Cold eyes. The muscles around his eyelashes didn’t move in the right way. A small gut-feeling blossomed within me that was sending a danger signal through my body.
“Oh! How rude of me, I didn’t introduce you,” Luke said, delightfully oblivious.
“Adam, this is Fenwick. He’s a Rigger like you were hoping to talk to. Fenwick, this is my fiancee, Adam.”
The man’s cold eyes flicked down to the silver ring on my finger and smiled — I’m sure he hoped it was a warm smile full of greeting. It was a smile that said, I like you.
Which would be enough to fool the untrained eye.
But I knew that this particular type of smile had been practiced.
Though it took everything in me not to make up a reason to arrest him right there — damn the consequences — I had to do my best to play the part. To tease as much information out of him as possible.
“Nice to meet you,” I said as I outstretched my hand.
Fenwick reached out and shook it, the picture of a perfect gentleman.
His disguise was good.
The conversation went back to types of play and rigging. I was barely paying attention to the content; all I could do was hyper-focus on the tones, the body language, the way the participants said things. Language was a funny thing — words often got in the way of the real communication happening underneath. The way people swirled their drinks nervously after saying something and hoping to be liked, the most subtle tilt of a head to betray interest, the musical wave of vocal tones indicating questions, hopes, responses.
Desires.
The more I subtly observed Fenwick, the more I was confident that the silver stud belonged to him. He was an expert in this social dance, but there was something genuine missing from his participation. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, mimicking the sheep’s language.
I could see his teeth, though.
I had to find a way to investigate further; to prove that I was right.
I had to protect Luke.
“I hear you’re both new to the community here in New York. A warm welcome from all of us!” Fenwick said. “So, what did you say you do for a living, Adam?” Fenwick asked me, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
Keeping my eyes from narrowing, I made sure to act normally. Any hint of a lie or that I was onto him would send this guy running, and then the investigation would become vastly more complicated.
It was like I had a mousetrap set up next to a mouse hole, and here I was, staring at the rat I was trying to catch. Any misstep would send him running back into the hole, never to return. So I had to tell the truth.
“I’m a cop,” I said gruffly. I brought my drink to my lips, but the liquid never touched my tongue. I needed a clear head.
“Splendid!” Fenwick cried with a subtle backbend.
He stuck out his chest. That was a sign of a challenge between men. It was the first indication that he might be into Luke; that he was challenging me in this subtle way.
I was taking mental notes on a piece of lined paper in my head, writing down everything that was happening with angry red ink.
Luke was watching us interact innocently. I saw that his drink was empty, and guessed that he was probably feeling more social, more confident than normal. He wouldn’t be able to pick up on what I was seeing.
“And what do you do?” I asked calmly, my red pen poised above my mental notes.
“Gah! It’s so boring talking about my job: Investment banking. I work in an office with a bunch of Wall Street sharks, each one trying to outwit the others.”
Wall Street. So he was already a crook.
“I’d much rather talk about the hobby that we’re all interested in — and what I hear you’re interested in, Adam. Rigging.”
“That’s right,” I said, taking note of his body language, the way he said things, his naked ring finger, his posture. “I wanted to know about making a custom bed.”
It wasn’t lost on me that this guy was looking at me, but he wasn’t watching me. Not really. His attention was on Luke, watching him out of the corner of his eye.
“I do beds all the time. I can hook you up with my manufacturer if you’d like.”
“That would be great!” I said with a smile. I had to prolong talking to this guy. Get close to him; learn more about him. “I’m not sure what I want, though. Do you have something I could look at that would give me some ideas? There’s only so much you can learn on the forums.”
Something flashed in Fenwick’s eyes; panic, I think.
I quickly reviewed the way I said that to him. Did I let any suspicion leak into my voice? Did I push a button to send him on high-alert?
Maybe I was mistaking panic for excitement.
“I have a few custom beds in my condo — why don’t you and Luke come over?”
Instinctual anger bristled through me, like my hackles were raised. It wasn’t lost on me the way he amended Luke’s name to that invitation. He’d wanted to get a way for Luke to be inside his space all along, I was sure. And he’d invited me as a decoy; to try and communicate, “Look, I’m no threat. I’m inviting both of you equally.”
I would have bought it if I was less observant, more hot-headed like I was when I was younger. But now, in my mid-thirties with over a decade of being a cop under my belt, I knew better.
Though, it was a weird feeling, being at the crossroads between going all alpha and protecting my partner, and trying hard to be subtle to catch a criminal.
I couldn’t tell if I liked it or hated it. All I knew was that there was a part of me that thought it was thrilling.
The stakes were higher than ever.
“We’d
