Chapter 13
It’s Day Two of parking lot surveillance. Day Two of me sitting in a banged-up car sporting a nonsensical semi. She’s not my type. I like them curvy and blonde. Admittedly, it’s not her fault she’s skin and bones. It’s not like she starved herself on purpose. Although she should eat more. I’ll have to get involved soon.
But the question is…why am I finding myself attracted to her? Why am I hyperaware of her physical presence? Why do I find her left-field statements to be so damn entertaining? I don’t know what’s wrong with me.
The biggest question is she’s offered, but I’ve done nothing to engage. Normal Max would’ve taken her back to the villa and fucked her brains out. Hell, Normal Max would’ve moved that seat back away from the wheel, pulled out my dick, and said, “Have at it, baby.”
She’s not innocent. Clearly.
Yet she’s different.
Her perspective on life is refreshing. She doesn’t have a selfish bone in her body. There’s no grand plan with her. Hell, she’s not even focused on marriage and kids. It’s just what you see is what you get, and maybe because of that, I feel I can really trust her. It’s been a long damn time since I felt I could trust a woman. And maybe I want her to be able to trust me, too.
Maybe that’s why I can’t just bang it out with her. Because I like her too damn much. And I want to earn her trust.
Here I sit, my thoughts running wild as I stare at a parking lot in front of a non-descript one-story office building, listening to the subtle sound of her breathing and the tapping of her foot. Observing the pale skin of her exposed thighs and the sun’s glint on the fine light hairs leading up to the short runner’s skirt she’s wearing today.
It’s not like I want a relationship. And even if I did—which I don’t—it’s not something that’s on the table. After we get this situation figured out, who knows where she’ll end up? Her dreams aren’t the dreams you stop because to do so would be monumentally selfish. It’s best for humankind if she succeeds.
And what the hell? Why is my train of thought circling the future? That’s not me.
I gave Knox hell for adopting a freaking dog after we left the Navy. What is up with my head? Next thing you know, I’ll be following in my mom’s footsteps with three cats shitting in a litterbox.
Yesterday, we played the back-and-forth question game for hours. Thankfully, sex never came up again. Unfortunately, her boss didn’t show up either. Which, I will grant her, is thought-provoking.
Now she’s really nervous something’s happened to her boss too. And I’m coming around to her way of thinking. The tech guys have searched, and she hasn’t left the island. Or at least if she did, she didn’t go through customs.
Of course, Sloane being Sloane, has no idea where her boss lives, so we can’t swing by and check out her residence. The tech guys are working on getting us a home address. The first place they checked was the employee files for Origins Labs since they hacked into that server a few weeks ago. There’s no address other than her address in Switzerland. I could tell that Erik thought it was odd. I have faith in our guys, though. We’ll have some intel soon.
Jack isn’t thrilled with us doing old school surveillance. He’s ordered some high-tech camera options to be installed near all entrances and exits to the Origins Labs. Once we get Sloane inside the labs so she can get on their server, which our guys still haven’t been able to breach, she and I can head on our way. Arrow will monitor the cameras remotely. All we really want is an idea of who is coming and going from the building.
“So, tell me something,” she says.
This morning, we got here at 7:45. Still, we’ve been sitting here for almost an hour, and we’ve seen three employees enter.
“I really don’t remember much from my elementary school days,” I quip, being a smartass. The coffee has yet to sink in, I’m sexually frustrated, and I didn’t get my morning workout in two days running. My muscles and joints ache because I need my workouts to ease the old age pains and I’m off fucking schedule.
“That’s not where I was going.” Her bottom lip pushes out, and I want to pull her across the seat and claim that pout. Maybe ask to cash my rain check on that BJ offer.
A silver Lexus pulls into the parking lot and, instead of grabbing Sloane, I reach for the camera.
“Didn’t you learn plenty about me yesterday?” A person in slacks, a pink button down and a navy tie gets out of the sedan, and I snap a few shots. We’re across the street from the parking lot. Far enough away that someone would have to have excellent vision to see inside today’s decrepit Town Car. The lens on the camera gives top notch distance vision.
