Page 54 of Defending Love
“I would think Elijah Rhodes was a by-the-book kind of man.”
“He has been.” Eli tugged me down to his lap and brought his lips to mine. “Until you.”
I palmed his scruffy cheeks. “This rogue side of you is extremely sexy.”
“All of you is sexy.”
“For the record,” I said, “I don’t usually sleep with someone the second day.”
Eli’s smile grew as he caressed my cheek. “Dani, last night wasn’t the second day; it was a year in the making. The moment I saw you at the cemetery, I wanted to wrap my arms around you. Last night was the best sex I’ve had in a long time.” He sighed. “I want you more than I should.” He lowered his tone. “I could take you back down the hall right now.”
Warmth filled my cheeks.
“But…” he said, letting the word hang in the air a bit. “When I woke up this morning I had some thoughts about your dad.”
Dad had been my second thought. Ignoring the sudden chill, I looked around the room at the items on the desks. “Where’s his letter? I wanted to read it again.”
Eli exhaled. “I sealed it and had it couriered to Ben at the main Guardian office in Philadelphia.”
My forehead furrowed. “Why would you do that and when?”
“About six this morning. They’ll run forensics. I want to know if there are any fingerprints on the paper other than your dad’s. They’ll also do a handwriting analysis to be sure it’s his writing. If we’re lucky, testing can determine the age of the paper and ink. If we know when it was written, it would be a clue as to what he mentioned—his decision.”
“It was Dad’s writing. I’d know it anywhere.”
“We should have more answers by tomorrow.”
I sat taller. “What other concerns did you come up with this morning?”
“We’ve gotten the attention of the wrong people. I believe that someone suspected there was damning evidence in Derek’s possession that would lead to their involvement. I ran facial recognition on our two special agents.” He shook his head. “We didn’t have a great view from your phone, but I did get a hit on the one who called himself Timmons.”
“Called himself? As in, that’s not his name. What did you find?”
“Last night, after I pulled myself away from your warm bed,” Eli said, “I received confirmation that the Jacksonville FBI has two agents by the name of Timmons and Wilson.”
What?
I blinked as my lips opened. “I’m confused. I thought you said they were fake badges.”
“They were. I was able to pull up photographs of the two real agents. Their resemblance to the real agents isn’t even close.”
“Interesting, they used real names…” I let that thought stew for a moment. “Did you let the FBI know that there are people impersonating them?”
“I didn’t,” he said. “I don’t want to let on to anyone that we know. I need to find out more about the two impostors. I believe they’re our connection to Derek’s killer.”
A cold chill covered my arms with goose bumps. “Do you think they killed him?”
“I think they’re somehow involved.”
“What about your lone-wolf theory?”
He shook his head. “With your dad’s letter, I believe there’s more to this.”
“We should at least tell the sheriff’s department what we’ve learned.” I clutched my hand in my lap. “Aren’t they supposed to be investigating this?”
His head bobbed. “Why do you think they are?”
“I’m sorry, what? You don’t think they are? They came to the house yesterday when we were there.”
