A Little Harmless Submission 6 (4 page)

He nodded, knowing all of this. He had been following the case for months since they’d found Samantha Brown.

“So he kills a number of women, then the FBI descends, he disappears.”

She hesitated. “Before the press even knows we’re there.”

That tidbit sent a slice of ice racing through his blood.

“Before the press catches wind, the killings stop?”

She nodded. “They were in Atlanta for three weeks before the press found out.”

Hell, this was worse than he thought. If the press had known first, there was a good chance there might be someone in their ranks who had done this. But if the press hadn’t been sniffing around, that really did narrow it down to law enforcement and people directly connected to them.

“I see from your expression you understand the implications.”

His gut was churning just thinking about it. “This is someone who travels. Could he be FBI?”

He expected her to get irritated, but she just nodded again. “Yeah, that’s one of my worries.”

“I’m surprised that I didn’t piss you off.”

She offered him a wry smile. “It takes a lot to piss me off mainly because I work for the federal government in a career field filled with men. Besides, my father said never rule anyone out. That mistake has cost too many lives in the past.”

“So we need to start going through a database of people in the FBI.”

“Done. There weren’t many names on the list that fit the criteria..”

He studied her for a moment. “Are you taking a risk doing this?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I would think that putting yourself in this situation would put you out there to be attacked if you fail.”

She shrugged. “People are always waiting for me to fail.”

She said it as if it were a fact. “Because you’re a woman?”

Chuckling, she said, “No. Actually it’s because I’m Big John Callahan’s daughter. I have a lot to prove. I can send you that list if you can give me your email.”

She was already pulling out her phone when he asked, “Why don’t we have something to eat?”

The moment he said it, he wanted to call back the words. He meant to stop on the way, just pick up something fast. But he’d been so preoccupied with Callahan and what he would like to do to her, he’d forgotten. Shit, he didn’t even know if he had something to feed her. He opened his mouth to tell her to forget it. But a second later, she looked up, surprise lighting her eyes. That look alone had his hands itching. There was something about the expression that had him reassessing his original thoughts on her preferences. A hint of vulnerability along with interest in her gaze made him rethink everything. And he could tell she was trying to decide what to do.

“Sure.”

A strange sense of relief swept through him. Damn, he was acting like some kind of fifth grader with a crush on his teacher. “I’ll go see what I have on hand.”

“Oh, you don’t have to go to any trouble.”

She gave him an out. He didn’t have to follow through on his offer, but strangely, he didn’t want that out. He wanted to spend more time with her. Rome just had to figure out if it was because of her or the case.

“No worries.”

· · · · ·

Maria really didn’t know what to think of her new partner, for lack of a better word. She knew a lot of men. It was hard not to in her field. Since her mother had died when Maria was twelve, she’d been raised by her father. For the better part of the last fifteen years, she had actually spent more time with men than with women. She didn’t think any of the men she knew intrigued her more than the man presently sitting across the table from her. He had thrown together a quick meal of grilled shrimp and vegetables, served it on what he called the lanai, and while they talked of the case, he never tried to take the lead. From what she knew in his files, she had expected him to be different. Very different.

“So you have Masters checking out these guys?”

She nodded as she took a sip of white wine, another shock. Most of the men she worked with had a great selection of beer in their houses, but Rome seemed to be a bit of a connoisseur of wines. And he’d had one of her favorites.

“He’s going to do some digging, then leave.”

His eyebrows rose. “Whose call was that?”

“Mine. If I’d had my way, he wouldn’t be here at all. But the boss wanted to be sure I had a seasoned agent with me. And dragging him all this way and letting him leave actually got me brownie points with Masters.” In fact, the expectant father had been embarrassingly thankful when she’d told him.

“Why didn’t you want him here?”

“He wasn’t needed. And his wife is about to give birth. It’s their first, and it’s been a difficult pregnancy. I can understand that he would want to be there with her.”

Rome shrugged. “Then why did you bring him?”

She sighed. “My supervisor wanted me to have backup in case…”

“Let me guess? He expected me to buck you?”

“That, and there are standards, and people gossip. This way he covers his ass.”

“You were surprised when I agreed to help.”

She laughed. “You really have no choice but to let me butt in. I appreciate it, and I understand why departments get so pissed. Hell, the way we’ve been going into cities and taking over has led to some really bad relations over this case. I do know that they almost let a murderer get away because they lumped one woman’s murder in with The Dom. Turned out it was just her ex.”

“You’re sure this is the same guy?”

“Letting you handle the investigation, we can find out. If the others had come in, there was a good chance they would have taken over. Plus, this is an ideal place to corner the bastard.”

He studied her for a second or two. “Explain.”

“On the mainland, it’s harder to keep up with who has come in and out of a city. Here, it will be easier to find out who was here and on what dates. Being that it is an island allows us to study a very small list of people. Well, a smaller list of people.”

“That makes sense. So what is this plan you have? You’re going to have me investigate, and you’re going to do what?”

She could tell from his skeptical tone that he didn’t trust her. Which made him a smart man.

“You’re a member of the club.”

He studied her for a second then nodded. Brownie points to the detective for not lying about that. “It’s not a big secret. But I don’t have anything to do with this.”

She waved that away. “You’ve never been to the other clubs. Plus, you don’t fit the profile, and the only other city you were in was Seattle. Of course, that wasn’t during the killings there.”

Again, he studied her. She knew she was being weighed, tested in some way again. Her father had often looked at everyone that way—including her.

“So what’s your role in this? Other than resources, what are you going to offer me?”

She drew in a deep breath and decided it was time to bite the bullet. Waiting was only going to prolong the issue, and she wanted to start right away.

“I’m going to be bait.”

Chapter Three

Shock held Rome immobile for a few seconds. His brain just refused to function. He heard the words, but they just didn’t seem to make sense. In that next instant, anger blazed through his blood.

