Claiming the Enemy: Dustin (Porter Brothers Trilogy 3)

Dustin took her wrist, moving it back down from his thigh to his knee and placing his hand over hers to keep it in place. “Can’t meet you tonight. I have a late appointment.”

“You’re no fun anymore.”

“Been busy.”

Shelly moved her hand away. “Is one of the things that’s been keeping you busy Jessie Hayes?”

Dustin leaned toward her, taunting her with his mouth but stopping before making contact with hers. “Have I ever had any problem keeping more than one woman satisfied?”

Shelly hungrily licked her lips. “No, I can’t say that you have.”

Dustin teasingly straightened on the desk. “Behave. Your boss will be in at nine, and I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble again if he sees me here.”

“That old coot complains about everything anyway,” she complained but straightened in case someone did come through the door. “If you don’t have time to meet me at the hotel, then I guess I’ll have to take what I can get. Twelve good?”

“Works for me. You have anything in the breakroom to tide me over until then?”

“I stopped at the diner and brought in some Danishes. You want one?”

“Please. Have you made coffee yet?”

“No, but I’ll make some just for you.”

Rising, Dustin dodged Shelly’s kiss by turning his head. Her lips landed on his cheek instead.

“You’re a lifesaver.”

Smiling, she hurried out of the office.

Dustin fluidly went to the files that were kept in the cabinet behind her desk. It took him precious minutes to find the one he was looking for. Seeing it, he slid it out of the cabinet, closed the drawer, and slipped the folder under his suit jacket, tucking it into the back of his pants. Sitting back on the desk, he made sure the back of his jacket covered the folder.

He was idly swinging his foot when Shelly returned.

Rising, he took the pastry and the Styrofoam coffee cup. “I’ll stop by at twelve and walk with you to the diner.”

“Make it five after. Mr. Day leaves at twelve.”

“Good to know.” Giving her a wink, he took his goodies and left.

Eating his pastry on the way to his car, he saw Day driving into the parking lot as he was driving out. The old buzzard gave him a snooty wave as their cars passed each other. Dustin would rather flip him off but returned it with one that wouldn’t make trouble for Shelly.

In his office, he locked the door before taking out the files he had nabbed from Day’s office.

Taking a seat at his desk, he opened Jackson’s file, unashamedly going through his information.

“Dumbass would do better hiring me,” he snorted, flipping over to read another page.

Jackson and Miranda had no money problems. Scanning the numbers quickly, he calculated the sums before he even reached the total on the bottom.

They had a healthy bank balance for Jackson’s middle-class job. The couple didn’t have many expenditures and lived frugally, but not enough that it would affect their relationship.

Memorizing their home address, he closed the file and put it in his drawer. He would smuggle it back into Day’s office when he took Shelly to lunch.

Picking up his cell phone, he called Greer. He had told his brother about Miranda’s body being identified when he had gone home to change.

“Yeah?”

“Has Knox talked to Jackson?”

“He’s in the interview room with Jackson now.”

“Why aren’t you in there with them?”

“Maybe because I wasn’t asked.”

Dustin let Greer’s snide remark slide over his head. With his brother’s irritating personality, he had learned to do that at a young age. Otherwise, he would have gone to jail for killing him a long time ago.

“How are we going to find out anything if you’re not listening?”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t listening, just that I wasn’t in the room with them. I’m listening in the office next to the interview room.”

“Jesus, why didn’t you just say that?”

“You didn’t ask.”

Dustin had to bite back what he wanted to say. Picking up a pencil on his desk, he broke it in half to make himself feel better before he was able to spit out his next question.

“What’s he saying?”

“That Miranda was supposed to be with her mother and father in Florida. She was supposed to be back this coming weekend. He just thought she was busy with her parents and hadn’t called.”

“They have a kid. He didn’t think it was strange she hadn’t called?”

“Apparently not. Says she goes to visit them a couple times a year, and she never called then either. She always says that’s her mommy break—whatever the fuck that means. I don’t know.”

“Didn’t her parents call when she didn’t show?”

“It was a surprise visit for their twenty-ninth anniversary.”

“Kaley didn’t think anything of not talking to her sister for so long?”

“Miranda and Kaley have been on the outs for a while. They didn’t speak or see each other anymore.”