Page 17 of Fox in Plain Sight

She opened her mouth for a protest, but he put his finger over her lips, stopping her.

“Just as well that I have very peculiar tastes.”

When her eyes softened and her lips curved up, he knew he’d won.

“Do I have time for a shower before dinner?” she asked.

“Take all the time you need.”

She lifted herself up and stood. He couldn’t help running his eyes over her body, admiring her firm breasts, her slim waist and soft hips, her long legs, and everything in between. When she turned to give him a view of her shapely ass, he groaned, wishing he could shower with her, but he had something more important to do.

“Do you mind if I switch on the TV while you shower?” he asked.

Michelle looked over her shoulder and pointed to the coffee table. “If you can figure out the remote, help yourself.”

Nick reached for the black device and gave her a mock-chiding look. “I’m a guy. We invented remotes.”

Shaking her head, Michelle disappeared down the hallway. Moments later, he heard the water running in the shower.

Nick jumped up, pressed the TV power button and turned up the volume, not even looking what channel was on. He gathered his clothes and dressed in fifteen seconds. Now he was ready.

He quickly scanned the living room, knowing instinctively he’d find nothing of importance here. Nevertheless he did a cursory search of the few drawers and surfaces anyway. It turned up nothing. His next stop was Michelle’s bedroom. The door was opposite the bathroom door, which thankfully Michelle had shut. Nick now eased the door to the bedroom open and entered.

There wasn’t much: a queen-sized bed, a dresser, night tables, a few boxes along one wall. The built-in closet was small and jam-packed with clothes, no files, no electronic equipment. Continuously listening to the sounds from the bathroom, Nick continued his search, opening the drawer of one nightstand. It was full of underwear. He rummaged through it, but only lingerie turned up.

He rounded the bed and searched the other nightstand. Several loose condom packages greeted him, together with tissues and lubricant. Nick grinned involuntarily. Good to know that Michelle had some extra supplies, just in case they burned through the few condoms he’d brought.

A quick perusal of the boxes turned up nothing but books and old photos. He checked his watch: Michelle had entered the bathroom three minutes earlier. He should have plenty of time to go through the rest of the apartment. He left the bedroom and stepped into the hallway. There, below the side table, lay her computer bag. He crouched down and opened it, tossing a quick glance to the bathroom door, listening intently. The water was still running.

The bag held a laptop, several cables, as well as notepads, pens, and the product tag for the bag itself. He pulled the laptop from its compartment and opened it. Though he was almost certain that Michelle wouldn’t leave her computer unprotected, he had to find out if she’d, by some lucky chance, not password-protected it.

He booted up the machine, drumming his fingers on his thigh while he waited impatiently for the wheel to stop spinning. When the screen filled with color and presented him with the request to enter a password, he wasn’t surprised. It would have been too easy. He quickly initiated the shut down and set the computer aside, looking through the bag once more. There had to be something.

He flipped through the notepad, but apart from some scribbles that looked like a shopping list, he didn’t find anything. The moment the computer powered down, he slid it back into the bag. It didn’t want to go in all the way, so he pulled it out again and checked. He found a piece of paper on the bottom of the compartment and looked at it. It was a manufacturer’s warranty for a flash drive.

But where was it?

Shoving the computer back into the bag and closing it, Nick stood up. His eyes fell on the side table, where Michelle had tossed her keys when they’d entered her apartment. He picked the key ring up. Not only did it hold several keys, but a USB flash drive dangled from it.

“Gotcha,” he murmured.

The sudden echo of his voice startled him. That’s when he realized that the water wasn’t running anymore. Michelle was done with her shower. He’d never met a woman who was that quick.

Shit!