by C. J. Miller
* * *
From his place leaning against the wall, Griffin collected himself. He’d been hurt worse, and while he needed a doctor to look at his shoulder, he was fine for now. It would take longer for infection to set in. He was playing up his injury, letting Stargazer underestimate him. It was the best time to strike.
Stargazer’s gun dipped. He was narrowing his eyes, watching the computer screen as Kit typed. When Stargazer’s shoulders relaxed, Griffin launched himself at the Incognito leader, catching the man unaware. Griffin used his weight to drag him to the ground. Stargazer hit Griffin’s shoulder, which twisted his pain into anger.
Griffin tore the gun from Stargazer’s hand. “Call for backup and I’ll shoot before anyone has time to react. I’ll make this bullet count. No medic will be able to save you.” For good measure, he punched Stargazer across the face, rendering the man unconscious.
The fire alarm blared, and a strobe light on the wall blinked.
“I set off the alarms that the island was under attack and everyone should abandon their posts,” Kit said from the terminal. “We need to go.”
She had created a perfect distraction.
Griffin hauled himself to his feet. “We’d better get off this island now.”
Finding the energy to run wasn’t easy. He was lightheaded, and staying conscious took effort.
Kit stood at his side and Arsenic moved to the other. Together they fled the warehouse. As they ran, alarms sounded, but the trio was ignored. Men poured toward the docks. It would be harder to blend or steal a boat with so many Incognito agents rushing to flee.
“We need another way off the island,” Griffin said.
Kit grinned. “That was part two of my escape plan. The West Company knows right where we are. Help is on the way.”
* * *
Griffin, Arsenic and Kit hid behind a row of parked cars. When the unmarked fleet of choppers set down near the pier, Griffin knew the West Company had arrived.
Kit wrapped her arms around Griffin’s waist. “Griffin, I need you to know that I love you. This is over, but I love you.”
Griffin held a hand to his ear. “What? I can’t hear you.”
Was he pretending he couldn’t hear to avoid this discussion? “I love you.”
Those three words were clear.
Griffin stroked the side of her face. “We need to talk.”
She couldn’t read Griffin’s expression. Arsenic was watching the exchange, but when Kit glanced in his direction, he looked away.
“When?” Kit asked. If these helicopters whisked Griffin to another mission with a new identity, how would she find him again?
Chapter 14
The West Company headquarters in Wisconsin was a nondescript building near the Ottawa National Forest. The sign on the building announced it was a nature conservancy.
After Griffin’s and Arsenic’s injuries had been treated, she, Griffin and Arsenic had been brought to Wisconsin for questioning. Kit felt foggy and scared as she sat in the conference room with Connor West and Griffin.
“You sent worldwide, critical systems into lockdown mode,” Connor West said.
Kit wouldn’t deny it. “Yes. I had to. To protect the data. Incognito was too close.”
“It wasn’t your call to make,” Connor said.
They had no way to spin blame away from her. CIA, NSA and military leaders were pissed. Their record systems were still in lockdown, and they wanted answers.
“I did what I thought was best,” Kit said.
Connor slanted her a look. “We’ve interrogated the Incognito agents we’ve captured from the island. They’ve been making plea deals and providing information about Incognito in exchange for lighter prison sentences.”
“What about Stargazer?” Kit asked.
“He’s in federal custody. Unlikely he will be able to negotiate a lesser punishment,” Connor said. “We’re close to destroying the copies of the code they stole and tracking Incognito groups around the globe.”
“That’s great news,” Kit said. She and Griffin were in trouble, but from the moment they had been rescued from the island, they had been separated. He was seated in the room with her, but he had not looked at her or spoken a single word. Her heart ached. She wished he would say something to her.
“The West Company is assembling a team to bring the government’s systems back online safely,” Connor said.
This was supposed to be a debriefing, but Kit felt like she was being put under a microscope. She was in trouble, certainly, but what about Griffin? Would he be okay?
After a tap on the door, Kate West entered the room. She was hugely pregnant, wearing a stylish printed maxidress and cardigan. Her husband’s face lit up when he saw her. For a man who otherwise showed no emotion, it was touching to witness.
Connor kissed Kate’s cheek and then touched her belly protectively. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”
Kate set her hand over her husband’s and smiled at him. “I know when to take a break. The opportunity to work with Kit will be a pleasure.”
