Page 53 of Swerve (Boosted Hearts 1)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Ruby

“Thanks for the ride, Harry.”

I’d just completed my first full day as an employee of Hains Investigations. It’d gone well. Nothing too strenuous, or exciting . . . unfortunately. I spent most of the day doing background checks. Though, I did get to help Harry with an infidelity case he was working, which was kind of cool. I’d scaled a fence and snapped pictures of a woman and her lover boinking on the kitchen floor while her husband was at work, so kind of gross as well.

“No problem. Neco bringing you in tomorrow? Or should I swing by and pick you up in the morning?”

I was going to drive myself. Neco just didn’t know it yet. “I’m all good, thanks though.”

He left and I locked up after him. My bruises were gone now. I felt great, actually, and after a rather heated exchange and three days of sitting around doing nothing, Neco had given in and agreed that I should be good to go to work. He was worried, I got that, but there was no reason for me to be sitting around doing nothing. Scott might be unstable, but he wouldn’t just come strolling into the agency after me, and if he tried, I’d see him coming with the surveillance equipment Harry had installed. Plus, I had my gun . . . and my Taser. Scott wouldn’t be much of a threat after I’d zapped him with fifty thousand volts.

When Neco got home, we were going to have words. He’d driven me this morning, but I wanted to drive myself. I wanted my life to get back to normal, and this time I wasn’t going to let him distract me with sex. Snatching up my phone, I checked for messages. Nothing from Neco, but there was one from Lulu checking on me. I quickly fired one back, filling her in on my current state of mind and asking her to grill her fiancé for information. Uncool of me, I know. But I was getting desperate.

Neco had left early this morning for work. No details. In fact, he was being cagey as hell. I’d worked for them, for God’s sake. I knew what they did, how they made their living. There was no reason to keep things from me. Unless it was about me, in which case I was pissed as hell.

Lulu replied quickly. I have ways to make him talk.

Hmm. Maybe she was onto something there. I shook my head—like I had any power over Neco whatsoever. The man did what he wanted, when he wanted. One small, occasionally irritating, woman—naked or not—couldn’t get that man to spill his secrets. I sighed, dropped my bag on the table by the door, and then flopped onto the couch. I was lying on my back, staring up at the ceiling, trying to figure out my next move, when someone knocked on the door.

Neco’s apartment was like Fort Knox, the security the high-tech kind. Only someone with the codes could get up here. I climbed to my feet, walked to the door, and peeked through the peephole.

Zeke stood there, expressionless. Dirty blond hair, messy, like he’d been running his hands through it, beard thicker than when I last saw him.

I pulled the door open. “Hey. What’s up?”

“Neco’s going to be late,” he said, giving me a good dose of that Southern drawl of his. That, combined with the husky, rough quality to his voice, sent a little shiver down my spine. The man was a total enigma.

“Why didn’t he just call me himself?”

“He’s on a job, didn’t have time.”

“Right. And why didn’t you just call?”

Zeke shrugged.

Of course, Neco told him to check on me. Annoying. I eyed Zeke, wondering if he’d give me more information. “You want a drink or something?”

He shook his head. “I’m good.”

“Does Nec have some kind of lead . . . about my case? Is that why he’s going to be late?”

Zeke stood there, his tall frame making me feel like an Ompa Loompa by comparison. Zeke wasn’t as built as Neco—he was leaner. He was hard, corded, muscular strength. With the amount of hours he spent in the workout room in the office, this was understandable. The man never seemed to just . . . relax. He was on. Always. I wanted to feed him cheeseburgers and force him to watch TV with me. It would never happen.

He stared down at me. Damn, what was it with these guys and their scary-intense eyes? “If there’s something you need to know, Nec will tell you.”

“Is that a yes, then?”

He kept staring at me, damn mouth zipped shut. I broke eye contact first because no one could hold Zeke’s gaze for any amount of time and not be intimidated. He didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t even think he was fully aware of it. But whenever I looked into his eyes, those demons riding him, they looked right back. All his pain, the scars he’d collected, the horror he’d seen while he was overseas, they were frighteningly clear.

An idea sprung to the front of my mind out of nowhere. It must have shown on my face because he raised a brow. I smiled. He frowned, mouth turning down the corners.

“Have you got some time to kill?” I asked casually.

He shrugged again.

Christ, he was a hard nut to crack.