The image in the viewfinder piques my curiosity only because the guy is wearing a tie, which stands out here. I show it to Sloane.
“That’s Parker.”
“Does he always wear a tie?”
“I think so. He works in billing.”
“What’s his story?”
She sighs like I’m causing her pain. “I’m not sure. I met him one day when we had a fire drill.”
“What’s his last name?”
“I never asked.” Her elegant nose juts out a little farther as she strikes a defensive pose. “AP News shared survey data that showed two out of ten people have a close friend at work. That’s only twenty percent of people. Eighty percent of people do not have a close friend at work.”
“Got it. You don’t know his last name. That’s all you had to say.”
“How old were you when you first had sex?”
“It’s a good thing I drank all my coffee.” I can’t stop the smirk that I can feel twisting the corners of my lips. “You like to talk about sex, don’t you?”
“No.” She twists in the seat, looking out the window in the opposite direction of the parking lot we’re staking out.
She’s an odd bird with a specialty in off-the-wall commentary. But she’s also right. We’ve got time to fill. “Fifteen. She was seventeen. What about you?”
“Nineteen.”
“College?”
“Yep. He was sixty-two.”
My mouth drops and now I’m not watching the parking lot either.
The corners of her lips turn up in amusement. She expected my reaction.
“He was my chemistry professor. I noticed he had an erection.”
“And let me guess. You pointed it out to him and asked if he wanted you to do something about it?”
“Something like that.”
Jesus, her professor must have thought he walked into an old-school porno set. “How long did this torrid affair with your professor last?”
“It wasn’t an affair. He wasn’t married. I told you I would never be with a married man.”
“Right. So, how long did it last?”
“Not long. He was afraid we’d get caught. But he would come over to my apartment sometimes.”
“He didn’t mind your roommates knowing?”
“I didn’t have roommates.”
“Aren’t you lucky. Rich parents?”
“No, not particularly.” Her eyes glaze over, and I get the sensation there’s a conversation going on in her head. Or a memory playing. Happens to me all the time, so I wait while keeping an eye on the beauty to my right and the entrance to the gravel parking lot on my left. “My personality is such that I do better in solo situations.”
“Nah, I call bullshit on that. We’re all stronger as a team. With a team, you got backup.” Another car enters the parking lot. This one is a convertible Mercedes. The man getting out of it has bright white hair, pressed paisley shorts, and a polo shirt. I’d bet money he’s a golfer. Sloane isn’t paying him any mind. “Does he work with you?” I prompt, showing her the image in the viewfinder so she can get a closer look.
“I think he rents one of the office spaces on the ground floor in the back. I don’t know his first or last name, if that’s what you’re going to ask me.”
“Other than Dr. Kallio, was there anyone here you worked with closely?”
“No. I told you. I prefer to work alone.”
“Well, you know, this is where the benefits of a team come into play. If you didn’t work alone, you’d have other people you could get in touch with.”
“Or they’d be missing, like Dr. Kallio.”
It’s true that we don’t know where her boss is, but “missing” isn’t a term I’ve agreed to apply yet. I pick up my phone and turn it on. Yes, I’m antsy. Yes, I’m breathing in a light, fragrant scent that I suspect is the soap Sloane used this morning in the shower, and I’d rather not think about why I am so aware of everything Sloane.
“Why aren’t you married?”
There are no updates. And I’m officially stuck with twenty questions that, if I’m not careful, will stray into sexy questions that will turn my semi into a full hard-on pressing uncomfortably against my zipper.
“Why aren’t you?”
“I asked you first.”
I side-eye the bullheaded woman. I’ve been on ops where a team would’ve been able to listen in to this inane banter. Thank god this isn’t one of those ops. “I’m not the type to get married. But you are.”
“Who says you’re not the type?” She sounds mystified, which is snort-worthy.
“I do. Pretty sure I know myself. Now, come on, what’s your story?”
She’s sexy as fuck, and she seems to like to fuck. And she said she doesn’t cheat. That’s three in a row for a win in my book. She opens her mouth, and there’s a devious sparkle in her eye. Fuck. For once, I know exactly what she’s going to say, so I stop her with my index finger. When it presses against those soft lips, I jerk back. For one, I felt that touch in my groin. Second, in a small space, touching isn’t a great idea.
