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Chapter 5
Tuesday
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Julia said, her eyes shooting poison darts at him.
“Exactly how it sounds. Until this situation is resolved, you can’t get involved with anyone. If you were in a relationship, Mel would have dug into his or her background until she knew everything there was to know about your lover. Then she’d dig deeper. But since you’re not involved with anyone, you’ll need to keep it that way until we find out who’s stalking you and I’ve eliminated the threat.”
She held his gaze for a long time, then nodded once. “Fine. That won’t be a problem. I don’t have time to date, let alone maintain a relationship.”
“Right now, that’s a good thing.”
“And for the record?” She lifted her chin, as if tossing out a dare. “If I was in a relationship? It would be with a man.” Instead of looking at him, she kept her gaze on the road.
The wave of desire that swept over him was too strong to ignore. And way too dangerous. “Not my concern either way.” Liar.
He watched her out of the corner of his eye. Why had she added that fact? It should be irrelevant.
Unless she was attracted to him, as well.
Damn it! This op had turned into a cluster, and it was only a few hours old. They’d be together twenty-four/seven until she was no longer in danger. Which could be a while.
The long stoplight finally changed, and Julia stepped on the gas. He blocked his attraction to Julia and forced himself to focus on the job. And speaking of the job, why had he responded to her crack about riding him? Totally unprofessional.
Nico let his head bounce against the seat. Yeah, she’d fed him the setup line, and it had been too good to resist. But that was no excuse. It was a spectacularly stupid thing to say -- the kind of banter he’d engage in with a woman he was flirting with. Which could not be Julia Stewart.
But he’d learned something from his mistake. Julia Stewart was a tough boss. He’d bet she was fair, but she wouldn’t take crap from anyone. And he had no doubt, if they’d been at her restaurant and he’d been a regular employee, a mildly suggestive crack like the one he’d made would have gotten him fired on the spot.
Deservedly so.
He needed to get his head on straight. He’d noticed Julia the moment she’d walked into the compound. He’d been working out in the gym, and the flash of movement had caught his eye. Her killer body, the way she’d studied everything around her, had stirred interest. She was aware of her surroundings. Paid attention. And the woman striding beside Devlin had enormous self-confidence. All traits that revved his engine. He’d tracked her walk until she disappeared around the corner. Wondered if she was a new client. Or a new hire.
When Mel explained Julia’s situation and asked him to work with her, he should have declined. The buzz of sexual attraction that had flashed through him was great in a bar on a Friday night. But working an op? A disaster waiting to happen.
He’d been upfront with Mel and Dev. Told them he’d felt a spark when he’d watched Julia walk across the compound. But Mel, damn her, had smiled. Said that was a good thing, in case they needed to pose as lovers. And that she knew he was a professional. That he wouldn’t let it get in the way of the op.
Now he wasn’t so sure. Making a crack like that? Even though he’d managed to temper it, was not a good sign.
Sighing, he stared out the window as the neighborhood flashed past. Older houses, but well-kept. Small business areas interspersed with the homes. Interesting-looking shops and restaurants.
She’d said the restaurant was about twenty minutes away. He’d studied the route and the landmarks along the way. Identified places that might serve as ambush points, like alley entrances. Tonight, he’d look for broken streetlights. Memorize everything, just as he’d memorized everything about her house.
He’d walked through it more than once, studying the windows. The furniture. He’d studied her small yard with its needed-to-be-mowed grass and the sad, lonely gas grill with moss growing on its hood. He’d scoped out the garage, the route she’d have to walk to get to her back door, possible hiding places for someone waiting to attack her.
He’d do the same thing at the restaurant.
He didn’t like being on defense. He wanted to go on offense. Smoke the mystery person out and take him down. But until they knew more about him, or until he made another move, they had to wait.
Mel’s sister Zoe was doing some delicate trace work to suss out the location where the spyware was sending the information. That would help. Even narrowing it down would help.
Until then, Julia was a sitting duck. Just waiting for someone to go after her.
He saw the ‘Madeline’s’ sign ahead, and put everything else out of his head. He had to focus on posing as a busser at her restaurant. Thank God he’d worked for his nonna and nonno. Even now, he could do most restaurant jobs on autopilot. Which would give him plenty of time to watch the other employees and the patrons.
He glanced over at her. “How are you going to explain me arriving with you?”
She sighed. “I’m usually the first one here and the last to leave, so normally it won’t be an issue. Today, though, you’ll wait a few minutes, then walk in the front door. I’ll say I called you today and wanted to meet with you. Have someone train you.”
That didn’t work. At all. It went against all his training to let her enter a building alone. But entering with her would raise too many questions. Get her employees speculating, which was the last thing he needed.
