Lethal Game

by Katie Reus

  “Oh.” She seemed relieved by that. “Well…it’s a shock seeing you.” She let out a nervous laugh and gestured to her iced hand. “Obviously. But I promise no more outbursts of violence. Unless provoked.”

  He’d have given anything to be able to take her hand in his, stroke his thumb over it, try to ease her pain. Pain he’d caused her yet again. “How’s your hand?”

  “Okay. I’ve never punched anyone before.” She let out another one of those nervous laughs as her cheeks flushed again.

  He hated being the cause of her discomfort. “Well, you’re good at it.”

  She gave him a real laugh and rolled her eyes. “That’s a strange compliment.”

  Before he could respond Harrison strode back in, his expression all business. Time to get down to work.

  Even if that was the last thing he wanted to do. But he had to play this right, to be professional and show Isa how good things could be between them. Show her that he still loved her—and that he would never hurt her again.

  Because in his end game, Isa was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Even if he didn’t deserve her, he’d damn sure spend the rest of his life making her happy.

  Chapter 3

  I’m going to kill you Isa texted to Mara as she headed down in the elevator to her office.

  I think you mean thank me. Otherwise you wouldn’t have gotten all sexy today. How’s your hand feel?

  How do you even know about that? Isa hadn’t left Harrison’s office until a few minutes ago.

  I have my ways.

  I can actually hear you cackling as you say that. Ugh, my hand is fine. I’m a little embarrassed though.

  From what I hear, he deserved more than a punch.

  Isa had never told Mara about Graysen. Not specifically, anyway. When she’d become friends with Mara, Isa had mentioned an ex who was a liar, but that had been the extent of things. Talking about Graysen had just been too hard and she didn’t like people knowing all her business. But if Harrison knew about Isa and Graysen’s history, then no doubt Mara knew everything too. Still, Isa didn’t feel like talking about it now. She just wanted to hide out in her office and lick her wounds and pretend that when the new contract started in two weeks she wouldn’t be working with her ex-boyfriend—for one stupid week.

  Probably, she texted back.

  She tucked her phone into her purse when she reached her floor. And when she made it to her office and found Lizzy Caldwell sitting in the chair in front of the desk, offering up a cappuccino, she almost burst into tears. “That’s for me?”

  Lizzy grinned. “Yep, just the way you like it. I added two sugars.”

  “I freaking love you.”

  “I know. I’m very loveable.” Lizzy kicked her feet out in front of her and Isa saw that she was wearing purple and pink Chuck Taylors. She had on jeans and a T-shirt that said Nerd? I prefer the term Intellectual Badass. The shirt made Isa grin. Lizzy didn’t care about ‘being professional’ at the office. Probably because she was head-hunted by government agencies all the time and knew how invaluable she was to the company. It didn’t hurt that she was married to one of the owners, either.

  “Not that I don’t appreciate this,” Isa said, holding up her drink as she sat. “Or the company. But what are you doing in my neck of the woods?” Their offices were actually on the same floor, but they didn’t work together often.

  Lizzy shrugged, a mischievous grin on her face. “Just knew you’d be back in the office today and wanted to say hi. And…I heard you punched a guy and wanted to ask why.”

  “Oh crap. Does everyone know?” Isa had worked so hard to fit in here. After escaping DC and the hellish stories—truth—of her father being a traitor, she made a point to be a professional at all times. She was sure some people knew about her past, though no one had ever called her on it. Which was fine by her. She didn’t want to talk about that with anyone.

  Lizzy snorted. “I don’t think anyone does, really. I just heard from Porter—who heard from one of the guys in the security room. They let Harrison, Porter and Grant know as standard procedure. Said you have a nice right hook, chica.”

  “It’s the first time I’ve ever punched someone.” She took a sip of her cappuccino, grateful for the comfort drink. Her hand was tender but didn’t bother her as much as it had a while ago.

  “Well why’d you do it?”

