While the coffee brewed, I walked back to my desk and picked up the case file again. It said a lot that the senator’s wife didn’t believe what her own husband was saying. She’d hired me on the spot as soon as I agreed to help her. All that mattered to her at this point was that I find her son and discover the truth of what happened to him.
I’d kept everything on the down-low the past couple of weeks, though. Involving more people than necessary was a surefire way to throw a wrench in my investigation. And with Bates trying to keep it from the media…
I liked to believe the best about the cops in Blackwater, but I’d seen too many things over the years and knew that as much as I didn’t like it, there was always the possibility of a dirty cop who would make everything disappear for the right price. That was why I’d gone to my cousin, Owen, a detective here in town, and our buddy, Kevin, who was another cop on the force I knew I could trust. They’d been helping me with the case when time allowed.
I’d managed to put together a timeline of what happened the night Milo had gone missing, and I was so close to cracking the case I could taste it. But there were a few pieces I still needed to find.
Milo had visited a lounge that evening, part of his weekly routine that I’d discovered, and I’d managed to get my hands on some security footage from the bar. Milo had definitely been there, as the footage clearly showed him caught on camera outside that bar the night he’d disappeared.
Grabbing the footage photos from the file I’d amassed, I flipped through them. They were grainy and black-and-white, but I could clearly make out the image of a man following closely behind Milo. Too close for comfort, in my opinion. The last of the photos showed the man following him around a corner, then they both vanished without a trace. There was no record of either of them after that point on any other security footage, and I knew in my gut that this man was somehow involved in Milo’s disappearance.
I tossed the photos down with a sigh and went back to the coffee pot and refilled my mug, trying to figure out my next move. Just as I was about to make a list of my next steps, the intercom on my desk phone buzzed, and my assistant’s voice filled the room.
“Mr. Moore, you have a visitor,” she said, sounding a little on edge.
I frowned. My schedule was clear for the day with no appointments booked, so I could focus on Milo’s case. Still, there was always the possibility of someone turning up out of the blue, much like Mrs. Bates had.
“Send them in,” I told her, quickly moving back to my desk and shoving the photos back in the file before slipping it into my desk drawer.
That was when I felt it. Before the door even opened, I sensed a shift in the air; an awareness. My wolf began pacing—clawing and pawing at my consciousness, awakened by the presence just on the other side of the door.
I knew immediately who was there but had no time to brace myself before the door flew open, and Percy strolled through as if he owned the place. That arrogance should have put me off entirely, but somehow, he pulled it off. Maybe it was the tailored suit that was cut to perfectly showcase his broad shoulders and narrow hips. Or the angle of his head and the set of his jaw that screamed pure male cockiness.
I felt a jolt of attraction rocket through my body as his scent filled the room, the sharp tang of aged whiskey mixed with the masculine spice of his cologne. And damn it all, I raked my gaze over him before I could stop myself. Why did he have to be so damn sexy?
Irritated, I braced my hands on the edge of my desk, not bothering to sit or inviting him to do so either.
“Why are you here?” My voice was full of ire, but I didn’t care. In fact, I embraced it. I didn’t have time for this. And I hated the way he put my wolf so on edge, the way his mere presence made my body and my brain go haywire. Better to come off like a jerk than to let him know how much he affected me.
Percy shut the door and crossed the room, stopping on the other side of the desk, but even that barrier didn’t feel like enough space between us in the small office. His presence seemed to fill it entirely.
He wordlessly handed me a file folder, and I glared at him before opening it and reading the contents. The more I read, the more irritated I became. The folder contained a document that stated in no uncertain terms that should I share any of the information I’d uncovered in my investigation of Milo Bates without having all the facts, I’d be sued.
To add insult to injury, it also stated that Senator Bates was threatening to sue me for defamation of character if I helped the press in any way or made it appear as if he were involved in Milo’s disappearance.
I was seeing red by the time I finished reading and had tossed the file down on the desk.
I scoffed and arched an eyebrow then gave Percy a mocking grin. “I didn’t realize you were Senator Bates’s new lapdog.”
The tension in the room was thick as Percy glared at me. “It would serve you well to adhere to the recommendations in those letters.”
“Recommendations? You mean threats?” I kept my voice pitched low, but there was no disguising the anger there. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Percy just stared at me, completely unfazed as he casually adjusted the cuffs of his suit jacket. “I thought you should know what you’re up against.”
I narrowed my eyes. Was he threatening me? Or was this a warning? I honestly couldn’t tell, but I didn’t like it.
“Just so you know, I ran Bates’s last attorney right out of here, and I have no problem doing the same with you.”
A flicker of surprise showed on his face, but he quickly masked it. So he hadn’t realized Bates had already been on top of this with another attorney. I’d made it clear to that guy that I’d do everything in my power to bring the truth to light, and it had apparently been enough for him to have dropped Bates as his client.
Yet another suspicious element to this assignment. Obviously, the attorney knew something that had made him want to steer clear. It made me wonder how much Percy was aware of. My stomach turned at the thought that he might know what scum the senator was and still decided to represent him.
“I don’t care about your threats,” I said. “I may not be a lawyer, but I do know my rights. I’ll get to the bottom of this assignment whether you and the senator want me to or not.”
I didn’t bother mentioning that I would never go to the media without all of the facts anyway. If he thought that little of me, fine. I wasn’t about perpetuating misinformation and half-truths. If my friend Holden Edwards, who was a journalist, asked me my opinion, I’d give it. But I’d never use the media to try to manipulate an outcome of a case.
Percy opened his mouth like he wanted to argue the point, but I cut him off before he could say anything. “It was a nice try, but your scare tactics won’t work on me. I know my rights. And I know my job. No one can sue me because I haven’t given the press anything, and I won’t unless I have solid proof. But way to go assuming things about me and my work ethic.”
Percy balled his hands into fists. “You want to talk about assuming things? Really? How about the fact that you don’t know me at all, yet you were so quick to make a snap judgment about me?”
I angled my head, taken aback. “What are you talking about?”
He sneered. “Of course. You wouldn’t even recognize it, would you? Seems you’re nothing but a hypocrite. Quick to judge but oblivious to your own shortcomings.”