“Whitney,” Maisey supplied as she held her ground. “You took Jenny’s job, then Whitney’s. Both women disappeared. Just like Hannah disappeared. I couldn’t ignore what happened to them. Whitney was my friend.”
Disgusted, he shook his head. “And here I thought there might be a chance for more between us.” A rough exhale. “Guess we were both wrong.” He drew himself up to his full height. “Let me be clear. I did not kill Whitney Augustine. I have no idea what happened to her.” His lips pulled down. “Just like I didn’t kill Hannah or Jenny. Now, that’s all I’m going to say. You two aren’t cops, and I don’t have to answer more of your BS questions.”
Maisey glanced at Odin. His intent stare was still on Clay. They hadn’t learned anything new, and Clay’s anger seemed more than real enough. “Let’s go.” Because she knew that if they didn’t leave, Clay would be calling the cops on them.
Odin turned with her. She reached for the door.
“I know you were in my house.”
Her hand froze in mid-air.
“When I left town? I know you were here. At first, I thought maybe I’d had a break-in, just like at your place, Maisey. But then I realized nothing was taken. Just some things knocked over in my closet. Like someone was searching the place.”
She looked back at Clay.
His stare was locked on her. “Didn’t find anything, did you?” Almost a taunt. “Because there is nothing to find.”
“We have no clue what you’re talking about,” Odin said, sounding bored. “But if you had a break-in, I think you need to be calling those cops you keep mentioning. Maybe they can come out here, check every inch of your property, do a thorough search, and see—”
“I’m not calling the cops. For Maisey’s sake. But my good will only goes so far.” He glared at Odin. “I blame you for this mess. Some wannabe PI. Yeah, I can dig, too. And I did. All you are is a burned-out soldier who thinks he can get a second shot at your buddy’s PI business. You have no clue what you’re doing. Maisey made the worst mistake of her life when she hired you. And that’s what happened, isn’t it? She hired you to find Whitney. Then you seduced her. Now you’re just stringing her along. You can’t find her friend. Can’t solve the case. All you can do is screw Maisey over—”
She grabbed Odin before he could take a step back toward Clay. “Rule one, remember?”
His eyes glittered down at her. But he wasn’t lunging at Clay, so she took that as a win. And they were gonna make their exit. Definitely. After she got a few things straight. “He’s not a burned-out anything, just for clarification.” Maisey gave Clay a brittle smile. “He didn’t seduce me. I pretty much jumped him.” She’d definitely been the one stripping in the hallway.
Clay’s face twisted in a mix of shock and anger.
“As for Whitney, we will not stop. Odin isn’t the kind of man who gives up, and I am certainly not that type of woman. My friend is out there, and we will find her. We will make certain that the person who took her is caught and spends the rest of his life in jail.”
Done. Her fingers wrapped with Odin’s. Or, rather were swallowed by his giant grip. She kept her spine straight and her head up as they left. She was conscious of Clay moving to the doorway. Of his gaze following every single step that they took.
She didn’t look back. Her steps were slow and steady. As if she didn’t have a care in the world, when she really had about a million of them. Maisey waited, pretty much biting her lower lip in two as she held back the words that wanted to tumble from her. As soon as they were safely inside her house, as soon as the door was closed and locked behind them, she whirled to face Odin. “He didn’t give us anything—”
“He has a boat, Maisey.”
Her eyebrows shot down.
“I searched—had one of my contacts dig, too, but there was no boat registered to him. But the guy just told us he has one. That means he’s got it registered under another name. He was hiding it from us.” Odin pulled his hand from hers and yanked out his phone. “I’m finding it.”
“Wait…when he was saying that about Jenny, about dumping her body…” Her gut twisted. “You don’t think he was serious?”
His expression told her how he felt even before Odin said, “I think I’m finding his damn boat.”
Chapter Sixteen
The prick had been taunting him. Odin knew when he was being baited, and Clay must have been feeling freaking bulletproof to say that shit to him about Maisey. For the moment, though, Odin shoved aside his simmering fury at the jerk. He had a job to do. Wannabe PI, my ass. Odin kept talking to his contact, knowing the woman would be able to dig through databases in record time.
“He’s got a boat,” Odin said into the phone. “It’s gonna be close by. Start with the marinas in the area. You already have his description. The boat isn’t registered under his name because I checked before. So try looking under different last names, but with the same first name.” In his experience, that was often the easiest way to fake a new identity. You kept your first name because when people called out to you, you responded. Your head turned automatically. If you just wanted a quick and dirty fake ID, you altered your last name.
“You’re gonna owe me,” his contact said. “You and War because I’ve been doing a ton of favors for him lately. I prefer payment in the form of super expensive chocolates and luxury vacations.”
He shook his head. “Ali, consider the chocolate done, but you gotta talk to War about the vacation trip.” He hung up the phone. One item down. Had Clay tripped up when he said that bit about the boat? Odin sure thought he had.
This could be the break they needed. A boat.
They were on the coast. Hell, yes, he’d considered the option—dark as it was—that maybe Whitney’s body had been dumped in the Gulf of Mexico. And in order to do that, Clay would need a private vessel. His own transport so no one would see what he was doing.
“His anger seemed real.”
He turned his head. Odin found Maisey with her hands twisted in front of her.
“It was.” Odin didn’t doubt that. “When you’re the bad guy and people are closing in, you get mad.” He advanced relentlessly toward her. “You get scared.” And, what worried him… “You get desperate.” He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “That’s why we don’t lower our guard.” Why he would not be leaving Maisey. He’d be sleeping at her place that night. He’d keep watch over her and keep tabs on Clay.
And it’s not about fucking seducing her. Having sex with her was bonus. Keeping her safe? That was the priority. “I’m not screwing you over.”
Her long lashes lifted. “I never thought you were. In fact…” A faint smile teased her lips. “You tried to reject me as a client, remember? Told me that you couldn’t take advantage of me.”
He’d said that and then had her in bed with him at the first opportunity. “I couldn’t keep my hands off you.” They weren’t off her now, either. His palm slid over her cheek.