Chapter 10 #2
Jase stood. "That's all I'm asking." He moved toward the door, then stopped. "For what it's worth, Kit's special. I can see why you're drawn to her. She's smart, talented, genuine under all that Hollywood polish. If you're going to get involved with someone, she's not a bad choice."
"High praise from the overprotective cousin."
"I'm serious." He met my eyes. "Just make sure you're doing this for the right reasons. Not because you need a mission to replace the Army. Not because she's beautiful and vulnerable and you want to be her hero. But because you actually care about her as a person."
He left me alone with that thought.
I returned to my equipment and started the real packing process. Monitors, laptops, servers. The familiar routine gave my hands something to do while my mind worked.
My phone rang. Unknown number. I almost ignored it, then recognized the area code. Fort Meade, Maryland. Home of the NSA and US Cyber Command.
"Drakos."
"Code, it's Thompson." My former second-in-command's voice came through clearly. "Got your message. What do you need?"
I'd called him two days ago, and left a vague voicemail about needing classified intelligence help.
Thompson owed me. I'd covered for him when he'd bent some rules tracking a Chinese APT group into systems we technically weren't authorized to monitor.
The operation had prevented a major breach of defense contractor networks.
"I need background on someone. Military-grade cyber capabilities, custom malware, deepfake technology. Whoever built this has training."
"Send me what you've got. I'll run it through our databases, see if the signature matches any known actors."
"This isn't official," I warned. "Private case. If it comes back on you, I'll take the heat."
"Code, you spent twenty years keeping this country safe. You think I won't help you track down some asshole using military tech to hurt civilians?" Thompson's voice hardened. "Send me everything. I'll have preliminary results in forty-eight hours."
"Thanks."
"Just doing what you taught me. Sometimes you have to bend the rules to do what's right."
He hung up.
I stared at the phone. Thompson had learned that lesson from watching me navigate the impossible position of having skills to help but being forbidden from using them.
The Ukraine situation could have destroyed my career, but I truly hadn't given a shit then.
Of course he was going to do this for me—we were cut from the same cloth.
I finished loading equipment into reinforced cases. The afternoon sun slanted through the windows. I checked my watch and realized it was already past three.
I pulled out my phone and called Katherine.
She answered on the second ring. "Code?"
"I'm heading over to set up security. What's your room number?"
"What do you mean, set up security?"
Fuck. I sure as hell hadn't thought that through.
"The more I dig into this, the more I get worried that somebody might want to get closer to you. I could just be paranoid, but since all I'm doing is cyber-hunting this guy, I can do it just as easily from your place as here at Onyx."
I was met with silence. "I guess that makes sense. You'd also be able to watch over Angelica, too, since we have connecting rooms."
"Exactly. So what's your room number?"
"204. But the Inn's set up like resort condos. The rooms have outside entrances around the main building. I'm on the north side, second floor. There's an exterior staircase."
"I'll find it. Be there in twenty minutes."
"Okay." A pause. "Code? Thank you for doing this."
"See you soon."
I hung up before I could say something I wasn't ready to say.
My rental waited in the parking lot. I loaded the cases, securing them properly. Old habits from transporting sensitive equipment through war zones.
The drive to Whispering Pines took twenty-five minutes. I gripped the steering wheel and let my mind work through what Jase had said.
Truth time. Why was I really volunteering to spend the next several days in close quarters with Katherine Lord?
The tactical justification was solid. I needed to be close to protect her and Angelica. I could work on the investigation from anywhere with a secure internet connection. Keeping them safe while hunting the threat made logical sense.
But that wasn't the whole truth.
I wanted to be near her. Wanted to see her smile when she forgot to perform. Wanted to hear her laugh, really laugh, not the practiced version for cameras. Something about Katherine made the constant noise in my head quiet down. Made me feel less like a weapon without a war and more like a man.
That was dangerous thinking. Katherine was dealing with a crisis. She was vulnerable, scared, her entire career hanging by a thread. Taking advantage of that would make me no better than every other person in Hollywood who'd used her for their own gain.
But what if it wasn't taking advantage? What if this connection between us was real? Something that had nothing to do with her fame or my need for a mission and everything to do with two people who saw each other clearly?
I pulled into the Inn's parking lot and killed the engine. The building spread out before me, two stories of guest suites arranged around the central office. Each room had its own entrance, privacy for guests who wanted to come and go without walking through a lobby.
Good for security in some ways. Bad in others.
My phone buzzed. Text from Jase.
"Don't be stupid."
I typed back. "Look who's talking."
His response came immediately. "Point taken."
I grabbed the first case of equipment and climbed the exterior stairs on the north side of the building. Room 204 was easy to find. I knocked.
Katherine opened the door. She was wearing jeans and a soft blue sweater that matched her eyes. Hair pulled back in a ponytail. No makeup. Just Katherine, not Kit Lord.
Something in my chest tightened.
"Hi." She stepped back to let me in. "That's a lot of equipment."
"I don't travel light."
The suite had a living area, small kitchenette, a sofa that almost looked long enough to handle my size, and through an open door I could see the bedroom. Plenty of space to set up a secure workspace without being right on top of each other.
But I'd still be here. In her space. Sharing her air. Watching her move through her daily routine.
This was either the best decision I'd made in months or the worst.
"Where do you want everything?" she asked.
I surveyed the room with tactical eyes. The dining table had the best angles for monitoring the door and windows. Power outlets nearby. Good natural light during the day.
"Table works. I'll set up there."
"Can I help?"
"Just stay out of the way while I get the servers running. They're temperamental."
She settled on the couch with a book. Some thick historical text about factory work during World War Two. Research for her role, probably.
I unpacked equipment and ran cables. The familiar routine settled my nerves. This I understood. Hardware and software and security measures. Not whatever was building between Katherine and me every time our eyes met.
Thirty minutes in, I had the basic setup running. Katherine looked up from her book, watching me connect the final monitor.
"This looks like mission control," she said.
"Close enough."
She set her book aside and came over to the table. Close enough that I could smell her shampoo. That citrus scent that had distracted me at Onyx.
"Code?" Her voice was soft.
I looked up from the cables.
"Why are you really here? You could monitor everything remotely. Simon or one of the other guys could have handled close protection."
She saw through my justification as easily as Simon had. As easily as Jase had.
"I want to be here." The honesty escaped before I could stop it. "To keep you safe."
Pink colored her cheeks. She looked down, then back up at me.
"Oh."
The word hung between us. Loaded with everything we weren't saying. Everything Jase had warned me about.
I turned back to the equipment. Safer to focus on cable management than on the way Katherine's pulse jumped in her throat when I'd said I wanted to be here.
It was past the point of deciding whether to get involved. My emotions were already there, tangled up with hers in ways I didn't fully understand yet.
The only question now was whether I had the courage to act on them or the discipline to keep them locked down.