CHAPTER THREE

 

 

I JUST WANT to tell you, as crappy as this evening started, it ended great,” Kendall said, turning to smile up at Holden as they stopped in front of the door to her apartment. “I had a really good time.”

He’d followed her home to make sure she got there safely. And to know where to pick her up for the wedding the next day. Surprisingly, being stalked by one of the FBI’s most-wanted didn’t bother her as much as it probably should have.

Holden flashed her a grin. “I’m glad. And thanks for letting me follow you home. I know you said your ex isn’t the kind to stalk you, but I feel better making sure.”

Kendall almost sighed. If this guy didn’t stop acting so amazing, she was going to have an extremely difficult time remembering he was one of the bad guys. She was already thinking of doing a lot more with Holden beyond slapping cuffs on him as it was.

Actually, now that she thought about it, cuffs might be okay, too.

“Don’t worry about Isaac,” she said, more to distract herself that him. “He’s all bark and no bite. He was always kind of a wuss to tell the truth.”

“Still, I appreciate you letting me make sure.”

Kendall nodded. So, how exactly did a woman end her first evening out with a criminal she intended to arrest soon? Was a handshake called for…or Miranda Rights? A kiss would be out of the question, right?

Holden made the decision for her. Stepping close, he slipped a hand behind her neck, tipped her head back a little, and bent his head to gently kiss her. It wasn’t much more than a soft peck on the lips. No pressure, no fingers tightening in her hair, and definitely no tongue.

That lasted about two seconds…right up until they got a good taste of each other. Then that whole first date tender crap went out the window like an old fruitcake, and it was on like Donkey Kong.

Holden groaned as their tongues clashed. No, skip that. That moan had come from her, not him. He was too busy threading his fingers in her hair and getting a good grip. But damn, he tasted so delicious! And when had she developed a thing for guys tugging on her hair? Was that even a thing? Because it really felt like a thing.

She pushed her tongue into his mouth, giving as good as she got, sure she was going to FBI hell for making out with a suspect on the first date like this. Then she stopped caring as he backed her up against the apartment door, the wood creaking as Holden pressed his hard body full-on against hers, making her feel every ripple and bulge of all those yummy muscles.

Then something right around his belt line poked her in the stomach. She let out a slow, ragged breath as she realized that bulge probably wasn’t muscle. Maybe the big Navy SEAL was simply carrying a weapon of some kind. Yup, that’s exactly what it was.

She was wondering if she should invite him in for a late-night cup of coffee—not sure if she even had any—when Holden broke the kiss and stepped back, looking like he’d just made the decision to give up chocolate cake for the rest of his life. It was almost laughable that Holden was the one keeping things from boiling over instead of her. As a Fed, shouldn’t she be the one controlling the situation?

“I really had a good time tonight, too,” he said softly, reluctantly taking another step back. The obvious battle he was fighting made Kendall feel like the hottest FBI babe on the planet. “Pick you up tomorrow at noon sharp?”

Kendall nodded, glancing at him over her shoulder as she pulled out her key. “Don’t be late.”

She had the key in the door and was pushing it open when she felt Holden behind her, one arm slipping around her waist, his warm mouth coming down on her neck. FBI training that should have immediately kicked in to repel the blindside attack disappeared, replaced by an all-over body shiver as his lips moved against her skin.

“I wouldn’t dream of being late,” he said in a husky whisper.

She leaned back against him, hating her rebellious body for enjoying the contact far more than it should. “I won’t complain if you’re a little early. Just saying.”

He kissed her neck again, then stepped away with a chuckle. “Got it. Early is okay. Late…never. Good night, Kendall.”

She looked over her shoulder, watching him until he disappeared around the corner and headed for the elevator, then slipped into her apartment, closing the door behind her. She fumbled for the light switch, trying to find it in the dark. She’d only been in the apartment for an hour or so yesterday when she put some of her stuff around to make it look like she actually lived there. She hadn’t memorized the floor plan yet, much less where the light switch was.

