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"I don't travel light."

The suite had a living area, small kitchenette, a sofa that almost looked long enough to handle my size, and through an open door I could see the bedroom. Plenty of space to set up a secure workspace without being right on top of each other.

But I'd still be here. In her space. Sharing her air. Watching her move through her daily routine.

This was either the best decision I'd made in months or the worst.

"Where do you want everything?" she asked.

I surveyed the room with tactical eyes. The dining table had the best angles for monitoring the door and windows. Power outlets nearby. Good natural light during the day.

"Table works. I'll set up there."

"Can I help?"

"Just stay out of the way while I get the servers running. They're temperamental."

She settled on the couch with a book. Some thick historical text about factory work during World War Two. Research for her role, probably.

I unpacked equipment and ran cables. The familiar routine settled my nerves. This I understood. Hardware and software and security measures. Not whatever was building between Katherine and me every time our eyes met.

Thirty minutes in, I had the basic setup running. Katherine looked up from her book, watching me connect the final monitor.

"This looks like mission control," she said.

"Close enough."

She set her book aside and came over to the table. Close enough that I could smell her shampoo. That citrus scent that had distracted me at Onyx.

"Code?" Her voice was soft.

I looked up from the cables.

"Why are you really here? You could monitor everything remotely. Simon or one of the other guys could have handled close protection."

She saw through my justification as easily as Simon had. As easily as Jase had.

"I want to be here." The honesty escaped before I could stop it. "To keep you safe."

Pink colored her cheeks. She looked down, then back up at me.

"Oh."

The word hung between us. Loaded with everything we weren't saying. Everything Jase had warned me about.

I turned back to the equipment. Safer to focus on cable management than on the way Katherine's pulse jumped in her throat when I'd said I wanted to be here.

It was past the point of deciding whether to get involved. My emotions were already there, tangled up with hers in ways I didn't fully understand yet.

The only question now was whether I had the courage to act on them or the discipline to keep them locked down.