And that he wouldn’t leave her to fend off danger on her own.
Astounding. Not that he’d save someone in need—that was his stock-in-trade. But that he’d feel compelled to make it personal? Only with Kennedy.
Studying her, Reyes smiled.
For a while now, he’d been taking note of Kennedy’s every move. What time she came into the gym, how long she stayed, what she did there and how she acted as she went out. Without being too obvious to the casual observer, she was attentive to her surroundings. She had an air of alert wariness.
His sister-in-law was right, of course. Kennedy Brooks had a whole lot of something going on. He needed to figure out what.
Silently he headed into the bathroom, easing the door mostly closed behind him. To keep from disturbing her, he left off the light and didn’t let the door click shut.
He was standing there at the toilet, lost in thought, when suddenly the light came on, blinding him. Over his shoulder, he looked back to see a sleep-rumpled Kennedy staring at him in mute, openmouthed surprise.
“Hey.”
When she tried to speak, nothing came out.
Funny stuff. To fill in the silence, he said, “Had to drain the pipes, you know.” She still didn’t move, and he couldn’t, considering he was in the middle of things. “Don’t usually do this with an audience, but if you have some kink I don’t know about—”
Sharply pivoting, she almost ran into the wall, staggered around and through the doorway and, all in all, fled the scene.
Smirking, Reyes finished up, then washed his hands, did a quick brush of his teeth and splashed his face. He wasn’t about to waste time shaving yet.
Expecting to find her in the bedroom, he stepped out, but the rising sun proved the room was now empty. He cocked an ear and detected sounds in the downstairs bathroom.
What an interesting morning. He’d awakened with sleepy women before, but not in this house, and none who weren’t comfortable with the whole scene.
Without dressing, he snatched up his cell phone from the nightstand and started down the stairs in time to hear water running. She was likely doing her own quick cleanup before facing him. Not that she needed to. The whole bed-head look and wrinkled sleep clothes worked on her.
Hell, if he let it happen, he could be half-hard already.
Determined not to spook her, he called out, “Coffee in the kitchen in ten.” He didn’t get a reply.
In less than one minute, he had the coffee prep done, and the smell of freshly ground beans filled the air. He set out two mugs, sugar and powdered creamer, in case she wanted either, then he took a seat at the table and switched his phone from sleep mode.
It pinged immediately, indicating one or both of his siblings had also awakened early. He saw he’d missed a call from Cade, and hit Redial.
His brother answered with, “Both are dead.”
Reyes’s brows shot up. To make sure he hadn’t misunderstood, he asked, “The dudes I mangled?”
“Bullets to their brains. Good thing they were shot in the forehead and not the back of the head, because the ammo used blew out with an explosion.”
Imagining that, he grimaced. “Meaning a shot to the back of the melon would have destroyed their faces, leaving them unrecognizable.”
“Exactly.” Grimly Cade said, “You need to find out who Kennedy knows that might commit execution-style murder.”
“Don’t tell me you feel bad for those bastards.”
Cade didn’t bother replying to that idiot gibe. They were both capable of offing traffickers when necessary, and neither of them would feel an ounce of remorse when it meant women would be spared their abuse. “If they weren’t dead when I got there, I might have been able to interrogate them—”
Aka coerce them by whatever means into spilling their guts.
“—or at the very least I could have tracked them. Now there’s nothing but cold bodies.”
“Cops see you there?”
“Stop trying to provoke me.”
Reyes grinned. No, Cade wouldn’t be spotted. He was far too slick for that. “So now it’s up to Madison to do her thing.”
“She was up and at it when I got to Dad’s half an hour ago. I’m not sure she went to bed last night.”
“Yeah, I know how she is when she starts researching. One thing leads to another.”
“And another and another, and she refuses to stop until the trail goes cold.”
“If it goes cold.” With Madison, that seldom happened. She could uncover stuff the FBI couldn’t find. Leads that started in one direction often fanned out in new ways that kept her intrigued.
“Talk to Kennedy,” Cade said. “Then let me know what you find out.”
“On it.” Speak of the devil, Kennedy dragged herself into the room just then. “Later,” he said to Cade, disconnecting the call and coming to his feet to pull out a chair for her. The girl looked like a very appealing zombie. That sweet bottom dropped into the seat as if pulled by forceful magnets. She managed to get one hand up in time to catch her head, and then she sat there, boneless, her eyes barely open.
For some ridiculous reason, Reyes felt charmed. “Not a morning person?”
Without answering, her eyes sank shut.
He chuckled and headed for the coffee carafe. It was still sputtering when he pulled it free and filled two mugs. After setting both on the table, he asked, “How do you take it?”
Again without replying, she lifted the mug to her mouth, sipped, sipped, sipped, sighed, and said, “Cream and sugar.”
On the verge of laughing, Reyes dumped in a spoonful of sugar, waited while she watched on with heavy eyes, and then dumped in another.
She murmured, “Thank you.”
“I have powered creamer or milk.”
“Milk, please.”
Happy to wait on her, especially since it gave him insight into her preferences, he fetched the milk and dropped in a splash. Lifting one finger, she touched the bottom of the carton, urging him to pour more until the mug was full again.
Before he could use the spoon, she stirred it with her finger, then popped that finger into her mouth with an appreciative “mmm” that made him tighten all over.
Sinking back into his chair, his gaze glued to those lips, he said, “So you know, that’s crazy suggestive.”
As if she hadn’t heard him, she brought the mug to her mouth and gulped. “Oh, that.” Another long drink, leaving the mug half-empty. “Yeah, that’ll help.” Sleepy eyes finally focused on him.