Chapter Eleven
Lenny Powers
To: Lena Nilsson
October 23, 2021 at 10:52 PM
Lena-
Heard you could use a hand gathering intel. If you want to get this right, Easton Adair is
the agent you want. He did exceptional work with me on a recent assignment.
Lenny Powers
Assistant Director
Criminal Investigative Division
Gus read the email aloud for the second time, but Kinley’s mind was focused on what Easton had been thinking of a few minutes ago when he looked at her. The thought that made his pupils dilate, darkening his eyes like a lunar eclipse. The one that made the artery jump at the base of his throat. There was a dramatic pull between them. Gravitational. Consuming. It would be some sort of miracle if she came out of this ordeal with her body and her heart unscathed. They had another piece of the puzzle where the case was concerned, but she was no closer to deciphering the feelings funneling through her when it came to Easton.
They were still sitting around the table, deciding the next steps they were going to take regarding Lenny Powers. Easton had gone to his office to trace the IP address of the server that sent the email. She’d finally relaxed and loosened up during lunch before the call came in from Agent Nilsson. There wasn’t a time she could recall being so satisfied after a meal, and the ones that did pop into her head had also occurred in Easton’s kitchen. Her belly was full of homecooked deliciousness, and she’d laughed out loud at Julie and Sasha’s antics more than once. While she was glad to have another break in the case, she wished she’d been able to have a few more moments of normalcy with Easton’s family.
“Sent from a computer located at his home address.” Easton spoke as he entered the kitchen. “Look at the date and time. October twenty-third was a Saturday, and he didn’t send the email until nearly eleven o’clock at night.”
“Let’s go.” Gus pressed a kiss to his fiancée’s temple, then stood up and rounded the table.
“I’m coming, too.” She took the napkin off her lap and placed it on the table.
“Kinley, it’d be better if you stayed.” A frown darkened Gus’s face.
Damn, that stung. Her partner was cutting her out of the investigation. Sasha rolled her striking blue eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. She appreciated the other woman’s support. Gus was lucky to find her—brave, beautiful, and bold enough to call Kinley’s partner on his crap.
“Like hell.” Her hands automatically went to her hips. “I’m going. If you have an issue with that maybe you should stay behind.”
There was a low grumble to her left. “She can handle herself.”
Kinley did a double take as surprise fluttered in her belly. Easton had mirrored her stance and was staring at Gus with a pissed-off scowl. He had her back, and that filled her with a warm, hazy glow. She was losing her edge. Swooning over Easton would only hurt her in the end. She’d been alone for so long, she didn’t know how to be in a relationship. If she screwed things up, she’d hate herself for it.
“’Course, I can. How many times have I gotten your sorry ass out of a jam?”
Gus flinched even as the corner of his lip twitched.
“Meet you outside.” She had walked past them both in the direction of the garage.
“Didn’t say she couldn’t handle her shit,” she heard Gus saying to Easton. “But she’s like a little sister. We could be walking into a cluster.”
“But she’s not. Give your partner a little credit and stop looking at her like a victim.” Easton’s words warmed her. He started to say something else, but the sound was muffled when she closed the door behind her. She got in the front seat and waited. The door swung open a few seconds later, and both men made their way to the car. Gus opened the door and slid into the back seat behind Easton, who slammed his door and started the engine.
“Sorry for being a dick. I was out of line,” Gus’s voice was sincere, and she looked over her shoulder to face him. “You’ve never given me any reason not to trust your ability. I want to shield you from this and shoulder some of the weight you always carry alone. You saved my woman’s life. My entire world. No matter what happens, you are part of this family. You don’t have to go it alone anymore.”
A lump formed in her throat, blocking off her words. How’d she get so lucky to find these people? Maybe it was time to accept that having a support system didn’t make her weak. It made her human. She’d been on autopilot for a long time because it was easier than feeling. Easton had dissolved that barrier though, and emotions she’d boxed up and locked down tight were flooding to the surface. She turned in her seat, unable to offer a response to her partner’s kindness.
Easton had plugged an address into his GPS and was backing out of the driveway. Instead of going toward the city, they traveled deeper into suburbia to a gated community in a wealthy town in Middlesex County.
Easton pulled the car up to the gatehouse, and a security guard opened the glass partition.
“Good afternoon. Name and identification, please.” The cuff of the man’s starched white shirt rose up as he reached for Easton’s driver’s license.