Nerd and the Marine (33 page)

“
I know.”

He heard a small sob. “But remember
when I asked if I could hug you?”

“
Of course.”

“
If I was there right now,
I'd squeeze you so tight you'd hardly be able to breathe. You
really scared me, baby.” Mitch heard his voice crack.

“
I'm sorry,” she
whispered.

“
I know, sweetheart, I
understand. But I want you to concentrate on my hug for a moment.
Put your incredible brain power to work, okay?”

That earned him a breathless gust of
air that wasn't quite a laugh.

“
Okay,” she answered softly
and he pictured her in his mind, soft and sweet and
beautiful.

“
Oh, Mitch,” she whispered
and he realized he must have said his last thought out loud. “Just
think of my arms around you. I'm trying really hard on my end.
While this works to a point, it can’t compare to the real
thing.”

“
No, I don't believe so,
either. But it works for now.”

Mitch wanted to say so much more but
he couldn't locate the words to describe how he felt.

She seemed to understand, though. “How
can we not have ever met in person yet know each other so
well?”

“
I don't know. All I know
is I'm grateful someone is with you, just in case.” Mitch wanted,
no
needed
her to
understand how important she was.

“
But I've got
Bentley.”

“
Yes, you do, however,
whoever broke into your home now knows you have a dog, and can make
adjustments for that,” he said grimly. Wanting her to be scared so
she'd be wise.

“
I updated my security
system and added motion detection sensors. I’ve had a system since
I started making money on my patents. Ben reminded me, rather
pithily, that most systems can be bypassed by someone knowledgeable
in a matter of seconds.”

“
Exactly.” Bless
Ben.

“
I'd like to see a Navy
SEAL get past my security system. At least in seconds. Maybe they
could in minutes, but not seconds,” she said with no lack of
arrogance. Mitch grinned.

“
What about a
Marine?”

“
That would depend entirely
on the man,” she said, flirting, she was
flirting
with him. Mitch's heart
swelled to about eight times its normal size.

“
Very good,” he had to
agree, because he would have to start cracking heads if another man
even breathed wrong in her direction. This left Lainy with little
choice in the matter, but
she was
flirting with
him
.

“
Should someone try to get
through my security system, I'll be waiting on the other side,”
Lainy said grimly. Definitely not a flirty voice.

“
Oh?”

“
Yeah, I'm not an
electrical engineer and the sister of four brothers and millions of
cousins for nothing.”

“
Dare I ask what would
happen should someone you're not expecting...umm.... not wanting to
see,” which he really hoped didn't apply to him, she had flirted
with him, “what would happen?”

“
You can ask, but I'm not
quite finished with the concept yet. My brother, Ed, the goofy
one?”

“
He’s
unforgettable.”

“
He's good, and does some
great things for the military so I enlisted him to help me with
some self-defense devices. I think we've narrowed them down to
five. I'll let a brother stay with me until I finish those,” Lainy
said in a determined tone and Mitch decided to e-mail Ed pronto and
tell him to delay her for as long as possible.

Something akin to panic rose like the
warning snick of a gun being cocked. Lainy could get hurt. Lainy
could get killed. And he hated that he was powerless to do anything
to prevent such a disaster. Except convince her brothers to keep
watch over her. Not that he felt he'd need to do much convincing.
Then a thought occurred to him.

“
Lainy, if the police are
convinced this was a random break in, why are you allowing your
brothers to stay? You wouldn't have unless you felt the cops were
wrong.” How he knew this, he wasn't certain, but this little fact
crystallized.

“
I don't believe this was a
random act. Everything points in that direction, but I'm not buying
the explanation. Neither are my brothers, especially
Ed.”

“
Why?”

“
Because this isn’t the
first break-in.”

“
What
?” He tasted fear.

“
Someone broke into my
cottage at the lake. And I keep having to update my firewalls and
security programs. I think someone’s been in my home before,
too.”

“
Someone’s hacking into
your system?”

“
Trying to. I don’t keep
prototypes or current projects on that computer. I use a computer
not connected to the internet.”

“
Someone is after something
specific?”

“
Yes. I think they want
some of my un-patented material. Stealing the material and
obtaining the patents will bring in a lot of money.”

He made a noise for her to continue,
he was in too much shock to speak. Why hadn’t she told him this
before?

“
I left the dated patent
paperwork, I sent it in a few weeks ago, out in the open so they’d
see it.” Her voice sounded smug.

“
Do you know who did this?”
Even he could hear the tightness in his voice.

“
I suspect some
individuals.”

“
Who?”

She gave him a couple of names and he
wrote them down. He’d take care of the remainder of this
problem.

“
Mitch, I don’t think
they’ll be back. I sent the new patents in already, which they
should know now and they know Bentley is a watchdog. He started
barking while still on the bed. You know his bark,” she paused to
suck in a breath before continuing, “It's evident he's not a small
dog. Bentley took about thirty five seconds to hurtle off the bed,
through the door and down the stairs. He lunged at one of them, I
heard it. When these idiots understood Bentley meant business, they
headed for the window. The patent paperwork was scattered on the
floor. So, it’s over.”

Not
quite
, Mitch thought. He wanted to think
for a moment.

A small voice said, “Are you still
there?”

He halted the grunt, barely, realizing
he'd have to say something. Lainy wasn't Al, who understood grunts
of agreement. “Yes, I'm here, just thinking.”

