Dark Deeds Read online

  Apparently sensing the fear behind Diego’s words, Noah didn’t laugh. “It’s her job,” he reminded Diego quietly.

  “Yeah, well, what she was doing was illegal.” Diego snorted at Noah’s raised brows. “I don’t know why you’re surprised. I arrested her, or gave the impression of it, anyway. Just wanted to shock some sense into the woman.”

  Noah grunted. “Bet that went over well. Thanks a lot for stressing my wife out, man.” But his words held no heat as he gazed across the tables to the dance floor, where Vanessa’s dark hair slid across her shoulders as she looked up at her father.

  Beside them on the dance floor was Becca with her Viking god. Fuck it all. Why did he care? They hadn’t reconnected, and she’d be leaving for Chicago tomorrow. His life would go back to what it had been without her. That shouldn’t leave a sour taste in his mouth, but it did.

  “Don’t worry,” Noah said when he caught the look on Diego’s face. Luckily, he misinterpreted the source of Diego’s frustration. “You gave a hell of a toast, so all is forgiven on my end. Even Becca was forgiven for dashing into the pre-wedding prep at the last second. She pulled it together pretty damn quick.”

  That was because Becca was capable, efficient and gorgeous. Tired of feeling frustrated, Diego jerked his gaze away from her. “You and Vanessa may have forgiven her, but I haven’t.”

  “No harm, no foul,” Noah insisted.

  “She called my mom.”

  Their gazes simultaneously shifted to the woman who’d given birth to Diego and had treated Noah as if he were just as much her son since the day Diego had brought him home from school. Estella was dancing with Damian. “She didn’t.”

  “She did.”

  “Well, good for her.”

  Diego gave Noah a look meant to quell any more discussion on the matter. “She doesn’t know what’s good for her. She’s messing with the Circle.”

  Noah let out a low whistle. “I didn’t realize that’s what Damian had her working on these days. But it makes sense. A buddy from the CPD called to congratulate me, saying it was a good thing I was leaving for my honeymoon, because the shit just hit the fan back in Chicago.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The body of a prostitute was found in an alley. She had the Circle’s mark on her.”

  “What?” Diego’s skin prickled. “Who was she? What did she look like?”

  Noah’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”

  Diego patted his pockets before he realized he was in his tux and hadn’t brought the picture with him. “Someone sent me a picture last night. A woman with the Circle’s brand on her shoulder.”

  “Why would someone send that to you?”

  Diego shrugged, not wanting to reveal his dirty cop status to his best friend, whom he looked up to and admired as a fellow detective. “A case I’m working on. It involves the Circle, too, but here in New York. I’ll fax the image to the CPD, see if it’s the same woman.”

  “I’ll let them know to expect it.” Noah’s brows were drawn together in concentration, not at all what a groom should be doing after his wedding.

  “Go dance with your wife,” Diego suggested.

  Becca was grasping at straws if she hoped Selina could give her a solid lead on Sam’s murder. The two instances were separated by two decades and hundreds of miles. Had she seen the names on the basement cell’s wall? He’d already given those names to his task force leader to investigate months ago, when he’d been able to go back for close-up pictures. So far, they’d matched the names to numerous missing persons cases...but many other names hadn’t yet been matched. They’d probably been young women and children who were lost ones, runaways and strays nobody would miss. Diego wanted to grind these monsters into the pavement with his boot.

  “You going to tell Becca about the picture?” Noah jerked his head toward the dance floor, where Becca was leaving her date in favor of the bar. The Viking stayed behind, engulfed by the gyrating masses in a group dance.

  Diego’s eyes tracked the woman who was the source of his current frustration. Damn it, he was the one who deserved to hold Becca in his arms. He’d been the one to protect her today. The one to put his career on the line to save her.

  “She’d understand,” Noah said. “She can even help.”

  “She’s in enough danger.” She was up to her beautiful neck in it, in fact. And it troubled him. He wanted to wrap Becca in bubble wrap and tuck her away—maybe in his bedroom—for a good long while.

