Total pages in book: 217
Estimated words: 207224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1036(@200wpm)___ 829(@250wpm)___ 691(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 207224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1036(@200wpm)___ 829(@250wpm)___ 691(@300wpm)
I snort, wiping my face with the sleeve of my jacket, and push myself to my feet, putting my boot in his stomach with force, making him cough. I drop to a knee, fist his jacket, and haul him up. “Why the fuck are you having coffee with Natalia Potter?”
His face drops, and doesn’t that speak volumes?
“Love his gentle approach,” James says, retreating, leaving me to my own devices. Good. Today I want to kill, and I don’t feel like doing it slowly. So much for my good mood.
“Talk!”
“I’m seeing her.” Higham strains the words, his face pained, and not because he’s in fucking agony.
“What?”
“I’m having a fucking affair, okay?” He pushes my hands away and sniffles, roughly wiping his bleeding nose with the back of his hand.
“With the woman who wrote a report about me and James?”
“Yes,” he yells, distressed. “Fucking hell, yes. I told her she was on dangerous ground. She wouldn’t fucking listen, would she? She’s young. Hungry.”
I peek up at Otto. He said that. “So you didn’t feed her information on us?”
“God no, I value my life.”
“Then . . . who did?”
“She wouldn’t say.”
“Oh, come on, Higham.”
“I swear, she wouldn’t say.”
“So, we need to have a little chat with your girlfriend?”
His eyes widen, worried. I can’t figure out if he’s concerned for her or himself. “Danny, come on.”
Yeah, maybe he’s sticking his dick in another woman, but how did they get to know each other in the first place? It’s all rather convenient if you ask me. I get my face up in his, fisting his jacket again. “I don’t believe you.”
“Oh, how cozy is this?” a female voice asks. One I can’t claim to recognize.
Higham’s bloodied face drops, and I hear a few quiet curses behind me. I look back, still with Higham in my grasp. Collins is standing in the club. Her smile salacious. “Oh, we finally get to chat,” I say, smiling. It’s as salacious as hers.
She pouts, looking at Higham in my grasp. “Assaulting an FBI agent? I’ve only been here five seconds, and I already have a reason to arrest you.” She pulls out her cuffs and dangles them. Fuck me, I’ve met some cocky cops in my time, but this female is taking the fucking cake.
“It’s fine, Collins,” Higham says. “This is FBI business, not MPD. I’m handling it.”
“Your face suggests otherwise. Have you asked them about the explosion at Brad Black’s address?”
“Gas leak,” I say flatly.
“Yeah,” she purrs. “Do we believe them, Agent Higham?”
Fuck, I want to punch her. This woman does not give two fucks about who she upsets on her path to success and recognition. She wanders over, and James steps into her path, looking down threatening. She’s not fazed, or if she is, she’s doing a really fucking good job of hiding it. “Oh.” She looks him up and down. “You must be the one they call The Enigma.”
“You can call me James.”
“How’s Beau?”
Historically, such a simple question asked has ended in tears. So how’s he going to handle this? “Well, she’s not a cop anymore, so I think we can safely say she’s good.”
Collins laughs. “Perhaps not so good when I arrest her for the murder of Marek Zielińska. I believe you all know him as The Shark.”
My eyes shoot to James. Oh fuck.
“Very interesting CCTV footage has come to light,” she goes on, wandering up and down, thoughtful, like Poirot used to do when he was detailing to an audience how he came to figure out who the murderer was. It’s fucking annoying. “Very interesting indeed.”
“You’re lying.”
“Am I?” She stops pacing and rests all her weight on a hip. Cocky. “Then explain how I know you dumped the bodies in the incinerator bin. Explain how I know that you were hiding your girlfriend from The Shark with your body pressed to hers against the wall? Did it turn you on?” She grins. “Your girlfriend killing someone for you? Did your dick get hard?”
Jesus. She needs to stop.
James steps into Collins, breathing down on her. “I think it’s time for you to leave.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Yes, that’s definitely a threat,” I say, getting up, leaving Higham to shuffle to his arse and prop himself up against a nearby booth.
“Then I’ll take you both.” She produces another set of cuffs. “I’m doing well today, aren’t I?”
“Blinding,” I retort, joining James. Intimidating much? She asked for it. “I present my wrists to her, as does James. “Which one of us are you taking first?” I ask.
“I think I’ll call for backup. I sense a bit a friction, if you know what I mean.” She pulls out her mobile and steps back, taking her phone to her ear.
“Where’s your partner?” I ask.
“What?”
“You sorts. You usually travel in pairs, don’t you?” I tilt my head in question and laugh. “Oh, I know. No one can work with you, can they? Because, like us, they end up just wanting to smash your fucking face in.” I look at Higham. “Am I right, or am I right?”