A calculating look had formed in Tanner’s gaze. She was a mouse to him, and he wanted to play.
“Give me that phone,” I demanded.
Her head jerked my way, and Tanner was across the couch in a flash. He swiped it, unlocking it, and tossed it to me before she could do anything.
“Hey!”
I grabbed it, going across the room to the bar. Putting the phone on the counter, I moved behind, grabbing a glass of ice. “Either of you want a drink?”
“Are you high?” she asked,
Tanner laughed, strolling over to me. “I’ll make the drinks. You do your research.”
My brother knew me so well.
He picked up a glass and pointed at Carson with it. “You stay, but also, do you want a drink?”
She was still sputtering. “You two are nuts. You can’t just kidnap—”
“Girl, stop talking,” Tanner said, shaking his head. “We can and we did, and if you think you can do anything about this, maybe think back to the first night you met us. Remember the two big guys with us?”
Her mouth closed.
He shook his glass with the ice in it. “Remember the guns that they had?”
I was swiping through her phone, going over her texts, her phone calls, her contacts, the outgoing calls. I lingered on her text thread with SIS, seeing that she was originally from Kansas City. She was up early for her sister’s wedding next weekend.
I went through a text thread she had with someone named Milo—a colleague, I was guessing. Milo told her to enjoy her time off, that she needed to take more time for herself.
What was I doing? Kai had an entire computer team to go through stuff like this.
I pulled my phone out and dialed him, showing Tanner who I was calling. His demeanor changed; some of the fun faded. He gave me a nod, his eyes darting toward Carson. He’d watch her.
With that, I went into Tanner’s actual office room. Kai answered as I was shutting the door.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “It’s almost two in the morning where you are.”
I started to correct him, but he was right. Kansas City was in the same time zone as Minnesota. “I’m with Tanner.”
“Yes. He said he was going to see you.”
“We’re in Kansas.”
Kai was quiet. “Okay. What’s going on, Jonah?”
“Remember that girl who helped us see Melissa’s body?”
“The forensic technician, yes.”
“She’s here.”
“In Kansas?”
“At the club Tanner owns.”
“She was there when you guys were there?”
“Are. We’re still here—”
“Leave.”
“What?”
“Leave now. If she’s working for a rival family, they might be on their way. Take her somewhere else. Check her body for a tracker.”
Oh fuck. He was right. Why hadn’t I thought of all of that?
I moved back to the other room, motioning for Tanner’s attention. “We have her phone,” I told Kai. “Could you—”
“I’m dispatching orders right now. Tanner knows the guy I’m sending to get the phone. He’s local. He’ll do an analysis there, where you guys are.”
“Okay…”
“You’re in Tanner’s area. Let him do the legwork. The girl is with you?”
I stopped and stared at Carson.
She hadn’t moved, but her flush had waned, along with her fight. She had folded in, hugging herself. She looked like she wanted to disappear.
“I’m looking at her.”
“Your job is her. She was taken with you at the morgue. She didn’t care about me or Tanner, but she liked you. Use that. Study her. Get to know her. You’re a genius, Jonah. Use some of that intellect and learn everything about her.”
My dick shouldn’t have been twitching at the thought of doing that, but it was. Which was uncomfortable.
“Got it.”
“Love you,” he said. “It’s nice to hear from you.”
He ended the call, and I put my phone in my pocket.
Then Tanner’s phone lit up, and he read the screen as he set the bourbon aside.
I went to Carson, motioning. “Get up.”
“What?”
“Get. Up.”
“Why?”
I didn’t wait, but I didn’t go for her arm. I took her hand, threading our fingers together, and I didn’t miss the way her body reacted. She shivered. I felt it through her fingers, but she cursed under her breath, gritting her teeth.
If she didn’t actually know why we were kidnapping her, she was great at acting.
I kept a firm hold on her hand, and I stepped in so I was looking down at her, in her space. Her breasts grazed my chest, and I ignored how that made me feel.
Her eyes darkened, holding mine, and she bit down on her bottom lip.
“Melissa was killed by a ghost,” I told her. “He approached me, asked my name, and then shot her. We weren’t in my family’s territory—a mistake I will never make again—but in our world, coincidences don’t happen. We’re close to finding this guy who was contracted to kill my fiancée. So you being here is not a coincidence. The timing, too. We need to find out who your real employer is.” I leaned down. She was shaking, but her eyes kept going to my mouth. I moved even closer. My breath washed over her, and I pulled her flush against me.