Chapter One
“I want to know everything about her.” Dexter “Dex” Ryan put his hands on his hips and stared at the computer screen. Or rather, at the woman on the screen. “What she eats for breakfast. How she likes her coffee. Her favorite color. What makes her laugh. What makes her cry. What she fears—”
“Uh, Dex?” Antony Kyle paused with his hands curled over the keyboard. “Is this…personal? Because, I mean, I don’t know if we should really be using agency time to spy on your new girlfriend.”
Dex smiled and clamped a hand around Antony’s shoulder. A very hard clamp. Then he leaned in close to the other man’s ear. “Have you forgotten?” he murmured. “I am the agency. So if I say that I want you to investigate someone, if I say I want to know every single thing she does and every secret she has…then, obviously, it’s agency business.”
“Obviously,” Antony replied, but his voice said he was far, far from convinced. “And you wanted me to do this job for you instead of one of your normal techs because…?”
“Because I trust you. One hundred percent.” He did. There were only a handful of people in this world that he truly trusted, and Antony was one of those select few. A top operative, Antony’s tech skills had come in handy more times than Dex could count. By day, the man ran a huge, billion-dollar gaming business. But by night…
He works for me. “Now come on, man, stop dicking around. I know you can get the job done for me.”
Antony’s shoulders stiffened. “Well, of course, I can.” His fingers flew. “It’s me. But I just wanted to state—on the record—that I wasn’t down with helping you stalk your new girlfriend.”
“I am not stalking…” He stopped and sucked in a deep breath. “Someone is feeling pissy tonight.”
“Someone was pulled away from a date to handle your shit, so yep, pissy. Right here.” The light from the screen reflected off Antony’s glasses as he leaned forward.
Dex lifted his hand from Antony’s shoulder even as his gaze tracked to the screen Antony viewed. Hell, the room was full of computer screens. After all, this location was the best surveillance and data collection center on the East Coast. Completely off the books. Completely contained.
Completely his.
“Lacey Amari is an operative for Wilde.” Now Antony was pulling up data left and right. “She’s worked there for approximately eight months.”
Dex already knew all about her involvement with the security and protection firm—that involvement was what had brought her onto his radar in the first place.
“Parents are deceased.” Another box opened on the screen nearest Antony. “Jason and Elora Amari died four years ago but…” He frowned. Tapped more. A new box popped up on the screen. “Jason Amari wasn’t listed on Lacey’s birth certificate. No father’s name was listed.”
Dex’s arms crossed over his chest. “You haven’t said anything to surprise me yet, Antony.” Frustration rolled in his voice. “I wanted more from you. Why do I pay you the big bucks if you can’t impress me?”
“You don’t pay me the big bucks. I make that on my own.” Antony glanced back at him. “I’ve had like…two minutes to work. Two minutes. You can’t expect miracles.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Of course, I can. They are the only thing I expect.”
Antony’s lips parted. He didn’t speak. Just stared. Then, finally… “Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to work when you are breathing down my neck? Like, literally, breathing on me.”
A long sigh broke from Dex. “Fine. Don’t appreciate me.”
“I do not. Especially when I’m trying to stalk—I mean, research—your new girlfriend.”
“Not fucking stalking,” he growled. It wasn’t. It was intel gathering. A normal tactical routine. Antony knew this crap. “You have an hour. Get me good intel. Then dig even deeper and get me better intel.” He inclined his head toward the screens. “But before I go, I want to know exactly where Lacey Amari is.”
“But…but how am I supposed—”
Dex rattled off her phone number. “Get her location from that. We both know you can.” Seriously? Was Antony going to play amateur on him?
Looking disgruntled, Antony quickly obtained her location. He even did a step better and hacked into the security feed at the club where Lacey was dancing.
When the feed appeared, Dex’s body tensed. Lacey was dancing way too close to some jackass who had his hands clamped on her hips. What. The. Hell?
“She likes to dance,” Antony noted dryly. “So I discovered something