Darkness Comes by Scarlett Sanderson Page B

at Ramierez. “They want me to go under?”
    He nodded. “Yes. You are their last hope of finding out where he hid the money. He’s resisted everything else.”
    “What makes them think I can succeed?”
    “You know the system like a lover. You can control him. You can get inside his head.”
    “You give me too much credit.”
    He tilted his head to the side and raised his eyebrows. “Really? Come, Mia. No need to be coy.”
    She grinned and glanced over the file again. “So they want to pit us against each other?”
    “Yes.”
    Dylan Benjamin would prove a worthy adversary. Gleaning information from hardened criminals or being able to rehabilitate them provided a sense of satisfaction. She needed it. The lack of fulfillment in her personal life meant she craved relief in her professional one. Pitting herself against notorious criminals and coming out on top was almost as satisfying as an orgasm.
    Right now she’d take whatever she could get.
    The man in question stared back at her. Even in a photograph, his features danced with intelligence, anger and a hint of arrogance.
    She finally spoke. “I want to meet him.”
    * * * * *
     
    The maximum security prison doors whooshed open, revealing a padded and startlingly white interrogation room. A table and two chairs were positioned in the center.
    Dylan Benjamin sat in one of the chairs. Two iron bands were clamped around his wrists. They hummed with an electrical charge, magnetizing his lower body and preventing him moving more than a few inches. He stared at the floor, head bowed so she couldn’t get a clear view. They’d dressed him in prison-issue clothes—a drab gray jumpsuit.
    She’d spent the last week going over evidence—testimonies, surveillance videos of his interrogations—taking notes and planning her approach to the VR. Flowing water, sunlight and chirping birds wouldn’t cut it with him. She needed to stay closer to reality.
    Mia entered the room and the doors closed. A small breeze caressed her legs from the force.
    “Hello, Doctor.” He slowly raised his head.
    When he finally looked at her, she inhaled. In his photograph, he oozed raw sexuality. In reality he was primal, intensely masculine. His aura screamed dominance and confidence. He didn’t have a bulging muscularity but Mia was in no doubt he could fight well and win. She imagined him fighting dirty.
    The most striking thing was the sense of knowledge surrounding him. It bored into her soul, stripped her bare.
    It unnerved her.
    She took a few mental deep breaths and pulled out the empty chair before sitting. “How do you know I’m a doctor?”
    “Too pretty to be a cop.”
    Mia snorted, tried to cover the heat rising in her cheeks. One compliment and she acted like a foolish girl. “Nice line. Does that usually work for you?”
    She tried not to let it affect her any further. She’d interviewed men who killed people for sport. Surely she could handle a thief?
    “I don’t need cheap lines to get women into bed. They just seem to fall at my feet.” He sat very still. He didn’t twitch, didn’t fidget. He just stared.
    She put her hands together, laced her fingers and rested them on the table. “Kind of like all the things you stole. Did they just fall at your feet too?”
    He shrugged. “Maybe.”
    Enough pussyfooting around. She needed to be wary but she didn’t foresee any issues with taking Dylan into the VR. “Let’s get down to business, Mr. Benjamin.”
    His laced his fingers, mirrored her pose. “How long has it been since you escaped your abusers, Mia?”
    A chill ran down her spine. She froze. Painful memories of her past rushed to the surface. Memories of her mother servicing any man who paid ten credits. Memories of being sold at a slave auction.
    She slammed the lid shut on the past. She’d clawed her way out of that life and she refused to go back.
    Ramierez shouted something in the micro-earpiece she wore. She scratched her ear, gave the microphone a tiny