“Don’t want to hear any more about excelling at solo play,” I tell her in response to her adorably quizzical expression. “As for me, I almost got married.” That would’ve been a mistake of epic proportions.
She says nothing, but the silence prods me to spill more. “Bought a ring.”
“She said no?” Surprise rings her question.
“No.” I twist my head. There was a time when this shit hurt. Now it just stings. “I’d been deployed. Came back. She found someone else.”
Her eyes widen. “You walked in on them?”
“Shit, no. If I’d done that, I’d be serving time for killing the douche. No, she didn’t meet me at the airfield, so I knew something was up. Twelve-month deployment, and at some point during that, she’d fallen in love. Didn’t want it to play with my head, so she didn’t tell me ’til I got back.”
“That’s awful.”
“Was a pisser, that’s for sure.” Wouldn’t have been nearly so bad if nearly every guy I was with overseas hadn’t cheated on his girl back home. But not me. I’d been the angel. That part still pisses me off.
“I’ve never had a boyfriend.”
“Really?” This surprises me.
“Not a real one. Sage and I sometimes share book boyfriends.”
“You share them?” Intriguing.
“Not like that.” Her eyelashes flutter, and she smiles. When the corners of her lips turn up, she drops her guard, the defensive one who claims she’s a solo girl and doesn’t like other humans. “But we talk about them. Sage is the only reason I read those mindless books.” She lifts one long, lean leg and rests the ankle on her knee. “Now that Sage is dating someone, do you think she’ll still want to read those books?”
“I can’t imagine Knox would expect her to stop reading.” Knox is a pretty good guy. If she’s talking about the books I think she’s talking about, he’d probably consider it a bonus.
“It’s okay if she does. There are better ways I could spend my time.”
Right. “Speaking of time, what do you say we clear out of here? It’s pretty clear your Dr. Kallio isn’t coming to work today.”
“Do you agree with me now? Whoever hired that awful man probably got her, too.”
“It’s possible. We’ve got people searching for her. If they took her, chances are she’s not on the island. Which means, once we get all our equipment in place, we’ll get you inside so you can get on the server, figure out who accessed your report, and then we can head back to the States.”
“I want my job back.”
“Well, let’s be certain your old bosses aren’t behind this before you waltz in there. Got to be smart, right?”
“There’s no way?—”
“Sloane, we’ve been over this. Shit’s not adding up. At this point, we all believe it has something to do with that report. Be smart. It’s not just you. They went after Sage too.”
Her lips press together. She nods.
“That report needs to be shared broadly.”
She’s not going to give up. But I need a break. “What do you say we get out and have some fun for a few hours?”
She looks suspicious. “Doing what?”
“We can rent a boat?—”
“No.” Her arms cross below her perky little breasts and the foot that had been dangling near her knee hits the floor mat. “I do not go on boats. I get severe motion sickness.”
She also refuses to drink water from water bottles. I connected those dots and haven’t pushed it. I’ve just been glad at the villa she’ll drink tap water.
“Okay.” I think about all that glorious salt water in front of our villa. “Snorkeling? Paddle boarding?” Her nose scrunches. “The sun is good for the soul.” We need a break from this, and I need out of this car before her gaze falls to my crotch.
“Studies have shown that the sun provides many of the same benefits as a workout. And it gives your immune system a boost.” That smile shifts into a devilish grin. She leans closer, and yeah, her gaze is on my crotch. “Of course, sex does the same thing.”
Fuck.
My fingers curl into her hair, completely of their own volition. Glossy. Smooth. I could grab a fistful?—
What are you doing?
Knox flashes before my eyes. Yeah, he’d want to kill me. And for good reason.
I release her hair, grind my teeth, and turn the key in the ignition, because yeah, we’re in another oldie but goodie. It’s part of the plan to keep from getting noticed. Never the same car and never one that’s so nice it deserves a second glance.
“Let me teach you how to snorkel.”
“The sun’s rays are most damaging between ten and four. Which is right now.”
“We’ll use sunblock.”
The devilish grin returns. “That could be fun.”