9

Lenora was on pins and needles. For days she’d been downloading her office files to her home computer. With the time off from work to pull off her plan, there was no way she was going to risk having someone else stumble across what she’d been up to. Besides, if things went as planned—which they’d better—she wouldn’t be back here anyway.

“Ms. Ingram.”

Lenora looked up. Her door was open. Virginia was in the archway.

“Yes, Virginia.” She forced a smile on her face. She couldn’t stand Virginia. She was a brownnose if there ever was one. She’d been with the bureau for eight years, and all her ass-kissing had gotten her nowhere.

“Agent Flannagan wants to see you.”

“Can you tell him I—”

“He said, ‘Now.’” She smirked. “He was just at my desk.”

Lenora muttered something unintelligible beneath her breath. She had to keep up the front to be as annoyed by Flannagan as everyone else was. “Right. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Virginia walked away.

Lenora leaned back in her seat, bit down on the tip of her pen. Why didn’t he just call if he wanted to see her, like he usually did Jerry could be so damned pompous when he wanted to be. He just had to remind everyone he was in charge.

She sighed and pushed back from her chair. Her affair with Jerry had been going on for the past two and a half years. It started out simple enough. They were working a job together, sifting through the intel following the Trade Center disaster. Daytime hours turned to evenings. Lunch turned to dinner. Dinner to drinks. Drinks to bed. Being in the spy business had worked to their advantage. Discreet was the operative word. They were never seen together outside the office under any circumstances. They would decide on a hotel, arrive separately, pay for separate rooms, get together in one room, and then leave the same way they’d arrived.

Jerry was insatiable and very creative. More important, he was important. He had the clout to get her where she wanted to go. Yes, she was good at her job, very good, but having an in with Jerry made her ascent up that ladder that much smoother. And the sexual perks were worth the ride. Since their secret affair began, she’d gotten three raises and a promotion. Until this windfall had been dropped into her lap, she’d been focused on staying on track and nabbing Suarez on her own. Then she could kick Jerry to the curb. She’d probably wind up being his boss. She smiled at the thought. But now, things had changed.

Lenora logged out of her computer and went to Jerry’s office down the hall. She knocked on his door.

“Come in.”

Lenora stepped in and closed the door behind her. “What’s going on I was kind of busy.”

Jerry looked up. He smiled. “Every time I see you, you remind me of that soap queen, um, um—” He snapped his fingers. “—Erica Kane.” He chuckled.

She faked a smile. He’d been telling her that for shit ages. “Really” But it had taken Susan Lucci—aka Erica Kane—decades to win an Emmy. Lenora, on the other hand, intended to go home with the prize sooner rather than later. She took a seat and crossed her legs, clasped her hands over her knees. “I know you didn’t call me in here to tell me how much I remind you of a television actress.”

He twitched his mouth to the left then right again. “There is always one thing about you that never fails to tick me off.”

“What’s that, Jerry”

“Your mouth. You never know when to keep it closed.”

“Is this conversation job-related or what”

“Your vacation request came across my desk this morning.”

She kept her facial expression even. “And Is there a problem I have plenty of time.”

“Actually, there is.”

Her stomach muscles clenched. She hadn’t figured on Jerry giving her a hard time about vacation. Had he somehow figured out what she’d been working on and wanted in “What I’m all caught up on my work. I’m not attached to any special detail.”

He flipped open a file on his desk. “You are now.” He turned the folder toward her. “I need you to head up the Task Force.”

She pulled the folder closer and scanned the information. Her heart jumped. She was to lead the Task Force on Border Smuggling.

“I want you to get started today. Your budget is substantial, so pull whomever you need. Overtime is preapproved. Do the research. Get the reports written and any investigations. This is a request from the Justice Department. They’ll be holding Congressional hearings in a month.”

She stared at the paperwork. Her mind worked.

“What’s wrong I’d think you’d be ecstatic. I had to pull a lot of strings to get you on this.” His cheeks flushed. His lips thinned into a single tight line.

Lenora cleared her throat and finally looked up. “It’s just so unexpected.”

Jerry stared at her for a moment. “What else is going on”

“Nothing. Nothing. Just surprised, that’s all.” She smiled. “Thanks. Really.”

His expression slowly softened. The crease between his brows began to fade. “Is that all the thanks I get” The corner of his mouth quirked upward.

Lenora licked her dry lips. She got up, locked the door, then returned to Jerry. She wiggled out of her skirt and undergarments, came around to his side of the desk.

Jerry reached out, grabbed her by the hips, and pulled her close.

While Jerry used his mouth and tongue for some deep-sea diving exploration, Lenora moaned on cue and worried about how she would make her little operation happen. This was a glitch she hadn’t bargained for.