Protected, p.6
Protected, page 6
part #1 of Holt Agency, Book Three Series
“You should,” she mumbled.
“Well, it won’t happen. Ever.”
“Fine. Of course you wouldn’t. But the rest of my argument is legit. We have history.”
“So?”
“So, it’s better left in the past. If I stayed here, I’d eventually succumb to your manly wiles and end up under you. Horrible idea.”
He chuckled. “My manly wiles?”
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She waved her hand through the air between them in a zigzag. “You’re fucking sexy, possibly more than you were two and a half years ago. I can’t resist you. And you don’t do anything to make it easy either. It would be too easy to just say fuck it and let you into my body.”
He gave her a wry smile. “I’m sexier?”
She groaned. “And conceited.”
“But what you’re saying is you can’t keep your panties on around me.”
She rolled her head back and stared at the ceiling. That was basically what she had said, yes. “I’m weak when I’m with you,” she muttered.
“That’s flattering. I think. But if you tell me you don’t want me to touch you, I won’t. I’m not an asshole,” he informed her.
She lowered her head to look at him. “I know you’re not. I didn’t say you were.”
“Then we don’t have a problem. You’re staying here. End of story. I’m an adult. I can keep my dick in my pants. You’ve made it clear you don’t want to have sex with me. I heard you. End of subject.”
Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. “That’s not it at all.” Why was she elaborating? She should have simply nodded, end of subject. But her lips kept moving. For some reason it was important that she set him straight. “I never said I didn’t want to have sex with you. I do. That’s why I should leave. You’re distracting. You’re a temptation. I need to work on my research paper. I can’t do that with you hovering with your damn six-pack abs and pecs that could cut steel.”
He chuckled. “How about if I put a shirt on and don’t hover?” He was teasing her.
She scowled, or tried to. “Holden…”
“First of all, this subject is closed. I would never take you somewhere else and leave you, nor would I trust anyone else with your life. End of discussion. As for sleeping with me, we did it before and you had no complaints. Would it be so bad to spend time together naked again?”
“Yes.” She really didn’t want to elaborate further.
He held her gaze for a long time before swiping a hand down his face and sighing. “Okay. Let’s table that discussion.”
“Permanently, Holden.” Couldn’t he see reason? Maybe fucking her wouldn’t mess with his head. Maybe he would simply be scratching an itch. But it would destroy her. She was certain. She hadn’t recovered from the last time she’d had sex with him. Adding to it would only make things worse.
She needed to be sure he understood. “Nothing has changed between us,” she pointed out. “It doesn’t matter that we’re compatible in bed. Good sex isn’t the only important thing in life.”
“It ranks pretty high,” he argued.
She shook her head. “It can’t. We have careers that aren’t compatible. It was true two years ago and it’s still true today. I need you to honor my wishes on this issue. Please.”
He hesitated and then nodded. “Of course. I said I would. My pants stay on.”
“Good. Which guest room should I move into?”
He rose, shaking his head. “Neither. I’m not going to agree to that.”
She jumped to her feet and followed him into the kitchen area. “Holden, are you listening to me?”
He spun around so fast she nearly ran smack into him. “I’m listening, babe. I heard every word. I won’t ask you to have sex with me. But I will do everything in my power to figure out why your house was ransacked and your colleague was murdered. Don’t ask me to ignore those facts. And while I’m working on that, you’re sticking close to me at all times. Got it?”
He was serious. “Surely being in the house with me is sufficient. I don’t need to sleep in your bed with you.”
“Yes. You do. I wouldn’t be able to rest with you in another room. I’d worry. I really love my bed. It has a new mattress that’s like a cloud. And it’s king-sized. But, if you’d rather move to a queen bed in one of the guest rooms, we can do that. I won’t argue.”
She put her hands on her hips, exasperated with his jokes. “Ha ha. Nothing is going to happen to me in the middle of the night.”
“Nope. You’re right.” He crossed his arms, his feet planted wide. This subject was closed.
She sighed. She could make this argument again later tonight. For now, she needed to get her computer out and try to focus on her research. She spun around to walk away. “I’m going to start on my work.”
“Good idea. I need to make calls.”
Chapter 7
Ten minutes later, they were both at the kitchen table opening laptops. Holden still couldn’t believe this was happening. He kept glancing at Mel, verifying she was in his house, sitting next to him, looking fucking amazing.
She’d tucked her curls up in a messy bun that begged him to get his fingers caught in it. She’d kicked off her shoes and sat with one leg curled under her. She had the cutest fucking reading glasses on. Hot pink. The entire package gave off the sexy librarian look, especially with her cable-knit sweater over her leggings.
This was a side of Melanie that Holden had known existed but hadn’t seen so starkly before. After all, the eleven days they’d spent together had been in vacation mode. Melanie hadn’t been the studious professor that week.
Holden had met her the first night of the cruise in one of the ship’s night clubs. She’d been wearing a mouthwateringly sexy dress and heels. Her hair and makeup had been intentional and perfect. They’d gotten to know each other over drinks and on the dance floor without mentioning a word about where they were from or what they did for a living.