  Not that she would appreciate the sentiment.

  * * *

  Becca was happy to see Matt find another dance partner. He’d been a great escort, but after her long ordeal today, she craved peace and quiet, away from the prying eyes of family. He was too aware of her distracted demeanor and full of questions she’d evaded. At least she’d made it through the ceremony without scowling at Diego.

  The bartender handed her a cold bottle of water. Absently, she thanked him while contemplating how long she’d have to wait before she could slip away from the reception and up to her room to regroup. After the wedding and pictures at the church, they’d moved back to the hotel for the reception. The toasts and first dance were over. The cake cutting had to be soon...

  A tingle of awareness signaled Diego had come up behind her just a moment before she felt his tuxedo jacket brush her bare arm. Her nipples hardened in automatic response. Damn pheromones.

  “Show you forgive me with a dance?” His voice was next to her ear. A rush of heat ran over her like warm bath water, making her relaxed and susceptible to his influence.

  “No, thanks.” She tipped the water bottle to her lips, hoping to cool her reaction. Her body didn’t care that Diego had embarrassed her, nearly arrested her, and might be in league with criminals. Her heart argued that she didn’t have the whole story. She’d obviously need to keep her brain in charge. “I’ve had enough dancing.”

  “How about other stuff?”

  She turned to face him, to see if he was joking. A teasing light danced in his dark eyes, but she saw heat there, too. They could so easily fall back into bed together. They’d been good there.

  But it was the together part that worried Becca. Even after the anger and resentment of what he’d put her through at the station, a connection flowed between them, apparently unstoppable. Certainly unexplainable. It didn’t help that he’d been one-hundred-percent within his rights to arrest her, yet he hadn’t. His actions only confused her more. And it certainly didn’t help that she suspected he’d been trying to protect her, genuinely concerned about her safety. That was the romantic side of her brain talking.

  “Because falling into bed together would solve everything.” She pulled sarcasm around her like a protective cloak...one that would hide how much she wanted to take him up on his offer and screw him until the constant ache inside disappeared.

  His gaze flicked to her lips. “It would solve some things.”

  “I don’t think so.” But the way her body tingled belied her rejection.

  “That’s not a very firm no. Besides, I get the sense your date can’t keep up with a woman like you. I’d wager he has no clue what you were up to today, or how to take care of you.”

  The multiple implications of take care of were not lost on her. She couldn’t deny that Diego was oh-so-capable of taking care of her physical needs. Apparently, nobody had told him yet that Matt was her brother. She wasn’t about to enlighten him and remove one more barrier between them.

  She leaned away to put a couple inches of distance between them. Not that it helped. “How about hell, no. Is that firm enough?”

  He sighed. “I don’t have a room to invite you to, anyway. I’m headed back to my apartment after this is over.”

  Disappointment caught in her throat. Damn. She should be excited she’d be free of him again soon. Free of the temptation, and the reminder of past mistakes. “Back to your real life, away from troublemakers?”

  “Something like that.” His tone had
turned sour, as if he was disappointed, too. Didn’t he want to be rid of her? Earlier, he’d acted like he wanted nothing more.

  “Well, it’s been fun.” She set her half-empty water bottle down.

  “Fun?”

  In two blinks, he’d grabbed her hand and tugged her off the stool. He pulled her with him to the coatroom near the main entrance, just at the end of the bar. He didn’t speak, didn’t slow down, until they were tucked into the rectangular room, away from everyone. The disco beat muted as he shut the door. The room was a closet, really, and the leather, suede and faux fur of a multitude of coats made their surroundings cozy. Even the lighting was dim enough to be welcoming. Diego was anything but.

  “Fun?” he asked again. Anger flickered in the deep pools of his eyes. She’d passed some invisible line with him.

  “I was just being snarky.”

  He stalked forward, shoving several hangers full of coats to the side and backing her up until her rump hit the wall. “Snarky?”

  “Is there an echo in here?” She tried to laugh, but it caught in her throat at the ominous look he gave her.

