question.
He nodded. “I’ve done nothing wrong and I want to clear the names of my men.”
His men. Tucker didn’t say anything about himself. Yeah, that was why his team had listened to him even when it was clear they’d wanted to buck his orders about not coming to D.C. Now more than ever, she was determined to help him.
She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and called Wesley once she’d put the battery back in.
Selene picked up on the first ring, surprising Karen. “Hey. You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Is Wesley with you?”
“No, in a meeting. He’s gone dark, so I can’t reach him. All his calls are being forwarded to my number. He’s pissed about what you did.” There was no censure in Selene’s voice, which made Karen breathe easier.
“He’ll get over it,” Karen said dryly.
That earned her a chuckle from Selene. “That’s exactly what I said.”
“Listen, I’ve spent the last couple hours with Tucker going over the men on that list he sent you guys. I’ve compiled a decent file for each of them.” Her questions wouldn’t be as good as a full-scale interview or interrogation, but Karen had been at her job for four years. She knew the right things to ask in a situation like this. “I’m assuming Elliott’s working on this, but I wanted to make sure before I send him everything.” And Karen planned to utilize more of her resources once she had access to her work computer.
“Yep, he’s on it. Send away. . . . You sure you’re okay?”
They had a code word that Karen could work into the conversation if she was under duress. They all had one. “Yes, I swear. And by now you’ve tracked my cell phone and have someone en route to get us. Tucker and I are at a friend’s brownstone. She’s out of town, has no clue I’m here. No one does, so we’re safe. And you don’t need to breach the freaking place. I’ll answer the door.”
“It’s just you and Pankov?” Selene asked, ignoring most of what Karen said.
“Yeah.”
“Put me on speaker.”
“Hold on.” After doing so, she laid the phone on the table in front of her. “You’re on.”
“Tucker Pankov, this is Selene Marks.” Karen didn’t negate Selene’s use of an alias. Of course the woman would use one; she always did. “We met in Miami last year. I don’t know that I properly got to thank you for your help.”
Moving like a predator, Tucker sank into the seat across from Karen, his entire body pulled taut. “Max said you guys wrapped everything up tight with that op. Nice to hear your voice again.”
“So . . . you’ve got yourself stuck in a pile of shit, huh?”