Rogue (23 page)

My heavy sigh was one of annoyance this time.  “Don’t call me that.  I get it.  My
surname sounds like ‘bird.’  I don’t like the cutesy nicknames.  I’m an agent, just
like you, damn it.”

His fingers squeezed my wrist again.  “Okay, then,
Agent Byrd.
  What’s really bothering you?”

“Has it ever occurred to you that if I’m being evasive, it means I don’t want to share? 
Social niceties dictate that you back the hell off.”

Even the casual shrug of Dex’s shoulders was intimidating.  The movement called attention
to his imposing stature.  At five foot eight, I don’t consider myself short, but when
being stared down by a six foot four, heavily muscled god of a man, I felt as small
as a child.

“No.”  He informed me.  “Tell me what’s going on with you, Sparrow.”

It was no longer a friendly question.  It was an order.  Dex didn’t outrank me, but
I found myself cracking anyway.  My body shifted, and my eyes cut to my desk, where
the note lay on my keyboard.  From a distance, it didn’t look like anything more than
a scrap of paper, but I could feel malevolence rolling off it.

Dex’s long fingers snatched it up.

“Don’t!”  I protested, but his eyes were already scanning the sickening words.  In
the five seconds it took him to read it, his features twisted from disapproval to
rage.

His eyes were twin blue flames when they found mine.  “Who sent this?”

“I don’t know.  I just found the envelope in my box this morning.  It’s probably not
even for me.  It might be evidence from a case someone didn’t label properly.  It’s
addressed to Kathy, not Katie.”

Dex’s hard expression told me I was being willfully ignorant.  “Kathy can be short
for Katherine.  Don’t pretend like you don’t know it’s for you.”

“I don’t know that,” I snapped.  “Like I said, it could be mislabeled evidence.  I’ll
see if I can track down what happened.  You shouldn’t be touching that without gloves.”

“Well, it’s too late for that now.  We’ll have to take into account the fact that
you and I touched it when we run it for prints.”

“Thank you for being sensible.”  Relief sank into me at his agreement that the note
had nothing to do with me personally.  “I’ll just take this to the lab and-”

“Not yet, you won’t,” Dex cut over me.  “We’re showing this to Frank.”

“Why?  It’s part of one of my cases.  He doesn’t need to-”

This time he stopped my words with a low growl.  His fingers tightened around my wrist
again.  “I already told you to stop pretending.  We both know this is a personal threat,
Katie.  And I’m not letting you bury it just because you’re scared.”

“I’m not scared!”  I insisted.  “You’re just being unreasonable.”

“You’re lying again.”  It was a cool statement of fact.

I tugged against his hold on my wrist.  He didn’t even seem to notice.  “Just leave
it, okay?  Even if it is for me, it needs to be processed just like any other piece
of evidence.  Let me take it to the lab.  I can deal with this.”

“I know you can deal with it, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it on your own. 
It’s okay to be scared, Katie.  This is some scary shit.  And that’s why I’m not going
to let you quietly try to handle it by yourself.”

“You’re not going to
let
me?  Careful, Dex.  Your alpha-douche is showing.”

To my surprise, he chuckled darkly.  “Oh, Sparrow, you haven’t even glimpsed my ‘alpha-douche.’ 
I can assure you, he would most certainly
not
appreciate that title.”

I shifted uncomfortably.  His touch on my wrist suddenly burned much hotter.  My eyes
slid away from his.  “Damn it, Dex,” I muttered.  “Don’t make this a big deal.  Please.”

“I’m not making it a big deal.  This is serious, Katie.  You’re going to talk to Frank
about it, and you’re going to keep me updated.  Don’t keep things like this from me. 
I won’t let anything happen to you.”

I glanced up at him and saw a hint of fear for me flash through the righteous anger
in his eyes.  That swayed me more than his demands.  My partner cared about me.

“I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, either, Dex,” I admitted.  “Thanks for looking
out for me.”

