She shot him a heated glance from beneath her lashes before pulling into traffic. ‘Why ever not?’ she teased, making him laugh.

‘You’re evil, Detective Bishop. Get a guy hard as a damn rock, then taunt him about it.’

He choked a second later when her hand shot over to stroke him through his jeans. His head fell back against the headrest on a strangled groan. ‘Fuck, Scarlett.’

‘That’s the plan,’ she muttered.

He closed his eyes, thrusting into her hand desperately. Too damn close, he clamped his hand over hers, then forced himself to push her away. ‘You’re going to make me go off like a damn teenager. I won’t last two minutes when I finally get you in your bed. Talking about non-sexual subjects would be helpful.’

She grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and sped through the nearly deserted streets. ‘How about we debrief?’ she asked, her voice husky and so damn sexy he nearly came just from hearing her. ‘I got a voicemail from the forensic vet.’

‘Forensic vet’ got his attention. ‘Is BB okay?’

‘Yes. BB is comfortable and resting and you can visit her tomorrow if you like. The vet also said she got a viable sample of skin and blood from her teeth. The samples were delivered to CSU for analysis.’

‘That’s good,’ Marcus said, digging his fingers into his thighs. He still wanted her so much that he was trembling with it. ‘Um . . . I checked on Tabby Anders while I was waiting for you. She’s still unconscious.’ The thought helped deflate him. One more piece of bad news, he thought morosely, and he’d be able to bend over and get his gun from under the seat.

‘I checked too,’ she murmured. ‘When I ID’d myself to the nurse at the OR station when we were waiting with Lisette and the others. The nurse said Tabby was hanging on by her fingernails. She was hurt in so many places.’ Her lips thinned. ‘That Chip Anders has to be a real man to beat an old woman within an inch of her life.’

‘What about Mila and Erica?’

She shook her head. ‘Nothing yet. They’ve been searching for hours. The scent trail might be cold, but they haven’t found any blood or bodies, so that’s hopefully a good sign.’

‘We should probably join the search.’

She glanced over at him with a smile that said she understood how much it had pained him to offer to detour the two of them away from the privacy of her house. ‘I emailed Isenberg to ask her. She said no, that she’d rather we focus on the list. Can I send it to Isenberg’s clerk? She wants him to help us sort through the names, to see who had the opportunity to target you. And Tala and Phillip.’ She huffed in frustration, barreling over him as tried to answer her. ‘And Delores. Dammit, I forgot about her. I promised Stone I’d get her protection.’

She used the car’s hands-free to call in the request, finishing just as she pulled into the CPD parking garage and rolled to a stop next to her aging Audi. She handed him the keys. ‘Get in my car and wait for me. I’ll return the department car and deliver the bullet.’

‘Wait.’ He grabbed her wrist gently, rubbing his thumb over her pulse. ‘Rewind a second. You asked if you could send the list to the clerk. Not like it is. It’s got too much sensitive Ledger information on it. I’ll use the time you’re inside to clean it up, then I’ll email it to you. You can forward it to Isenberg’s clerk.’

‘Thank you.’ She leaned toward him, then sighed. ‘Cameras,’ she muttered.

‘Then hurry,’ he said, dropping his voice, laughing when she narrowed her eyes. He managed to bend his body enough to get his gun. ‘My laptop bag is in the trunk.’

She popped the trunk. ‘You should be fine here,’ she said, sobering. ‘But just in case, be ready to peel rubber.’

His brows went up. ‘You’re letting me drive this time?’

‘This time. Don’t get used to it.’ She waited until he was safely locked in the Audi before driving away to the parking area reserved for department vehicles.

Cincinnati, Ohio

Tuesday 4 August, 11.15 P.M.

‘How bad is it?’ Ken asked Decker when the younger man had finished stitching Demetrius up.

Decker peeled off his latex gloves. ‘He probably wouldn’t have bled to death, but I had to put twenty stitches in that arm. I’m glad you told me to bring something to knock him out with, although it would have been easier for me to get him up here if he’d been awake.’

‘You didn’t want to have to listen to him bitch,’ Ken said. ‘How long till he wakes up?’

‘The ketamine will wear off in a few hours.’ Decker tilted his head, curiosity in his eyes. ‘What did you whisper to him as he was going under?’

Luckily Ken knew drugs, and when Decker told him that he’d brought ketamine to knock Demetrius out, he had been thrilled. The person dosed was highly suggestible as the drug was taking effect, his first thoughts when waking influenced by whatever someone had said just as he passed out.

‘I told him that every cut I make with my knife will be fatal.’

Decker chuckled. ‘Remind me not to fail a mission.’

‘Yeah, well . . .’ Ken let the thought trail, wishing it hadn’t come to this, but not about to back off now. ‘Did you find those trackers?’

Decker was sober as he shook his head. ‘I know they were in the van, but Burton and I went over every square inch of it and Sean and I checked the box of electronics we brought in.’ He hesitated, then shrugged. ‘Which means we either dropped them, which is unlikely, or one of the Anderses did something with them, again unlikely as they were bound and blindfolded.’

‘Or someone took them,’ Ken said grimly. ‘Shit.’ He narrowed his eyes at Decker. ‘How do I know it wasn’t you?’

Decker didn’t blink. ‘I guess you don’t. I don’t have any reason to do so, though.’

‘You want Burton’s job,’ Ken said, watching Decker’s eyes fill with easy agreement. ‘You stepped right in and took over when Reuben disappeared this morning.’

‘I like to be on the front line. I hate working in Accounting.’

‘But you’re supposedly good at it.’

A shrug of Decker’s massive shoulders. ‘I’m good at a lot of things I don’t like to do. I signed on to be a bodyguard, not a pencil pusher. I do, however, respect the chain of command.’

‘But if a hole opens up in the front line?’

‘I step in. That’s who I am.’ Decker still hadn’t broken eye contact, but he made no sudden moves. ‘With all due respect, sir, I don’t want your job.’

Ken nearly smiled. ‘Why not?’

‘From what I can see, you sit behind a desk all day. I’d go crazy. I was going crazy sitting in Accounting crunching numbers. I’m not happy Reuben disappeared, but I’ll take up the slack and hope I do a good enough job that you don’t send me back to pencil-pushing hell.’

‘And if I do?’

‘I’ll die of lead poisoning from stabbing myself in the eye with the damn pencil.’

Ken laughed. ‘Well, soldier, let’s take it a day at a time. Burton is next in line for Reuben’s job. Can you work for him?’

‘Yes. He seems like an honest man.’

Ken frowned. ‘That’s an odd thing to say.’ He injected a light note into his tone. ‘You do realize this is a criminal enterprise?’

Decker finally smiled. ‘Yes, sir. But that’s the relationship the organization has to its outside contacts – the suppliers, the customers, the government. Within the organization, relationships need to be transparent and dependable. Like a military. Soldiers kill people. It’s their function. Depending on your point of view, that’s criminal or patriotic. If you’re the enemy, it’s very criminal. But within the ranks, you have to know the soldier next to you has your back. I believe I can trust Burton with my back.’

It was an interesting perspective. Ken leaned one shoulder against the wall outside the spare bedroom where Demetrius lay. ‘What other skills do you have, Decker?’

A slow, sly grin. ‘I’m pretty handy with the woodchipper.’