“I’m afraid I can’t disclose that,” Garrick finally said regretfully. “Your friend is in…protective custody right now.”
“Trust me,” Luke said, voice low, “if Eli needs protecting, I’ve got him covered.”
Garrick looked over at the crowd, then he put his hand on Luke’s shoulder. “Can we talk a moment? Alone?”
“Aren’t we already talking?” He didn’t like this guy. There was something about him…
Garrick steered Luke to the side, moving them a few feet away from the crowd. His voice lowered as he revealed, “The fire wasn’t an accident. It was arson.”
Someone would pay.
“I believe that your friend Eli made contact with a very, very dangerous woman last night.”
Luke didn’t let his expression so much as flicker.
Garrick reached into his coat, flashing that holster again, and then he pulled out a small photo. Even before the guy handed it to Luke, he knew who he was going to see.
Mina.
She stared back at him in that picture, her hair longer as it slid over her shoulders, curling a bit. Her eyes were the same sharp, startling blue, but her skin was a bit darker. A faint smile curved her lips, as if she were on the verge of being happy.
Or as if she’d been smiling for the man who’d taken her picture. An intimate smile.
“She’s beautiful, I know,” Garrick said. “But a gorgeous face can hide a very dark soul.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.” Luke kept staring at the photograph.
“Her name is Mina James, or at least, that’s the last alias she used. She has a talent for charming men.”
Yes, she does.
“You might not believe this,” Garrick continued, his voice earnest, “but we believe it’s almost a form of hypnotism. Mina can get anyone to do what she wants…and she wants some very dangerous things.”
Oh, Mina, you are tricky.
“Her MO is that she picks her prey, usually a male because her hypnosis works better on men…and, of course, because they see a woman like her…and they immediately think of sex.”
His grip was too tight on the photo. He was about to rip it.
“She manipulates the men. Gets them to do whatever she wants. They’ll lie for her. Steal for her. Even kill for her.”
Luke finally glanced up at the agent. “They sound like dumb asses.”
Anger flashed on Garrick’s face, just for an instant. “As I said, she’s very talented at manipulation. Those men are her victims. Just as I believe Eli was her victim.”
He inhaled, pulling in the ash and the smoke that lingered so heavily in the air. “She set the fire?”
“Eli told us that she tried to convince him she needed his car. That he had to give it to her. You see, she knew I was tracking her.”
Were you now…
“When he refused, she commanded him…she gave him the order to set himself on fire. To destroy his own bar.”
The agent was watching him far too closely. Luke made himself laugh. “Seriously? I’m supposed to believe some woman told Eli to burn himself…and he did?”
“She isn’t some woman.” Garrick’s voice was still low, carrying only to Luke. “She’s very, very dangerous.” He glanced swiftly at the crowd and then back at Luke. The guy started to unbutton the top of his dress shirt.
Luke let his brows climb. “Agent, if you want to go strip, there’s a club for that just down the road.”
A muscle jerked in Garrick’s jaw and he kept unbuttoning the shirt until…
A long, thick scar was on his chest.
A fresh scar, one that was still angry, still red.
“She told me to cut out my own heart,” Garrick told him, voice and face both stark. “And I nearly did.”
***
He’d put her in a cell. Gently, not so much as bruising her per Luke’s orders, but Mina was in a cell. And she was gagged.
As far as days went, this one was pretty shitty.
Mina glared at the guy—Julian. He’d told her his name was Julian. Right after he gagged me.
“I am so sorry,” Julian told her, actually looking contrite as he paced right outside of her cell. “I just can’t run the risk of pissing off Luke. Trust me on this, you don’t want to see the bugger when he’s pissed. Not a pretty sight. I mean that with one hundred percent honesty.”
She muttered behind her gag.
“And I know what you are, too.” He inclined his head toward her. “Siren. Sirens speak, and men do really dumb ass things. Sorry, love, but I can’t have you getting in my head. I already have enough damage up there as it is.”
She jerked at her handcuffs because—lucky her—he’d handcuffed her, too. He’d locked her hands behind her back and put the cuffs in place.
He thought they’d stop her from getting the gag out of her mouth.
He was wrong.
After shooting him one more glare, Mina sat down on the floor.
“Yes.” He nodded, all encouraging. “Do that. Just get comfortable. Before you know it, Luke will be back and he can take over your…care.”
She shimmied. She rolled. She lifted up her knees and she pulled her cuffed hands under her body, looping them so that they could come in front of her once more.