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I laughed nervously as I raked my hand through my hair. “I honestly didn’t know. We were behind schedule on the project, or so we’d been told a half dozen times. I thought maybe the extra pressure would force additional delays. Then a month went by and nothing.”
“Why did you sabotage the project?”
I hadn’t thought of what I’d done in those terms. “A gut feeling.” I took another sip, then a gulp. “A personal threat on my phone.”
“And you didn’t go to the authorities?”
His accusatory tone was justified. “I was trying to. I had a meeting with the only man I trusted the next day. That’s why I’d taken the drive. I had to know the truth.”
“Who is this person?”
“The former agent I mentioned. He’s now with the CIA.”
He thought about what I was saying, shifting the same drink he’d been nursing for two hours from one hand to the other. “Did you contact your father?”
I looked away, taking several shallow breaths.
“Wait a minute. You think your father is involved?”
“I don’t know, Cobra. I wasn’t certain who I could trust. I just…”
“That’s why the attempt to capture you was escalated. Someone found out you shut down the project on your own.”
“Who? How? No one was supposed to be working on the project over the weekend.”
He snarled, his tone dark as his demeanor. “Maybe that’s what we need to figure out, sunshine, but it won’t happen here.”
“Do you really think they found us?”
“Anything is possible at this point, but no additional risks can be taken until I’m able to initiate plan B.”
“Where are we going?”
He finally polished off his drink. “Somewhere where no one can find us. What else is on the drive other than aspects of the project?”
“Logins to the computer.” The way he looked at me sent a shiver coursing down my spine. “I thought my friend could figure out if the people who’d logged in had any connection to whoever was making threats.”
“Why in the hell would you delve into something you had no business getting involved in?”
“Because I felt it was my duty. Because I didn’t want what I’d developed to be used for harm.”
As he thought about my answer, he slowly lowered his glass to the table. “You’re going to tell me everything you know, aspects of what you think has been going on, and all your thoughts about who might be involved. And you’re going to do exactly what I tell you to do with no questions asked. There is no wiggle room left, Isabella. None. You played a very dangerous game that came crashing down and a lot of people lost their lives.”
“I’ll tell you what I can.”
“No! You will tell me every freaking detail about this goddamn project. I don’t give a shit how small, how insignificant. You will tell me.”
“Okay. Okay,” I muttered, loathing the way he was looking at me. As if I was the enemy. “Maybe I should just destroy the drive.”
“Maybe you should. Only you know that answer. However, even if you do, your mind is the commodity the Russians are seeking.”
“What if they aren’t the Russians?”
The way his brow crinkled meant he hadn’t thought about that before. “A possibility.”
“I mean you were only told necessary details. Right? All you know is that you need to protect me. What if you’re being used because of your expertise, lured into a comfort zone so I can be taken without incident?”
I was shocked when he grabbed the bottle of whiskey, pouring another glass for both of us. He studied me with those intense eyes of his, never blinking as he refilled my glass. There was so much energy between us, the sensations as unsettling as the man himself. I was torn between being afraid of him and wanting to get closer, learning every detail of his life. My guess was that he felt the same way about me, his uncertainty keeping him closed off.
