Havoc had a point. She couldn’t do it alone, but that was what she had been doing for too long and now people were shooting at her and the most gorgeous man Mia had ever met sat next to her, asking her to trust him.
“Kelly would insist I get my head tested for trusting a stranger, and most commercial magazines would agree with her.” Pity it didn’t work that way. She huffed. “I want to, but putting my complete faith in you sounds crazy.” Struggling to make sense of her gut instinct versus what her brain insisted, words tumbled from her mouth, and her breath came in short pants.
Mia wrenched her hand from Havoc and shoved it into her lap. Tears hiccupped uncomfortably in her throat as she fixed her gaze on the poor plant, looking as droopy as she felt. “Inside.” Mia tapped the spot over her heart. Still not willing to look him in the eye. “I’ve known you all my life. Nuts, right?”
Havoc cupped her chin with two fingers and brought her face to meet his. “Shh. No need to explain. It’s the same for me.”
“Really?” Mia snatched his wrist.
“Yes, but we can slow things down and you don’t have to stay here. If it makes you more comfortable, after you meet with Snake, we can move you to a safe house. You need protection, but say the word, and I’ll ask the boss to assign you to another team member. I’ll walk away.”
She didn’t want that. She needed him to kiss her again. Lip smacking, mind-blowing. “No. I do trust you, otherwise I’d never have given you the bag, but with everything that’s happening, I’m having a hard time thinking straight. I’m banking on there being something in there that will put Barney away for good. That all this will be over, and I can take photographs again. Help Kelly recover.”
Havoc’s thumb stroked the back of her hand. “In the elevator, you said your friend was in a coma. Can you tell me more about what happened to her?”
He didn’t push, and he could. She’d experienced that when he’d insisted she come to his place, but he also had this gentle side. If he hadn’t been patient with her in the elevator, coaxed her onto the roof, she’d most likely still be stuck in there climbing the damn walls.
She placed her hand on Havoc’s, mainly because she needed to touch him, to share his strength. “Like I told you, we were at a press conference, a routine assignment. Barney’s company had recently partnered with the city on a project. Mega budget. Kelly planned to ask a few routine questions while I took pictures. Boring stuff. We were dying to get in quick, post our piece to the editor, and take a long lunch.” She sniffed.
Havoc stroked her cheek, his soft touch intimate.
“Kelly needed the bathroom. Ten minutes later, when she returned, she was shaking. Which, if you knew her, would worry you. So, when she dragged me away from the crowd, I realized something awful had happened. Sure enough, Kelly had heard Barney and some low-life politician discussing details of a drug shipment.”
“Hell, Mia! Why didn’t you go straight to the police?”
“Smart, right? I wanted to, but Kelly persuaded me to submit our story first. After it went to press, they arrested Barney and Kelly agreed to give evidence. The day she had to be in court, she insisted I stay away. After all, I hadn’t heard anything. Neither of us dreamed the judge would grant the asshole bail.” Mia gnawed her bottom lip until it stung and tried not to cry.
Havoc drew her into his arms, and she wanted to snuggle closer, but she should keep things professional. So she pushed him away, sipped her tea, and fought to hold her libido in check. “Then she had her accident.” She curled her fingers in air hooks around the last word. “That morning, on her way to court, Kelly took the full impact of a speeding van with no license plate and has been in a coma ever since.” Thinking of that day made her choke.
“Take your time.,” Havoc said.
“There isn’t much else to tell. Ever since, I’ve done my best to make Barney pay for what he did. That’s it. Now you know why I ended up hanging off Barney.”
Havoc stood as her tears turned to noisy sobs. Many men had trouble with women’s tears, and she’d been leaking like a tap for hours. Her cheeks flushed, no doubt from the heat blasting across the room, but when her insides tingled, she decided she wanted more, whatever it meant. Standing, too, she grabbed his hand.
“I’m sorry about your friend.” Havoc folded her in his arms.
She closed her eyes, willing him to kiss her. To have his hands soothe every sensitive inch of her trembling body. When nothing happened, her eyelids fluttered open. His reassuring gaze made her gut churn. Before she could say anything, Havoc let her go, reached for the bag sitting on the coffee table, and tossed the contents onto the floor in front of them. One kiss. Maybe that was all he’d wanted.
“Let’s check Barney’s papers together. Do you have any idea what we’ll find?” he said.
“No. I grabbed them from the safe and ran, then the other guy started shooting, and you appeared.”
An hour later, Havoc jumped up, waving a piece of paper. “You did it! Our intel is wrong. Barney led us down his fucking rabbit hole. This.” He flicked the edge of the paper. “Mentions the drug delivery, but it’s not where we thought. Keep looking for anything with this logo on it, while I call Snake. Then I’ll make that pasta. Okay?”
Mia didn’t have the energy to do anything but nod. Ask her how a girl could get turned on just sitting next to a man. She had no answer.