The Agent's Surrender (16 page)

“Again, sorry to disappoint, but due to the sensitive nature of the drug, the Defense Intelligence Department felt it prudent to remove all traces of the drug trials and research from the facility.”

Jane nodded remembering something to that effect from Dr. Kat Odgers, Jake Isaac’s wife. They could enlist her help to find the missing research. “Penny Winslow’s influence on any project, given the discovery that she was abusing her authority, is immediately suspect,” he told Ulysses. “Were you aware of Penny’s extracurricular activities outside of this lab?”

“I’m not sure what you’re asking,” he said calmly.

“I don’t believe I need to spell it out,” Holden said. “You’re a smart man.”

“I was unaware of Penny’s involvement with I.D.,” Ulysses answered, short and sweet and giving away nothing.

Jane glanced at Holden, signaling they were done. The secrets in this building could fill a space station. Whatever Ulysses was protecting, he wouldn’t share without a court order to compel him.

“We’ll be in touch,” she said.

“Good luck in your investigation. As always, Tessara strives to be accommodating.”

Did he mean that? Likely not. They were probably having a shredding party this very second, if they hadn’t already.

After they left the building and headed to their car, Holden said, “Well, that wasn’t entirely a bust. Do you think Hector was killed and it was framed as a tragic mishap?”

“My instincts say yes,” Jane said, climbing into the car. She checked her watch. “We’d better hustle if we want to catch our rescheduled flight. I’m ready to put California in my rearview mirror.”

* * *

Holden agreed. They’d learned everything they were going to learn in this place. Besides, more answers awaited them back in Washington when they hit up Kat Odgers for information on MCX-209.

Once on the plane, buckled in and ready for take-off, Holden asked Jane, “What do you think that winery has to do with all of this? Seemed kind of random.”

She nodded. “Maybe we ought to pay a visit and see what shakes out?”

“Definitely. Put it on the list.”

“What vibe are you getting from Rocha?” Jane asked.

“Not sure. He’s definitely not happy that we’re poking around, but I can’t tell if it’s because he’s protecting his investments or because he truly has stuff to hide.”

“Same. He hasn’t been overtly helpful. Then again, he hasn’t refused anything we’ve asked for, either. He could’ve made it more difficult to procure those personnel files, but he handed them over with minimal fuss.”

“He’s pretty tight-lipped about what he knew about Penny’s exploits, though. Something tells me he’s not quite as innocent as he wants us to think he is.”

“Maybe.”

A beat of silence followed before Holden said, “Watching you in action is pretty hot.”

She sucked in a quick breath and shot him a warning look. “Stop that. We can’t be talking like that once we get back to Washington.”

“I know,” he said, withdrawing with slightly ruffled feathers. Did she have to be so rigid all the time? “I was just saying...I don’t know, I read somewhere that women like to hear that stuff.”

“Well, I’m not like most women.”

Amen to that.
It was one of the reasons he couldn’t stop thinking about her. “Roger that,” he said, deliberately closing his eyes. “I’m going to catch a few Zs. Some wildcat kept me up all night.” He smiled to himself when he heard her gasp in embarrassed indignation.
That’s right, babe. Good luck shelving that experience.
He’d liked knowing how to push her buttons before, but now? He knew all the
right
buttons to push to make her squirm—and that was information worth dying for.

Chapter 15

I
t was late by the time they flew into Washington, and, stubborn woman that she was, Jane insisted on driving home instead of crashing at his place. He tried not to be annoyed because he had no right to be, but when he woke the next morning he was less than refreshed. He’d reopened Pandora’s Box and he wanted more. In the brief time they’d dated, he’d enjoyed going to sleep and waking up with Jane, which had been something of a change of pace for him because he never invited women to his apartment. Now he was missing the feel of her warm body next to his, and there was nothing he could do about it. She was determined to be bullheaded. A knock at his front door made him realize not only had he lost out on good REM, he’d overslept, too. He opened the front door and let Jane in with a mumbled good morning in between a big yawn.

“You look like hell,” she observed, going to the coffeepot to pour herself a cup. “Still jet-lagged?”

