Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
“Thanks for inviting me.” Stormi August swallowed the thick lump in her throat as she glanced between Heather, Tal, and the hot stranger.
“We’re so glad you could make it on such short notice.” Heather handed her a glass of red wine. “This is Tal’s buddy from the UK. He just moved here, and we thought the two of you would hit it off. He’s a massive book lover, like you.” She smiled wide as she raised her glass.
“Huge history buff, this one,” Tal said. “Also fascinated with anything that has a motor, and I mean anything. He once took apart a golf cart engine for shits and giggles, but then couldn’t figure out how to put it back together. Can’t say I was too pleased about that one since it was only a couple of years old.”
“But I did get it working again.” Lincoln chuckled. It was deep and rich and sent Stormi’s stomach on the kind of roll she could do without. The last man to turn her guts inside out turned out to be a royal asshole. Sadly, she hadn’t known that about him until after she’d married the dipshit.
“That only lasted a couple of months until it crapped out.” Tal leaned against the back deck railing. “Lucky for you I had no use for the stupid thing.”
“Not to mention I got better at stuff like that and my ability to deal with electronics and gadgets came in handy on missions.” Lincoln lowered his gaze and arched his brow. It was as if he was speaking in some secret silent code with Tal and that annoyed Stormi. She no longer had anyone she could communicate that way with. When she’d been a little girl, it had been her father. Years later, her ex-husband—though she wasn’t sure he was legally her ex. She wasn’t sure how that all worked.
But now, she had not a single person in her corner.
“I will give you credit for being a computer wiz.” Tal nodded. “But you take engines apart, and you suck at putting them back together.”
“These two could go at this all night.” Heather laughed. “If they’re not busting each other’s ass about what they can’t do, they’re showing off all the places they got shot and who saved whose ass and when. They’re weird like that.”
“Not true and we all know Lincoln’s the one who saved me.” Tal pointed his finger at the door. “On that note, we should get inside and eat before my wife’s cooking gets cold and the kids polish it all off.”
The last thing Stormi wanted to do was play footsie with a sexy ex-military man with an even sexier British accent. She’d come to Fallport to find out what she could about Zero Gravity on a more personal level. There were enough people in this town who either worked for the company or used to work there that might give up a piece of juicy gossip that could lead her in the right direction. Currently, she had very little to go on. Every time she got into Zero Gravity’s computer system and found something, it wasn’t what she needed to prove they were responsible for her father’s death.
The last time she went inside, someone chased her out. Someone who had some serious skills, and that scared her on a different level.
Stormi followed Heather, her husband, and the tall, handsome British man with the bluest eyes she’d ever seen inside.
The children had placed the food on the table and were already seated.
She’d spent a fair amount of time with Chad at the library. He was a polite teenager and had a thirst for knowledge. But he wasn’t coming to the library these days for books. Nope. He was coming to see cute little Suzie who volunteered in the children’s section.
Stormi had also met Marisa before, but this was the first time meeting Marisa’s boyfriend. Nice young man, but still, this was not how she wanted to spend her time. She should be home, behind her screens, looking for the intel that might save her father’s legacy.
But Zero Gravity wasn’t the easiest company to hack into. So far, it proved harder than the FBI or the DMV, and she’d been able to infiltrate both their systems.
“This smells wonderful,” Stormi said as she sat at the table next to Mr. Tall-Drink-of-Something. “I don’t cook much. I mean, it sucks cooking for one.” That, and she was the worst in the kitchen. If it required more than a microwave, it was above her ability, and even then that might be asking too much.
“I eat out, order in, make a sandwich, or go hungry.” Lincoln raised his glass. He had short blond hair with a boy-next-door smile that made her insides sing like a canary. “The last time I tried to cook, I nearly burned down my kitchen.”
“That’s bull. You’re an excellent cook.” Heather passed a dish to the right. “Last time we were in the UK, Lincoln made us an amazing meal. But he’s like you and doesn’t really like cooking for one person.” Heather tilted her head and gave Lincoln a sweet but sort of sad smile.
“Not entirely true.” Tal laughed. “He can only manage about ten things in the kitchen and one of them is a chocolate cake, which is about the most amazing thing I’ve ever put in my mouth and I’m going to demand you make it for us in the near future.”
“Oh, now that I can get on board with,” Stormi said.
“Me too.” Marisa reached across the table. “Can we take our food into the family room? It will give you adults time to be adults.”
That caught a laugh from Tal.
“Only if you promise to be nice to your little brother.” Heather waggled her finger. “And he gets to pick the show.”
“I can live with that,” Marisa said.
The three teenagers took their plates and raced off to the other room.
“Those are some well-behaved kids,” Lincoln said.
“They have their moments.” Heather sipped her wine. “Chad looks up to Brad and in turn, Brad likes the little brother, which can cause a different set of problems. But at least our kids aren’t doing some of the stuff we did as children.”
