Bound By Temptation Read Online Free Page B

ask…don’t ask.
    He couldn’t afford to get drawn back into her life. He needed to stay out of this—whatever this was.
    “So you gonna tell me what the hell happened?” Lucas asked, the question escaping unbidden, unwelcome as well. If he could have reached it, he’d have kicked his own ass.
    “Her house was trashed.”
    Okay, that didn’t sound so bad. Relief deflated his tense muscles, leaving him curiously void.
    “So while you two were together,” a careful tone entered Rio’s voice, “did you notice anything off about her?”
    Lucas frowned. “Off? As in how?”
    “Hell, I don’t know.” Rio’s voice sharpened. “Did she have any enemies, did she keep questionable company, did she have visitors in and out of her apartment all hours of the day?”
    “No. No. And no,” Lucas said flatly, suspicion rising. The litany of questions sounded too damn guarded considering Emma had been the victim of a crime, not the perpetrator.
    “You’ve got it wrong if you think Emma trashed her own place.” Lucas shook his head, his mouth tightening beneath an unwelcome burst of protectiveness. “She’s an arrow, straight as all fuck.”
    Stay out of it damnit, this isn’t your concern.
    But the words just poured out of his dumbass mouth. “Why the hell would you think she ransacked her own place?”
    “I don’t think she trashed her own place,” Rio snapped back. “But whoever did was looking for something and badge to trident, regardless of what she claims, she knows what they were looking for.”
    Lucas froze, the fine hairs along the back of his neck shooting up. That didn’t sound like a normal snatch and run. “What makes you think they were looking for something?”
    “Because while they turned her place inside out and upside down, they didn’t take anything. And there were plenty of items worth money. Jewelry. A laptop. Prescriptions. It doesn’t add up unless they were looking for something specific.” His voice turned guarded again. “Could she be dealing?”
    “In what? Drugs?” Lucas asked, his voice rising incredulously. “No.”
    “Fuck, Rocky, you admitted to sleeping with the woman. You know damn well you could be—”
    “You finish that sentence and I’m gonna reach through this phone and knock your damn teeth down your throat,” Lucas snapped. “Give me some fucking credit. If she was dealing, I would have known.”
    Silence fell, turned deafening. Lucas swore beneath his breath. The bastard didn’t believe him. Hardly surprising considering Rio’s attitude toward the fairer sex, but hell—Emma didn’t deserve this.
    “Look, Dante.” He fought to modulate his tone. “Emma’s a straight shooter. I guarantee you, she’s your victim, not your perp.”
    “That’s too bad,” Rio said after a moment, his tone darkening.
    It was such a strange response Lucas’s skin went cold. A few seconds of backtracking over the past minute of conversation and the chill intensified. “They didn’t find what they were looking for?”
    “I’d say no, judging by the look of her place. They systematically took it apart. There’s not one room untouched. If they’d found what they were looking for, they would have quit searching.”
    “You think they’ll be back,” Lucas said. Well, that explained Rio’s “ that’s too bad ” comment. He stirred against the door of his Jeep, his muscles so tight they ached. “You tell Emma this?”
    “Didn’t have to. She figured it out for herself.” Rio paused and Lucas heard a subtle click of keys, as though he were typing. “She’s getting a dog.”
    A dog? What the fuck? She’d be better off getting a gun and kick ass alarm system.
    Not your problem. Let it go.
    He pinched the bridge of his nose—hard—before exhaling noisily.
    “Who was assigned her case?” He didn’t have to go see her, he could keep an eye on the situation from behind the scenes. He relaxed. She’d never even know he’d been checking up on