Who the fuck is Jason Benjamin?”
“I don’t know.”
Kade held in his temper, strolled around the man. “You let a young woman’s murder go unsolved for thirty-one years, and worse, you fucking profited from her death, rising up the ranks in the political world and all it cost was your soul. You should be in jail, but they…” he gestured to Zac and Darling, “have agreed to let you go free. You will, of course, resign your position, and I’ll keep my file, as an incentive for you to stay on the straight and narrow. I think we’re being more than fair. Who’s Benjamin?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him in thirty-one years.”
“Okay,” Kade stepped back, “Carmine, he’s all yours.”
Breen’s head snapped to DeLuca.
“Your reputation seems to have preceded you,” Zac said.
Carmine cracked his knuckles. “You might want to wait outside for this.”
“Fuck. Fine, but you have to protect me.”
It was Darling who answered, walking across the room. His large hands fisted. “Protect you? You should have protected Katrina Dent. Now fucking talk or I’ll forget I’m a goddamn captain and beat you to an inch of your fucking life.”
Kade watched as Molly dressed. The backless silver dress rested at the small of her back, the shimmering material hugging her hips and falling to brush the floor. Her hair was up, her neck exposed. The only jewelry she wore was his ring. He walked up behind her, ran his hand up her back, around and under the soft material to her breast and pressed a kiss on her neck. Her head fell back on his shoulder, and a moan passed her lips.
“You look exquisite,” he whispered.
Her eyes opened, love and desire stared back. It was tempting to pull the gown off and fuck her in only those silver heels, but they’d do that later. He stepped in front of her, her eyes moving to the black leather box he held before lifting to his. “Not as exquisite as your neck, but the best I could do.”
He opened the Harry Winston box. Ninety carats of sapphires in alternating shapes of emerald-cut and oval-cut were surrounded by sixty carats of brilliant-cut diamonds. He loved watching her, the expressions that moved over her face.
Her voice was huskier when she whispered, “It’s the most beautiful necklace I’ve ever seen.”
Lifting it from its resting place, he put the box on the dresser and moved around her, securing it around her neck, before kissing her shoulder.
Her hand covered it, her eyes moving to the full-length mirror. His arms slipped around her waist. Their gazes met in the mirror. “My life really has become a fairy tale,” she whispered.
He had some ideas on how to make that fairy tale even better, but first, they needed to hunt a ghost.
Twenty-One
Molly
It felt like we were at the Academy Awards. The necklace from Kade hung heavy around my neck. It was magnificent. Camera flashes went off around us, as we walked up the red-carpeted steps of The Met, where the CyberTech launch was being held. Kade hadn’t let go of my hand, keeping me close to his side. It was where I wanted to be, so I pressed in closer.
As soon as we entered, a waiter appeared with a tray of champagne. Kade handed me a glass before we mingled with the scientists and capitalists who had made the CyberTech discovery a success.
Kade saw me to our table, kissed my cheek and said, “I’ll be right back.”
I looked up at him and smiled. “Okay.”
Glancing around the room, I felt the tingle because these were the same people from Kade’s party. My eyes moved through the crowd because I’d bet money Jason Benjamin was here.
It was while I scanned the crowd that I noticed a few from the NYPD, dressed in tuxes, stationed around the room. A sinking sensation settled in my gut. Something was going down. Why the hell didn’t I know about it?
I turned in my seat, caught sight of Kade. He was talking to Carmine. Unease moved through me because I had a feeling I was the only one not in the loop. Why the fuck wouldn’t they include me? I answered my own question. Kade realized the attempt on him had really been on me. He went behind my back. On one level, I understood and appreciated what he was doing. Even loved him for it, but I was a fucking detective. It was my job and my case.
I reached for my phone. I was sure Zac was