  “Don’t act like you didn’t feel anything...like nothing fazes you.” His eyes blazed, definitely fazing her. His hands moved to her waist, his thumbs stroking her abdomen in an up-and-down motion that was hypnotic. “It’s that cocky attitude that gets you in trouble.”

  It had also saved her ass, and her sanity, on more occasions than she could count. But it wouldn’t save her from her feelings for Diego. The heat of his hands made her abdominal muscles tighten and she nearly gasped with pleasure. She kept her fists at her sides, though they itched to grab him and hold on.

  God, one touch and she was ready to go up in flames. His pupils dilated in recognition of her reaction. She looked away to avoid discovery, but he stood so close that she ended up staring at the button on his tuxedo shirt—the button directly over his heart. She remembered laying her cheek there for a long time after one of their aerobic sex sessions had left her sated and boneless, listening to the rapid thump-thump that had gradually steadied to a constant rhythm. The soothing pattern still echoed in her head some nights as she tried to fall asleep.

  She swallowed and her gaze traveled upward again. A muscle jumped at his jaw, as if he were keeping a tight rein on his temper. His hands squeezed her waist lightly. If she laid her palm against his chest now, would she feel the passionate jungle beat or the calm, steady Diego? It didn’t really matter. They both drove her wild beyond reason.

  What did matter was who he was, deep down. And what would happen if she allowed herself to trust him.

  “Tell me how you’re connected to the Circle.” She hoped the pleading note in her voice would defuse his anger about the topic in question. “I want to understand.”

  “I was going to tell you.” His mouth turned white around the edges.

  “But now you’re not? Because you’re angry at me? You’re trying to punish me?”

  After a moment, he looked away. She was shocked at the discouragement she’d read in his expression, but he didn’t let go of her. “I’m not angry at you, just the situation. You don’t trust me, and I’m beginning to realize that I don’t trust you. Why did you run away last summer?”

  She stiffened. “You’re changing the subject.”

  “So are you. I want to understand you as much as you want to understand me. Tell me what I did to hurt you.”

  The fist around her heart squeezed. “You didn’t hurt me. Nothing happened that we didn’t want to. It was mutual.”

  “And the leaving part? That wasn’t mutual. I thought you had a couple more days in New York, but then you were gone.”

  She’d left in the early morning hours, without so much as a phone call to say she was heading back to Chicago. She’d had to fight heartache the entire time. Hell, she was still fighting it. “You were grieving. You had a career to rebuild. I was a distraction.”

  “A welcome one.” His gaze moved over her face, as if trying to read her thoughts.

  “At the time. But that would have changed. I was a temporary fix.”

  He stiffened, his mouth forming an angry slash. “It was pity, then, because of what I was dealing with?”

  “I don’t give myself away that cheaply.” She hadn’t been with a man in months before Diego, and hadn’t been with anyone since.

  “Then what made you give yourself to me and then leave? Was I getting too strong? Maybe you prefer a weak man, crippled with grief, someone you have to heal?”

  She felt the sting as if slapped, and would have taken a step away if she could. She lashed out with her tongue instead. “Maybe your fragile ego simply can’t take the truth.” And her ego couldn’t take much more, either. She’d had her reasons for running away last summer, and they were none of his business.

  With one hand, he released her waist to stroke a long finger across her collarbone. Her pulse at her neck leaped as if it wanted to be held in the palm of his hand.

  “You don’t need me,” he said. “I get it. You’d rather be needed. I get that, too. Maybe you even get off on it. But maybe you should let yourself stick around long enough to lean on someone...otherwise, you’ll end up alone.”

  “I suppose that’s my choice.” Alone was better than making a painful mistake. Better than counting on someone and having them fail you in the worst of ways. Better than ruining his life and watching his love turn to hate. She couldn’t stand the thought of the heat in Diego’s gaze hardening to ice.