“Thank God for small favors.” Tal dug into his casserole and stuffed it into his mouth.
Stormi had about as normal an upbringing as one could fathom. She was raised in Upstate New York where she wanted for nothing. As a matter of fact, her parents had been incredibly wealthy and lavished her with designer everything. Even after tragedy took her mother from her at the ripe old age of twelve, her dad managed to give her all the love in the world. While she missed her mom every day, her dad made sure she never went without his support.
But sometimes he went a little overboard as she was never forced to work, but she did anyway. She liked making her own money, and she loved technology. So much so, that by the time she was sixteen, she found a way into her high school’s computer system and changed her grades. Not that she needed to for most of them, but one tiny little C in English was bringing her down.
She didn’t get caught that time, but at the age of twenty-seven, she found herself in a whole heap of trouble, though she wasn’t the person responsible. That was the work of her husband, whom she helped send to prison.
Hence the reason she was even given the short leash she was on now with one particular FBI agent who believed her story about her father.
“So, Stormi, how long have you lived in Fallport?” Lincoln asked.
“Only two months.” Obviously, Tal and Heather hadn’t given him the lowdown. Perhaps he’d been ambushed as well since she knew absolutely nothing about him. “What brings you here?”
Lincoln glanced between Heather and Tal with that same damned arch brow and lowered chin, as if to communicate something she was not privy to. “I’m going to be working search and rescue with Tal.”
“He’s also a?—”
“Let’s not bore your guest with shop talk,” Lincoln interrupted Heather.
“I’m certainly not bored. I understand many of the search and rescue team members have a second career. What’s yours?” Stormi should stop asking questions. That meant she was interested in him, and she certainly wasn’t.
Okay, so he intrigued her on many levels, but as a man to date, or even have a fling with, absolutely not.
“I’m actually going to be between jobs soon as I finish up a contract with the company I’ve been working at for the last year in the UK.” Lincoln shrugged. “I have a degree in computer science, so I’d like to find something in that field, but it wasn’t my main focus in The Special Boat Service, and that skill set doesn’t always look good on a job application.”
“Now he’s pulling your leg.” Heather lifted the wine bottle and topped off everyone’s glass. “He was Tal’s intelligence officer when he was on his team. The man can hack into any system. He’s super scary when it comes to computers and all that stuff. Tal once told me he watched him write code in the field so they could send encrypted intel back home. Tal described it as badass.”
“You’re talking way over this little librarian’s head.” Only every nerve ending in her body tingled out of excitement and a healthy dose of fear. Special Agent Kara Roger was the federal agent who had arrested her three years ago. Stormi could still feel the cold metal cuffs gripping her wrists. It was a sensation that constantly prickled her skin.
However, Kara was the kind of agent who listened and looked at every detail. She left no stone unturned and she believed Stormi was innocent. A pawn in her husband’s game. Kara presented Stormi with an out. Put Kurt in prison and then help her when she needed it.
Stormi didn’t hesitate. The only negative was, she had to die in order to do it. That meant she couldn’t reconcile with her father.
But she supposed that didn’t really matter because he’d been too disappointed in her life choices anyway.
In the last three years, Stormi had used her computer savvy to aid Kara in three different cases. Honestly, it felt good. But when her father died, Stormi went right to Kara. At first, Kara advised her to stay out of it. She was too close and was supposed to be dead, but Stormi couldn’t do it. She had to get her fingers inside Zero Gravity. When Kara found out, she’d been furious. Nearly hauled her in. But instead, she told Stormi she could poke around; she just couldn’t leak any information.
But if the rocket ship was cleared for takeoff, that would mean more innocent people could die.
“How about we take this outside,” Heather said. “It’s a beautiful night. We might as well enjoy it. I’ll get our dessert and Tal can wrangle the kids to start on these dishes.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Lincoln snagged the bottle, stood, and made his way to the sliding glass doors. “After you.” He waved his hand.
Stormi would have a little more wine and then excuse herself. She did have to work in the morning, although the library didn’t open until ten. But still, that would be her reason for a quick departure. She allowed Lincoln to refill her glass and she eased into one of the lounge chairs. “Look at that moon.” She let out a long breath. The idea that all these companies like Zero Gravity were working toward making private spaceflight a possibility for the masses was something that still blew her mind. Flying wasn’t something she enjoyed doing, so why on earth would she want to go to space for the fun of it?
“When I was a kid, I used to honestly believe it was made of cheese and all I wanted to do was find out what it tasted like.”
She burst out laughing. “I’m sorry. But that has to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Sure, as an adult. But to a six-year-old with a very vivid imagination, it made perfect sense.” He sat down next to her and pointed. “I mean, it kind of looks like Swiss. It reminds me of this book my mom used to read to me.”
