Tangled by Temptation (Doms of Destiny, Colorado 7)

Taking time to appreciate how gorgeous she was didn’t fit the current situation. But even though his guard was up, he did let his gaze linger on her for a little longer than he should have. God, she was something to behold. The whole package. Flaxen hair, soft to the touch. She had the body of a real woman, curves and all. He and Corey knew she had never been to Phase Four and that she had never been in the life. It didn’t matter to him or his brother. First, they needed to make her their own. Later, they could introduce her to the life.

He looked her straight in the eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Fine. Don’t tell me. I just don’t understand why you were being so…so rude to Cindy.”

“How were we rude?” Corey asked. “We helped her get here from Lucy’s, didn’t we?”

“Yes, but the look on both your faces was unmistakable to me. You don’t care for her. Just because she’s related to Lunceford doesn’t mean she’s like him.”

“It also doesn’t mean she isn’t, Belle.” Shane still found it hard to believe that Kip’s sister was actually on the run from him. He would need more than just the woman’s word to be convinced otherwise, and so would the rest of Shannon’s Elite.

Corey leaned against the now closed door to Cindy’s room. “She’s been on the team’s list for some time. We believe she could be the key to finding Kip.”

Hearing Corey open up so freely with Belle about Agency business was strange to Shane, though Black’s new team wasn’t covert like he’d been.

“I don’t trust her.” Shane fired off a text on his ROC, the encrypted Agency device, to the rest of the team. They would all want to know about Trollinger.

Belle shook her head. “Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?”

“That’s in court, sweetheart. The Agency rarely has to deal with the justice system.”

Her green eyes locked in on him. “I can only imagine.”

He needed to get her away from here, away from Trollinger. “Shouldn’t you be headed to the hotel to bake? I’ll be happy to take you.”

“Going to be quite the event,” Corey added, clearly on the same page about hoping to get Belle to leave.

“Like I said, you two are acting so weird. No. I’m staying. The baking party will have to start without me.”

Paris opened the door. “You may come in now.”

They walked into the room. He made certain to remain next to Belle and to keep his hand within a fraction of an inch from his Glock. He immediately noticed something that added to his misgivings. “Doc, no IV? I thought she was dehydrated.”

“A little, but nothing to worry about. I think she fainted because of stress more than anything else, but I want to keep her here under observation for the night.”

“Is your patient up for some questions?” Corey asked.

Doc nodded. He, too, knew the risk of her being in Destiny and also being Kip’s only living flesh and blood. “But it’s up to her whether to answer you or not.”

“I’m happy to answer any questions you have for me.”

“You were contacted by a friend of mine, Miss Trollinger. Mr. Black. Do you remember him?”

“Yes. I do. He’s with the government, right?”

“He is.” Shane continued studying Cindy’s demeanor, looking for any clue she might be lying, but so far he hadn’t discovered any.

Black had sent agents to her home in Idaho, but had found the place empty. When they’d checked with her boss about her whereabouts, he told them she’d resigned, saying she had personal issues she wanted to work through. She’d only been at the job for a few weeks. Very suspicious. “I’m sure you have a ton of questions for Mr. Black about your brother.”

“I do.” She sighed. “I

read everything I could about Kip on the Internet. I guess you all know what kind of things he’s done, don’t you?”

“Yes, we do.” Corey rubbed his chin, a sure sign that he was still on the fence about whether to believe the woman’s story or not. “What brings you to Destiny, Miss Trollinger?”

“I’m not my brother, you understand. I’ve read so much about him.” Her hands began to tremble. “You can imagine how shocked and horrified I was. Sharing his blood sickens me.”

“That still doesn’t answer the question, Miss Trollinger.” Shane remembered the e-mail the team had discovered that Cindy had sent to her cleaning lady. Trollinger had told the woman she was headed to Destiny. “Just why are you here? Who are you looking for? Your brother? He isn’t here. Perhaps you could shed some light on his whereabouts.”