Wet.
Sudsy.
Naked.
So much for being a perfect gentleman.
With a muttered curse, he pushed himself up off the couch and went in search of something cold to drink. The apartment’s open concept made finding the kitchen effortless, and the woman’s stocked supply of water bottles in the fridge made his drink selection just as easy.
After grabbing the nearest bottle, Lucky shut the door and twisted off the cap. He’d just taken a generous swig of the icy cold liquid when a familiar notification dinged at him from the living room.
About damn time.
He returned to the couch, plopping his ass back down onto the plush center cushion. With his computer resting on the coffee table in front of him, he reached for a nearby coaster and set his water down.
Lucky’s focus became locked on the screen. More specifically, the files his program had finally managed to access. Files containing video footage of that morning’s press conference.
With a click of his wireless mouse, he opened one. The recording was from the camera mounted high above the courthouse doors, showing a partial view of the front of the crowd as they waited for the conference to begin.
Lucky fast-forwarded several minutes, hitting pause when the first shot rang out. From there, he watched the remainder of the recording, and when he was finished, he rewound it and watched it all over again.
And again.
And again.
Once he had a solid foundation of what that particular camera had picked up, Lucky then went back to each frame, taking his time to study each of the video’s captured images. When he was finished with that file, he moved on to the next, repeating the process with each new recording.
Over the course of the next few hours, Lucky combed through every single file. He studied every individual frame with an expert eye. But even with his meticulous focus, unparalleled training, and years of experience, he was still unable to identify the shooter.
Bastard knew exactly where the cameras were located, and he made damn sure he wasn’t seen.
Even so, and despite his inability to get a good look at their suspect, Lucky’s time and effortmanaged to uncover one important aspect of the investigation. He finally had the answer to a question that had been burning through all their minds since the shooting took place.
And that realization made him want to kill.
Abandoning the screen before him, Lucky glanced over the small monitor and sclosed bedroom door. He thought about the woman behind it. Thought about what could have happened to her today.
What almost didhappen.
We almost lost her today. I was right there, and we almost lost her.
He thought in terms of “we” because, after everything went down with Cassie and Arch, Ellie had started to become a semi-permanent fixture within the Eagle’s Nest family. Did he want her all to himself? Hell yes, he did. Did he ever think it would happen?
A man can dream, can’t he?
And he had. In fact, the sexy lawyer had been the star of many,manydreams. But right now his focus needed to be on reality. Not fantasy. Speaking of which…
Lucky brought his focus back to the task at hand and reached for his cell. Picking it up from the coffee table, he held it in front of his face, impatiently waiting as the device’s embedded facial recognition security program unlocked it.
A quick swipe of the screen and a couple of taps later, and the phone was at his ear.
Come on…come on…
“Nash.” Archer’s groggy voice was rough with sleep.
“It’s me.” Lucky kept his voice low to avoid the risk of waking Ellie.
Before Archer could respond, Cassie’s tired voice sounded in the background. “Arch? What is it?” Alarm shot its way into her sweet tone. “Wait, is it El? Did something happen?”