The shower stripped away Kathryn’s angst from before she arrived, but couldn’t wash away all her emotions. Despite the extra second her hand spent bathing the source of her throbbing desire, her tawdry little fingers tore away, refusing to finish the job.
They know who’s in charge.
Refocusing her interests, she was back to the same question nagging at her from the night before. Why was someone targeting her? Toying with her? Trying to scare her?
She worked the shampoo into her hair. Forgetting about her still tender bump, she winced. Taking a deep breath, she resumed working the suds to a lather.
Damn asshole. You can’t scare me. Just piss me off.
In her prior life, she’d deployed in a battle rhythm of six months on, six months off for years. Her travel destinations included some of the most dangerous terrorist hot spots in the world.
Danger never deterred her. The senseless loss of losing one life after the other did. But she’d be damned to have survived multiple combat deployments just to be killed in her own home by a psychopath.
Whoever clubbed her might not have wanted her dead, but only because they didn’t know who they were dealing with. Kathryn was ready for a fight—to tackle the bastards head on.
No more playing around. At least, not with a jackass who fights dirty.
Recharged and ready to work, she rinsed off. Catching herself taking a little too long with the showerhead, she shut off the water and cracked a smile.
I need to save the playing around for my dirty Dom.
Strolling downstairs in jeans, a soft blue T-shirt, and a fuzzy oversized sweater, she breathed in the aroma of bacon and eggs, which whipped her into a whole new level of submission.
Hot guy.
Sizzling bacon.
McMansion on a hill.
Just slap my ass and call me kitten.
She headed into the kitchen to find it empty.
“Out here,” Jake called, his chipper tone ringing through.
She followed his voice to a sunroom flooded with soft natural light, the result of floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides. The room overlooked the woodland terrain, a backdrop of mountains and trees with a small, winding trail that traveled next to a brook. Tall grasses waved with the breeze, and a variety of wildflowers burst throughout the landscape in clusters of purple, orange, and gold.
Kathryn squealed at the sight of a red fox making its way across the wilderness that Jake called a back yard.
He gestured to the redwood chair next to him at a glass-topped table. “Here, this is a great seat to take it all in.”
Her butt hit the chair as she noticed the spread. The round table overflowed with enough food for a party of eight, and she smiled at him. “I hope you’re not challenging me to an eating competition, because I am hungry. And competitive.”
He beamed back with a charming, devilish double-dare of a grin. “Tempting, but in all fairness, I’d need to work up your appetite more before an undertaking like that.”
Deal.
Kathryn grabbed a biscuit, but only picked at it as her mind took a turn toward work. “Look, I can’t even begin to tell you how much I lo—”
His wide eyes met hers, stopping her mid-sentence—as if she was about to unleash the L-word.
“Uh . . . how much I love this. All of it. Everything you’ve done for me.”
“A but is coming. Hand it over.” He lowered the toast he held, forgoing a bite to give her his full attention.
“But something serious is going down, and I need to get to work. I really need to find out what’s happening. As much as I’d like to spend the day—”
The chimes of the doorbell made Jake pop to his feet. He lifted a piece of bacon just shy of her mouth. She looked up, her lips automatically opening to take the bacon in her teeth.
“Hold that thought?” he asked, waiting for her nod before snatching a few strips for himself, chomping on them as he left the room.
Within minutes, she heard footsteps drawing near with the rumble of several male voices, one of which she recognized.
Surprised, she stood up as they entered. “Mr. Wolff?” She extended her hand, eager to shake that of her boss.
He took her hand in both of his. “Seriously, Kathryn? It’s been three years. When are you going to start calling me Zach?”
“Not anytime soon,” she told him as two other men strolled into the room.
They all sat down. Her boss, and everyone else, passed the blueberry muffins and poured orange juice, making themselves so much at home, this couldn’t be the first time.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
Zach took a sip of orange juice and set down his glass. “Let’s just say that Jake and I team up every now and again. Remember the Hartford case last year? And the crazy tip that turned the tides and helped us close the case?”
Her yes lifted out like a curious question. Jake raised his hand like a schoolboy, along with an irresistible eyebrow.
“You got us that break?” Kathryn asked, beyond shocked as he handed her a plate of pastries. Perplexed, she took the fattest chocolate chip muffin calling her name and then passed the plate along.
That investigation had stymied her for months, leading her down one messy, winding, dead-end path after another, as people in power tried to shut her down.
The case had crossed five states, stumping everyone, including the Feds. But out of the blue, they’d caught a break—a trail of cyber footprints giftwrapped and hand-delivered to their doorstep. The evidence pointed straight to a corrupt politician. Without the tip, they’d still be scratching their heads over the tangled web.
“Kathryn,” Jake said, “it wasn’t just me. Let me introduce you to some of my team, John Briscoe and Ben Edwards.”
The two men waved at her across the pile of food, and Jake continued.
“I brought everyone together because your instincts were right. I checked your laptop. It’s loaded with spyware and a keylogger. They’d wait until you logged in, then follow you around your system and record your every step. Not the highest technology on the market, but no cake walk for an amateur.”
Ben cut in. “We'd like you to access your existing file. Run through your standard movements, but we’ll partition you off. Make sure you don’t go anywhere sensitive. We’ll guide you, because we’re laying a trap to see what this is really about.”
“I can do that, but . . .” Kathryn threw a worried glance at Zach.
“Speak your mind,” her boss told her. “In this group, we’ve got no secrets.”
Jake coughed to cover a chuckle. She lightly kicked him under the table, then caught the look in his eyes. Dark, but playful. Apparently, she’d committed an act that was worthy of punishment. Finally. She smothered her excitement. In front of her boss, she kept her game face steady.
“There is a case I’ve been working on lately, but I’m not sure I want to dig into it if someone’s tracking my online footsteps.”
Jake jumped in. “Can you walk us through what you’ve got? We can probably tailor a snare that would work perfectly without compromising your case.”