Page 47 of Love Me Darkly
“Probably another alias for Roman,” Mateo mumbled. “Find me something I can use to press for surveillance on the mansion. We need to get inside.”
“Done and done,” she replied, already on her way to her office.
Mateo turned to Williams. “I’m putting you in charge of handling the logistics of the raids. You’ll be the point of contact for Carlisle. Keep me informed of every detail. When you aren’t doing that, there’s still footage from those security cameras around Solstice. Go back over them. We might have missed something.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Smith, stay on Tattoo Guy and try to get some photos of his face so Darcy can do what she does. I want to know who he is and what his connection might be to Valemont and The Veil.”
“Got it, Boss.”
“Jones, keep your ear to the Solstice wiretap. I know things have been quiet since the NOLA and Berenger raids, but we should start getting movement soon.”
“Yes, Sir.”
As everyone else melted away, Donovan stood facing him. His gaze was sharp, intent, focused straight on Mateo. When he didn’t speak, Mateo raised his eyebrows in question.
Donovan cleared his throat. “Are you good?”
Mateo rubbed a hand over his bristled jaw. The stubble was starting to itch. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Donovan sighed. “Okay, let’s cut the bullshit. I followed you last night.”
Mateo’s blood ran cold. He had been so preoccupied with Melody that he’d been unaware of all else. So preoccupied that he hadn’t felt the eyes watching him.
“Why the fuck would you do that?”
“Because you’ve been walking around like a zombie for the past week,” Donovan argued. “And because you wouldn’t answer your phone, and Darcy and I were afraid you might be in a gutter somewhere with your throat slit. The UNSUB already got to you once.”
Mateo cursed under his breath, annoyed with himself. Of course his disappearance and silence had worried his team.
“I was exhausted,” he said with a shrug. “I slept through your calls. It won’t happen again.”
“And your little trip to Solstice?” Donovan challenged. “You seemed awake enough for that.”
Mateo gritted his teeth. “If you have something to ask me, then ask.”
Donovan shifted closer and lowered his voice, eyes darting to make sure they weren’t overheard. “You went to see her. Melody.”
Mateo raised his chin a notch. “And if I did?”
“You have surprisingly little intel to share about whatever it is you found. In fact, her name hasn’t come up once in any of your briefings, even though you’ve spent as much time monitoring her as we have Suede, Wilson, and Morrison. Even though I know you had Darcy run a full background check.”
Mateo clenched his hands into fists, and an overwhelming surge of protective annoyance welled within him. Who the fuck did Donovan think he was, questioning him?
“If I find anything worth sharing, I’ll share it,” Mateo ground out, his jaw beginning to ache from how tight he clenched his teeth. “So far, all I know is that her identity is fake, and she works at the club.”
A bald-faced lie. He knew far more about Melody than he was willing to admit. He knew her art and her taste in music. He knew her clothes, her love and care for plants, and her perfumes. He knew her feel and her taste and her scent. More than that, he knew where she had come from, where she had been born, who had raised her. He knew what she had lived through, what she had survived. He knew it all.
“Oh, so that’s it?” Donovan prodded, either unaware of how he irritated Mateo, or not caring. “Your interest in this woman is all related to the case? Nothing else?”
“That’s not your concern.”
“Like hell it isn’t.”
Mateo backed away before he was tempted to put his hands on Donovan. The young agent was only doing his job, which didn’t only require him to follow orders. He wasn’t technically a member of the team, and had his own pull with the bureau. If he thought Mateo was slipping, he could have him under investigation with a phone call.
“She’s a suspect, nothing more. When I have more to tell you, I will. In the meantime, I need you to interview Wilson and Morrison again. They haven’t said a word other than to turn on each other. We need to know what ties they might have to The Veil.”
