“Why the fuck didn’t you lead with that?”

  Tanner chuckled. “What? And miss not being bored and getting to chase my little brother to Kansas City, eight hours from where he was supposed to be, and finding him in one of our businesses?”

  I had to smile at that. “Since when do we own nightclubs?”

  “For a while, actually. When Kai sent me down here, he wanted to be half legit. This is a legitimate one.”

  “You’re partners with that hockey guy?”

  Tanner laughed. “Kai’s the one who vetted him first.”

  “Right,” I mocked. Man. It felt good to be with family again, felt right. “When I’m with you guys, there’s no holding back. I…” This was hard to explain.

  Tanner got quiet, but I couldn’t look at him—not when I explained this.

  A part of me was ashamed.

  I looked out at the dancing crowd, not really seeing them. “I feel secure with family, but when you guys aren’t around, I have to handle life. Everything in my head gets pushed back. You know?” I looked to see if he understood me. “I can push her back.”

  He shuddered before he nodded. “Jo, we get it, but we love you. We’re always going to worry about you and want to check on you. That’s our job. You’d do the same for us, and you know it.”

  He was right. If the situation was reversed, I’d be so far up his ass it’d almost be incestuous.

  I went back to watching the dancers. “I love you, brother.”

  “Love you, too.”

  Then I saw her, smack in the middle of the dancers, the light flashing over her every third second.

  Not Melissa—never her again—but the other one from that night.

  Carson. Her name was Carson, and she was here.

  I cursed, shoving up and heading for the door.

  “What’s going on?” Tanner called after me.

  “The lab chick is down there.”

  In an instant he was up and following me, and I knew he’d call in the guards, because he was like me.

  In our world, there were no coincidences.

  Chapter Thirteen

  CARSON

  I moved toward the bathroom—more like stumbled to the bathroom—sweating, with this lacy, long-sleeve top plastered to me. I had no idea how my sister, Melody, had talked me into wearing this. At least I hadn’t listened to her when she said to go without my bra.

  Inside the bathroom, the music was still pounding, and I was pretty sure there were two girls having sex in a stall behind me, but I could see my bra. And it was a cute bra. A black, slinky bra.

  It was the one thing on me that I’d actually picked.

  Melody had chosen the leather pants, and they were sticking to me, too.

  And the heels.

  I growled, staring at myself.

  I needed to change this. I needed to muster up my inner Tim Gunn and work some magic, because I was going to sweat myself to death out there. Thank goodness I hadn’t been drinking.

  Okay.

  This shirt…

  I hadn’t picked it out, but it was mine. I couldn’t remember when I bought it, where I bought it, or if I’d ever worn it. Done. I heaved it off, tried not to take a whiff of it, and I yanked on the sleeve. I pulled, tore, hacked, decimating what had once been a beautiful creation, I supposed. I wasn’t very fashion forward. I wasn’t even entirely sure what that phrase meant. What I was, though, was logical and functional, and I couldn’t cut my pants off, so the shirt would have to do.

  I removed the sleeves and shortened the hem, and when I put it back on, it was a lacy, cropped tank top. Thank goodness for my early-morning late runs, which was me running because I was late for work, early in the morning. Hoof it all the way to the lab enough times at a dead sprint, and anyone could develop some stomach definition.

  But anyway, score. I could breathe.

  With that thought, and the fact that I’d just emptied my bladder, maybe I would have a drink?

  I was thinking about that when I stepped out of the bathroom, and not at all focused on my surroundings. I knew better than that, except right now, it seemed I didn’t.

  Either way, two guys blocked me.

  I couldn’t see past them. It was just massive chests, and one grabbed my arm and pushed me back into the bathroom.

  “Hey!” I tried to pull my arm clear, but dammit, I couldn’t. He had an iron grip.

  The other one went to the stalls and banged on the doors. “Party’s over. Club’s closing. Get out.”

  I heard grumbling, and then the door opened and two girls came out. Both shot us (myself included) nasty looks as they went past. One reached back to tug her skirt down, and they swept right out.

  I should’ve asked them for help. What was I doing? “Hey—”

  “Too late.” The guy holding me pushed me away, blocking the door.

  That’s when I got a good look at him, and my knees gave out.

  Recognition jolted me, and I was on my ass.

  These freaking heels. Last time I listen to my sister.

  When I looked back up, my hand on the sink behind me, I saw a ghost. Well, not a ghost, but whoa.

  My eyes bulged, and my heart dropped. “You’re…”

  Jonah Bennett.

  My brain clicked, and I clamped my mouth shut, two seconds from spilling and showing how much of a stalker I was.

  His hotness had not dimmed at all. Jesus. This guy just got better. It was such a shitty thing for me to think, but grief made him sizzle. He had a five o’clock shadow going, and the whole angry/stricken vibe just emanated from him.

  I was speechless, and I was never speechless. I always had something to say.

  Might’ve been why my brain was working overtime.

  God.

  I wanted to have this guy’s children.

  I was hungry for him.

  So embarrassing.

  But my stomach did growl, and my vagina pounded.

  He raised an eyebrow, watching me. He stood over me, perfect position for, you know… Here I was on my knees—and there went another staccato drumline in my lady parts. My clit was getting in on the action.

