Insatiable (Steel Brothers Saga #12) - Helen Hardt Page 0,8
respect that, but—”
“I can’t help you,” Booker said. “I’m pretty sure the Spider can’t be involved in the disappearances. That’s not how he works.”
I shook my head. “Seriously? You like to keep your hands clean? What kind of person who keeps his hands clean has to have his office swept for bugs every night?”
“Bryce—”
“Come on, Joe. This guy isn’t who you think he is.”
“Look—” Booker began.
“Easy, Cade,” Joe said. “Bryce’s nerves are on edge.”
“Yours should be as well,” I said angrily. “I’ll say it again. This guy isn’t who you think he is.”
Booker stood. “You’re right. I’m not. And you need to leave. I’m armed.”
“So am I,” I said. “And I’d be willing to bet everything I own that Joe is too.”
“Cade knows I don’t go anywhere without Rosie,” Joe said, eyeing his ankle.
“Tell us who the Spider is,” I gritted out.
“That’s not how I work,” Booker said with equal grit. “I can’t work with this hothead.”
I was a hothead? Hardly. I’d spent half my life calming Joe down and keeping him from going off half-cocked.
“Cade,” Joe said, “is there any other way to contact the Spider?”
“Not that I know of. Now you two are going to have to get the hell out of my office.”
“Not until we get what we came for,” I said.
“If he doesn’t have any other way to contact—”
What would your clients think if they knew how you spent your free time? Oh, the words were on the tip of my tongue. But I had nothing against BDSM, and I appreciated his—and Joe’s—need for privacy.
But I was pissed. Fucking pissed.
How could Joe not see right through this guy? Cade Booker was not on our side. Not at all.
Chapter Six
Marjorie
“Your mother has been moved to a safe house,” Dominic said.
My stomach dropped. “You said you didn’t know anything about my mother.”
“No. I said your mother wasn’t here.”
“Why does she need to be at a safe house?”
“The same reason you need to be. This is also a safe house.”
“Where are we?”
“Outside the city limits. A mobile home park.”
“Mobile homes are the most unsafe places ever,” I said. “You’d better hope no tornadoes come rolling through.”
“This is an abandoned mobile home park. These homes have been condemned.”
“Great. Should I expect the roof to fall in on me at any moment?”
“Of course not. This place is completely safe. We’ve made sure of it. The rest of the places here, with a few exceptions, are unsafe. Because the park as a whole is condemned, no one comes here.”
“I see.” Though I didn’t see at all. “Colin, are you following all of this?”
“Sort of,” he said, still agitated. “Could you untie me, please?”
“Are you going to run?” Dave asked.
“Where would he go?” I said. “Clearly we’re in the middle of nowhere.”
“We’re closer to things than you think,” Dominic said.
“Who the hell are you? Was it simple coincidence that we met at the gym?”
“Of course not.”
“It was you, wasn’t it? You took the towel with my locker key pinned on it that day.”
“Guilty.”
“But you didn’t steal anything.”
“I needed to know everything I could about where I might be able to find you. Plus, I’m not a thief.”
I scoffed. “Of course not. You only steal people.”
“I’ve been paid very well to get you and Colin to safety.”
“Yeah? The only people with the money to ‘pay very well’ are my brothers, and I know they aren’t behind this.”
“No, they’re not.”
“Who, then? Who would do—”
A cell phone buzzed. Dominic pulled a phone out of his pocket and spoke into it. “Yeah?”
Seconds seemed to stretch into hours as Dominic presumably listened to whoever was on the other end of the line.
“Could you untie my ankles now?” I asked Dave, adding a slight eye-batting for effect. “Please?”
He looked to Alex. She shook her head.
Obviously flirting wasn’t going to work on her.
“Hanging in there, Colin?” I asked.
He nodded, though not convincingly. “My father is behind this. He has to be.”
“If what Dominic says is true, that they’re trying to keep us safe, it’s probably not your father. Unless you’re wrong about him.”
“I’m not wrong about him. I’m just not sure these people are telling us the truth.”
The thought had crossed my mind as well. But Dominic and the others hadn’t hurt us. Other than knocking us out, tying us up, and abducting us, that was.
I had a lot more questions for Colin about his father, but I didn’t want to say anything with Alex and Dave hovering over us.
Dominic finally ended his phone call. “That was CJ. Food’s on