Decoding a Criminal Page 4

  Without realizing it, Dash fisted his free hand. He forced himself to relax as Raina scooped up her drink, seemingly unaffected by the flirtation. Dash exhaled slowly. The barista was trying his patience.

  “Where would you like to sit?” Out of habit, Dash kept the workers in view as he pivoted in the opposite direction. He was used to sizing up every person in the room and memorizing exits. This was no exception. His area of expertise might be tech, but he was a trained field agent capable of taking a person down using physical or deadly force if the situation called for either, which basically meant always being watchful and alert.

  “Here’s good.” Raina chose a spot in the back of the room, out of the baristas’ listening range.

  Dash held out a chair for her, forcing her back to the room. He took the opposite seat so he’d have a full view.

  “Are you officially investigating—” she glanced around and lowered her voice “—your sister’s case?”

  “Yes.”

  “They let you?” She raised an eyebrow, surprised.

  “Not so much as resigned themselves to the fact I was going to do it anyway. This way, Miguel gets updates from me and can keep an eye on the PR nightmare this is turning into.” He took a sip of coffee, enjoying the burn on his throat.

  “Makes sense, actually.” She tucked a loose tendril of hair behind her right ear. Then she blew out a breath, and her torso resembled a balloon deflating. “I haven’t slept in longer than I can count. Not since I found out about what happened.” She flashed her eyes at him. This close, he could see the makeup she’d used to cover the dark circles.

  “What have you come up with so far?” Dash leaned forward in his chair.

  “Nothing.” She took a sip of her foamy cold brew. “At least, nothing you don’t already know.”

  “Has she been distant with you lately?” he asked. “Keeping to herself?”

  “A little, I guess. Why do you ask?”

  “Her boss mentioned she’s been keeping to herself more than usual and working from home,” he explained.

  “I mean, yes, but it’s understandable, given the breakup.”

  “What breakup?” he asked.

  “You don’t know?” Her question shouldn’t have caused another stab of guilt to pierce his chest. The sense of dread that came with feeling like he’d neglected Layla could be crushing. He should be a better brother. He should be closer to his sister so he could watch out for her.

  A host of excuses came to mind, but the biggest one was the number of hours he spent working. His dedication might make him one of the best at his job, but what did that really mean when it caused him to neglect the promise he’d made on his father’s grave?

  Dash frowned and slowly shook his head. “Afraid not.”

  “Layla got her heart bruised in a new relationship.” Suddenly, the rim of Raina’s coffee cup became fascinating. Her inability to look him in the eye while she explained something he should already know about his sister wasn’t helping ease his guilt.

  He smacked the flat of his palm on the tabletop.

  “Sorry,” she said, low and under her breath.

  “Not your fault,” he ground out.

  “Still...” She started to say something but stopped.

  “Go on,” he urged.

  “No.” She shook her head. Her jaw was set and her chin jutted out just a little bit. He’d seen her look of determination before and knew it was futile to keep going.

  Considering how much was left unsaid between them, he figured one more couldn’t make things worse. It was obvious she cared about Layla. He loved his baby sister, even though it didn’t show under the circumstances.

  Raina sat with her back ramrod straight. She glanced around a couple of times, no doubt checking out the exits and not realizing she was looking for an escape. Stress lines were etched in her forehead and bracketed her full pink lips—lips he didn’t need to focus on for too long.

  Looking at how uncomfortable she clearly was and yet was still willing to talk to him caused him to regroup and take a different approach. “Thank you for talking to me, Raina.”

  “I’m not doing it for you.” The term stiff upper lip applied here.

  “I’m clear on that point. Doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it anyway.” He exhaled. “I should have been a better brother.”

  * * *

  “LAYLA LOVES YOU.” The reason Raina felt the need to jump to Dash’s defense so quickly escaped her. She hadn’t planned out those words. They sprang from her lips without regard for how eager they sounded.

  “That makes me an even bigger jerk for not knowing what was going on in her life.” He didn’t seem ready to give himself a break. She should revel in this moment. She should be ready to declare victory or shout ha! Except that seeing the storm brewing behind those dark brown, thickly lashed eyes was a rare sighting.

  Dashiell West never showed his hand. He’d never once come off as vulnerable or afraid, or anything less than the kind of confident that bordered on being cocky. He was never afraid to flex the fact that he was damn good at his job. Life seemed to come easy to him. Effortless came to mind when she thought about him. Was it fair? No. There had to be more brimming under the surface considering his parents’ deaths and the fact he had to raise his sister. And yet she’d never seen a single crack in his facade.

  So seeing him in a moment of vulnerability about Layla caused Raina to jump to his defense before she could think through what she was going to say. Since there were no do-overs, she figured she better just roll with this one. Plus, it was true: Layla lit up every time she talked about her brother.

  “What’s the bastard’s name?” Dash had been studying the contents of his cup. Without looking at her, he picked up his drink and took another sip. He set the cup down with purpose and then crossed his arms. The white cotton material of his shirt stretched over a broad chest with muscles stacked for days.

