***
Kelly came awake suddenly, disoriented, and cold. There was a ceiling fan above her and for several seconds she watched it rotate, trying to get her bearings. Slowly, a memory of Detective Wright dragging her to a hallway came to her, then biting her—no—that was crazy. He couldn’t have bitten her. Her fingers went to her neck, but there was nothing there. A flash of Aiden pressed close to her, his mouth on her neck…She jerked to a sitting position, her gaze traveling wildly around what seemed like a living room.
“Aiden,” she said, realizing that he stood directly across from her, dressed in leather that hugged every one of his many muscles. Another man, with long blonde hair, and equally as leather clad, sat in a chair to her left. “Where am I? What happened?”
“You’re at a safe house,” Aiden said, his gaze sliding to the ample leg she was showing. She tugged at her skirt, suddenly all too aware of her too short skirt riding high on her thighs, and her cleavage that was riding way too low. “And you need that safe house,” he continued, “because you clearly went out looking for trouble and you found it.” Anger rolled off of him. “You’re lucky you weren’t victim number seven. Had we arrived seconds later, you might not be here right now.”
Defensiveness rose inside her and she tried to explain. “Detective Wright told me that-”
“Detective Wright is dirty,” the blonde man said.
Her attention shifted to him. “Are you FBI too, I assume?”
“I’m his brother, Troy,” he said, not exactly answering the question. “And I’m also the guy who the detective, and a band of drug dealers, tried to kill while Aiden was inside that bar saving your pretty little ass.”
“Pretty little ass?” she asked indignantly. “Did you really just say ‘pretty little ass’ to me?”
“If you’re willing to flaunt it to get a killers attention, then don’t expect me not to notice.”
“Enough Troy,” Aiden said sharply, drawing Kelly’s attention, only to hit her with a challenge, “What the hell were you thinking making yourself a target?”
Her eyes flashed angrily at him. “Who the hell are you to ask me what the hell I was doing in the first place?”
“The man who saved your life and I can’t change the fact that you put yourself in the line of fire, but you’re there now, and there isn’t an easy way out.”
“I was trying to get a sample of the drug so I could save lives,” she said although she felt nerves fluttering in her stomach. “Any consequence that comes from trying to save lives, I’ll live with. And for your information, Detective Wright said he was undercover. I might not like the man, but I don’t know that isn’t true. I won’t judge him without facts.”
“Not only was Detective Wright not working undercover tonight,” Aiden assured her. “He’s the leader of what amounts to a date rape drug ring and he’s using a position inside law enforcement as a cover.”
The nerves of moments before turned to nausea, as a bad realization started to wash over her, she wasn’t quite ready to voice. “How sure are you of this?”
“Absolute,” Aiden said.
She inhaled and let it out, staring at the hardwood floor, feeling a rare moment of panic.
Aiden’s voice softened. “What is it, Kelly?”
She swallowed against the sudden dryness in her throat, willing herself to use the same methodical thinking that got her through her often-gruesome job. “He’s the one who told me about the bar,” she said, her gaze lifting to his. “He’s…Oh God Aiden. I think he knew I’d show up because, well, I tend to get involved with my cases, and he knew how badly I wanted a sample of the drug.”
“I told you, Aiden,” Troy said. “She’s the perfect bait. She can give us Wright, and Wright can give us Andres.”
She didn’t look at Troy. She watched Aiden’s unchanging face., trying not to think about the implications of the word ‘bait’. “Who’s Andres?”
“Wright’s supplier,” Aiden said. “Without him, there is no drug.”
“There’s always another source,” she said.
“This is a unique situation,” he explained, sitting down on the arm of a leather chair that matched the one his brother was sitting in, his gaze now closer to level with hers. “We have reasons to believe that this particular cocktail has limited distribution and it doesn’t reach beyond Andres.”
“How can you know that?” she asked, still watching him closely. “When you came to my lab you acted like you didn’t even know what the drug was.”
“New information from reliable sources,” Aiden said.
“What this drug is doesn’t matter at this point,” Troy added. “Destroying the supply, by way of the supplier, is. And tonight, you made yourself the bait that can bring him down.”
“Look. I want to help,” she said, looking between them. “I do. I went to the club tonight because I don’t want anyone else to die, but I’m not sure I understand exactly how I’ve become the target. He called me there tonight. He told me he was undercover. If I go back to work and pretend that I believe that, then he’ll think I believe that.”
“Kelly,” Aiden said gently. “I don’t believe he meant to let you leave tonight.”
“You can’t know that,” she said, feeling a little desperate. Somehow putting herself in danger by choice, and being there without option felt very different.
“No,” Aiden agreed, his eyes capturing hers, gentle and soothing. “But based on what I saw tonight, it’s what I believe, and the only way to keep you safe, is to assume the worst.”
He was right. She knew he was right. “How?”
“We set a trap for him,” Troy said, “And we kill him before he ever gets to you.” There was none of the gentleness of Aiden’s words in his brothers, just cold-hearted business, and anger, she thought.
Kelly cut her gaze to Troy, curious at the tone. His face was strong and sculpted like Aiden’s, but his eyes were different, missing the gentleness she’d read in Aiden’s. Troy’s were cold as ice, hard as steel, and she read between the lines. “This is personal to you. Why?”
Shock slid across Troy’s face and he laughed without humor. “Nothing is personal to me, sweetheart. So are you in or out? Make a decision.”
“I have a right to know what is motivating you when my life is on the line,” she pushed.
He stood up, towering over her, his blue eyes glinting with warning. “Your life isn’t on the line because we don’t have any intention of letting you die.”
“Even the best plans sometimes go wrong,” she said, “Especially, when personal agendas are involved.”
He stared at her for several terse moments and then glanced at his brother. “I’ll be outside when you’re ready to leave.” He turned and strode away.