In fact, they’d kept those details to themselves for several days. She’d been traveling with her best friend, Callie. Holden had been with Grant and several other guys from his SEAL days. He would later realize the reason for all the secrecy had been mostly because Callie hadn’t wanted to disclose she worked for the CIA.
That cat got out of the bag fast when the Chinese bombed the Panama Canal and tried to take over the cruise ship. After all, Mel wasn’t the only one of them who spoke Mandarin. It was Callie’s specialty too.
This woman sitting across from Holden this morning was the same woman and yet different. He could still see all of the passion and life in her. She was sexier than ever. His cock had been hard since he’d first recognized her in his bed.
But she had this other fascinating facet about her as she bent over the computer, set her chin on her palm, and rested her teeth on one of her nails. She was intent. Studious. Smoking hot.
Why the fuck had someone broken into her house and killed her colleague? He intended to find out. He needed to reach out to Ajax and Ryker, find out what they knew, and make sure they understood he wouldn’t be taking another job until this was resolved.
Holden tried to focus on checking his emails, but his gaze kept wandering toward Mel. She was right. It was going to be awkward and difficult to keep his hands to himself, especially because he doubted she could do it either. And since she’d been the one to make it abundantly clear she didn’t want to have sex with him, he was the one who needed to stop her when she started to cave.
When she reached for her computer bag and pulled out a jump drive, he focused on her fingers, her perfectly trimmed nails, the three rings she wore on that hand. The jewelry looked at home on her fingers as if those were three pieces she absently wore every day.
She fiddled with getting the jump drive into the side of her laptop before grabbing her mouse and returning her attention to the screen. A moment later, she frowned. She pushed the mouse around, clicking on several things before she stopped. “What the hell?” She sat back, lifted her hands behind her head, and stretched out, frowning.
“What’s wrong, babe?” He couldn’t stop himself from using that term of endearment. It kept slipping out.
“Something’s wrong with this jump drive. It’s supposed to have links on it for my research. I don’t know what the hell I’m looking at.”
“May I look?” he asked, reaching for the laptop while waiting for her to give him permission to turn it around.
She sighed. “Sure.”
Holden spun the laptop to face him and blinked. The screen was filled with encrypted data. He stiffened as he watched it load. If it was a bug, he hoped she had malware protection, but judging by the amount of data loading, whatever firewalls she had probably weren’t going to combat this mess.
He grabbed the edges of the computer and pulled it closer. “Where did you get this jump drive?”
“Professor Yang gave it to me. It’s supposed to be the links for my research.”
Holden flinched, eyes going wide. “When?” He snagged his phone from the table and tapped the screen to call Grant.
“Two days ago when I met with him. Holden? What’s wrong?”
Holden put the phone on speaker as Grant answered. “You gonna call every hour? I don’t know more than I did earlier this morning,” Grant said without a greeting.
“We have a problem,” Holden informed him.
“What?” Grant’s voice was schooled now.
“I just figured out why Melanie’s townhouse was flipped upside down.”
“Shit.”
“Yes. Shit. Professor Yang gave her an encrypted jump drive.”
Melanie jumped in her seat. “Surely it’s just got a bug or something.”
“Shit,” Grant repeated. “Can you break into it?”
“I probably could, but I’m not sure it’s wise. I’m not a computer genius. It would be better if Keebler looked at it.”
“I agree.”
“I’ll call him now.” Holden hung up without another word and tapped the screen to make his next call.
Before he was able to hit send, Melanie stood and rounded the table to his side. “What’s going on? You can’t think Professor Yang gave me something that would put me in danger. I don’t believe that for a moment.”
Holden wrapped an arm around her hips and pulled her into his side. Fuck keeping his distance. He needed her flat against him.
She let him, but she was stiff and her brow was furrowed. “Professor Yang was a sweet older man. He spent the afternoon with me helping me organize my research. He was an expert in what I’m studying. He did not endanger my life. There’s no way,” she defended.
“Maybe it was an accident. It’s possible he got the jump drive mixed up with another when he gave it to you. Or, perhaps he never knew he was carrying this one. There are a lot of possibilities, Mel. The important thing is that you have something someone wants, and now we know what it is.”
She was trembling. “Jesus. I’m a damn professor. I’m not some kind of spy or CIA or FBI agent. These kinds of things don’t happen in my world.”
Holden slid his hand up her back as he lifted her palm to his mouth and pressed a kiss against it. “Hopefully your involvement was coincidental and random. An accident. Let me call Keebler and get the ball rolling.”
“Who’s Keebler?”
“Larson Aldrich. Computer genius. I was with him in Ethiopia. Keebler’s his nickname.”
“He eat a lot of cookies?” she muttered with no humor.
“That’s exactly where the nickname came from. Yes.”
“Oh. I was kidding.”
Holden tapped the screen on his phone and waited. Keebler picked up on the first ring. “Aldrich here. Holden?”
“Yep. It’s me.”
“I heard you were getting back today. Can’t you take one day off before you start working again?” His voice was light. He wasn’t informed on the current situation.
“You stateside, Larson?” Holden asked with no humor.
“Yes. Virginia. Why?”
