Dark (Beautiful Ashes #1) (7 page)

Chapter
Twelve

Mitch entered the room solemnly. Not good. Not good at all. “What’s up?” Tar studied him.

“You’re needed up north.”

“News flash, man, I don’t work for this operation any longer.”

“Null and void,” clearing his throat, “though, when you agreed to help Keeley, you did become part of
us
again.”

Tar couldn’t deny that. “Exactly what am I needed for?”

“Come with me.” Mitch left the room.

Keeley barely stirred as Tar gently placed her on a green couch in the corner. He covered her with a throw blanket and softly kissed her cheek. “I’ll be back,” he whispered before finding Mitch in the dining room.

The long, black table served well for meetings he noted, taking in everyone seated there. His body stiffened at one man in particular. The reason he’d left the organization in the first place. He avoided eye contact and made a point of going around the other side away from him. Mitch stood and motioned to the chair next to his. Tar leaned in so only he could hear him, “What the hell is Chase doing here?”

Mitch gave a tight shake of his head and whispered, “No fucking clue.”

“Tarius, I appreciate you coming back to assist us,” one of the head honchos spoke directly to him.

Tar didn’t have any issues with a few of these men. He fully supported their honorable acts to help bring down these horrendous sex rings. But some of those men lacked morals, especially Chase. Tar had been working further undercover to see which of them was actually double-dipping. He’d learned in his investigations that the deceased Senator Caleb Reynolds, who brought all of this to light, had a long reach and many were in cahoots with him, although since his demise, they had scattered. Fucking cowards. “Sir.” Tar gave a deferential nod.

“A situation has arisen in the link we have in San Francisco. You were our lead investigator and needed back there ASAP.”

Well, at least he could take Keeley with him. She could visit with her sister and brother-in-law while he was there. “When do I leave?”

“Immediately.”

“Let me wake up my girlfriend, and we’ll meet you outside.”

“You have ten minutes.”

“Copy that, Sir.”

Tar didn’t notice Chase follow him out. “Hold on a second, brother.”

He turned, pinning a deadly glare on the man who stole everything from him. “You are dead to me. I thought I made that perfectly clear when you took all I loved away.”

The words were like a physical blow to Chase. He recoiled, rethinking his approach. Tarius wasn’t wrong but needed to know how sorry he was for what he’d done. “I deserve your wrath.” That earned him a nasty smirk. “I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am.” Tar walked away. Chase followed on his heels. “Listen to me dammit.” He stopped but wouldn’t face him. “From the bottom of my heart, I’m sorry. If I could go back and change any of it, I would. We didn’t mean to fall in love. You have to
know
that.”

Tar did know you couldn’t tell your heart who it should love but… “You sure as hell didn’t have to fuck her.”

“You’re right. We should’ve waited and spoke to you face-to-face. Again, I’m sorry.”

“Now is not the time for this, Chase. We’ll talk when I get back from The Bay Area.”

“Thank you.”

Tar didn’t answer. A part of him acknowledged he’d be no good for Keeley if he harbored bitterness and unforgiveness toward his brother and his former fiancée.  He prayed silently for the ability to forgive them as he entered the room he’d left Keeley in. She was gone. No, surely she was in the bathroom or another room, yet his gut knew better. She seized the opportunity to slip out, and if her patterns from the past were anything to go on, he wouldn’t find her for a while.
If ever
. He refused to think that! In a violent rage he tore the room apart.

Mitch raced inside, shocked silent at what he saw. Tarius was covered in blood and nothing in that den-like area was recognizable. He knew without asking who would send this man into a frenzy such as this. Sure as hell wasn’t his brother. “What happened with Keeley?”

A wounded gaze met his. “She took off. Again,” he grit out.

“Fuck, Tar.” He clapped the larger man’s shoulder. Though he questioned if Keeley was really worth this much trouble, he did realize his friend was in love with her. And that made him declare, “I’ll find her and bring her to you in San Fran.”