If he looked jet-lagged, she was the exact opposite—she looked as fresh as a daisy. Of course, that rubbed him wrong, too. Why wasn’t she suffering like he was? “I’m fine. There’s nothing like having the whole bed to yourself.”

She nodded. “Sometimes a California King just isn’t big enough,” she said with a bright smile. Damn, she was good at this game. “You better shower because we have an appointment at Butterfly Bend in an hour and it’s at least a 45-minute drive from here.”

He swore under his breath, then burned his tongue with hot coffee. “You couldn’t have made an afternoon appointment? Jeez, Fallon, give a guy a chance to recover.”

“No rest for the wicked, right?”

He had no response. Frankly, he didn’t trust himself not to be rude. Maybe a shower would do him some good. Except when he stood under the spray he couldn’t help but remember the last shower he shared with Jane, and suddenly it was hard to focus on anything aside from his raging erection. He pushed at his shaft, irritated. Nothing was gonna happen there.
Down, boy.
Think of baseball, grandmothers or the fact that Jane wasn’t the least bit interested in picking up where they’d left off. Yeah, that ought to be a good-enough libido killer. He scrubbed down and got out of the shower. Taking little time to dress, he reappeared, hair wet but ready to work.

“You take a longer shower that most girls I know,” Jane said, frowning. “What did you do in there, shave your legs?” She grabbed her keys and gestured. “Let’s go. We’re losing time.”

“And you think you’re driving?” he asked, incredulously. “If we’re going to get there on time, I’d better drive.”

Jane was such a stickler for the rules that she stuck religiously to the speed limit. He, on the other hand, treated each destination as a finish line. But Jane wasn’t about to budge.

“I would like to arrive alive. How you even have a license is beyond me.”

Holden had no choice but to follow. The only consolation was the nice view of Fallon’s backside as they left his building. “So you really slept good last night?” he asked.

“Like a baby.”

Like a baby,
he mimicked in his head as he climbed into the car. Of course she had. Holden punched the address in the GPS and they were on their way. Jane’s sensible Honda Accord was exactly the kind of car he’d imagined Jane would drive. It got good gas mileage, was luxurious to a point, but not overly so, and had a sensible price point. He chuckled at his own observation, which caused her to look at him sharply.

“What was that for?”

“Nothing. I was just thinking this car suits you.”

She relaxed. “Yeah? It’s a good car.
Consumer Reports
lists it as one of the most reliable cars in its class.”

“I bet it does.” He smirked. “Let me guess...top speed is eighty miles per hour.”

“Not that I would need to drive eighty for any reason—we’re not on an autobahn. It does have a V6, you know. But why would I need to drive faster than the speed limit? Do you think I have a death wish?”

He barked a laugh. “Jane, live a little, why don’t you? There’s a whole world waiting for you when you decide to go crazy.”

“You can keep crazy. I prefer stability and reliability.”

He winced. “Are you a granny? And how is it that you work for the federal government with your low tolerance for risk?”

“Can we talk about something other than personal things? Let’s talk about the case,” she suggested almost desperately. “I was thinking last night when I couldn’t fall asleep that there has to be a connection between Trevor and Penny other than being cousins. The fact that Miko referenced the winery tells me there’s something there because why else would Miko mention something so obscure?”

“I thought you said you slept like a baby,” he reminded her, latching on to the one thing that mattered to him at the moment. “Maybe you should’ve stayed with me like I suggested.”

“Do you seriously have a one-track mind? Can we please stay on topic?”

He sighed, annoyed he was so easily pushed aside. “Yeah, sure. I was just saying that, you know, it might have been nice.... Forget it.”

“I told you we can’t do what we did in California. You and I both know it’s a huge mistake, and I’m not doing anything to jeopardize this case. I’m surprised you’re fighting me on this. Why are you so hurt that I don’t want a relationship with you?”

“Hurt? Who said I’m hurt?” he repeated, indignant. “You’re right—we should just stick to the case.”

“Thank you. Now you’re making sense. All right, so here’s the deal—I say we question this Trevor Granger and find out why Miko would’ve been aware of Trevor and Penny’s relationship. And in the meantime, I wonder if we could get James to do some more poking around.”

“Such as?”

