She shuffled in her seat, uneasy. “Wow.” She made a mental note to do an additional vetting of the people who’d work for her, even if outsourced, in the future. No one with prior battery charges should be part of security at a virgin auction. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t have enough to go to the police yet. I’ll have to keep my eye on these two guys, go talk to them, and look in their eyes.”
Bile rose up her throat. The idea of Brooks, as large and imposing as he was, talking to men who could have something to do with a possible murder twisted her insides. “That’s dangerous stuff.”
“I need to know what happened.”
“All right. What if those two possible guys don’t give you the answers you want to hear or lead you to the truth?”
He sighed into the phone. “It’s back to the drawing board, and exploring the other employees working that night.”
She bit her lower lip. If someone who had worked for her had anything to do with the death of his sister, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself. “When you go question them…I want to go, too.”
“No.”
“Listen, they worked for me and the woman you’re looking for disappeared from my building. I need to be a part of this,” she said, in a voice that left no room for arguing.
Hours later, after much convincing, she slid into his car. “What’s the plan?”
Brooks closed her door, then made his way round and sat in the driver’s seat. “Mike Wheeler works at a warehouse about forty minutes from here. We’ll pay him a visit and talk. See if we can shake him up, get some answers.”
She buckled up, the metal of the safety belt a cold weight in her hands. “Good.”
He slanted her a glance. “I missed you last night,” he said.
“Really? How many times did you masturbate?” she asked in a playful mode, desperately trying to ignore the embarrassingly fast beating of her heart.
He fixed his sunglasses. “It’s not just sex, Alexa, and you know it. But if you won’t deal with it, then so be it.” He drove off, and she looked out the window, pretending to watch the road to avoid the tension growing in the car.
What did he think she wasn’t dealing with? I have my own way of dealing with emotions, thank you very much. The reply burned at the tip of her tongue, but she bit her inner cheek, confused. The more she repeated those words, the brattier they sounded. Shit, they’d probably sound worse out loud. She stole a glance his way, doing a quick survey of his handsome profile, and wished she could slap him. Another not-so-great attitude, but where did he think they’d get with him pushing her to answer all these questions? A warm current of anger washed over her, and she thinned her lips to keep from saying anything at all. Was she angrier at him or herself?
“I talked to Scott today. He’s excited about coming to Nevada,” he said, yanking her from her dangerous musings.
“Jackie said the photographer sent her some amazing pictures,” she said, ready for a virtual truce.
“Good. I also emailed her my list of contacts.”
“Yes. Are these women, hhmmm, women you dated?”
He laughed, the sound hearty and carefree. “No, darlin’. I don’t think any of my former girlfriends would go for this type of auction.”
“How do you have their information?” She squared her shoulders, slipping on her professional mask again. She couldn’t let their, er, affair blur the reality of the male auction. She’d never experienced letting anyone but Jackie help her with the House of Alexa events. And even Jackie never had any bold ideas such as his.
“I deal with a lot of men, but also women. I was born into a well-connected family, with a good share of moneyed widows or sassy divorcees who will jump at this opportunity. It’s a novelty for them. They’ll be into it, not because they really think they’ll go through with it, but for fun. But this will get them talking and spreading the word.”
“Aren’t you worried about damaging your reputation? I mean, I’m the face of House of Alexa, but it’s impossible for people not to connect the dots. Scott is from Texas, works for you, and you’re—”
He shrugged. “I doubt these socialite divorcees will be openly bragging about their bids. Besides, it’s a venture like any other one. And if this will make Scott rich, why not? He’s an adult and has accepted the offer. I did nothing to sway him.”
“Thanks.” Instinctively, she reached for him, and with him steering the wheel with both hands, she patted his leg. She’d meant for the touch to be spontaneous and friendly, but when she felt him tense up under her touch, she removed her hand. “For the first time, I believe you respect what I do.”
“You educated me about it, and I’m coming around.” He took her hand and lifted it to his lips. Awareness shot up her arm, but also a gentle, overwhelming sensation of joy. “Coming around, Alexa, is a beautiful thing,” he said, a trace of warning in his voice.
She slapped on a neutral smile and slowly withdrew her hand. “Eyes on the road and hands on the steering wheel.” She pretended to relax in her seat and once again watch the highway, but his words danced inside her brain like a jazz song.
…
“Mike Wheeler?” Brooks said to the man who stacked boxes on top of each other in a large paper supply warehouse. Getting in had been no problem, since a loading truck had distracted the workers from his entering the area with Alexa.
The blond-haired man, in his forties, nodded at Brooks. “Yeah. Why? Are you the new manager?” He stretched out his hand, smiling. “Boss told me you might come for a visit.”
Brooks gave him a firm handshake. “I’m not the new manager, but I do need to talk to you.”
Mike withdrew, frowning. A sheen