“I need to be the one who goes after her.”

“McNeil…you don’t have a choice; you realize that?”

“Mitch, unless you’re stopping me with that gun on your hip. Fuck. You.”

He should’ve drawn his firearm. Could’ve injured Tar but not harmed him permanently. But something halted his hand on the butt of the sidearm. Call him a hopeless romantic—he wanted to see love win. Forever love was worth the fight. Tar had just made it out of the window when the door flew open. Several members of the team entered, guns at the ready. Mitch ordered, “Stand down.” Weapons replaced in holsters, he gave another command, “You saw
nothing
.”

In unison, “Affirmative, Sir,” the response came.

*****

Clueless on where to go or who could be trusted, Keeley walked the streets. She did her best to hide her face and marched with purpose. Her clothes were form fitting. She had the body of a young teenager, which was bad in that area of town. It was filled with lots of strip clubs and triple X stores, putting a target on her. Danger lurked at every corner. She was grateful for the self-defense training Tar gave her. Still, there was so much to learn, and that wasn’t the time to see if what she did know would save her life.

The eyes that tracked her setoff serious warning bells inside her entire body as she crossed the street away from several drunken men. If she’d learned anything from her days as a junkie, it was a group of intoxicated men could lead to gang rape before anyone realized it. Just took one stepping out of line and his buddies would follow. She missed the hooded figure watching her from the dark corner. A streetlight was there and Keeley absently noted it was busted. Alarms went off in her head as a strong arm wrapped tightly around her arms and upper torso, squeezing. Several things came to mind quickly: He was attempting to take enough air from her that she couldn’t struggle. He was of medium height and build, though his muscles were hard. And whatever he had in mind, it wasn’t her death because he didn’t have a weapon at the ready. She had no intention of finding out just what this guy wanted and snapped her head back with enough force to hear his nose crack. “Fuuuuuuuuck!” he groaned. His arm was still around her, but not as tight. She seized that opportunity and heel-kicked the pressure point just below his knee.

His grip loosened more and she broke free, taking off at a full sprint, but not before she heard, “Keeley.”

At a safe distance now from the man who had grabbed her, she shot a glance over her shoulder and froze. “Oh my, God. Leith?”

She never made it to him. Unbeknownst to her, Leith was with someone else. A well-dressed man stepped into her path and she ran right into his grasp. A hand stifled her scream as her knee came up between his legs, but he wasn’t stupid and blocked the kick with his thigh. Leith joined them. “Keeley. Stop fighting. We aren’t here to hurt you.”

Something told her it was a lie, but she wasn’t quite sure if Leith meant to give her a false promise. She stayed on alert and quit fighting. The hand dropped from her mouth and she noticed Leith’s face was covered in blood. “Oh nooooo,” she gasped. “Did I break your nose?”

“Most likely,” he chuckled.

“Why didn’t you fight back?” Heaven knew the man was trained to do so. She flicked her gaze on the suit and addressed, “What the hell do you want?”

Leith stifled his laugh. “Keeley, this is Mr. Reed. He’s one of several men who head up the organization I work for.”

She studied him closer and immediately registered: Mr. Reed was about forty years of age and wasn’t looking at her in a demeaning way. He held out his hand. “How do you do, Miss Kincaid?”

Her demeanor shifted from guarded to curious as she shook his hand. “Why are you two here?” He softly chuckled. Not an unpleasant sound, Keeley noted.

“I needed to discuss business with you away from the others. Leith, of course, is privy to an assignment I’d like to offer you. That is as long as you haven’t changed your mind?” He waved his hand in front of them indicating they start walking. Around the corner was a gunmetal gray town car with a driver holding open the door. Keeley climbed in as the men followed behind her. “Let’s get right down to business.”

“Yes, please do,” she replied.

He ran his hands over his thighs before he went on, “We have a new lead. I need someone to go in and gather intel.”

