“Want her to what?” Angie asked. “You didn’t finish.”
Dex gave the still-new-to-the-lifestyle submissive an indulgent look as he explained. “Yeah, darlin’. He did.”
Angie frowned for a moment before understanding dawned. “Ahh. Got it.”
“Who’s assigned to her case?” Dan inquired of Cap.
“Robinson and Munoz. Who else?” he replied with a slightly irritated twist of his lips. “Seems we can’t get away from them.”
“And they’ve been to the club twice recently,” Dex added. “They seem interested, so we may get to enjoy their company even more.”
“Are they partners in their private life, too?” Angie asked.
“No idea. That’s not something they’re required to disclose.”
“Of course,” she replied at Dex’s subtle reprimand.
“I’m guessing no,” Jonas said, gallantly coming to her rescue. “I noticed they have different interests. Only one of them attended my rope demonstration.”
Dex glared at the younger man. “You’re not helping her learn the rules by indulging her curiosity with gossip, Jonas.”
“I’ve been informed a few times lately that it isn’t gossip if it’s fact,” Jonas retorted, not intimidated by Dex who had at least two inches and likely thirty pounds on him. With black belts in multiple martial arts disciplines to back it up, there were few who did.
“It sounds like you’ve been talking to Megan,” Tony observed dryly.
“And Elena,” Dex allowed. “I’ve heard that a few times myself.”
Dan only half listened to the conversation going on behind him, having turned back to the window. He could see his own faint reflection and how his perpetual frown of the day had deepened into an angry scowl.
Bringing them back to the matter at hand, he commented on the FBI agents who would be grilling Bella soon. “Robinson’s a good guy, but if Munoz thinks he can play bad cop and FBI asshole with my sub, he can think again.”
“You’ll need to watch him,” Tony advised.
“Closely,” Dex directed further.
Both men had issues with Munoz when their women got caught up in the cartel investigation. They’d shut him down quickly, but the wounds were still raw.
“Since we’ve opened an in-house investigation, I asked to be allowed to listen in,” Tony informed them. “Let’s see what else she has to say, then we’ll assemble the team and give Dan some options.”
The three men headed out, but Angie remained. She approached and laid her hand on his shoulder. “We have a lot of talent. Our team is sharp, has good ideas, and, with the exclusion of me, about two dozen pairs of giantcajones. We’ll figure this out, Dan. I’m sure of it.”
He felt sick, a cold twisted knot laying heavy in the pit of his stomach. He desperately wanted to believe her. But, with the second most powerful crime family in New Jersey after Bella, he wasn’t so sure that he could.
***
AFTER LISTENING TOthe FBI agents questioning her, asking pointed questions about the family business back in Jersey, the situation was worse than he thought.
“It seems bad now, but we’ll figure it out.”
He glanced at Cap who’d watched the interview with him. His grim expression didn’t match the optimism of his words. “How can you be so sure?” Dan asked, not nearly as hopeful.
“Because we’re not only good, we’re lucky, and our track record shows it.”
Robinson stuck his head in. “We discussed protection, Dan. But she wants to talk to you before deciding anything.”
He rose immediately and headed next door.
Her red-rimmed, tear-filled eyes met his as he entered, but she didn’t move, seeming afraid to. It broke his heart. Her family, especially Lorenzo, the only father she ever knew, someone she should have been able to count on no matter what, had annihilated her trust. He refused to do it, too, and held out his arms.