  “He deserved it.”

  “Don’t be obnoxious.”

  “I really don’t want to talk about it. Not now, anyway. Harrison just gave me a new job and I’ve got to start prepping for it.” Which meant reading over a bunch of files and learning about her ‘new colleagues’ before she started with them. That was just the tip of the iceberg of what she had to do for her prep.

  “Okay, but if you change your mind, just call me. And not because I want gossip—though I always do. And seriously, if you want me to mess up this guy’s life, just let me know.” She got a wicked glint in her eyes that Isa knew too well. Lizzy really could be scary when she wanted to.

  “He’s a Red Stone employee.”

  Lizzy’s eyebrows raised. “Porter left that part out.”

  Isa lifted a shoulder. “He’s my new partner for my next job, so please don’t screw up his life.”

  “You’re really not making me want to know about him any less, but if you don’t want to talk about him, I get it.” She stood, pushing the chair back. “I’m here if you need me.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate it.” Once Lizzy was gone Isa set her mug down on her desk and groaned to herself.

  She was going to be working a job with sexy, frustrating Graysen West. How the heck had this even happened? Seeing him in that elevator and then in the office had jolted her back to over a year ago, to the first time they’d met. The first time he’d introduced himself and acted as if he had no idea who she was.

  As if he hadn’t targeted her for a specific reason.

  She looked at her cappuccino and frowned, pushing back all sorts of unwanted memories. If she ever had a reason to start day drinking, now was it.

  She was too much of a professional to do that though. Or she hoped she was. Because a mimosa—or three—at lunch today sounded like a good freaking idea.

  Chapter 4

  Fourteen months ago

  “I think this is yours.”

  The deep, male voice made Isa turn around and look up, up, up into arresting blue eyes.

  “What?” She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the stranger in front of her. Didn’t want to, if she got to look at this eye candy.

  “The coffee. I think I grabbed yours by mistake.” That deep voice wrapped around her, his mere presence making everything else in the small coffee shop fade away.

  Blinking, she looked at the cup he extended then looked at the one in her hand. She turned it and saw the name Michael scribbled in purple ink. She frowned at herself, surprised she’d taken the wrong cup, but held it out to him as he traded with her. “Sorry about that.”

  “No worries.” His smile was easy, those eyes ridiculously gorgeous, and he looked a little out of place in this coffee shop that attracted mostly corporate types.

  He had on jeans, a thick Columbia jacket and heavy boots. He topped off the sexy look with a hint of a beard—probably five or so days’ worth of dark scruff—and he looked a bit like a lumberjack. Or a ski instructor. Whatever the look was called, he was walking sex appeal.

  She smiled again and was starting to leave when he held out a hand. “I’m Michael.”

  Stopping, she shook with him. “Ah, Isa.”

  “Nice to meet you.” When her fingers touched his she swore she felt an electric spark travel up her arm. Which was stupid, like something out of a clichéd romantic comedy, but she didn’t care.

  “You too.”

  “I was about to head across the street to the park to take my dog for a walk.” He motioned to the little gray and white fluffy dog secured outside, looking in the window, watching its ma
ster patiently and adoringly. “Want to join me?”

  Isa needed to get back to work, but… “Okay.” She hadn’t been on a date in a while. Mainly because work was insane. And fate decided to drop this guy right in front of her? Yeah, she’d be an idiot to say no.

  * * *

  Shaking herself out of the buried memory, Isa glanced up from her temporary desk, expecting to see Hamilton Ridler, the CEO of Raptor Aeronautical, since it was Monday, the first day of her temporary job.

  Instead it was Graysen, looking good enough to eat in a charcoal suit and a pale grayish-blue tie. It didn’t matter what the man wore—he always looked good. Something he knew and used to the best of his advantage. They hadn’t talked much in the last two weeks, and for that she was grateful. Now she only had one week to get through and she could tell Harrison she didn’t want to work with Graysen anymore.