“
Okay,” she said on a sigh
of relief. “I have a theory,” she ventured.

“
Shoot.”

“
I believe the guys who
were in here were young. Perhaps someone who'd heard about my
newest battery, then my laptop concept, and some other accessories
I designed for the laptop. My family knows I sent you one, and gave
one to Ben. The information would spread fast.” Mitch pictured her
chewing on her lip.

“
So you think these guys
heard about your concept and probably have some knowledge about
these types of laptops? They wanted the patents?”

“
Pretty much. I think
they're harmless, but wanted to make a name for themselves. I don't
believe they'd have hurt me, but I was so out of it, I had trouble
giving the police a statement. Had the officer not been a cousin,
he would have questioned my sanity. Or tested me for drugs or
alcohol, or both. But his mom, my aunt, and some other cousins are
the same way, so he's seen this incoherent state
before.”

“
He called your brothers?”
Mitch guessed.

“
Yes, the pain.”

Mitch laughed at her grumbles. He
realized he was finally talking to her in person, for the first
time.

“
We're finally talking on
the phone. I’m hearing your voice for the first time.” He liked the
matching awe he heard there.

“
I was just thinking the
same thing. I've heard yours on the videos, but it doesn't compare
to this.”

“
I'm glad.”

He heard the smile in her tone.
“You're smiling.”

“
Yes, you do that to me.”
She sounded breathless. He hoped he'd caused that, too.

“
I want to do that for
you,” Mitch said, going out on a limb, needing her to know he did
feel possessive.

“
You're the only one. Well,
the rellys can make me smile, too, but not like you
can.”

“
Your rellys are encouraged
to do so. I like to know you're happy and safe. I hate that I can't
be there.” Mitch rubbed a hand over his head as the frustration
welled.

“
I want you here, too, but
I understand you're doing something important where you
are.”

And Mitch knew for certain he loved
this woman.

Just like that.

“
You know Lainy, you're
unbelievable. I can't imagine living without you now. Does that
scare you?” he heard his voice crack and didn't care.

“
No. Living without you
does, though,” she said and her voice cracked and that made him
feel better. “I worry about you all the time. You're in far more
danger than I am.”

“
Yes, I know,” he agreed,
“but I've got training and skills.”

“
Sure you do, but you can't
avoid a bullet. Or a bomb. Some of those people over there are
crazy. They’re why I worry. I need you to live to come
home.”

“
Lainy, if I die, I've
served my country and I've died protecting you. I've done my job.
You can't fault that.”

“
No, I understand. But I
don’t have to like it,” she returned with passion.

“
Right,” was all he could
think to say. Of course she wouldn't like him coming home any way
but alive. Yet that was a perfect world, and they didn't live in a
perfect world. He told her, because there was a possibility he
wouldn't return to her alive.

“
I hate this.” There were
tears in her voice this time.

“
So do I, baby. So do most
of the Marines here. Many of them have kids. How do you explain
this to a child?”

“
I don't know.”

“
I don't either. All I know
is I've got a job to do, one that requires protecting you and your
family. And I’m doing it. This is what I've been trained
for.”

“
Okay,” she returned, but
she still sounded sad.

“
I hate to go, but I needed
to be in a debriefing five minutes ago.” Mitch finally glanced at
the clock.

“
Okay,” she said again,
forlornly, and he hated to disconnect.

“
Stay safe,
Lainy.”

“
You, too,” she returned
with vehemence and that made him feel better.

“
I miss you.”

“
I miss you,
too.”

They disconnected, and Mitch took her
memory with him as he loped off to his debriefing.

*****

Lainy clutched the phone, wanting to
still hear Mitch's voice. Wanting to hold him, even for a moment.
She longed to verify his scent actually coincided with that in her
dreams. She wanted to feel him pressed against her. Just once.
Maybe she’d enjoy his nearness. A new experience.

Tears seeped out from behind her
tightly closed eyelids. He might not return home among the living.
She understood that, but, oh, how she hated the thought. Of not
being able to meet him face to face and feel his warmth. At least
now she'd heard his voice. Masculine, deep, warm – as amazing as
the man himself. At least she'd been granted that much.

Perhaps this break-in had scared her
more than she'd thought, but she still clutched the phone, not
wanting to lose their connection even though she already had. He
still had work to do. What had he said? Something about doing his
part to keep her safe. He'd gone because he'd been asked to do so.
He remained there for her. Because he felt her safety outweighed
his own.

Blinking wet eyes Lainy sat up in bed.
She loved this man and from the conversation they’d shared, she
thought he might love her, too. She held the knowledge to
her.

Tightly, lest it too would slip into
the night and leave her alone.

*****

To:
[email protected]

From:
[email protected]

Subject:re: Lainy’s break
in

Hello Ed,

I had an e-mail waiting
for me from Lainy when I got back from my latest field job.
Actually, I had about a dozen messages, one of them from
you.

I was quite happy to see
your message, as it makes my life a little easier. You do that
quite often for us - thank you. We use a lot of your inventions in
the field.

I applaud and endorse your
decision to sit on the projects you’re working on with Lainy. I’d
rather someone stay with Lainy for at least a few
months.

I listed the names of the
kids Lainy suspects broke into her house. Tell them in no uncertain
terms that unless they want me on their tails, they’d better forget
all about Lainy. I’ll break them if they bother her
again.