He didn’t know what to say. Except that it wasn’t quite a surprise. Certainly explained why she was so good at running a con. “You regret promising to tell me the truth, don’t you?”
“You think?” She shook her head. “Hell yeah, I do. But I’m stuck now.”
“Not really. You can walk away at any time.”
“No, I really can’t.”
“How did you get into hacking?”
She tossed her hair. It was more than a little a bit windblown. “I told you the truth about that. I hacked a government website when I was fifteen, a secret site, and the FBI came to the holler. Threatened to arrest my momma, but she didn’t know a thing about it. When they realized it was me, they took my computer away until I turned eighteen. I told you that before. What I didn’t tell you was that my momma was pissed as hell. She was a single parent, my dad having headed off to prison twelve years earlier and gotten himself shanked for one reason or another. Anyway, bringing the FBI to the holler was bad news. The Bennetts were angry about that one for a long while, and my granddaddy had a talk with me about how sometimes people can end up at the bottom of a well if they weren’t careful. I still don’t know if it was advice or a threat.”
Sky didn’t like the way that revelation made him feel. What kind of family did that to a kid anyway? “And the CIA came calling when you were old enough, giving you random jobs. You told me the truth, but only after you lied to me for six months.”
“Yes.” She seemed to ignore his last statement. “They gave me a way out. I seized it with both hands because the alternative was unthinkable.”
Just like the Army had been a way out for him. “Yet still you lied to me about who you were and what you were doing until it was too late.”
“I was following instructions.” She shifted in her seat, not looking at him. “Are we going inside or do you plan to give me the third degree out here?”
“Thought you weren’t so eager to get inside?”
“I’m not. What I’m eager for is for you to break the encryption. Then I want my life back.”
“Might not be that easy,” he told her. “You think of that?”
Her eyes were huge and glistening in her pretty face. He fought the twist of sympathy working its way through him.
“I’ve thought of that. But I really can’t dwell on it right now. One thing at a time.”
He turned to gaze up at the second floor and the door to the room they were staying in. A pale, sickly light burned outside, bugs flying around it and hitting the light at random. “Then I guess we’d better go up and get started.”
“Sky,” she said when he swung the door open. He turned back to her, questioning. She swallowed. “I know this isn’t easy for you. I know you’d rather I hadn’t shown up tonight—but it’s not easy for me either. Not that you should care about that, but I just want you to know that I wouldn’t have come if you weren’t the only person I felt I could trust.”
He stared at her for a long moment. Then he spoke. Quietly. “Not sure why you think you can trust me, quite honestly. I might decide you aren’t worth the hassle. Could be a bad thing for you.”
She stared right back. He watched her swallow again. “I trust you because you can’t lie, not about the big stuff. I know that as well as I know my own face. So don’t try to scare me. It won’t work. Not about this, anyway.”
He swung the door open and put a booted foot on the ground. He didn’t like the way she was making him feel inside. “Don’t be too sure, Bliss. People change. Trust me, I know that better than most. And I’ve learned to adapt.”
The room was dingy, but not crawling with bugs. At least not that she could see. Bliss followed Sky inside and turned around to study their surroundings. There was a bed, a desk, and a dresser. A fridge and coffee maker sat against one wall, and the bathroom looked pretty standard from what she could see.
The carpet was outdoor carpet, an ugly green that hid stains, and the bed was covered with a taupe coverlet that she imagined had seen a lot of action and very little cleaning.
“I’ll take the cot,” she said with a shudder.
Sky arched an eyebrow. “Cot?”
“You asked for one to be brought up, right?” The look on his face said he clearly had not. Bliss gaped at him. “You didn’t ask for a cot? Surely you don’t expect us to sleep in the same bed?”
“Look, this isn’t the kind of establishment”—he managed to sneer that last word—“that sends someone up with a cot. There’s no room service, no bed turndown, no mints on the pillow. This is a motel, it’s cheap and out of the way, and we don’t need two rooms because two rooms are more difficult for me to secure. Unless you’ve had some personal defense training and care to guard yourself?”