  “I wouldn’t tell you if I knew.” Lying to him was harder than she expected, and she feared she would give herself away. In his present state, giving him a name would do more harm than good. Raina forced her gaze away from his hot bod. She didn’t need to be reminded of Dash’s physical perfection. The barista had practically fallen over when she caught a glimpse of him. Her face had turned a shade of red that was brighter than a heating element. In fact, Raina was certain she could have boiled water on it.

  The second mistake she made was looking up when he didn’t respond. Gaze narrowed, lips thinned—he had a murderous glare. She pitied the man who hurt Layla and wouldn’t want to be on the other end of that look.

  “I swear.” She put her hands up, palms out, in the surrender position.

  “Can you find out? My sister sure as hell won’t tell me.” Dash rarely swore. The fact that he’d done so twice already was another red flag. Even she knew that a good investigator had to remain objective. Could he?

  “That’s between you and Layla.” She wouldn’t touch that subject with a ten-foot pole.

  “I would have known if I’d been around more.” The storm brewing behind his eyes intensified. The guilt he had over his perceived shortcomings as a brother was reeling her in. His gorgeous face and worried heart were weakening resolves in her that needed to be stronger than ever. Letting her guard down for a second could end in disaster. Already has, an annoying voice in the back of her mind pointed out. She’d lowered her defenses once at his sister’s party—and made the walk of shame the following morning after staying the night together in the guest room.

  Embarrassment at the memory heated her cheeks. She should be relieved he’d told her there was no chance their fling could go any further. After her father’s dangerous job left her mother a young widow, Raina had sworn off making the same mistake.

  She cleared her throat and redirected. “Besides, her love life isn’t what we came here to ta
lk about.”

  Her bad on the word choice love life. The storm raged for a hot second.

  Raina took in a deep breath and searched for better words.

  “Will you come on board? Help with the investigation?” he asked, coming right out with the request.

  “I already am, so—”

  “Not from afar. I’d like to work together. Go back to my place and start hashing this out. You know my sister even better than I do. If we work together and combine our knowledge, we’ll get much further.”

  Agreeing to his request would put her at risk. Being seen with the defendant’s brother and skipping out on work weren’t exactly pegs to climb on the corporate ladder. “I could lose my job if the company found out.”

  “I don’t want that to happen. Can you take a couple of personal days? Call in sick without jeopardizing your career?” He shifted in his seat. The normally calm, cool and collected Dash was clearly on edge. The man had made it clear he didn’t do...what had he called them?...loose ends. Or was it frayed edges? But he was all in when it came to his sister. She would laugh at the irony that his one “frayed edge” was a blood relative if Layla wasn’t in so much trouble.

  “Maybe.” She shrugged. Either way, she had every plan to work on the case.

  The way he studied her said he realized this. “We’ll cover a lot more ground if we team up.”

  “You and the word team in the same sentence don’t exactly inspire confidence.” Her retort was meant to come out sassy. Instead, it sounded pathetic more than anything else. She didn’t want to give away her hand and let him know that her feelings were still hurt from the way he’d left things. She also didn’t want to seem like she was still pining for him either.

  She wasn’t. No matter how attractive he looked in that button-down shirt or how much the two day–old scruff added to his billboard-model looks. He had one of those chiseled jawlines that made facial hair actually look good. She wasn’t normally big on it. The news flash that Dash was ridiculously good looking wasn’t exactly a scoop.

  “Please.” The sincerity in his eyes was only matched by the candor in his voice—a voice that had a habit of washing over her and through her, causing a thousand goose bumps to dot her skin.

  “You make a good point about getting further in the case if we pool our resources.” She issued a sharp sigh and then made eye contact. Big mistake. Looking into those espresso-colored eyes sent a ripple of awareness traveling through her.

  Most would make a remark at this point. Go in for the close while she waffled. Not Dash. He was that good. He was that patient.

  Those terms were good descriptors of him in bed too. Maybe mind-blowing was better.

  Raina was probably going to regret this, but all she could think about was getting Layla out of that Popsicle-orange jumpsuit and back home where she belonged.

  “I’ll do it.” She held a finger up before he could respond. “One condition.”

  Rather than rush to answer, he studied her. The heat from his stare sent more of that warmth through her. He took his time before opening his mouth.

  “Name it,” he finally said, without breaking eye contact.

  “No sex.”

  “I’m not going to hit on you, if that’s what you think this is about.” The disappointment and finality in his tone caught her off guard. He was concerned about his family, and here she was telling him not to come on to her. Not that he would, even though she had caught his gaze lingering on her mouth earlier.

  Or was she seeing what she wanted? Embarrassment heated her cheeks. She needed to get over the attraction thing no matter how strong it was. Could she?

  Chapter Five

  “I’ll do whatever it takes to help my best friend.”

  “Good.” Dash could keep his attraction to Raina under control. “What do you say to heading back to my place?”

  “Why there?” A look passed behind her pale blue eyes that he couldn’t quite get a handle on. They were like looking at the sky on a clear day. Her thick, wavy hair; thick lashes and full pink lips made for one hell of a package. But restraint wasn’t normally a problem for Dash, and attractive women were a dime a dozen. Intelligent, strong-minded, beautiful women like her were the exception.