“Such as taking a look around the Department of Defense and see if they are holding on to anything beyond our pay grade.”

Holden whistled in appreciation. “I take it back. You do like to live dangerously. So you’re saying we should set James on the trail that might lead to the Department of Defense’s doorstep? Essentially hacking into a government mainframe? That might take more than twenty grand. Are you footing this bill?”

“He might be willing to do it just for fun. His type love the opportunity to hack into government mainframes. It’s like a badge of honor,” she said. “But I guess we can wait and see what we find out on our own before we tap that resource.”

“It’s worth keeping in our pocket for plan B,” Holden said, eyeing her with deeper appreciation, not only for her sexy body, but also for her incredibly sexy brain. He angled himself toward her. “Listen, I know we said we wouldn’t talk about personal stuff, but you have to admit there’s still a spark between us.”

“Obviously. That’s not the point, though. Neither one of us is suited for a relationship with the other. Why complicate matters when there’s no need?”

“Maybe I like complicated.”

She made an exasperated noise. “That’s the problem—I don’t. It’s just easier to keep things professional between us.”

“Easy is boring. And you don’t want boring. You’re the kind of woman who needs a challenge or else you stagnate in your own rigid personality. My guess is before your dad made you dance to his tune, you were less buttoned-down.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because I’ve seen your wild side, and there’s no way that sexy woman came out of nowhere. She’s just been on lockdown for far too long.”

Jane risked a small smile, but she smothered it quickly enough to drop a bomb on him. “Listen, I didn’t want to do this, but the bottom line is this—you’ll never be good enough in the eyes of my family. Even before this situation with Miko blew up, you had no cred with my dad. He has a certain standard, and you don’t live up to it. I’m sorry. It’s harsh, but those are the facts. I’m not going to spend my entire life defending you against my family or fighting with family over you.”

Ouch. He felt as if she’d just delivered a roundhouse kick to his nuts. And what the hell? He wasn’t good enough? How much more cred did he need? “Last time I checked I was a pretty good catch,” he told her, his temper rising. “Highly decorated marine, level VI security clearance in the CIA and built like a Mack truck. I don’t see the problem.”

“I love your enthusiasm and confidence, but it has nothing to do with your qualifications
per se.
It has everything to do with the way my family perceives you.”

“I’m confused. Are you saying it’s not me, it’s your family?”

“Sort of.”

“Oh, good. For a second I thought you were throwing up imaginary obstacles.” He rolled his eyes as his voice dripped with sarcasm. Unbelievable. He was considered a good catch by most standards. Except to the one person he wanted to impress, for some stupid reason. “Listen, just admit to me that you and I shared something pretty incredible, and I’ll leave it at that.”

“You’ll drop it?”

“Sure,” he lied. Drop it? He was going to gnaw on that sucker like a dog with a bone. But his ego demanded she tell the truth. “Just admit I rocked your world and we’ll go back to being simply partners without benefits.”

She drew a deep breath and blew it out in a long exhale. “Okay, Holden. We have chemistry. Real, visceral, unexplainable chemistry, and this weekend was a brutal reminder that we are desperately good together. Is that what you want to hear? Well, I’ll do you a solid and go a step further. The reason I couldn’t sleep last night was because I was thinking of what we did together and how I already missed the feeling of you beside me. It that enough? Does that help? Because frankly, I think it makes it worse.”

The tight band of tension cording his chest loosened and he could actually breathe again. As long as she was fighting the same fight he was, there was a chance. A chance at what, he wasn’t sure, but he wanted to find out. “Yeah, it’ll do.” He didn’t even try to smother the grin. “Now, tell me again why we shouldn’t be partners with benefits?”

“You’re impossible,” she growled, and shot him an extremely irritated look. She switched on the radio and effectively shut him out. “From now on, no more talking.”

* * *

What was his problem? Why did he care what her family thought of him? Jane was baffled by Holden’s reaction, but even more so by the pinch she felt in her conscience for hurting his feelings. They’d shared a whirlwind of good times until it’d come grinding to a halt, which had been the wake-up call she had needed to put her head back on straight. The memory of ending it popped into her mind as she drove, and she lingered a little too long, because within seconds she was back in that wretched moment.