“Ah… Mouse and the Moon Made of Cheese . That’s a popular one. It’s read a lot during story time at the library.”
“I have to ask. Is Stormi your real name? Or is it a nickname?”
“My real name,” she said with a nervous laugh. It wasn’t the first time someone had asked her that question in the last couple of years. But for some reason, it struck her as odd coming from this big, strapping, ex-military guy. Especially when no one else in this town had ever asked.
“Your parents must have had an interesting sense of humor.”
“I don’t know about that.” She lifted her glass and took a slow slip. For months she’d rehearsed her backstory. Kara had quizzed her on it. It had become second nature. Only, she’d learned real quick that she didn’t need to express it all that often. No one cared.
Especially when she didn’t get out much.
“Although my mom did go into labor in the middle of a winter storm.”
“Now it all makes sense.” He chuckled, nodding his head. “How long have you been a librarian?”
Boy, was he full of questions and that was a loaded one, simply because she’d never actually been one. However, she did love books. She read at least one or two a week, but only because she didn’t have a social life since she’d turned on her husband. Hell, she didn’t have one during her marriage. All she did was work, read, and fiddle with all her gadgets. Technology was more reliable than people.
And that was a big oxymoron if there ever was one.
“It’s what I went to school for, so since I was twenty-one.” That was one big fat lie, but if he went looking into her background, that’s what he’d find. She, Kara, and a few highly qualified federal agents made sure of it.
“That really doesn’t answer my question and forces me to either ask it again or ask you how old you are.” He arched his brow and curved his lips into a half smile.
It was an adorable look on the Brit.
“I’m thirty.” She chuckled. “And now it’s your turn.”
“Forty years young. Or at least that’s what my brain says. The body, well, that’s a different story.” He took a long slow sip of his wine before glancing over his shoulder. “Do you think our hosts are ever coming back?”
“I hope so, because I don’t want to be rude.” She raised her glass. “When this is done, I will need to call it a night.” Now she was going to have to set this gentleman straight. “I also feel like I need to take this opportunity to tell you that I had no idea anyone other than Tal and Heather would be here tonight. No offense, you seem nice enough, but I’m not looking to date anyone. I hope you can?—”
“Let me stop you right there.” He rested his hand on her forearm. “They didn’t tell me you were coming either. I’m dealing with wrapping up with my previous employer. Looking for a new tech job, or maybe even starting my own. I also literally moved to a new country. Dating is the last thing on my mind. Not to mention, I’m six months out of a really shitty relationship. If you hadn’t brought this up, I would have. Heather means well, but this isn’t her first time meddling in my love life.”
“How has she done that? Because this is the first time she’s tried to set me up.” Stormi raised her hand. “No offense, but I hope it’s the last.”
“Knowing Heather the way I do, it’s not really a blind date, but an introduction and the rest would be up to us.”
“Now who’s not actually answering the question.” Her stomach hadn’t filled with butterflies while talking with a man in years. If ever. Not even with her ex-husband. Her attraction to Kurt had been more about computers than sex. They spent their free time screwing around with coding and hacking more than they did in the bedroom. Her vibrator got more action than Kurt did, or so she thought.
It wasn’t until Kara had arrested Stormi and showed her proof that her husband had been cheating, making it even easier for her to turn.
“I’d honestly rather not discuss my ex. It tends to put me in a sour mood,” he said.
“I think we’ve all got someone in our past who has a tendency to do that to us.” She clanked her glass against his. “So, who do you work for now? And what are you looking for in a new company? Or what kind of company would you start?”
“The firm isn’t based here.” He continued to stare at the moon. “Unfortunately, because of the nature of the work, I can’t really talk about it. Tal knows that, but Heather doesn’t. As far as the rest of it?” He shrugged. “I need time to settle into life here, and then I’ll figure that out.”
When she and Kurt started their cybersecurity company, they could never discuss the caseload. They signed NDAs for the firm and for each individual work order. So she understood Lincoln’s position. Only, that made her more curious and terrified at the same time.
“I can understand, but I have to admit, all the talk about not being able to chat about it makes it all the more fascinating,” she said. “Are you working on something now?”
“I can tell you that I am, but I can’t say anything about it.”
“I don’t know much about computers, outside of how to use them on a base level.” One of the hardest things for her to do was to keep things simple when talking about tech. Dumbing it down had always been damn near impossible. Acting as if she couldn’t do something when it came to any computer system made her twitch, but she had to. No one could know who she really was or what she was doing. “I understand the library’s system and I can help people navigate that and I know all the ebook readers and sort of how they work. Or at least I can troubleshoot them for people using Google.”
