She spent several long hours back-channeling into 67’s computer mainframe, researching and vetting Derek Moretti, filling the recesses of her mind with every detail she could find as her eyelids grew steadily heavier. She finally signed off her computer, padded to the bathroom and flicked on the lights, and stared at her reflection in the mirror.
“You took an oath to serve and protect.” She dared the soft hazel eyes returning her gaze to disagree. “Who are you kidding? This is your chance to get back to the life, and work, you love...without having to crawl back to the director with your tail between your legs. You’d be an idiot not to take it.”
* * *
DEREK WAITED UNTIL the lights in Lily’s loft went off before moving from his perch. He yawned and stretched, then checked his watch. Two-thirty. Damn, woman. No rest for the weary, eh? She had no doubt spent the past several hours drilling down into his file as far as she could go—which, knowing her, was down to whether he wore boxers or briefs.
Rubbing his hands over his face, Derek walked into the kitchen, searched for a glass and, once finding a clean one, filled it with water. His computer had pinged every time she’d broken through the next level of his encrypted files. It had only taken her four hours to track down just about everything. He downed the water and set the glass on the counter.
He hoped she liked what she saw. If she didn’t, his mission was dead in the water.
Wednesday, September 17, 10:00 a.m.
LILY STUDIED HER MARK from the trees along the running path, hidden within their shadows. Dakota sat obediently on her right side. She reached down and stroked the soft fur on the top of his head. He pushed her hand with his wet nose. Her eyes wandered behind her dark, oversize, oval sunglasses, traveling down Derek’s powerful back to his defined legs. With every stride, his quads tightened and straightened. The muscles in his back strained against the running shirt, which was dark from sweat.
She had to admit, she enjoyed the view.
Derek turned and ran toward her. Dakota got up as Derek stopped in front of Lily.
“Morning, sunshine.” He smiled at her, then bent down and rubbed Dakota behind the ears. “Hey there, handsome.”
Dakota nuzzled Derek’s neck and Lily’s mouth dropped open. What the...? She’d never seen Dakota take to another person like he’d taken to Derek, not even Jackson. She trusted her dog’s intuition more so than her own...he’d never gotten into bed with the enemy. Dakota nuzzled Derek’s neck again and she cleared her throat. “I’m here to talk to you about your proposition, Derek.”
Looking up, he grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that.” Straightening, Derek ran his hand through his short brown hair and tipped his head toward the water. “Walk with me?”
They veered off the running path and headed toward the river walk, making their way to the farthest bench overlooking the river. Lily peeked up at her companion. At five-nine, she wasn’t short for a woman, but his large build dwarfed her and—yep, damn it—he was still as smoking hot up close as she’d remembered. Sinking down onto the worn wooden bench, she turned slightly to keep her line of sight open.
“I see you haven’t lost your instincts.”
“No, I haven’t, which is the only reason I’m willing to listen.” She crossed her legs and bounced her right foot. It was a bad habit she had when she focused, one she’d never been able to break, no matter how much she’d tried. “There are no ears here, so start talking.”
“No, there are not.” Laughter played in Derek’s eyes. He hooked his hands together and leaned his head back. “I work directly for John Elsworth, CEO of ARME Industries—”
Lily stopped bouncing her foot and whistled. Nearly every advance in modern warfare and weaponry during the twenty-first century had its genesis within ARME’s walls.
Derek glanced at her. “Heard of him?”
“Not him, no.” She shook her head. “But I wouldn’t know my stuff if I didn’t know that ARME is our leading weapons manufacturer.”
He lifted his face toward the sun. “Exactly. ARME and John are one and the same. When one is threatened, the other is, and vice versa. I’ve been working this case undercover for almost a year now as Elsworth’s security adviser.”
“Unit 67 has you working as a glorified security guard.” Lily smirked and went back to bouncing her foot.
“Easy, tiger.” Derek gave her a sideways glare. “Not all assignments are the glamorous kind.”
“Ain’t that the truth. But I can’t help it—just calling it how it is.” She shrugged and winked at him.
He did a double take, his eyes growing wider at her unexpectedly playful response. Seeing him caught off guard only made Lily want to laugh that much more—served him right. He caught her eye and they stared at each other for a moment. The wind fluttered, whipping her dark hair around her jaw, and he smiled, his expression softening. Lily sat back. Wow. Time to rein it in, Andrews.
“Sorry, please continue,” she said, smiling wryly.
“There’s been chatter that his COO, Rowland James, is working behind the scenes on certain business deals that could put the company, and subsequently the family, in harm’s way. My objective has been twofold—protect Elsworth and his family, and gather as much intel on Rowland James as possible to put him away and neutralize any possible national security threat.”
“Wait.” Lily’s brows pinched together. “Couldn’t the local cops take care of protecting his family? It seems a bit extreme to bring in black ops for babysitting duty.”
Derek hesitated.
The muscles in Lily’s shoulders constricted. She didn’t have time, or the mental energy, to walk into anything with less than complete transparency. Fair? Hardly. But he’d come after her. The ball was squarely in her court, and she wasn’t waiting around to see if Derek would play nice. Not this time. She jumped up.
“Lily. Wait a minute. Where are you going?”
“If you won’t be honest with me, then this partnership—or whatever you want to call it—is over.” She turned to leave.
He reached for her hand, wrapped his fingers around her wrist. She jerked away and glared at him.
“Read me in. Now. Or I’m gone.”
“Damn, woman. You’re impatient.”
She was running on a short fuse, no doubt. She tilted her head to the side, stared him down.
He sighed. “Rowland James is a known associate of multiple enemies of the state—”
“What?” She paced, her mind crunching Derek’s information. She glanced over her shoulder and frowned. “Then why in the world is he allowed anywhere near ARME?”
“He hasn’t broken any laws. Until he trips up and does something quantifiably targeting the United States, our hands are tied.”
“Why can’t John fire him?”
“It’s not that simple. Over the last two years, Rowland has been quietly buying up stock and currently owns 30 percent of ARME’s stocks. The board would have to have a majority vote to oust him from his position, but he could still use his controlling interest in the company to get some of his own people on the board.”
She shook her head. That made sense, but damn, she hated political bullshit. “Unbelievable. And the rest of this happy equation?”
“As you already know, ARME is one of our government’s leading suppliers for all