  I needed a life. That was my problem.

  First time leaving the state, taking time off, and here I was: about wetting myself because I was hot for a grieving guy who looked like he wanted to murder me.

  The other guy came to stand next to him, and both looked down at me.

  I recognized him, too. He was the blond hottie from that night in the morgue.

  I sank down, letting my ass rest on the backs of my heels. “I know you two.”

  “You’re smart.” The blond leaned down, took hold of my arm, and heaved me up. He gave me a smile that was not a smile. It was a warning. “And you’re coming with us.”

  “What?”

  The blond steered me out of the bathroom, and I now wondered why he’d even taken me in there if we were going to leave right away. But as we walked, I was very aware of Jonah behind us. Was he checking out my ass? Logic pointed toward no, but a girl could wonder.

  Then a door opened, and voices spilled out, along with footsteps descending on stairs. The first guy hit the hallway in front of us, and I froze. Whoa. I’d just watched that guy play hockey. He was a Mustang.

  I opened my mouth when the blond muttered, “Shit.”

  “I got it.”

  A hand from behind touched my elbow. I knew whose hand that was. My body knew whose hand that was. A full-body shiver, the good kind, ran through me.

  I had just a second to register all of that before the guy let me go, and Jonah turned me around and threw me over his shoulder. I yelped, but he had me anchored to him, hanging upside down.

  A woman laughed as she passed us.

  “Nice,” someone murmured.

  “Hope you had a great evening,” the blond responded, so professional.

  He sounded like a greeter at a store. Seriously.

  Then they were gone, and I realized I’d missed my second chance to yell for help. These guys were kidnapping me.

  Kidnapping. Me.

  These guys.

  What universe had flipped itself around and swallowed me up? This didn’t happen, ever, to someone like me.

  It was my red hair. That’s why I was being taken.

  That made no sense, but I was going with it.

  My brain grasped for something to rationalize what was happening—fuck it. “Hey! What are you guys doing?” I finally asked.

  Jonah chuckled, and I could feel it in my vagina, which was pressed against his shoulder. “How much have you had to drink?” he asked. “You’re way too slow on the uptake.”

  I scowled at his ass. “You don’t have to be insulting.”

  “She’s probably here with someone. You got her? I’ll head to security and find who she was with, make her excuses.”

  “What?!” I tried to twist around to see him.

  I couldn’t.

  I went back to watching the ass below me.

  Jonah ignored me, turning to go up the same set of stairs those people had come down from. “Not a problem. Your office?”

  “My office. See you in a bit.”

  I started to struggle. “Honestly. Put me down. I remember you, and this is—I don’t know what this is, but it’s outrageous. That’s what it is.”

  The blond was gone now, and Jonah took me down a hallway.

  Upside down, I could see a bunch of guys, looking like guards, standing outside a door.

  “Hey! Help! He’s kidnapped me.”

  Jonah ignored me, going right up to those guys, so I tried again.

  “Hello?!”

  One moved, but just to open a door. That was it.

  We went inside.

  The door closed behind us, and I twisted up in time to see that neither of those guards gave me a second look.

  I growled. “What the hell?”

  Jonah tossed me on a couch, and just as I started to look up, snarling at him, he followed me down.

  I lay on the couch, spread eagle.

  He wedged a knee right up between my legs, settled against my crotch. His hand found my throat, pinning me down, and he glared at me.

  “Now that we’re alone. What. The. Fuck. Are you doing here?”

  His hand tightened.

  There was nothing sexy about this position. At all.

  I had a strong feeling the actual truth wasn’t going to work here.

  Chapter Fourteen

  JONAH

  “Can’t we talk first before we start playing rough?” Lab Girl asked me.

  Who the hell is this chick?

  I mean, I knew who she was. I remembered her from that night. I remembered everything from that night.

  Kai had bought our way into the morgue since Melissa’s family hadn’t been interested in me seeing her body. Then this woman had come in with the keys, and I’d given no fucks as to what Kai and his guys were going to do with her if she protested. Fortunately, she didn’t, instead, showing me kindness when I never expected it.

  Because of that, I found myself easing up on her, just a bit. I stepped back, released her, and stood.

  She sat up, adjusting her top—whatever kind of top that was—and brushed her hair out of her face.

  I looked her over. Jesus. I felt myself getting hard, just looking at her.

  She was medium height, with pale skin and pink lips made just for kissing. A smattering of freckles dusted her cheeks. Dark eyes. A great rack—both were a good handful. Her hair was blond with a reddish tint to it... No. She was a redhead with blond highlights.

  She was knockout gorgeous, and I was definitely hard.

  She had a healthy body. She was toned, like she ran, but lifted weights on the regular, too. She looked made for rough fucking. Nothing skinny about her.

  She gave me a wary look and seemed to consider standing, but decided against it. Instead, she sat back, crossing her arms over her stomach. “You regularly greet people that way? A good manhandling?”

  “You know me.” It wasn’t a question, because she did.

  I remembered her recognition when she saw me in the bathroom, and sexual interest had come immediately after. She wanted me, and even now she was squirming on the couch.

