Page 35 of Dangerous Command
I briefly considered asking Kiley to research Maddie. Once I knew who she was, this dance would be over. I could make moves to end this.
But I wanted to give Maddie a chance to explain herself. Perhaps she was rubbing off on me.
I dialed Kiley. “Yo, asshole,” she said. “You get ahold of your ‘mad’ babe?”
She must have been referencing Maddie. I ignored the question. “I’ve got another name for you.”
“Shoot.”
“Tina.”
“Tina. That’s all you got?”
“Used to work for Midnight Miles Corporation.”
“Hah! Nice try, asshole,” she cackled into the phone. “No, thank you. I’ve got better things to do than to mess with a psychopath’s defunct corporation.”
“I’ll pay you triple.”
“Money isn’t enough. See ya!”
The line went dead. I sighed. We could always go straight to Brackston and dial every Tina left in the city, but that was a time-consuming last resort. And if I had to, I would force Kiley to work for us. I’d rather her be a compliant aid on our side, but I would do what had to be done.
Then I remembered; Wil might have information.
I dialed my brother. Maddie crossed through the hallway, heading past the study to the bathroom. I leaned out of the study, watching her walk. She must have been eager to take a shower. I needed one too. There was no evidence of the body left, but Ray’s blood was on me.
The faint sounds of the splashing shower cascaded down the hallway. I thought of Maddie on the other side of the door: her heavy curves and breasts, her round stomach, plush and mouthwatering. My dick was hard just thinking about her.
“Yeah?” Wil asked, startling me out of the daydream.
“You still have that old computer from the Muro’s warehouses?” I asked. He had gotten one from the warehouses right after we had destroyed the headquarters.
“Yeah.”
“Cross check the employment records. Look for anyone with the name ‘Tina.’” I adjusted the phone in my grip. “It’s the only lead we have right now.”
“I’ll get it. What happened to Ray?”
The fact that he hadn’t used the word ‘uncle’ told me that he had already accepted his fate, like I had.
“Stew,” I said, our code for the acid vats.
“Thought so. Let me call you back in a few.”
Even though I wanted to burst into that bathroom and join Maddie in the shower, I waited in the study. I had to give her space. I respected her, more than I cared to admit. She might have been hiding her past, but she still stood by me, even when she disagreed with my decisions. She still helped butcher a body when it came down to it.
And besides, it was better for us this way. The less time I spent in her presence, the less likely I was to get addicted to her, worse than I already was.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
“Yeah?” I asked.
“All right, we’ve got a name. You ready?’” Wil asked.
“That was quick.”
“This thing was built over a decade ago, but at least it has an option to search employment records.” He laughed to himself, then got back to it. “All right. Says ‘Valentina Bernard’ hasn’t been employed for almost ten years. Does that sound right?”
