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“That was before the navy. In the military, you follow the rules or you get punished. You obey the chain of command or someone gets hurt.”
“So you’re saying your bad boy days are behind you?” Jade asked curiously.
A wicked grin spread across his face, one that made Jade want to melt into his arms. He leaned in and pinned her with his baby blues. “Once a bad boy, always a bad boy, Jade. That doesn’t change. These days I’m just better at knowing when the punishment is worth the payoff. It usually is.”
Her eyes widened as he grew closer, his gaze drifting to her lips. It was enough to make her clutch her coffee mug for dear life. If she had her hands free, who knew what she might do. Reach for him? Touch him? Bad boys certainly had their appeal. She wished they didn’t. Things would be easier in her life.
“Today, I work until four,” she said, abruptly changing the subject. She turned away from him, fished into the junk drawer and pulled out a spare key to the house. “I’m not sure what’s on your agenda, but since you refuse to go to your hotel and sleep in a comfortable bed with room service, here’s a key.”
Harley reached out and plucked the object dangling from her hand. Jade noticed he did it without touching her, even after leaning in to tease her the moment before. It made her wonder if it was deliberate on his part. Touching each other seemed to lead down a path neither of them were eager to travel.
“Just so you know, I’m not staying at a hotel. I’ve been staying with Mom while I’m in town. It’s a bit out of the way, though, so your place is more convenient. Thanks for the key. I’ll be out and about today, but I will make a point of being back by the time you get home.”
Jade planted her hands on her hips. He made it seem like a bogeyman was going to leap out of a cabinet at any moment. He didn’t appear to be the kind to overreact, but one little letter had really set him on edge. “You don’t have to. You’re being paid to research the case, not babysit me.”
Harley slipped the key into his pocket and sighed. “I know what I’m being paid for. And I can have it done by four.”
“Okay,” Jade said. She wasn’t about to argue with him. It would give her some peace of mind that he was here, she had to admit. “Anything exciting on your agenda today?”
“I think I’m going to the hospital to meet with them and go over their data. They’ve pulled a lot of the records from the archives for me to search through. They weren’t digitized back then, unfortunately, so that means a lot of shuffling through old papers in someone’s abandoned cubicle.”
“Sounds like a long, boring day ahead.” She held up the coffee carafe, swirling around the last inch of black brew in the bottom. “You can finish this off.”
Harley just shrugged, holding out his mug for her to refill it. “It can’t all be tracking bad guys and apprehending suspects. Sometimes the paperwork is the most important part. That’s where the truth usually lies.”
“People don’t tell the truth?” she asked.
“They tell the truth as best they know it. Or as they believe it to be.”
That was a cynical way of looking at things. “And what about your plans for tomorrow?”
“What’s tomorrow?”
“It’s my day off. That, and Sundays. Are you going to sit around and look at me all day? Or work your case?”
Harley’s lips twisted into a frown. “I’ll have to figure that out. I wasn’t expecting you to be off during the week, but it’s my fault for not asking.”
“I could help you with your research,” Jade suggested. She was anxious to have answers and she didn’t mind doing some of the legwork.
He stiffened and shook his head briskly. “No, sorry. I can’t have you around while I’m investigating. You’re too close to the case. It wouldn’t be right.”
“Oh, so now you follow the rules. You won’t break them when it benefits me? I guess it isn’t worth the payoff in this scenario.”
That earned her a sigh and a roll of his eyes. “I don’t want any of my findings called into question, okay? I’ll figure out what to do about tomorrow tomorrow,” he said, taking his turn at changing the subject.
“Fine. Be that way. I’ve got to get ready for work.” With a shake of her head, Jade took her coffee and left the room. “I’ll see you this evening,” she called as she walked down the hall.
After reaching her bedroom, Jade flopped back on her bed and groaned aloud. He hadn’t been in her house twenty-four hours and she was already a mess. Hopefully, he was as good a detective as he was at being alluring and irritating. He’d have the answers about her birth in no time and she could get him out of her house and move on with her life. Not that she had much of one, but it was hers and she was in control of it.
She looked over at the clock and realized she had to get a start on her day. That meant a shower. And after that chat with Harley, it would be a cold one.
* * *
“Well, well, well. Mr. Jeffries didn’t warn me that he was having a meeting with Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome today.”
A sassy woman with dark, curly hair greeted Harley as he approached the receptionist’s desk. She was wearing a hot pink sweater and earrings just as brightly colored, although they were hidden within the complicated ringlets of her hair. She smiled widely, turning her full attention to him as he approached her.
Harley was startled by the woman’s bold assessment, but he tried to smile and pass it off. She appeared to be in her late fifties, and older women especially loved to flirt with him. He usually played along to give them a little boost to their day. He’d found that being sweet to the ladies could make or break an investigation. They’d trip over themselves to help him get what he needed.