That caught a good chuckle from Lincoln. “You gotta love a good how-to video. That’s how I figured out how to take apart an engine. Putting it back together, though, I tried to do that on my own and I was left with extra parts.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“Nope. Especially when one of those parts goes to the brakes.” Lincoln turned. “Tal left that part out of the story. When I finally got that damn golf cart working, I still had some spare parts. I took the whole thing apart again, and the next time, I was only left with two spare components. Since it started, we figured we were good to go. Tal crashed it into a light post, and then it rolled down a massive hill.”
“That’s what he meant by crapping out?”
Lincoln nodded. “I felt so bad because he broke his arm. He’ll never tell the story that way for two reasons.” He waggled his fingers. “My guilt and his.”
“You’re going to have to qualify that because it was an accident.”
“That broken arm meant he was sidelined for a mission. One that went horribly wrong in so many ways. Not because he wasn’t there, but he’ll always wish he was and wonder if he would have done something different. I, for one, am glad he wasn’t. He would have been point, and he would have died, since our point man did.” Lincoln let out a long breath, lifting his shirt. “I took four bullets to the gut and nearly lost my life as well. I was only nineteen. Tal felt more responsible for what happened to me because of that stupid golf cart, which was my fault to begin with.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Besides Tal being the one who brought up the story, I don’t get why he’d feel responsible, and you’re still vertical.”
Lincoln burst out laughing. “That’s one way to look at it.” He cleared his throat. “The thing is, Tal pushed me off that cart right before it rolled over on his arm. He’ll always believe if he hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have nearly died because I might have broken something too. There are so many what-ifs, but to truly understand the dynamics between us, you have to go back to when we first met. You see, Tal and I met when I was seventeen. I was living on the streets. He took me in, talked me into joining the Royal Navy, and has this weird older brother-father thing with me. I totally appreciate and value it, because Lord only knows what would have happened to me if I hadn’t stumbled into that café that day.” Lincoln pressed his finger over her lips when she opened her mouth. “He saved my life. Literally. But he’ll tell you I gave him purpose. So, when they came to him and told him I’d been mortally wounded and probably wasn’t going to make it, I guess he lost his shit.”
“What happened still isn’t his fault.”
“He knows that. And so do I. But it all boils down to every other time one of us got shot or injured, one of us had to drag the other to an evac point. We joke sometimes that we were put together to have each other’s backs. And we did. It was a damn hard day for me when he left the UK Boat Service and moved here.”
“I imagine it was.”
“If I had my time in, or was ready, I would have left with him. To be honest, he’s the reason I took the job with search and rescue here and moved across the pond.” Lincoln rubbed his shoulder. “It’s kind of sucked the last fourteen years without him.”
“That’s a sweet story,” she said.
He waved his wine. “Only told it because I’ve had one too many of these. I’m more of a whiskey drinker and this stuff just makes me sappy and loose with the lips.”
She found herself leaning closer. “If I fed you more, would you talk about your work? Because I find it utterly fascinating.” Her heart hammered in her throat. Someone new had been lurking in the digital halls of Zero Gravity. Someone professional. Someone who knew exactly what they were doing.
Someone like her, and she needed to know if that person was Lincoln.
“Nope.” He set his glass down. His hot breath tickled her lips. His fingers danced across her biceps. “But it might make me do something crazy, like call off my dating rule.” He ran his thumb over her cheek.
She swallowed. Hard. Her eyes locked with his dark orbs, totally mesmerized by his intense gaze. She needed to pull away. Attraction was one thing. She saw good-looking men daily. This town was full of them.
But they didn’t affect her the way Lincoln did.
“Definitely not a good idea,” she whispered.
“You’re right.” He leaned back, resting his head on his hand, shifting his stare back to the sky. “You’re an incredibly attractive woman who can carry a conversation. A breath of fresh air. I want to get to know you better. Would you be up for a cup of coffee sometime?”
“That sounds like you’re asking me out on a date.” As much as that wouldn’t be a good idea, she needed to learn more about his other job. About his skills. About what he was really doing in Fallport.
He turned and smiled. “No. Just two people getting together and perhaps chatting about books. A date would be if I asked you to dinner and I don’t know you well enough for that. Maybe in the future.”
She cocked her head.
He lifted his hands. “Coffee. Just coffee. I swear.”
“I’ll think about it.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Heather and Tal are not coming back out here. As a matter of fact, they are both watching us.”
“I noticed that ten minutes ago.”
She stood, smoothing down the front of her jeans. “Time for me to go say goodbye. It was a pleasure meeting you.”
“Are you okay to drive?” He rose and opened the sliding glass doors that led to the kitchen.
“I’ve only had two glasses. I’m fine.”
“All right. Get home safely.” He kissed her cheek. “I look forward to seeing you again.”
Now all she needed to do was get Lincoln talking and pretend like she was dumber than a doornail.
Yeah, that should be easy enough.
Not.