The taut lines around his full mouth softened.  “Always.”

A long moment passed between us, and I felt that the weight of his stare was more
significant than just concern for my safety.  There was something else there.  It
was answered by a stirring of affection deep within me.

“I’ll take the note to Frank, then,” I finally broke the intense silence.

“Good.”  Dex’s voice was a touch deeper than usual as he delivered his approval. 
It made me feel warm inside, and I gave him a small smile as I took the piece of paper
back from him.  It wasn’t as scary now that my partner shared the burden of its contents.

Well, it had gone from terrifying to mildly horrifying on the fear-inducing scale. 
But at least now I could touch it without feeling like vomiting.

Dex finally released my wrist.  “Go on, then.”  The upward curve of his lips was softly
encouraging.

I nodded.  “I’ll let you know how it goes.”  With that, I skirted around him before
my courage failed me.  Trepidation and a touch of shame bled into the sense of calm
I had found with Dex.  Not only was I worried about Frank’s reaction to the note,
but I was also embarrassed to show him such an overtly sexual threat.  Franklin Dawes
might be my boss, but he was also something of a father figure to me.  What girl wants
to discuss something like this with her dad?

I shook my head.  Frank might have known me since I was a teenager, but I wasn’t a
girl any longer.  And my real father was dead in the ground, along with my mother. 
I had never known her, but I had lost Dad when I was seventeen.  Frank – his partner
and one of his closest friends – had helped to fill that gap.  He had even helped
guide me to my job with the Bureau.  I had faced some heinous crimes with him, but
none of them had ever involved me personally.

Even though I held it gingerly between my thumb and forefinger, the paper seemed to
burn them by the time I knocked on Frank’s office door.

“Come in.”  His voice was deep and calm, as always.  Frank never lost that sense of
composed control, no matter what crime we faced.  He was an incredibly strong man,
emotionally as well as physically.  Even if he was a touch stern, I always felt safe
around him.  His consistent moods made his supportive presence incredibly comforting.

Focusing on that knowledge, I took a deep breath and stepped into his office.

His face lit up when I entered.  “Katie,” he beamed.  He always had that warm smile
for me.  It was the only time I ever saw his cool demeanor melt.  It made me feel
special, cared for.  The faint crow’s feet around his polished mahogany eyes deepened,
and his perfect white teeth flashed.

Frank cared about me.  He would help me through this.

“What can I do for you?”  He asked genially.

“This…”  I fumbled.  “This was waiting for me in my box this morning.”  I dropped
the note so quickly that it fluttered through the air for a second before landing
on the desk in front of him.

He reached for his gold wire framed reading glasses and lifted the paper closer to
his eyes.  His brows rose nearly all the way to his meticulously-styled steel grey
hair.  After a moment, his expression went carefully blank, and his gaze returned
to me.  Tension gripped my muscles at the sight of it.  The warmth he usually afforded
me was gone, as was his usual calm.  It was as though it was taking all his effort
to conceal his emotions.

“Who sent this?”  His voice was softer than I had ever heard it.

“I… I don’t know.  It was just in an envelope in my box when I came in this morning.”

Frank placed it carefully on his desk.  “We’ll run it for prints.  Has anyone else
touched it other than you and me?”

“Dex.  He held it.”

His lips thinned in disapproval.  “I’ll make sure no one else does.  I’ll personally
deliver it to the lab.”

“I can handle it,” I insisted quickly.  I hated how upset Frank seemed over the situation. 
“I’ll take it-”

“I didn’t ask for your permission,” he cut me off.  I swallowed hard and took a step
back.  I had seen this domineering side of him before, but he never turned it on me. 
He sighed heavily, and his expression softened to something more soothing.  “I’ll
take care of this, Katie.”

The paternal light in his eyes let me know the unspoken significance of those words:
Let me take care of you.