  He’d been here the whole time, working with Mr. Ridler as a new employee—one Ridler was supposedly personally grooming for a high management position. Graysen had been brought in early, and because of his new “position” he had the highest security clearance.

  As did she. But she didn’t have to lie to the people she was working with about her temporary job. Not really. She’d been hired as a special analyst to see where the company could make some cuts. So of course everyone was terrified of her reporting to the big boss that their job was unnecessary. It also meant people avoided her, which was a good thing. She could do her work in peace, and mostly avoid Graysen in the process.

  “Hi, Mr. Evans,” she said, using his alias for this job. For the next couple weeks, he was Garret Evans. She got to keep her first name; they’d just changed her last name.

  “Isa.” He nodded once, his look smoldering as he leaned against the doorframe, not bothering to hide all that heat and hunger.

  Gah, why couldn’t he keep that stuff to himself? She didn’t want to know how much he still wanted her. “Can I help you with something?”

  He blinked, as if coming out of a trance. “Yes. I wanted to see if you’d have lunch with me today. You haven’t left your office all day.”

  Frowning, she looked at the clock on her laptop and was surprised to see it was already one o’clock. “I’m not really hungry.” She could get like that when on a job—everything but her work took a back seat.

  “I insist,” he murmured, stepping into the small office that consisted of a desk and an empty bookcase. At least it had a window, but other than that it was bare. There was something in his tone that made her straighten, however.

  She stood and started to pick up her laptop but he gave a subtle shake of his head.

  She picked up her purse instead, and even though she had questions, she didn’t bother asking. She would wait until they were alone.

  Once they were in the hall he placed his hand on the small of her back, the action not exactly intimate but it somehow felt like it. “Thanks for taking this tour with me.” When he spoke it was a little too loud.

  She quickly realized that it was because he wanted people to overhear him. He continued talking about the company and how even though he was new, that he and Mr. Ridler were going to make sure Raptor was running as smoothly as it could.

  When they reached the elevators she started to ask him why he’d wanted her to leave her laptop but he shook his head again and casually scratched his ear. Oh, right, someone might be listening in the elevator. In past jobs that had never been an issue. She’d usually worked with Antoine, but they almost never had any interaction except right until the last day of a job. And even then their contact was covert.

  A couple floors later Graysen steered her into what turned out to be a private, windowless office set up with multiple video feeds—including one of her office.

  She turned to him, wide-eyed. “You’re watching me?” She couldn’t believe he hadn’t told her. Or that she hadn’t noticed a video camera.

  He nodded and motioned to the desk with two takeout boxes. “I got you a spicy tuna roll and an edamame salad for our lunch date.”

  She shouldn’t be surprised he remembered that was her favorite. “Thanks…but what is all this?”

  “We’re staking out your office for the next hour.”

  She snorted and took a seat in the surprisingly comfortable chair in front of her takeout box. It was cushioned and had a remote control to adjust the back setting as well as a heater for her butt. It had to be a couple grand, easy. “Where’d you get this seat?” she asked as he sat next to her in a normal-looking chair.

  He shrugged as he adjusted one of the screens. “It was already in here… No one should bother us on this floor. It’s where we’ll set up our base of operations.”

  But there was something in his tone that said it hadn’t been and she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d gotten it for her. She didn’t ask because she didn’t want the answer. “So, we’re staking out my office. Why didn’t you tell me before you had it wired?”

  “I knew you’d act weird if you knew I had a camera on you.”

  Well, that was true. “Okay, fair enough. So…this is a little different from what Antoine and I normally do for our jobs. I didn’t think you and I would have much contact.”

  “As of this morning, Ridler told me that he’s certain someone is stealing from the company. Funds from two accounts have gone missing in the last twelve hours. Both over a hundred grand. He’s got one of his tech guys on it too, but because of the nature of this breach no one else knows about this.”

  She opened her lunch and smiled at the spicy scent. “And you think what, someone’s going to try to hack my computer?”