She sniffed. “I’ve taken a class, and I have a pistol—clearly, or I couldn’t have shot the guy in my house. But no, I don’t have your tactical ability. And you still didn’t answer my question. What are the sleeping arrangements?”
He snorted. Then he shook his head. “Here are the sleeping arrangements—when you’re tired, sleep. I’ll do the same. It’s a queen-sized bed, it probably sucks ass in the comfort department, but trust me when I tell you that I have no dark urges to touch you inappropriately. We were married, Bliss. We fucked. A lot. I’ve got exactly zero desire when it comes to you anymore. You can trust me to lie beside you if necessary and leave you the hell alone.”
She didn’t know why his words irritated her, but they did. Not to mention that her body wasn’t exactly upset at the idea of lying next to him. There was a party going on in her panties right now at the mere thought. Cozied up to Sky. Nothing between them but a few items of clothing. She might not want to remember what it had been like with him, but she did. Nothing but skin on skin, his body buried deep in hers, his tongue stroking hers, her heart beating so hard and loud she thought she might faint from excitement. And then there were the orgasms. Intense, shattering, amazing.
But now he said he could lie beside her and not want to repeat any of that. It shouldn’t bother her, but she’d be lying if she said it didn’t. It did. A little.
She was still smarting from his questions about her background, and now this. She felt incredibly vulnerable right now, like she’d landed in an alternate reality where nothing was quite like she remembered it. It was disconcerting.
“If it helps,” he continued, “I have no plans to take off my clothes.” He glanced at the bed. “I suggest you do the same.”
“Trust me, I hadn’t planned on it.”
He dropped his bag on the dresser and hauled out his computer. Then he hauled out another one. He proceeded to set up a small command center on the desk, hooking computers to each other, hooking up a secure Wi-Fi device, and dragging a chair over to wedge it beneath the desk. Then he looked at her.
“Need your computer, Bliss.”
“I have a USB stick with the contents of Martin’s hard drive. That’s what I was supposed to deliver.”
“But you have a copy on your hard drive as well?”
“Yes.”
“Then I need your computer.”
She balked. Her life was on that computer. Of course she had backups, but she needed to protect her information. And Sky was a damned good hacker. “I don’t see why.”
His eyes narrowed. “Because I said I do. Remember the deal? Cooperate, tell me truthful answers to my questions, and I’ll help. The first sign of deception and I’m gone.”
Bliss sighed as she reached into the Louis Vuitton case and pulled out her laptop and the stick. She handed them both to Sky. He gazed down at the skin she’d put on her laptop. It was a deep reddish-pink with roses. It was a hint to her hacker name, which he very well knew. Briar Rose, otherwise known as Sleeping Beauty, her favorite fairy tale when she was a little girl. She’d kept hoping for Prince Charming to come and wake her from a deep sleep so he could take her away from the holler and the reality of life there. It had never happened.
She’d g
otten herself out, but there’d been no Prince Charming. Not even Sky, whom she’d thought might be the one when she met him. She’d let her deep-seated fantasies overwhelm her good sense when it came to him. Never before had she slept with a guy within hours of meeting him.
And never since. In fact, she hadn’t been with anyone in the past four years. She’d tried, but nobody held her interest the way he had. Nobody sparked the fire inside. It was just as easy to take care of business with a vibrator and a dirty movie than it was to find a man to rock her world.
Sky set her computer on the desk and then plugged the USB stick into an open port on one of his computers. He pulled the chair out and sat down as he started to call up the contents. Bliss went to stand behind him, peering over his right shoulder. He didn’t tell her to go, so she didn’t.
He clicked on the files. A password prompt appeared.
“Figures. He’s encrypted the whole thing, which is pretty much what I expected. It could take days to break in. Weeks if Martin was any good.” Sky transferred the files to his laptop, then ejected the stick and put it in his pocket.
