Chapter Two #2
Chetan nodded, but his smirk told Griff he’d been caught staring.
“Do you know who his date is?”
“Trouble,” Chetan murmured. “With a capital T.”
“You know her?”
“Enough.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
Chetan merely shook his head. “It means look all you want but don’t even think about touching. Your golden tongue won’t work on her, and you don’t want the baggage she brings with her.”
With that cryptic advice, Chetan walked off.
Griff stayed where he was and watched Tyler lead the woman around the room, stopping here and there to chat with others.
Movement caught his eyes, and he saw Jack break away from a group and head straight toward the couple.
He didn’t look happy. This could be interesting.
Griff headed in that direction, as well.
He timed his arrival so he was right behind the couple when Jack stopped in front of them.
Griff angled himself, so he could see the woman’s face. Damn, she was even better up close.
“Miss Davison,” Jack said. “No computers to hack tonight? Decide to crash our party?”
“It is a lovely party.” She smiled, and Griff felt it all the way to his groin. Was there anything about the woman that wasn’t sexy?
Jack sighed. “Your dad called a bit ago. Told me you might be headed this way, planning to see Stace.”
“She’s a close personal friend.”
“He also said it would take a hell of a catastrophe to move your ass out of the cabin you call home.”
“I do love my home.” She smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Jack’s gaze narrowed, and Griff knew he was losing his patience. It made Griff grin. “You’re not planning on bringing any trouble with you tonight, are you?”
“Definitely wasn’t on my agenda.” Something in her voice gave the impression something was following her. Something that might appear sooner than she wanted.
“I’d hate to have you escorted from the building.”
Griff knew Jack would if he thought his family was in danger. He worshipped his wife, his daughter, Moira, and his new granddaughter. He’d move heaven and earth to keep them safe.
“Please, don’t.”
“Shit,” Jack said with a sigh. “You are in trouble.”
She looked unhappy with his comment but nodded before flicking her gaze toward Tyler.
“Honor.” Tyler shook his head. “I will call your dad.”
“Don’t,” she pleaded with Tyler. “He’s in the field. You know what that means.”
Jack grumbled under his breath. “He knows something’s off, or he wouldn’t have called me.”
“I’ve never been good at hiding anything from him,” she admitted.
Griff could tell she was nervous. He had to restrain himself from stepping forward to offer his help.
“You want to keep him away from the trouble you’re in?” Jack’s penetrating gaze seemed to search inside her. “I can tell something scared you enough to bring you to my door, but this isn’t the place to talk. Let’s meet first thing in the morning, and you can fill us in on everything.”
Honor nodded. “Of course. I apologize. I shouldn’t have crashed the party. I only meant to find Stace tonight and have her help me set up a meeting with you.”
“You don’t need Stace to set up a meeting with me.”
“It seemed the easiest way, and I wanted to see her,” Honor replied.
Jack’s gaze flicked behind them for a second.
“No saving you from this,” he said, but a smile tugged at his lips as Roman joined them. Thankfully, Griff’s mom wasn’t with him at the moment.
“You were in my system for over two minutes,” Roman said, his gaze laser focused on Honor.
“Two minutes forty-five seconds.”
She seemed awfully proud of that. Griff remembered Roman and Chetan discussing a security breach. Roman had contained it, and Jack had made a few phone calls and said everything was under control. Was she the one who’d hacked into their files? Damn, he really wanted to know more about her now.
“I needed to make sure you were who I thought you were,” she answered, but there was guilt on her face.
Jack stared at her. The woman didn’t back down an inch, and she never dropped her gaze from Jack’s. He knew grown men who couldn’t do that.
“You were told to leave Midnight, Inc. alone. I take offense at someone putting together files on me and my men. No matter who they call family.”
She swallowed but kept her gaze firm. “I understand, and again, I apologize. I could say it was to make sure Stace is in good hands with you, but there’s no need to lie.
We both know I need your help. While my methods may be questionable, I promise you I only did what I thought I needed to. It goes no further than me.”
“You’re dad taught you how to hack?” Jack asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“He did a good job. Maybe too good,” Jack mused then shook his head as if irritated he’d admitted that aloud. “Respect for your dad is the only reason you aren’t behind bars right now. Hacking into secure files is illegal and dangerous.”
“Not doing so can be just as dangerous,” Honor whispered, and Griff knew he wasn’t the only one who noted the fear washing over her.”
“You’ll tell me everything tomorrow,” Jack ordered, not waiting for the nod she gave before turning to Tyler. “Did Zach ask you to keep an eye on her?”
Tyler nodded, and Honor shook her head.
“I can’t pull my dad into this.” Her gaze bounced back and forth between Tyler and Jack.
“He’s in the middle of something important.
I know you understand what that means. If he’s there, he—people are safe.
I can leave. If you want me to leave, just say the word.
No one has to know I was here. Stace hasn’t even seen me. Please.”
