The Darkest Kiss (Riley Jenson Guardian 6)

"I'd ask which one of us is classed as the beast, but I'm afraid I might not like the answer." I stopped just inside the doorway and scanned the room. There was a huge desk, several sofas, and a gleaming coffee machine that appeared to have more than a dozen different selections. Gerard James was a man not satisfied with mundane choices, it seemed. "Where's the body?"

Cole thumbed toward another doorway. "In the main office. His personal assistant found him slumped across the desk at two forty-five this afternoon."

"That's a rather late start, isn't it?"

He shrugged. "Apparently it was a one-off starting time."

One-off because he knew he was bringing someone back to the office, perhaps? Maybe someone he didn't want to be seen meeting? Though if that were the case, the office would be the last place you'd think he'd bring someone. The press would most certainly be keeping an eye on his comings and goings, regardless of the time.

"Has he been dead long?"

"It's a little hard to tell. Rigor mortis can set in faster on those who have been active before death."

"And was he? Active, I mean?"

"Very," he said, voice dry. "As a rough estimate, I'd say the time of death was around six this morning."

"Where's the PA now?"

"Down on the third floor, in the cafeteria. There's a lady cop with her. I figured it's the least the lazy bastards could do after fobbing this off on us."

"Meaning that you don't think there's anything suspicious?" Kade asked.

"At first glance, no." Cole shrugged. "But in this job, you never can be sure until a full examination has been made. And I've been wrong before."

"No," I said, putting on my best shocked face. "Tell me it isn't so."

The grin that tugged at his lips transformed his face, pulling it out of the ordinary and into the "oh my" class. "Why don't you get your skinny ass into that office and do some work for a change?"

"Skinny ass?" I raised my eyebrows and looked at Kade. "Do you think my ass is skinny?"

"Darlin', I think it's lush enough to kiss. But you won't let me."

"No, Jack won't let you. He's the spoilsport, not me." I looked back at Cole in time to catch him rolling his eyes, and grinned. "So what are you doing out here if the body is in there?"

"Collecting body fluids. Seems our boy had something of a sexual marathon last night."

Bang went my theories about illegal meetings. Literally.

"Can I pick it or what?" Kade said, voice smug. "Is his sexual partner around? We might need to talk to her. Or him, as the case may be."

"Her, I would think. There's a hint of perfume in the main office that's definitely feminine, and it's not the secretary's scent. There's no sign of the wearer, though. I've asked for the security tapes to be delivered to us." He bent down and began swabbing the desk. "Whoever she was, she obviously had access to the security codes. The whole place was locked when the secretary came in."

"Maybe she used his keys." Though why would she run if he just had a heart attack? It wasn't against the law to have sex in the office, though it was perhaps politically insane.

Of course, it could be that his partner in crime was somebody else's wife. That would certainly explain the disappearing act.

Cole glanced at me. "The keys are still on the desk."

"Oh."

"Yep, this is a weird one." He paused, then added with that cheeky glint in his eyes, "Which I guess is why Jack sent you two."

"Keep the insults up, and you know I'm going to mess up your crime scene."

"You probably will anyway." His amusement faded as he nodded toward the main office. "Don't brush against the door. We've yet to get prints off it."

"They had sex against the door?"