Kit felt a twinge of jealousy for the well-known computer scientist who had found love and romance and was having a baby with her rich, handsome and devoted husband.
Some women were dealt the best cards. Others were dealt no cards in the love and romance department.
“I haven’t asked her if she wants to be part of the team,” Connor said.
Kate sat and smiled at Kit. “Knowing you did your best with what you had at the time, the United States government is willing to overlook the incident with the Locker that occurred on the island if you’re willing to be part of the team building and securing the systems we need to protect.”
Kit hadn’t expected this. “What about the Locker?”
“That project is being decommissioned. It’s too risky to allow one security blanket to cover us. We have other plans in place,” Kate said.
Intriguing work. “Sounds like a long-term commitment,” Kit said, glancing at Griffin, wondering what he was thinking.
“It is. A job for as long as you’d like it,” Kate said.
“I don’t want to live in isolation again,” Kit said.
Kate nodded. “You would be working from this building. You are free to live your life on your time. No strings.”
“Would I be working with Griffin?” Kit asked. She looked at him.
A muscle in Griffin’s jaw flexed. He was upset but keeping his mouth shut. What was on his mind?
Kate glanced between the two of them. “Oh. I can’t believe I missed this.”
Not an answer. Kit waited for someone to respond.
Kate stood. “We could make arrangements for you two to work together periodically. But why don’t we leave you to discuss that?”
Connor gave his wife a bewildered look. “I need to debrief Griffin.”
Kate squeezed her husband’s arm. “Give them a minute. They need to talk.”
Connor looked from his wife to Griffin and Kit. Realization about their personal relationship must have dawned. “It’s been a rough few days. We’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Connor and Kate left the room, closing the door behind them.
Kit had so much to say, she didn’t know where to start. “Griffin, I want this job.”
Griffin folded his hands on the table. “Then take it.”
He was not factoring their relationship into her acceptance of the job. “You won’t mind seeing me?” she asked.
“I travel. It’s not a big deal. I’m rarely at headquarters, usually only between assignments. That is, if I still have a job and am not put in prison.”
“I already told them I disabled the Locker. You won’t be in trouble for this,” Kit said. “But do you want to see me?�
� The question came out squeaky, and Kit wished she had spoken more strongly.
“I told you from the start that my commitment is to my job. When I’m off medical leave, I’ll go where I’m needed.”
Then he wanted this to be the end of their personal relationship. After everything they had been through, he was finished with her. “I see.”
He looked at her, and his green eyes pierced her. “Kit, don’t be upset. You’ve known from the beginning that our relationship had a shelf life.”
She felt tears pressing at her eyes. He had been honest with her, but she wasn’t ready to accept that this was over. “Then this is goodbye?”
Griffin stood. He crossed the room to her and with his good arm, he hugged her. “It has to be. I don’t see another way.”
Kate had said they could work together, but Griffin was ignoring that. He didn’t want them to work together. He wanted to be free of her.
Now, if only her heart could be free of him.
* * *
Griffin held his hand up to Kit’s door three times before he knocked. He could have left the States, and whatever words were spoken between them would have needed to be enough. Something about the look in her eyes haunted him. Flying to the other side of the world and being unable to contact her would mean the last time they’d spoken, he had upset her. He couldn’t live with that.
Griffin held his mission orders in his hand. He had to say good-bye to Kit properly, explain what he could and wish her the best. He was wheels up in three hours, which left little time to pack and no time for discussions. He hated leaving Kit, but he was no longer her protector. Accepting that was hard.
Kit was working from the West Company’s headquarters, the safest place in the Midwest. Nothing bad would happen to her. He had to believe that or he wouldn’t be able to leave. After what had happened to Beth, he needed to know that Kit would not suffer the same fate.
Kit opened her door. Surprise registered on her face. She lowered the candy bar she was eating from her mouth. “Griffin. I thought you’d left.”
Disappointed to see him? Angry he had come by? “I’m leaving soon.”
She stared at him. A bit of chocolate beckoned to him from her lower lip. He wanted to kiss it from her mouth. “Can I come in?”
She stepped back from the door, allowing him inside. He set his heavy pack on the floor. The apartment was cozy and bright, like Kit. “This is your new place?” he asked.