Uttering that one word seemed to cost her a lot. If Griff could see it, he knew Jack would, as well.
Tyler shook his head. “I can’t let you leave. I’m involved whether you like it or not. If you run, I’ll have no choice but to call your dad.”
“Fuck.” Her whispered word wrapped around Griff. Yeah, that was exactly what he’d like to do with her. Damn, he’d never had it this bad. And never this quickly.
“You don’t need to leave. Let me make some excuses, and we’ll head over to my office and chat. Tyler can come with us,” Jack said.
“No offense, but I’d rather Tyler isn’t involved.”
“What?” Tyler didn’t look happy to hear that.
“You walked away. Stay gone, Tyler.”
Tyler looked at her for a long moment. “I won’t tell your dad if that’s what you’re afraid of.”
Honor smiled at him, and Griff felt a flash of jealousy when she cupped the other man’s face with her hands. “I can’t take the risk.”
“Damn it, Honor.”
“Please trust me. If not me, then Mr. Madigan. I’m sure he’ll inform my dad if he feels the need to.”
Tyler didn’t look happy, but when Jack nodded in agreement, there was little the other man could do. “I want your promise you’ll come to me if you need to.”
“I will,” she agreed and leaned up to kiss Tyler on the cheek. Was there something going on between the two of them? Were they involved? Griff sincerely hoped not.
“I’m staying at a local hotel. Stace hasn’t seen me yet. I’ll leave before she does. Let’s keep her out of this, too.” She glanced at Tyler. “She left for a reason. I should have remembered that. Enjoy your party, Mr. Madigan. I’ll come see you first thing in the morning.”
Something in the way she said that made Griff wonder if she’d show up in the morning or if she’d be halfway to somewhere else.
“Is that safe?” Jack asked her.
“I should have a head start.”
Tyler swore, but Jack spoke before the other man could say anything.
“How long?” Jack’s gaze moved between Honor and Tyler.
“Two days. Three tops,” she answered.
“No hotels. Too risky, too hard to guard.” Jack turned and speared Griff with his gaze. “Griff, stop hovering and get your ass over here. Honor, this is Griff Daniels. He works for me.”
“I know.” She glanced up at Griff. Standing this close to her, he easily visualized how well their bodies would align.
“Don’t remind me of your breach,” Jack warned, and she bite her lip. Griff was pretty sure it was to hide the nerves he saw in her gaze.
“Griff, follow Miss Davison back to her hotel and help her check out. Take her back to the apartment building.” Jack turned back to her.
“It’s secure. No one gets in or out without one of us knowing it.
Period. I own the building. Griff lives there as do several other of my employees.
Including Stace. It’s the best I can do for now. ”
Honor nodded. “Thank you. I know you don’t know me, Mr. Madigan. You have no reason to listen to me or help me in any way. I screwed up. I’m not proud of it, but it happened.”
“I’d expect Zach to help my daughter in my absence. I’m assuming there’s a good reason you want him left out of it. I’ll respect it, for now.”
“Thank you.”
“I see Stace and Shep heading this way. I don’t think she’s noticed you yet,” Jack said, leaving the choice in Honor’s hands as to if she’d let Stace see her here.
Griff met Honor’s eyes for the first time, and a jolt of pure lust rocked through him. It had been a long time since a woman affected him so quickly. Maybe never.
“I’m sorry for crashing the party. I should have waited.
” Honor looked poised to run. Griff took her hand without thinking.
He told himself it was to keep her from bolting without him.
It had nothing to do with wanting to see if her skin was as soft as it looked. It was, and he had to hold in his moan.
“Griff will make sure you have my number,” Jack told her. “Call me if you need anything. I’ll see you first thing in the morning.”
“Jack,” Julia said as she walked up and snuggled against her husband. Griff watched as Jack hugged his wife close to his side. She was good for him and a force to be reckoned with.
“Julia Madigan.” She held her hand out to Honor, cutting off their timely exit. Luckily, Stace and Shep had stopped to talk and weren’t close yet. Griff adjusted his position hoping to block Honor from their view.
“Honor Davison.”
“Lovely to meet you, Honor. A friend of the prospective bride or groom?”
“Neither.”
“I see.”
Griff wanted to laugh. If Jack knew who Honor was and had obviously been expecting her, then Julia knew, as well. Jack kept nothing from his wife. He’d once said she’d just find out on her own, anyway. That was one of the skills that made her such a great detective.
“Tyler, as always, it’s good to see you.”
“You, too, Julia.”
Honor shook her head. “I apologize for intruding.” She pulled her hand from Griff’s and held it out to Jack. “Thanks so much, Mr. Madigan. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She turned and almost ran in her haste to leave. She was moving fast, and it was all Griff could do to catch up. He did his best to keep his eyes off her well-rounded ass. The woman looked good both coming and going. He really wanted to see her coming, preferably at the same time as him.