Page 53 of When He Fights
“I’m not afraid!”
“You should be afraid of me.Of Kane.You should also be very worried about what will happen when you meet up with Logan Catalano.I mean, he’s right here in Gulfport, so once you get out, a meeting will be imminent.”
Turner’s chin notched up.He blinked.A little too fast.“Who told you that?”
You did, dumbass.Right now.“When you get out, I’m sure Logan will let you know how very displeased he is with you.You had one job, and you screwed it up.Way to go, Ace.”
Turner swallowed.“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course, not.After all, you don’t have any useful intel that you want to trade to me, do you?Intel that might have brought you a deal.Perhaps even protection.”Gray paused a moment and let those words sink in.“Sweet dreams, Turner.Sleep tight.Don’t let the sharks bite.”With that, he turned and sauntered back down the hallway that led out of holding.
“That shit supposed to be funny?”Turner called after him.
“Shut up, assholes!”The same annoyed voice from earlier blasted that order.“Some of us want to sleep!”
Gray whistled.
“It’s not funny!”Turner yelled.“It’s not!”
“I think I’m fucking hilarious,” Gray argued and then he turned the corner.
He came to a dead stop.
A woman leaned against the wall near the door that would take him out of holding.A woman wearing a black dress, one that skimmed her knees, scooped at her neck, and left her shoulders and arms bare.Red pumps covered her heels, and her black hair skimmed her shoulders in a sleek bob.Her eyes—the brightest, boldest blue he’d ever seen in his life—locked right on him.
She’d crossed her arms over her chest and pressed her shoulders back against the wall.She looked casual.Gorgeous.Drop-dead sexy.
She also looked like the bane of his existence.Which she was.
“Hello, FBI Special Agent Stone.”Her voice held no accent, just a touch of husky, sensual temptation.She quirked a dark brow.“Having fun with the prisoner, are we?”
Gray flashed her a broad smile.He knew her face, though he had to admit that Emerson Marlowe was even more gorgeous in person.When he’d first been told that the psychiatrist working with Logan Catalano would be coming to join him for this takedown case—a Dr.Emerson Marlowe—Gray had been less than thrilled.Then he’d done some basic research on the shrink.Found out that Emerson was not the pencil-pushing academic bastard he’d originally suspected, not some Ivory-tower professor who wanted to dip a toe into the world of criminal investigation.
Oh, no.First, Emerson wasn’t abastardat all.She was delicate.She was feminine.She was witchily beautiful—yeah, the woman had a witchy vibe, especially with her black dress, and the vibe totally worked for her.
Sue me.I always liked the Wicked Witch.To me, Dorothy was the pain in the ass.Always whining about wanting to go home and dragging that poor dog all over Oz.
Emerson had a fistful of degrees, and while she’d spent plenty of time working at Vanderbilt, she’d also partnered with both local and federal law enforcement personnel on at least a dozen cases.
Plus, her mother was a senator.So, yes, the woman had pull.Enough pull to get Emerson moved into the FBI when Emerson had never trained at Quantico like a typical agent.Instead, she was a “consultant” who was there to utterly fuck with Gray’s life.
“Emerson Marlowe.”He paused.“Dr.Emerson Marlowe, I mean.”He sauntered toward her.“You arrived sooner than I expected.”
She didn’t change position.Just stayed, seemingly relaxed, against the wall.“Is that why you snuck in and had a private chat with the suspect?Because you didn’t expect my arrival yet?”
Her skin was a warm honey.Her lips were unpainted.Lush.And those thick eyelashes of hers could not be real.“I just wanted to check in with the man.I was worried about him.Doing my due diligence and all.”
“You were baiting him.”A moment of consideration.“And trying to terrify him into making a mistake.”
He could deny it, but why bother?“Guilty.”
“You…or him?”
“Oh, that bastard is dead guilty.He tried to kill Ana tonight.Stalked her through the local aquarium, threatened to stab her and feed her to the sharks.A lovely human being, don’t you think?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“He’s guilty and so am I.”Of so many things.Things most would never, ever know about him.“He slipped up.Logan Catalano—your former patient and current escaped pain in the ass—is already in town.By the way, did I ever mention to you—in those ever-so-entertaining email and text exchanges that we’ve shared—that I thought the idea of interviewing mob hitmen and enforcers in order to create some sort of new handbook on homicidal and narcissistic behavior was an absolute shitter of an idea?”