“Recognizance?” Leith queried.

“Precisely.”

Keeley wasn’t all together sure she understood. “What does that mean, exactly?”

“They need to know if their source was correct on this being tied to the slave cartel we’re investigating. Simply put, we need to go in and confirm the information, or prove it false.”

“That’s why you’re not telling the team?” Keeley inquired.

“Yes. You would be correct, Miss Kincaid.”

“And if it is part of the ring you’re trying to take down, then aren’t we in danger?” she asked again, not liking the sound of that.

“It’s all dangerous, Keeley,” Leith answered. “But I won’t leave your side.”

“Will the whole team be called in if your info is accurate?”

“Of course, Miss Kincaid.”

She locked her gaze with Leith’s. “Tar?”

“No need for him or any of them to know until we go in and find out what’s going on.”

She blew out a long breath. “Okay. When?”

“Right now,” Mr. Reed answered as they approached a hotel. “You can use my room to freshen up. Appropriate attire will be there waiting for you both.”

Keeley had at least a hundred more questions to ask Leith, but they were never left alone for her to do so. After a shower, she noticed a pretty, plum cocktail dress hanging by the mirror. She styled her hair, put on some makeup, then the simple dress. As she slipped on the five-inch black stilettos, she caught a glimpse of her backside. There was nothing innocent about the low V in the back.
How’d I miss that when I put it on?
The slit, which traveled down to her low back, was tasteful not vulgar, and as she turned this way and that, it opened and closed.  Good. She wasn’t totally off her rocker. A knock at the door broke her inner musings. “Come in.”

Leith entered in a sleek, black Armani suit. She stood there speechless. He really was quite handsome. His gaze traveled down to her toes and back up. “Whoa. You look stunning.”

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Keeley said as she stepped out of the room.

Mr. Reed gave them the key people they were to look for and cozy up to at the party. She studied the photos closely with Leith. He glanced over at her. “Ready?”

“Let’s do this,” she answered.

*****

The zing of sexual chemistry kept Keeley on high alert while they mingled in the crush. Every time Leith put his hand on her bare back she became aware of just how attractive he was. His light brown hair had a tinge of copper she noticed under the lights. His eyes were brown like hers but softer, reminding her of amaretto. She followed his lead toward a back room, instantly spotting several men from the pictures she’d seen earlier. One in particular couldn’t stop looking at her. Something about him brought her gaze down as if waiting for permission to meet his. No, no, no. With deliberate effort she forced a glance up at him, her sable irises locking on his piercing ice blue ones. There was no warmth in the depths of those stunning eyes. Cold, calculating, he studied her as if wondering what his bid should be. Shit. She knew where this was leading and suddenly wanted to be safe in Tar’s arms. The tall man, though not as tall as Tarius, moved her direction with a predator’s grace.

Leith seemed to sense something wasn’t quite right and brought his attention to Keeley. What he witnessed, a tiger stalking his prey. He wasn’t sure this was one of his brighter decisions. The fear in Keeley was palpable, but so was the craving. The addict was presented with a drug that could bring an ultimate high. Leith reached for her arm, staking a claim, but the man heeded no warning as he locked onto who he wanted for the night. “Keeley? You okay?” Leith whispered, hoping to pull her from whatever trance the guy had her in.

“Hm-mm,” was her reply.

Leith needed her back from wherever her mind had taken her. “You should be able to see Tar when we leave here.” Her gaze flashed at his, making him feel like an asshole. They had a job to do, after all, and he was blowing it. Big time. The man reached them and Leith held out his hand, introducing himself.

“Mr. Braxton,” the dangerous man replied politely, never taking his gaze off Keeley.

Leith went on with polite small talk. The evening proved fruitful and the tip was accurate. Leith felt his gut churn with the knowledge of what these men did behind closed doors. Eventually, he and Keeley were brought into a more private area where Mr. Braxton made an offer.