BLISS SAT DOWN IN a corner booth with her tray."Oh my God," she muttered to herself and buried her face in her hands.Had she really just said that to Travis? A complete stranger? What had she been thinking?She unzipped her hoodie and shed the outer layer. Her blush was still firmly in place, and to make it worse, she was hot all over now. The way Travis had looked at her and said...Nope. She had to not think about that.As if thinking of him summoned the man, he sank into the seat across from her. His legs immediately took up every available inch of below-table space she wasn't occupying. His knee brushed hers, their feet touched, tapped, and shuffled around as they situated themselves.At least in a crowded restaurant, with children on either side of them, he'd let the conversation drop. Right?He leaned toward her. There was a determined, focused look aimed directly at her. She squeezed her thighs together. This was not the time.How was it she'd started working f
OH GOD, TRAVIS HAD just seen the butt plugs. He couldn't handle the idea of a vibrator, what was he going to think of a butt plug? Or the floggers? Or the sheep-shaped blow up dolls?Calm down.Bliss kept her gaze straight ahead and walked past the industrial shelves full of boxes and carefully inventoried sex toys.What did it matter what he thought?Okay, he was an attractive man once she got past the scary factor, but he was responsible for finding her missing sister. That was it. Besides, she was chubby and her vibrator collection would undoubtedly scare him away.One more flight of stairs, a hallway, and she unlocked her office, stepping into her sanctuary. She held her office door open for Travis and shut it behind him. Hopefully everyone else would take the hint and leave her alone."Sorry about that," she mumbled and retreated to her desk chair.Her office was one of the more spacious ones, but that was because she was now in charge of order fulfillment to their b
TRAVIS HAD A LEAD. Something the BAU hadn't given him.Of the eight victims, he'd been able to track down five with home security, and three of those were monitored by a contract company called Compliance Systems. The issue with having a killer who went a full year between kills was that it was difficult to impossible to tap into the earlier victims' lives. He needed a warrant for Compliance to obtain their data. But that would take time, especially since they would need to convince the cops they had an actual case on their hands.He dialed one last number, but it went to the BAU unit chief's voicemail."Hey, Brooks, it's Travis again. Just checking on that lead. I think I've got something. Call me when you have time."Damn it. He needed the information now, and Gavin's search hadn't turned up jack shit as of yet. If Zain were... No. He squashed that thought. Gavin had the same tools at his disposal Zain would in this instance."What'd you find?" Bliss breezed back into the o
BLISS KEPT HER GAZE straight ahead. Wendy's gated community was three turns away. Bliss' car was in the drive. In a matter of minutes Travis would drop her off and go do whatever commando-type thing he did to rescue people. Or something. She wasn't sure what he would do, but her imagination supplied plenty of scenarios, some she wished would get out of her head."Heard anything yet?" She couldn't shake the feeling that the freaking FBI should have been able to get information sooner. After all, wasn't that how it worked on TV?"No.""Why?""Reasons." He turned the SUV into the community. The guard from earlier waved them in. From the looks of it, the guy had sucked a lemon since they last saw him."And those would be? How is the FBI even involved? I don't understand.""It's complicated.""Explain it to me."Travis drove all the way to Wendy's house and put the truck in park. She turned to face him. If she had to make him understand, she would."She's my sister. I want
WHAT THE HELL?Travis took a sip of water and peered at the house in the distance. He was getting closer, and he needed to stop thinking with his dick. Kissing Bliss had been...fantastic. And a terrible idea. She might not be paying him, but she was still a client. For now. Some guys might not be terribly bothered about bedding their temporary employer, but not Travis. The way he saw it, when he was brought into a situation it was always under great duress.Bliss wasn't thinking clearly. She was emotional, and he was the man there to fix her problems. It made sense she'd flirt with him. It was a common case of hero syndrome, or whatever his boss called it. Any other month, she wouldn't look at him. A guy with his record didn't get girls like her. But for this moment in time, she did. And it was fucking with his head.He needed to find Wendy and get her out of here so the cops could do their job and put this bastard away. Then he could go back to his normal routine of catching bul
"WENDY... WENDY, BLISS NEEDS you to calm down." Travis gripped the frail woman's wrists to keep her from scratching his eyes out. The coppery scent of blood was thick in the air. Enough to make even him gag.Someone had died here not long ago, and it wasn't the vic reported yesterday. That meant Daniel Campbell had other victims. Ones Travis and the FBI didn't know about."Wendy, damn it."He'd been party to some tricky rescues before and, while it wasn't common, occasionally the victims didn't want to be saved. Which was too bad, because Travis had a job to do, and he wasn't about to leave a new mother to die in a filthy cave."No!" she wailed.Wendy twisted one of her arms free. He groped, catching her shoulder."Stop it. I'm not going to hurt you," he said.She swung her arm and hit him in the temple. His body jolted, and for an instant he was stunned. Had she really just done that? Damn woman was a lot like her sister. Wendy jerked free and scrambled to her feet. He r
BLISS CRAWLED INTO THE backseat of the truck. It bounced down the gravel road, knocking her off-balance. Wendy was always petite, but her hollowed out cheeks were gaunt and her skin was ashen."What-why is she handcuffed?" Bliss crouched in the floorboard and pushed Wendy's hair off her brow."She was traumatized," Travis said over his shoulder. "Didn't know I wouldn't hurt her.""You-what? Knocked her out and handcuffed her?" Was that seriously how he handled hostages?"Yes."She glanced at the back of Travis' head. He was serious. For a moment, she was torn between outrage and relief. She couldn't find it in her to be angry with him either way. He'd found Wendy, when the cops wouldn't even pretend to look. Her baby sister was coming home. Alive.Bliss knelt and pressed a kiss to Wendy's forehead. She held her sister's hands, rubbing some warmth back into them despite being jostled and tossed around. Travis seemed determined to push the vehicle to unholy speeds. Granted, s
BLISS PEELED HER BOOTS off and groaned. They were cute and comfortable for a mall stroll, but damn they ached after a full day of on-her-feet action, not to mention sprinting across gravel. She eased back onto the sofa and flexed her toes."Did you hurt yourself?"A wave of heat traversed her body. For a split second she'd forgotten Travis' presence inside her home. She remained very still, wishing the buzz of arousal would die already. It was a completely unreasonable reaction after the day's events."Bliss?" His fingers brushed her shoulder. Her breath caught deep in her chest and her skin tingled.No such luck on killing her lady boner for the man."No, no, I'm fine. My feet just hurt.""Epsom salt?""What?" She pried one eye open. He was a lot closer than he'd been. His stubble was more pronounced, accentuating that dangerous look that fit him so well. She was beyond figuring out what it was about him that turned her on. There was always one anomaly to every proven fa