“Perfect. Gonna need to bring you in on a situation. How soon can you get to my place?”
“In the mountains?”
“That’s the only home I own.”
“Three hours if I leave now. I was on my way back to Indiana today. Headed to the airport now. I’ll keep my rental and head your direction instead. You talked to Ajax or Ryker about this?”
“Calling them next.”
“You want me to wait for confirmation on the change in plans?” Larson asked.
“No. We won’t need confirmation. Ajax and Ryker will understand. They’re aware of what’s happening. I’ll call them with an update on this latest development.”
“Okay. See you in about three then.” Larson ended the call.
Holden kept his arm firmly around Melanie, well aware she was in a panic, but he needed to place another call before he could give her his undivided attention.
He dialed the office next.
“Hey, Holden,” Serena answered in her usual friendly voice. “Let me get Ajax for you.”
Holden was glad Ajax had met and married Serena. She was good for him. Amazing, really. And the fact that she worked for the Holt Agency was a tremendous help to all of them.
Ajax spoke next. “I figured I’d be hearing from you sooner than later. Guess you made it back, caught up on all the messages you were ignoring, and found your woman in your home.”
Holden winced. “Yeah. You’re on speaker, and Melanie is with me.”
“Shit. Sorry, Melanie. That was unprofessional and uncalled for.”
Holden was afraid to look at Melanie for fear she’d shoot daggers at him from her eyes.
Ajax continued speaking, digging a deeper hole. “I didn’t mean to imply anything by that. I know the two of you aren’t together. I just—”
Holden cut him off. “You can stop talking now.”
“Sorry. How are you, Melanie? I know you’re confused and probably nervous.”
Melanie cleared her throat. “Fine.”
“Listen,” Holden said, taking control of this conversation. “There’s been a development. Apparently Professor Yang… You know who that is, right?” Holden assumed Ajax had been kept completely in the loop from Grant.
“Yes. I’m informed. I’ve spoken to Grant. I know it’s been released that he was murdered.”
“Good. He gave Mel a jump drive when she met with him. It supposedly contained links for the research Mel is doing. She just popped it into the computer to find instead it’s filled with encrypted data.”
“Fuck. Did you leave it in the computer?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll call Keebler. See if I can catch him before he gets on a plane. He’s in Virginia.”
“Already talked to him. Called him before you. He’s on his way here.”
“Oh, good. I’ll talk to Ryker and we’ll get back to you soon. I’m also going to send Jerad and Robert back in your direction.”
“Thanks.” Holden hung up.
He immediately turned his entire body toward Melanie, shifting his legs so she stood between them. He kept his hands on her hips and met her gaze. She was pale. “Sorry, babe. I know this is way out of your league.”
“You think?” Her voice was shrill. “I’m a fucking professor.”
“I know.” He rubbed her hips. He felt horrible for her. She was a regular citizen who somehow had gotten dragged into what looked like might be an international event. Though he wouldn’t tell her that right now.
“Why would Professor Yang give me some classified flash drive? Why would he even have it? He’s also a professor. He’s not some government agent, Holden. Or wasn’t. He wasn’t.”
“Wasn’t” was the operative word. The fact that the guy had been murdered didn’t look good for anyone. Not for him or for Melanie. Someone apparently knew she had the USB and they wanted it. When they couldn’t find it, they went after the professor. Why?
“I can’t answer your questions, babe. I’m sorry. I know you’re freaking out.”
“Ya think?” She was shaking.
Holden pulled her closer and turned her sideways to settle her on his thigh before her legs could give out. She was stiff though, and she fidgeted her hands in front of her. “You think I’m in danger,” she murmured.
“Yes. I know it’s not your fault, but someone wants this drive. They might be willing to kill for it.”
“Can they find me here?”
“No, Mel. Not a chance. Grant was careful when he had Jerad and Robert bring you up here. That’s why those two were sent with you. They’re good. They would have made sure no one followed them.”
“What if they find me?” she asked in a small voice.
“They won’t. We don’t even know who we’re dealing with yet. But we’ll find out and put a stop to it,” he reassured her. “Right now, I need you to tell me every detail about your lunch with Yang.”
“Why? That would be boring as fuck to you. We discussed my research. How much do you want to know about China’s influence on American consumerism?”
“Okay, you can skip that part. Did anything else happen? Did he seem nervous or upset? Did he talk about anyone else?”
Mel started to shake her head and then hesitated. “He was meeting with another man before I arrived. They were just finishing up.”
“Did you catch his name?”
“No. Professor Yang was about to introduce us, but another guy was walking by and he tripped and stumbled and nearly knocked our table over. After he apologized and disappeared, the man Professor Yang met with before me left.”
Holden stared at her. “Wait. Back up. So, there were three men?”
Melanie frowned. “I guess. I mean Professor Yang, the other guy sitting at the table, and the man who tripped. I’m not sure how any of that is interesting.”
“Could you identify the guy who tripped if you saw him again?”
Melanie sighed. “I doubt it. He was wearing a ball cap. Why the hell would anyone care?”
“Because he planted that jump drive in the professor’s bag, Mel,” he told her bluntly.
