The smile barely touched her lips.
But she noticed him.
More importantly, she noticed his eyes.
There was a fight in them.
He wasn't going to back down.
Interesting.
Her gaze lingered on him for another moment, studying the stubbornness behind those eyes. Most men who entered this house came in carrying confidence and left with considerably less of it.
But him?
No.
He was determined.
She liked that.
A slow amusement settled somewhere behind her eyes.
A game.
She liked games.
And this one had just become interesting.
She would know everything about him by tomorrow morning.
His name.
His habits.
His family.
His friends.
His weaknesses.
The things that made him angry.
The things that made him hesitate.
The things he loved.
The things he feared.
Everything.
And she wouldn't gather the information out of simple curiosity.
No.
She would use it.
Purposefully.
She wanted to see how long it would take before that stubborn determination finally cracked.
How long before the righteous detective who had walked into her home believing he was the hunter realized he'd stepped into a cage?
A faint smile threatened her lips again.
He might even make a good lapdog.
If he played well.
Of course, he had absolutely no idea.
As far as Shaw was concerned, he had come here to do his job.
He was going to investigate her.
He was going to uncover evidence.
He was going to drag her empire into the light.
And eventually—
He was going to put her behind bars.
She almost laughed.
That was precisely what she wanted.
Well...
Almost.
She had no intention of ending up behind bars.
But whoever had been reckless enough to interfere with her operations?
That was a different matter.
Someone had dumped bodies on land that belonged to her.
Someone had stepped into her territory.
Someone had either been very brave...
Or very stupid.
She wanted to know which.
And Shaw had just walked through her door carrying the perfect excuse to find out.
So why interfere?
Why chase after the culprit herself when the police were already willing to do the work for her?
It was his job, after all.
Let him investigate.
Let him dig.
Let him follow every lead.
Let him ask every question.
Eventually, he would find whoever had dared to mess with her.
And she?
She would simply sit back and watch.
Her signature smile returned.
Barely there.
Just enough to make it impossible to tell whether she was amused, pleased, or already ten steps ahead of him.
She knew how to get information from people.
Especially the police.
They were remarkably easy to manipulate when they believed they were the ones in control.
They had walked right into her palm.
Now all she had to do was close her fingers.
Not yet.
There was no need to rush.
She leaned back against the white couch, perfectly relaxed, her eyes still fixed on Shaw.
He was still talking.
Still accusing.
Still convinced he was building a case against her.
She listened.
Patiently.
Almost lazily.
And inside her mind, she was already planning tomorrow morning.
She wanted everything.
And she was going to get it.
After all...
Why chase the game when the game had willingly walked straight to her?
So she sat back.
Relaxed.
Amused.
And ready to enjoy the show.