  If I touched her, I bet she was already wet. I moved closer, my mind already there, already wanting to bend down and dip in.

  The door slammed shut behind us, and I whirled. I hadn’t heard Tanner come in, but he strode toward us, his eyes frosted. “Sorry, babykins, but your very wasted sister and her man accepted a ride home on the club. I passed along your message that you ran into an old friend and are heading back by yourself, since apparently you have your own hotel room.”

  Her eyes bulged out, and her mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding?” she sputtered. “No way my sister would believe a stranger.”

  He chuckled and tossed a phone to her. “She didn’t. She believed you.”

  “What? How’d you get my phone?” She grabbed it, swiping her screen, and froze before lifting heated eyes my brother’s way. “How did you unlock it?”

  “Funny how this nightclub has security cameras and can see when a person unlocks her own phone. Going through your texts to find the one labeled SIS was easy work after that.”

  A full, red flush bloomed under her skin, traveling up as she glared at Tanner. “You asshole.”

  Tanner glanced my way as he went over and sat next to her on the couch, resting his arm across the back. She scooted away, putting ten feet between them. There wasn’t much couch left behind her. She tried to watch both of us at once, her eyes darting back and forth between us.

  A calculating look had formed in Tanner’s gaze. She was a mouse to him, and he wanted to play.

  “Give me that phone,” I demanded.

  Her head jerked my way, and Tanner was across the couch in a flash. He swiped it, unlocking it, and tossed it to me before she could do anything.

  “Hey!”

  I grabbed it, going across the room to the bar. Putting the phone on the counter, I moved behind, grabbing a glass of ice. “Either of you want a drink?”

  “Are you high?” she asked,

  Tanner laughed, strolling over to me. “I’ll make the drinks. You do your research.”

  My brother knew me so well.

  He picked up a glass and pointed at Carson with it. “You stay, but also, do you want a drink?”

  She was still sputtering. “You two are nuts. You can’t just kidnap—”

  “Girl, stop talking,” Tanner said, shaking his head. “We can and we did, and if you think you can do anything about this, maybe think back to the first night you met us. Remember the two big guys with us?”

  Her mouth closed.

  He shook his glass with the ice in it. “Remember the guns that they had?”

  I was swiping through her phone, going over her texts, her phone calls, her contacts, the outgoing calls. I lingered on her text thread with SIS, seeing that she was originally from Kansas City. She was up early for her sister’s wedding next weekend.

  I went through a text thread she had with someone named Milo—a colleague, I was guessing. Milo told her to enjoy her time off, that she needed to take more time for herself.

  What was I doing? Kai had an entire computer team to go through stuff like this.

  I pulled my phone out and dialed him, showing Tanner who I was calling. His demeanor changed; some of the fun faded. He gave me a nod, his eyes darting toward Carson. He’d watch her.

  With that, I went into Tanner’s actual office room. Kai answered as I was shutting the door.

  “Are you okay?” he asked. “It’s almost two in the morning where you are.”

  I started to correct him, but he was right. Kansas City was in the same time zone as Minnesota. “I’m with Tanner.”

  “Yes. He said he was going to see you.”

  “We’re in Kansas.”

  Kai was quiet. “Okay. What’s going on, Jonah?”

  “Remember that girl who helped us see Melissa’s body?”

  “The forensic technician, yes.”

  “She’s here.”

  “In Kansas?”

  “At the club Tanner owns.”

  “She was there when you guys were there?”

  “Are. We’re still here—”

  “Leave.”

  “What?”

  “Leave now. If she’s working for a rival family, they might be on their way. Take her somewhere else. Check her body for a tracker.”

  Oh fuck. He was right. Why hadn’t I thought of all of that?

  I moved back to the other room, motioning for Tanner’s attention. “We have her phone,” I told Kai. “Could you—”

  “I’m dispatching orders right now. Tanner knows the guy I’m sending to get the phone. He’s local. He’ll do an analysis there, where you guys are.”

  “Okay…”

  “You’re in Tanner’s area. Let him do the legwork. The girl is with you?”

  I stopped and stared at Carson.

  She hadn’t moved, but her flush had waned, along with her fight. She had folded in, hugging herself. She looked like she wanted to disappear.

  “I’m looking at her.”

  “Your job is her. She was taken with you at the morgue. She didn’t care about me or Tanner, but she liked you. Use that. Study her. Get to know her. You’re a genius, Jonah. Use some of that intellect and learn everything about her.”

  My dick shouldn’t have been twitching at the thought of doing that, but it was. Which was uncomfortable.

  “Got it.”

  “Love you,” he said. “It’s nice to hear from you.”

  He ended the call, and I put my phone in my pocket.

  Then Tanner’s phone lit up, and he read the screen as he set the bourbon aside.

  I went to Carson, motioning. “Get up.”

  “What?”

  “Get. Up.”

  “Why?”

  I didn’t wait, but I didn’t go for her arm. I took her hand, threading our fingers together, and I didn’t miss the way her body reacted. She shivered. I felt it through her fingers, but she cursed under her breath, gritting her teeth.

  If she didn’t actually know why we were kidnapping her, she was great at acting.