“That’s mine,” she said.
“It’s mine now, babe. You got a problem with that?”
“Well, yeah. That’s my device. I took the risk to get the files in the first place.”
He flipped open her computer and waited for it to boot up. “Password?”
“No,” she said firmly.
He frowned. “Bliss. Cooperation is a big part of this deal.”
“Sure it is, but I’m not giving you the keys to the kingdom. Would you give me your passwords?”
He didn’t say anything for a long moment. And then he gave the only answer he could. The honest answer. “No.”
“Of course not.” She nudged her hip against his shoulder. “Move and I’ll type it in.” He spun the laptop her way and she typed in her log-in. It wasn’t an easy thing to do, but she needed him to know she was serious. “I don’t know what you want. I’ve got nothing on here—and you aren’t copying my files.”
“No, I’m not.” He navigated to the files she’d stolen from Martin. Then, in one quick highlight and delete, he erased them all.
“Hey,” she cried.
He tilted his head to the side and gazed up at her. “Before you get pissed, it’s safer this way. You literally don’t have access anymore. If somebody did get possession of you or your computer, they’d find nothing.”
“Yes, but I did all the work to get those files. You’re taking that away.”
“You asked for my help. I gave you the conditions. If you want to change the deal, you aren’t going to like my response.”
She threw her hands up. “You’re enjoying this way too much, Sky.”
He had the audacity to smirk. “Yeah, I kinda am.” He took out his phone and started to scroll through the contacts. “Got to make a call, babe.”
She growled. “Why are you calling me babe? You don’t even like me. You’ve made it abundantly clear.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Does it irritate you? Good. There’s your answer.” He turned all his attention to whomever was on the other end of the phone. “Hey, Saint, got a situation here. Need some help.”
Chapter Five
Half an hour later, there was a knock at the door. Sky pulled his Sig and strode over to peer out the peephole. Dean “Wolf” Garner and Noah “Easy” Cross stood on the other side. Sky tucked the Sig into the holster at his back and slid the chain off the door before pulling it just wide enough to let his teammates inside.
Bliss sat on a chair by the bed, reading her phone. When his boys walked in, she straightened. She’d spent the past twenty minutes in the bathroom, combing out her hair and cussing him up one side and down the other for making her ride in his Jeep, but now she looked serene and reasonable. And beautiful, damn her.
Wolf and Easy wasted no time in noticing her beauty either. Wolf jerked to a halt. Easy shot Sky a look and then turned his gaze on Bliss again. Sky had told Saint he had a female with him, a fellow hacker who was in trouble, but he hadn’t explained the whole sordid story.
“Hey, man,” Wolf said, pulling his gaze from Bliss. “Saint said you needed some support.”
“Yeah,” Sky said. “I had to leave home pretty quick in case she was followed or someone connected us. We need food, and since I’ve got to pull an all-nighter, it’d be good to have eyes on our perimeter.”
“You got it, man. What do you want to eat?”
“Don’t much care. Bliss?”
Her gaze darted between the three of them. Her cheeks were slightly red, but he didn’t have time to wonder why. “I don’t eat fast food. Anything else is fine.”
“Seriously, babe? These guys aren’t here to cook you a gourmet meal. There’s a McDonald’s, a Wendy’s, and a Taco Bell nearby. Choose from those.”
“Uh,” Easy said, darting his gaze between Sky and Bliss. “There’s also a twenty-four-hour IHOP. Not gourmet, but a little bit better. Pancakes, omelets, sandwiches.”
“IHOP would be great,” Bliss said in a silky voice that Sky recognized. Girl was dropping into master-manipulator mode. The things she’d gotten him to do with that voice. He shook himself before his mind wandered places he didn’t need it going.
“I’ll have scrambled eggs with turkey sausage and a side of pancakes,” she said.
“Yes, ma’am,” Easy replied. “Coffee? Soda?”
