Cuffed by His Charm (Dirty Little Secrets 4)

Just as I laugh with her and move to scoop her up to place her on the chaise for comfort, my cellphone beeps.

In an instant, McKenna straightens, eyes wrought with worry, cheeks and neck still flushed from her orgasms. I frown and hastily move to the cabinet again, grab my cellphone, and sigh at the text from Ryder. “It’s not good news, I’m afraid.”

“What is it?” she gasps, hands flying to her mouth.

I read the text aloud. It’s Evan’s blood, and we’ve found something else, too. Come to headquarters.

Chapter 8

Gabe

Less than an hour later, I keep McKenna’s hand tightly in mine, still reeling in the high I get after a session at the club. This time, being that it was McKenna with me, and feeling like we’re beginning to mend all that broke between us, the high is that much richer. Calm in ways I haven’t been since the trouble with the tabloid began, I follow behind Ryder as we enter the command center at Blackwood Security. The place is empty except for Alex, who’s sitting behind one of the computer stations, hard at work.

“It’s getting late so I sent everyone else home,” Ryder says to us, stopping behind Alex’s chair. His gaze flicks from McKenna to me. “I thought you’d both appreciate the privacy.”

“Thank you for that,” I say, squeezing McKenna’s hand.

She’s tense beside me, worrying her bottom lip. I can’t imagine what’s running through her mind right now. She hasn’t said a word since the text came in, and there’s a part of me that wants to tear her away from here to protect her from it all.

“So,” Alex says, breaking into my thoughts. She pushes away from the desk and turns in her swivel chair. “As Ryder told you, the blood relates to your DNA,” she says to McKenna. “But we also discovered something else, too.” She pauses; her expression tightens. “Here’s the thing: I’m not sure you want to see this.”

“You don’t have to worry about me,” McKenna interjects, lifting her voice, projecting strength. “Please, if you’ve found something about Evan I want to see it. I need to know what happened to him.”

I know her bravado is a lie. Instinctively, I feel this is ripping her apart. While I don’t understand her loyalty to her brother, since I wouldn’t be so forgiving as she is, I will support her. I nod Ryder on.

He turns to Alex. “Show them.”

“All right, it’s her heart.” Alex sighs heavily, turning back to her monitor, and her fingers begin flying across the keyboard.

I pull out the chair closest to us, and motion for McKenna to sit. Once she does, I keep her hand in mine, determined to protect her in any way that I can. There’s a flicker of light, and I glance up toward the monitors on the far wall. McKenna stiffens next to me, and I grip her hand a little tighter.

Two men are forcibly removing Evan from his hotel room, his feet dragging on the ground behind him. Blood is dripping fro

m numerous cuts on his face, and his face is clearly swollen around the eyes.

When the screen goes black, I glance at McKenna. She blinks and visibly swallows, then looks at me. I see her fighting against the sadness overcoming her. But I also see her digging deep for strength with her long inhale, lifting her chin, and forcing herself to stay calm.

“I can cry later,” she says to me then looks at Ryder. “What does this video tell you?”

Ryder studies her, long and hard, as do I. It’s never a good thing for anyone to be too strong, too brave. But even I can tell, Ryder is growing to respect her. With all that’s gone on, the injustice brought onto us from her brother, I’m glad he sees what I do in McKenna. We’re all one step closer to putting this disaster behind us.

When he finally breaks the silence, he says, “This video tells me that your brother isn’t dead.”

She draws in a deep breath, her shoulders lowering. “I guess at this point that is a bit of good news.”

“It is,” he agrees.

I stroke her hand, wishing I could snap my fingers and fix all of this. There’s a lot I can’t forgive her brother for, but this, her deep-rooted concern, makes me despise him. Since I can’t fix anything, I move on. “What’s the plan now?” I ask Ryder.

Alex answers instead, “The plan is to see if we can find out who these two men are so that we can find Evan.”

“That’s something you can do?” I ask her.

“It is.” She smiles. “I’m already doing it.”

I look at Ryder. “I hope you pay her well.”

“I do.” He snorts, and Alex grins as he adds, “Believe me, she’s spoiled rotten.” He quickly returns to task, glancing at McKenna. “It will take some time for Alex to nail their identities down, but I don’t doubt for a minute that we’re dealing with known criminals here, and we’ll find out who they are.”