  He studied her a moment, then dropped his hands. She nearly swayed toward him, hoping to regain his touch. “I suppose it is,” he said. “I hope you meet someone who’s worth the risk someday.” He reached into his pocket, then held out his phone to her. Confused, she took it, noticing that he’d loaded it to dial a phone number she didn’t recognize. All she had to do was hit Send.

  “Who...?” When she looked up, the question died on her lips. He was already out the door.

  * * *

  Diego couldn’t get away from Becca fast enough. Despite his frustration and confusion, the urge to kiss the forlorn look from her face nearly had him doing something stupid. Something that would unleash the tension inside him in a most delicious, but ultimately unsatisfying way.

  Because complete satisfaction would only come from Becca’s trust, her coming to his bed, or inviting him into hers, willingly and with nothing but total honesty between them.

  The little tremble of her lips haunted his thoughts as he made his way to Damian’s table, deciding to do one more thing to protect her. What he was about to do would kill every last ounce of trust Becca had in him—if she had any left—but it could also save her hide.

  “She’s not listening to reason.” Diego pulled out a chair and sat next to Damian.

  Damian’s salt-and-pepper brows went up. “Becca?”

  “Who else?” He leveled a gaze at the other man. “And I know she’s investigating the Circle. You don’t want her anywhere near that group.”

  Damian’s finger absently traced the stem of his wineglass. “I know. Just as I knew she wouldn’t listen to me.”

  He was surprised. “What?”

  “Someone warned me she’d get hurt.”

  “No offense, sir, but if you knew she was determined to crack this case, and you knew she was in danger, why would you let her go?”

  “I knew she wouldn’t be alone. I knew you would follow. She’s got a big heart, and she wants to help me find justice...no matter what the cost.” Damian looked over at him speculatively. “But I think I know a way to ensure her safety.”

  “How?” Diego would do anything to ensure Becca would be safe once back in Chicago.

  “I’m going to hire you.”

  * * *

  Damian hoped to hell his instincts about people were spot-on tonight. He’d suspected for a while now that Becca cared for Diego. What else could have changed her demeanor so suddenly last summer? And now he knew Diego cared for Becca in return.
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br />   “Hire me?” Diego asked.

  “To protect Becca.”

  Diego’s laugh was part exhalation, part groan. “She’s a personal security expert, a bodyguard. Not to mention the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met. She won’t let anyone protect her. Least of all, me.”

  “Unless I say so. As a condition of her employment.”

  “You’d fire her?”

  No, but he couldn’t let them know that. Becca could be headstrong—an admirable quality in some instances, but not this time. “I want to keep her. She’s a phenomenal agent, but, as you pointed out, she’s a wildcard sometimes, and she needs someone to stabilize her.”

  “And you think I’m the man to do it?”

  “You may be the only man who can do it. Her specialty is security. As a detective, you’d bring a special skillset to the investigation. Besides, if what Becca told me this morning is true, I’m certain you have knowledge about the workings of the Circle that could help.”

  They sat in silence for a long moment. Finally, Damian had pity on him. “I believe you care about her. Or am I wrong?”

  Diego looked at Damian’s glass, probably wishing he had a drink in his hand. “No, sir. You’re correct.”

  “And your intentions?”

  Diego sighed. “Before the last thirty seconds of our conversation, I’d intended to return to my life, my job, and forget about her.”

  “How’d that work out for you before?”

  “Not so well.” Diego looked like a man who’d just faced his future, and it looked like a million shades of gray. Drab and boring without the color and life Becca would add. “But I have a job to do here. I can’t take off for Chicago on a whim. Although, there might be a connection to my case...” Diego looked thoughtful.

  “Take a personal leave, if you can. It’s a win-win proposition. Becca will have added protection, I’ll have peace of mind, and you’ll...well, I suspect you’ll figure out the next step. It would be worth the time and effort.”

  Misery mingled with amusement in Diego’s gaze. “I know we have sparks, for sure.” He gave a gruff laugh. “Hell, we could set the city on fire. And I have to admit...I am worried. I recently received a new lead. An unexpected one, that leads to Chicago, of all places.”