“No fucking way.” He ground out the words, more than a little surprised by the vehemence in his tone. Even to his own ears, he sounded territorial.

She frowned at him. He didn’t know if it was his language or his reaction that she objected to. He didn’t really care.

She straightened her shoulders. “I wasn’t asking.” Her voice had turned a little bit prissy, and dammit, he even found that attractive. There was something definitely wrong with him.

“I said no.”

“I didn’t really ask.” Her tone told him that she wasn’t happy with him. Hell, he wasn’t happy with himself. It wasn’t that it was a stupid idea. Part of him realized it was probably a good plan. But the thought of her strutting through Rough ‘n Ready had his blood running cold. Or hot, thinking of what he would do to the first man who approached her. He pushed aside the oddly possessive feelings and put his mind back on track.

“There are a ton of reasons you shouldn’t do this.”

Her brow furrowed. “Can you think of one reason I shouldn’t?”

“First, it’s too dangerous.”

She rolled her eyes and took a sip of her wine. “Yes, of course. I can’t handle myself. I’m only a trained FBI agent. Heck, I traveled with my father from the time I was thirteen. I know how to handle myself.”

For a second, he was sidetracked by her comment. “You went with your father on jobs?”

She shrugged. “After my mother was…after she died, we had little to no family to take care of me. When my father made noises about quitting, his supervisor made sure I could go along with him if he got called out.”

Being considered one of the pioneers of criminal profiling, John Callahan could probably have asked for just about anything and gotten it. But what kind of man dragged a thirteen-year-old with him while hunting down the most disgusting scum of the universe? And just what the hell did it do to the woman sitting in front of him?

“Carino.”

He shook himself out of his stupor. “Doesn’t matter. I don’t think it will work.”

She cocked her head to the side and studied him again. A strand of hair had escaped the tight bun. It was long, well past her shoulders, and he started to wonder how long it was. Did it trail all the way down her back so that he could spread it out over his sheets? He could just imagine threading his fingers through it as she took his cock deep inside her mouth.

“Why?” she asked.

He shifted in his seat, trying to ease the erection the image had created. “Why what?”

She sighed. “Why don’t you think it would work? It’s a good plan. With your help, it could very well catch the killer.”

“You’re not submissive.”

The smile she offered him told Rome she thought he had just praised her. “Thanks.”

“That wasn’t a compliment. That was an observation.”

But now that he said it, he wondered. In her job, she had to be a ballbuster or people would walk all over her. He knew through his training that people in their real lives were many times vastly different than what they needed in the bedroom. He knew a few cops who were Doms, but he also knew a florist from Mokuleia who was the toughest Dominatrix he’d ever known. In her real life, she generally struck people as a very soft-spoken woman, but he knew she was sought after at the club. Most people, those who knew nothing of the life, would consider Callahan and her job and assume she was a Dominatrix. But there were little tells that hinted that she might like to play the submissive. And for some reason, an image of her popped into his head. She was on his bed, hands tied behind her back, and he was spanking her ass red. He had to bite back a groan as he tried to cover up his reaction and get rid of the idea. Try as he might, he couldn’t get it out of his head.

“It’s a role. I’ve done undercover before.” She shrugged. “And I have your help. I understand you have
quite
the reputation.”

The idea that she saw him as some stepping-stone was irritating. And worse, he hated that she had something in her file on him. Like he was part of the case. She reached for the bottle of wine, but he grabbed it away and set it beside his plate.

“I think you’ve had enough of that.”

She shrugged. “If you say so.”

“I do.”

Her eyebrows lifted at his tone, but he couldn’t help it. His Dom wanted out, and he wanted her under his control.

“What did your supervisor say?” he asked.

“Do you do everything by the book?”

“That answers my question. So he didn’t approve of it.”

She looked out over his small lawn. “I never said anything.”

Now she sounded a little petulant, and normally, he would have been confused by the change in her. But she was tired, and she’d had two glasses of wine. He had a feeling Callahan wasn’t a heavy drinker.

The idea of having her in the club, playing a role to capture a killer…it just didn’t sit right with him. It was odd because he’d worked undercover in Seattle PD and never had a problem with a woman putting herself in danger. If she were trained, he treated her as an equal. But he couldn’t take that chance again.

“So you’ve gone rogue?”

She snorted. “Hardly. I spent a lot of time thinking of this. I am putting myself out there to attract the killer. I might not even do that. But I could find things out that you might not be able to.”

“Are you saying you’re a better investigator than me?”

“No. But people know you’re a cop. Without knowing it, they hold back. Maybe not on purpose, but just a reflex.”

“Just because they’re members doesn’t mean they’re hiding anything.”

“I don’t mean that. But no matter how good the person is, there is always a knee-jerk reaction. You come along, they shut up.”

“And if you are thought to be involved with me, that would cause problems.”

She nodded. “Could, but I’m willing to take that chance.”

“And everyone on the island, especially this killer, knows I’m handling the case. You have the physical attributes he likes. It will definitely make you a target.”

“You’ll be there. I read your file. You’ve done undercover work before.”

“With backup. I’ve done this a lot, but we always had backup. Since you don’t have permission to do this—and neither do I—we won’t be able to have backup. No wires, no surveillance, what are we going to gain from this?”

“First, it is more to gain information that might help us narrow down the field. When people freeze up, they forget those little details. If they think I’m one of them, not connected to the police except for you, they might remember something. We have to connect these women outside the club beyond that they just knew each other. With the backup, I think Micah Ross can help us there,” she said, naming one of the owners of the club. “He used to bounty hunt. I figured we would get their approval anyway.”

Before he could argue more, his front doorbell rang. He wasn’t expecting anyone, so he figured it was someone who was lost.