  He shrugged again, slanting her a glance that reminded her of how he’d looked at her in bed on more than one occasion. She wasn’t sure what it was, but something in his expression triggered naked memories. She swallowed hard and focused on the screens. The other feeds displayed the hallway outside her office and what appeared to be a couple of stairwells.

  “Can I say something not related to this job?” His voice was low, almost hesitant.

  Which was so very unlike him. He was always confident. She tensed. “Sure.” She kept her tone as light as she could, even though she knew he was going to talk about them, their past. Now wasn’t the time. But the truth was, there was never going to be a good time.

  “I know I’ve said I’m sorry but I’m going to say it again. Did I target you? Yes. Did I plan to sleep with you? No. Fuck. No. I’d just planned to meet you and get an invite to your father’s estate. That was it.” His tone grew harsher, his voice thicker as he continued.

  Against her will she turned to him. She didn’t want to see his face, didn’t want to see any emotions there. For the last year she’d done a good job of locking up all memories of Graysen West into a tiny box in her head.

  He looked…vulnerable, his expression so open her breath caught. “Then why did you fuck me?”

  He flinched at her harsh wording. “It was more than that.”

  “Maybe so, but I just…don’t even know you. I feel like the man I slept with, told secrets to, doesn’t exist. You even lied about your freaking dog too. I opened myself up to a man named Michael. So whatever you think you feel for me, I don’t feel for you. I felt all those things for him. And he was a lie. And it freaking hurts, Graysen.”

  “I’m sorry. I know it’s hollow and useless, but I am. I wish I could go back. I want…a second chance, Isa. I know I don’t deserve it, but I—”

  She shook her head, unable to let him continue. “No. There will be no second chance. No chance between us, ever.”

  He nodded once, swallowing hard. “Is it because of…your father?”

  God, she didn’t want to talk about her father. She still hadn’t come to terms with the man her father had been, all the lies he’d told everyone. He’d been selling state secrets to terrorists. “I understand why you and your people went after him and…I believe he wanted to die in that gunfight.”

  It had been a ‘suicide
by cop’ type of situation, only in her father’s case he’d opened fire on FBI agents who’d been working with Graysen’s covert CIA team. The FBI had taken him out with little effort.

  “That’s not why. I can never trust you now. Simple as that.” He looked so damn broken she found herself continuing even though it went against all her self-preservation instincts. She knew from experience that he was a good actor. Still, he’d gone to a lot of trouble to work with her. “We can be civil. If you’re working for Red Stone, I don’t want to be enemies or anything. So, yeah, we can be friendly. That’s it though.” It took work to say the words.

  His blue eyes went shuttered as he nodded. “Okay. Fair warning. I want more. Always will.”

  “Graysen—”

  He stiffened, his gaze darting to one of the screens. She followed where he looked and her eyes widened.

  A woman in her mid-forties wearing a navy blue dress went to the window in Isa’s office and leaned against it, looking out at the skyline, her body language casual as she started to slowly do a visual scan of the office. It wasn’t overt; her moves were very relaxed. Her gaze skimmed right over where the camera must be.

  “You really must have hidden that camera well,” Isa murmured, watching as the woman quickly went to the laptop and clicked on the keyboard.

  Graysen grunted, his gaze intent on the woman for a second, as if memorizing her face. “Gina Scott.”

  Isa blinked in surprise. “You know her?”

  “Not personally. I just memorized the names and faces of anyone who had access to the funds missing.”

  “That’s like…over a hundred people.”

  He shrugged, as if memorizing that many names and faces wasn’t a big deal. She knew he had a good memory, but that was a lot of information to retain. He slid a laptop in front of him, and, fingers flying across the keyboard, pulled up a program she recognized well. Working quickly, he shadowed what the woman was doing so they saw what she saw, but on their own screen—and Gina Scott was completely unaware of their presence. The spyware program was incredible.