  “I have a great setup and can easily log into my work account from there. It’s secure and will give us access to resources we won’t have otherwise.” His words sounded clipped even to him. He wasn’t trying to give her a hard time. His mind was still reeling from the heartbreak his sister had endured and hadn’t bothered to tell him about. Relationships were complicated.

  “It’ll be interesting to see your place for the first time.” Her words were cold and uttered with the precision of a surgeon’s blade, slicing his jugular. It was obvious Raina didn’t want to be in the same room with him; Layla was lucky to have a friend who cared about her so much.

  Dash had work acquaintances. Friends? Not quite. If he had time for friends, he would’ve had time to stay up to date on Layla’s social life. More of that guilt nipped at him. He should’ve met the bastard who broke his baby sister’s heart.

  That annoying voice in the back of his mind resurfaced, reminding him that his sister had a lot of secrets. She had hidden an entire relationship from him. She had to have been close to the guy or else her heart wouldn’t have been hurt.

  Raina knew more than she was admitting. He could tell the moment she mentioned it by watching her body language. She immediately crossed her legs and folded her arms, closing up in every way possible, as though she was putting up a barricade to keep from giving away too much.

  While he appreciated her loyalty to his sister—respected it, even—she might withhold information that could be important to the case. That was unacceptable. Pushing her now would only serve to push her away. He needed her input, and he needed her shared secrets.

  The only person more stubborn than Raina was Layla. His sister would only give him what she wanted him to know. As much as he considered the two of them to be close, she’d always kept him at arm’s length with very private matters.

  “Is your car at the office?” he asked.

  “No. I took the ferry over and then walked. I wanted to clear my head.” It was still summer and sunny. The morning had been beautiful—one of those perfect late-summer days before the rain and fog hit.

  “You walked over in those?” He glanced down at her high heels.

  “I wore tennis shoes and took them off at my desk like I usually do.” She looked at him as if he was crazy. He hadn’t been around her long enough to know her habits, but this sounded like something Layla would do. The similarities to his sister stopped right there.

  “Then we can take my car. I’ll pull around up front if you’re afraid to be seen walking away with me.” Protecting her job was key.

  “That’s probably a good idea, Dash.” She exhaled when she said his name, and he didn’t hate the sound of it on her lips.

  “I’ll text when I’m out front.”

  She reached across the table and touched his forearm. Electricity shot through him at the point of contact, sending currents along his skin. The way she pulled her hand back told him she’d felt it too.

  “Thank you for thinking about protecting my job. I can’t afford to lose it, especially under suspicious circumstances. I don’t have to tell you how small the tech community can be at times.” Those big eyes blinked up at him. He ignored the squeeze in his chest.

  “If you get fired for helping a federal investigator, we’ll go after them in court.” He ground his back teeth at the idea she could be manipulated by her employer. He’d heard about the glass ceiling and unequal pay in the corporate world when it came to women. Precisely the reason Layla had insisted on the job she had. Money doesn’t discriminate was basically her mantra. Clients were another story, but money in and of itself saw no race, color or sex.


  “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. First things first, let’s get our girl out of jail.”

  “I’ll only be a minute.” Dash pushed to standing and then walked out of the café. He surveyed the lobby of the building without drawing attention to himself. With his head down, his purposeful walk worked wonders at keeping prying eyes off him.

  A suit-and-tie type sat on the edge of one of the sofas near the window, studying his cell phone like it had the numbers to a hundred-and-fifty-thousand-dollar lottery jackpot on it. Halfway across the lobby, Dash caught sight of someone familiar. Layla’s boss entered the turnstile.

  At Dash’s height, it was difficult to hide outright, so he pivoted and made a beeline for the café. He tossed his cup in the trash on the way in and then sidestepped behind a pole. Alec’s reluctance to allow Dash access to Layla’s desk and files came to the forefront of his mind.

  The guy was dodging something. What? His excuse had been the investment firm’s clients had strict confidentiality clauses in their contracts. That wasn’t the only thing bothering Dash. He thought about how Alec had seemed both upset and betrayed by Layla’s arrest and clear guilt.

  Alec had easily volunteered the information about Layla’s so-called erratic behavior of late, despite trying to play if off as concern. Alec’s act of hating to say it, let alone think it, was just that. Except she wouldn’t be the first to snap or be lured by the easy access to big money.

  Dash hoped her juvenile rap sheet didn’t come into play. He could only hope the media didn’t figure out her crime, because she would be deemed guilty before a trial if news got out that she’d covered up her record in order to get her current job. The fact that she had the technical ability to bury her background files—which she had done using the dark web—wouldn’t exactly put her in the best light right now.

  There were complications to his sister’s case that cast her in a bad light. The last thing he needed was someone who had better skills than him, Raina or Layla digging into the investigation. Which reminded him, he needed to find out who Layla’s attorney was going to be. He had a few names to share despite his sister telling him not to worry. What phrase had she used?