“Oh, coffee would be fabulous. Thank you.”
Sky wanted to barf. Bliss could turn it on when she had to—and Easy was putty in her hands. Wolf wasn’t much better. He gaped at her as if trying to figure out who she was and how she fit, though in reality he was probably just stunned by her beauty. Bliss was a looker.
“Not that anybody cares, but I’ll take the same as she’s having.”
“Of course we care,” Easy said, scoffing. “We’re here, aren’t we?”
Sky leaned back against the desk where he’d put the computers. Elbows casually on the surface behind him, legs crossed. “You guys realize this woman is a hacker and a con artist, right?”
Bliss rolled her eyes. Then she stood in one fluid movement and held out her hand to Easy and then Wolf. “In case Sky didn’t tell you, I’m also his ex-wife. So take whatever he says about me with a grain of salt, okay?”
Easy’s eyebrows climbed his forehead. Wolf coughed. Sky rolled his eyes. Son of a bitch, he should have known she’d say something about that. He was the kind of guy who didn’t talk about his personal life—but she’d just put it all out there.
“That’s right,” he drawled, as if she hadn’t just spilled one of the biggest details of his life. “Bliss and I were together for six months, married for five. While she lied about who she was and upended my life. Nearly ruined my Army career—and all my chances at Special Ops, or so I thought at the time. Bliss is a real peach, fellas.”
“Ooo-kay,” Wolf said, gaze darting between the two of them. “Not touching this one with a ten-foot pole. Looks like Easy and I are headed out for a food run. When we return, I’d appreciate it if you two were done with the surprises.”
“Try my best, Wolf,” Sky said, never taking his eyes from Bliss’s sleek form. It wasn’t fair that a woman could be so damned pretty. He had to ask himself what kind of perverse inner demon insisted on being attracted to her when she was clearly bad news, but there was no answer forthcoming. He’d told her he could lie in bed next to her and not want to touch her, but that was the one thing he’d lied his ass off about.
He wanted to touch her. Everywhere.
“We didn’t end on the best of terms,” Bliss said, as if that was a surprise to anyone, considering the tension in the room. “As you can tell… I don’t think there are any other surprises though. We were married. We divorced. It’s over.”
“Yep, definitely over,” Sky added. “I wouldn’t be helping her out at all if she hadn’t begged me to save her ass from the last person she pissed off.”
Bliss
scoffed. “Really, Sky? That’s the story you’re going with?”
“It’s the truth. You wouldn’t have come to my door if you weren’t desperate.”
“I’m beginning to wish I’d avoided you even then,” she grumbled.
“You can still go. Nobody’s stopping you.”
“You have my files, asshole,” she growled. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Wolf and Easy had backed to the door. They exchanged a glance, and then Easy cleared his throat. “All righty, going for that food. Y’all should probably get this shit out of your system before we get back.”
“Not a problem for me,” Sky said as nonchalantly as possible.
Bliss rolled her eyes. “I’m done,” she added. “I’ve got bigger things to worry about than the fact Sky hates me. I’ve had four years to get used to that—and get over it. Not a problem for me either.”
“Yeah, okay, great,” Easy said. “Be back soon.”
He and Wolf walked out the door, and Sky went over to slide the chain back into place and scan the parking lot through the peephole. It was your usual roach-motel parking lot with questionable people doing questionable things at all hours. There were probably drug deals happening down there, prostitution, and lovers’ spats that would turn violent before the night was out. He’d picked a hell of a place to take her, but sometimes it was better to hide in plain sight where nobody expected you to be than to hole up in a luxury resort. Considering Bliss’s penchant for the finer things in life, nobody would ever look for her here.
He turned and found Bliss frowning at him. “Way to go, dickhead.”
“I didn’t tell them we were married. You did that.”
“Of course I did, you jerk! You started the whole thing with that crack about fast food.”
HOT SECRETS: A Hostile Operations Team - Book 13 Page 4
