He hated the jealousy that curled inside of him, a snake waiting to strike.
“Ruby seems to think Kyle might have had a relationship with Nicki Jones,” Deke explained.
That didn’t make any sense to him at all. “What kind of relationship?”
“Romantic was the vibe MaeBe got,” Deke explained.
“Was Kyle even at The Club when Nicki was there?” He tried to piece together the timeline in his head. It felt random to him that Kyle would be her target. Kyle had pretty much walked into MT, seen MaeBe Vaughn, and not looked at another woman since. At least that was how it appeared to Michael. Kyle could play deep games.
“Yes, they would have both been there for a few months before she died. Do you feel comfortable with me asking him?” Deke asked.
“Of course, why wouldn’t I?”
Deke shrugged. “We didn’t ask Vanessa.”
He groaned, his head falling back. “It’s not the same.”
“I wanted to check with you before I asked him. I’m not sure how he fits into this,” Deke admitted.
“I’m not either. Vanessa talks about her sister a lot, but I’ve never heard her mention Kyle’s name. If she had questions about her sister’s relationship with him, why wouldn’t she simply ask him? What would make her send a hacker after him?” Another thought struck him. “Do we know if Ruby’s been looking into him? Like more than asking questions.”
“That’s what MaeBe is worried about,” Deke replied. “She said Ruby was asking about hacking into military records. She told the girl not to, but she wasn’t sure how seriously Ruby took the warning.”
“Well, we’re about to find out how good she is.” Michael sat back.
“We also might find out if the rumors are correct.” Deke shrugged. “I mean, come on, man. Aren’t you curious?”
He knew the rest of the office was, but he didn’t need to be. “No. I can tell you unequivocally that Kyle was an Agency operative. I might not have proof, but I know the signs. So if Ruby started poking that beast, she’s going to be in trouble very quickly.” He’d hoped he would have more time to make this decision. Or rather time to figure out the best way to tell Vanessa. “Tell MaeBe to monitor the situation and let me know if anything else happens. I have to figure out how to help my girlfriend’s friend not get arrested by the CIA. I will go and talk to Kyle and try to figure out why Vanessa’s worried about him.”
She wasn’t interested in him. If she was sending her friend out to investigate Kyle, it was because she was worried about something. Any other explanation that ran through his head was pure jealousy. He started to push his chair back.
Deke held a hand up. “I’m not done. Hutch managed to pull a face off the video feed.”
Now this he was very interested in. They’d been trying to figure out who’d attacked Vanessa for days. “Did you get a name?”
“John Smith of Colorado. Not much information on the guy, but he’s done some time for petty theft,” Deke explained.
“All right, let’s send that to the police.” If this had truly been a crime of convenience, he would sleep a little easier at night. His phone rang, and he glanced down at the number. “This is Phoebe. I need to take this. She said she’s figured out where the money is going.”
Deke closed the laptop. “All right. I’ll meet you back here around lunch?”
He nodded and answered the phone. “Hey, Phoebe. What do you have for me?”
Hopefully he could have this whole thing wrapped up by then and he could deal with Julian and get on with being what he wanted to be—Vanessa’s man.
* * * *
“Did you get what you needed?” Vanessa settled back onto her seat as Dani moved around her desk. The rain was coming down lightly. It had been raining for two days, and Michael had been the sweetest. He’d insisted on dropping her off inside the parking garage instead of the front door despite the fact that it was only a few steps from the car to the door. She’d gotten the feeling he would get out and hold a damn umbrella over her head if she argued with him, so she hadn’t.
She could get used to the kind of attention and care Michael Malone gave his sub.
What would he give a girlfriend? Or a wife?
“That should be the end of it. At least on the financial end.” Dani sighed. “Thank you for letting me use your system. I know I should tell Julian, but he can be unreasonable about some things, and this is one of them.”
She didn’t mind. Vanessa understood that family could cause problems. Some things were better left quiet.
“All right, then, I’m going to hop on a call with some suppliers. Let me know if you need anything,” Dani said, giving her a wave.