The offer was too tempting to refuse.  It was all I could do to stop myself from throwing
myself in his arms and seeking his comfort, as I had done so many times after my father
had passed away.

I blinked hard to clear the tears that glossed over my deep green eyes.  “Thanks,
Frank.”

“I’m very proud of you for being so brave about this, Katie,” he told me kindly. 
“But this is serious, and you shouldn’t deal with it on your own.”

“That’s what Dex said.  He convinced me to show you the note.”

“You should have come to me immediately.”  His voice sharpened, and just like that,
I felt like a chided child.

“I know,” I mumbled, dropping my eyes.

“You will tell me the next time something like this happens.  Before you consult with
anyone else.  You’re my responsibility, Katie.  I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

It was the same thing Dex had said.  He wasn’t the only alpha male in the office. 
Frank’s insistent protectiveness didn’t grate on me the way my partner’s had, though. 
If anything, the fatherly instinct to keep me safe was gratifying.

“I promise I’ll come to you first.”

“Good.”  Frank nodded once, satisfied.  “Now, there was something else I need to discuss
with you.  One of the guys from the New York unit is coming in to work with you on
The Mentor case.”

The Mentor. 
I suppressed a shudder at the name.  Well, the man I was hunting didn’t have a name. 
He didn’t have a face, either.  Not yet.  But I was determined to identify him.  If
he was anything like his mentee – Carl Martel – he had likely abducted, raped, and
killed dozens of women.

“Why?”  I asked to distract myself from the images of battered women that raced across
my mind.  “Why am I not working with Dex?”

Frank’s lips twisted in distaste.  He was obviously as unhappy with the assignment
as I was.  “Kennedy Carver – the New York unit director – suggested it.  Martel’s
last victim, Lydia Chase, was selected because of her interest in the BDSM lifestyle. 
Carver thought it would be helpful if someone with experience in that area was on
hand to help here in Chicago.”

Martel had lived outside New York City, but Lydia Chase had been abducted from Chicago,
so members of both units were searching for The Mentor.  I nodded my agreement with
the new agent’s assignment to our field office.  We could use all the help we could
get.

“Who’s the agent?”  I asked.

“His name’s Reed Miller.  He’s a rookie, barely four months with the Bureau.  But
Carver insists he’s experienced in the BDSM lifestyle and has done good work so far.” 
Frank’s frown deepened.  “I want you to watch yourself around him, Katie.  Professionally,
I approve of his partnership with you.  But he’s new, and I don’t know if I trust
him with your safety.  Be careful.”

“I will be,” I promised.  “If Carver says he’s good, I’m sure he’ll have my back.”

Although I wish I could keep Dex at my back. 
I knew my current partner, and I trusted him with my life.  Being paired with a stranger
didn’t sit entirely well with me.

A knock at the door distracted me.  Frank glanced past me to look through the glass
wall at the front of his office.  The blinds were open, revealing the man who stood
just outside.

“Come in,” Frank’s tone lacked the warmth it held when he invited me in.

The man who stepped through the door wasn’t just a rookie; he was probably around
my age.  I hadn’t expected to be partnered with someone so young.  Or so breathtakingly
gorgeous.  The man was as tall as Dex, but where my partner was all light and righteousness,
Reed Miller was dark and positively sinful.  His skin was golden, and his black hair
matched his eyes.  They were dark, fathomless pools.  A woman could drown in those
eyes.

“Katie, this is Reed Miller.  Miller, this is your new partner, Agent Katherine Byrd.”

“It’s so nice to finally meet you, Agent Byrd.  I’ve heard great things.”  His voice
was as sensual as the lips from which it issued.

Automatically, I reached my hand out to shake his, and strong heat enveloped my fingers. 
It raced up my arm, flooding my chest before finding its way down lower in my abdomen. 
The warmth pooled somewhere entirely unprofessional.

“Be careful.” 
Frank’s warning echoed in my mind.

Oh, I was going to have to be very careful when it came to Reed Miller.

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