Finally finding it, she flicked the switch, bathing the living room and kitchen in light. She practically jumped out of her skin when she saw Isaac sitting in the chair by the window. He regarded her in silence, an unreadable expression on his face. There was no way in hell he’d missed the sounds of her and Holden making out in the hallway. She stifled a groan. Something told her she was about to get a lecture to end all lectures about what it meant to be a professional FBI agent.

“You know, when the profiler said you were Lockwood’s type, I wasn’t totally in on the idea,” he said, getting to his feet. “You have limited field experience and no undercover time. Hell, you’re about as raw they come. Truthfully, I was expecting an epic crash and burn.”

This was the part where her supervisor—who wasn’t a whole hell of a lot older than she was—decided she wasn’t ready for a case this big. That she was in over her head and he was going to bring someone else in for the operation. She steeled herself, ready for a fight. Because Isaac could be an ass-hat sometimes.

Which was why she was shocked when he nodded approvingly at her. “Clearly, I was wrong. You seem to have Lockwood eating out of the palm of your hand. How the hell did you wrangle an invite to his boss’s wedding? Not that I care how you did it. I’m only glad you figured out a way to pull it off, because we would have been screwed if you hadn’t.”

Tell her something she didn’t know. Kendall was all prepared to say, “Yay, me!” but Isaac continued.

“The thing Lockwood stole went up for auction on the Dark Web an hour ago. Along with proof that it works exactly the way it’s supposed to.”

Kendall stared at her boss, not really sure what he was talking about. Yeah, she knew about the Dark Web. Everybody did. It was like the Bogeyman of the information age. The place where all the bad things lived. But she wasn’t sure what the Dark Web had to do with the mission or what Holden had stolen. Of course, it might have made more sense if she knew what he’d taken. But according to Isaac, that information was above her pay grade.

“The NSA is calling it the Key,” Isaac said, as if reading her mind. “I’ve gone through the file on the thing twice and still can’t understand half of what I’m reading. Bottom line, it’s some kind of universal hacker tool that’s able to break the encryption on any security system in the world. From something as simple as a cell phone to something as complex as a spy satellite.”

Kendall lifted a brow. A universal hacker tool? That sounded dangerous as hell. But while she was thrilled to finally get details about what Holden had taken, she wondered why they were coming out now. “I thought this stuff was above my clearance level.”

Isaac’s mouth tightened. “It was. Until the Key went up for auction on the Dark Web and you weaseled your way into that rehearsal dinner. That’s when Danner made the decision to pull you the rest of the way in. I’d feel a lot better if we weren’t working under such a tight deadline, though.”

Jonathan Danner was the special agent in charge of the San Francisco FBI field office and the man personally running this recovery operation. Which was yet another indication of how big this whole thing was. Agents at Danner’s level rarely got involved in field operations. Kendall wasn’t aware the man had even known who she was, but apparently, he did.

She was still wondering if it was a good idea to be on the SAIC’s radar, when Isaac’s words filtered through to her head. “Wait a minute. What do you mean—tight deadline? What haven’t you told me?”

“The auction on the Dark Web is a week from now,” Isaac said. “That means you have six days to work your way into Holden Lockwood’s confidence and get him to tell you who he stole the thing for.”

She blinked. “Six days? How the hell do you expect me to get him to confide in me by then?”

“I don’t know. You seemed to be doing a good job working him over out in the hallway. Do a little more of that.”

She could feel her face turning red, but it wasn’t from embarrassment. It was anger. “Are you saying you expect me to sleep with a suspect so he’ll trust me?”

Isaac shrugged. “I don’t care what you do, as long as you get the info we need. That thing Lockwood stole isn’t a toy. Whoever has it can get access to anything stored on any secure database anywhere in the world. There are several dozen countries that would do a lot of damage if they got their hands on it. And you’re the only one who can stop it from happening.”