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He saw the opportunity and took it. “Kind of like how none of your friends have any idea you’re struggling because you hide it so well?”
Immediately, her face turned cold. “Mark, stop. Please.”
“All right. I just don’t like to see you struggle. Do you think your friends—these friends—would judge you for what you’ve been through? We’ve all been through something.”
“I know that.” Her voice was even, but her knuckles were white gripping her coffee mug. “But what I share is my choice. Okay?”
He shouldn’t have pushed. He held his hands out in a gesture of surrender. “Got it. Want to show me what you’ve been working on with the case?”
She relaxed slightly. “Sure. But I’ll warn you, it’s not exciting.”
Grabbing his water bottle, he followed. He was in desperate need of a shower now, but he wasn’t going to protest. At least she hadn’t shut down completely.
He followed her into the office and watched her fold herself into the chair in front of her setup like she was made to be there. This was her true safe space. Here, she was in control and held all the power. He liked seeing the subtle straightening of her shoulders and the easing of her muscles. Relaxation and confidence looked damn good on Jenna Franklin.
She brought up pictures of all three robots on to the main screen. “Basically, I’ve got nothing. I’ve confirmed it’s my original formula they’re using to control the robots, but that’s about it. I haven’t found anything to connect the three victims, nor the locations they broke in to.”
“It’s early. You just got the info about the third robot last night.”
“People are dying.” Her voice was tight. “And it’s my methodology that is causing it. I said I would help, but I’m useless.”
He resisted the urge to step closer to her and offer comfort. “You offered to help,” he said gently. “Whatever you can contribute fulfills that bargain. Your eyes on this data are worth a hundred people who don’t know what’s going on here. No one is expecting you to crack this on your own.”
“Yeah.” She didn’t sound convinced.
They stood in silence for a moment before Jenna looked at him. “This may take more than a couple days. Am I going to find you sleeping in your car again?”
“Yes.” He would. Didn’t matter how long this took.
“Remember what I said about laser beams and automated guns? I’ll be fine.”
Her security system was top-notch, and there was every chance she would be okay. But the sight of her pleading on the floor a few months ago was still vivid in his mind, and he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if something did happen to her and he wasn’t there to stop it.
He knew she wasn’t his to protect, even if he wished she were. But there was something here he couldn’t walk away from. Jenna needed help, and he needed to help her.
“I’m sticking around here, no matter the booby traps you’ve got planned for anyone who comes after you. But I have plenty of experience at surveillance from inside my car. I’ll be fine.”
Those honey eyes studied him. After a minute, she stood. “Follow me.”
He did, surprised when she didn’t lead him to the front door. Instead, she led him to the other end of the house, where there was a room with a bed.
“Guest room for as long as you need it. The same security rules apply. You know the emergency code, but if you need to come in or leave, let me know. It would be a pity to have you flattened by my rolling boulder.”
“As long as you’re not spraying salt acid at me for trying to unearth an ancient curse, I think we’ll be fine.”
He caught her smile as she stepped out into the hall and grabbed some towels from a closet and handed them to him. “No salt acid. I keep that for the real bad guys.”
“Thank you.”
“You can stay until this is over,” she said. “That’s it, Outlaw.”
He couldn’t stop his smile. “You got it.”
Chapter 9
Jenna stared at the screen until the data in front of her eyes began to scramble. There was something she was missing, and every minute she wasted was eating at her. She was close to picking up one of her monitors and hurling it across the room, even if going down to the gym and beating on one of the BOBs would be more effective.
It had been three days, and she felt as if she was going in circles every time she sat down at the computer. There were still three dead robots. They hadn’t gotten word of any more, but there would be. It was only a matter of time, and it was her fault for not being able to figure it out.