“We don’t have to make small talk. This is a lease from the West Company until I find a place of my own.”
“It’s nice.”
She lifted her brow impatiently. “How long will you be gone?”
Until the job was done and Incognito couldn’t hurt Kit. “A day. A week. Months.” Her safety remained his top priority. The West Company was tasked with using the information they’d acquired to root out members of Incognito. Griffin had volunteered to be part of that team.
Kit remained silent. “What will I do?”
Was she asking if she should wait for him to return, to put their relationship in some type of paused state? He couldn’t ask or expect her to do that. “You’ll work for the West Company.”
Kit fell back a couple of steps. The distance between them had never been greater.
“Arsenic agreed to work on the team,” Kit said.
The sadness in her voice gutted him. She was speaking as if she was fine, but Griffin knew she wasn’t. This mission has morphed from professional to something else entirely. Did she understand that he couldn’t stay at her side while dangers lurked in the world, dangers that were targeting her? That he was leaving because he loved her and wanted to keep her safe?
Loved her. He loved her. The truth struck him so hard, it knocked the air from his lungs.
He wanted to give her a clean break from him. He owed her. Walking away wasn’t easy. What he felt for her shouldn’t have been her burden. “I wish you the best.” Not the words he had been looking for. They expressed nothing of what he felt or the deep, burning desire to keep her safe. They didn’t communicate that he wanted to make feverish love to her today and when he returned and every day after that.
He couldn’t say those things to her. He wouldn’t make promises he couldn’t keep.
Her hand gripped her candy bar harder, and her free hand rolled into a fist. “Is that how you say goodbye to me?” The heat in her eyes did crazy things to his pulse.
He had another way he wanted to say goodbye. Would she let him touch her? He went for broke, lifting her in his arms. He kissed her hard on the mouth and tasted caramel and chocolate and almonds. Her candy bar hit the floor. He kicked the door closed and headed for the bedroom.
He’d had great sex before, but he couldn’t define what he had with Kit as just great sex. When they were alone together, they existed on some other plane. It wasn’t quickie sex or because-it-feels-good sex. This was altogether different. He cared about her. He wanted her to be happy. He wanted to be the man who made her happy.
He cradled her against him, loving the feel of her body pressed to his. She wrapped her arms around his neck. In one smooth motion, he laid her on the bed and lowered his body on top of hers.
He interlaced his right hand with her left and brought her fingers to his lips. He kissed each knuckle. An invisible force held him close to her. He hadn’t come to her apartment to make love to her. He’d wanted to explain something, but now words weren’t enough.
Seeing her, holding her in his arms, he was lost. She reached for his shirt, and he let her undress him. When he was totally naked, he lay back on the bed. She ran her fingers through his hair, and then trailed her hand down his face, across his chest and stomach. He loved that she liked his body and could enjoy him.
He wanted to flip her onto her back and make slow love to her. She would set the pace. This was her music they were dancing to. He wouldn’t push her even if he wanted her more than he had ever wanted another woman. Even though watching her was making him hot. His arousal was desperate for her touch.
“Why did you come here?” she asked.
He wouldn’t lie even though the answer would hurt her. “To say good-bye.” He couldn’t stay away. He should have been on his way to the airport. He should have been checking his supplies, reading his trip documents. But he had been drawn to her. He’d needed to see her, to resolve those unspoken problems between them.
Sadness touched the corners of her eyes, and she pressed a kiss to his lips. Her intentions were plain. She removed her clothes, never breaking contact. Withdrawing a condom from his wallet, she rolled it on.
Razor-sharp desire piercing him, he called on his control. As slow as she wanted it, however she wanted him, tonight was for her.
She melted against him, and he kissed her with the pent-up longing dwelling inside him. Shifting her hips, she impaled herself on him in one hard thrust. He groaned and reached to where their bodies were joined, finding the spot she liked him to touch.
She adjusted her legs and rode him, rocking her hips and letting her body guide her motions. Her breaths were shallow and he lifted his hips, pushing against her and trying to stay calm. He needed to make this last.
Everything she did, every sound from her lips, every brush of her fingertips threatened to push him over. He wouldn’t last much longer. He turned her onto her back and worked his hips, delving inside her, losing himself completely. The sensations of her release triggered his own.
As his pulse began to slow, he extracted himself and cleaned up. She hadn’t moved from the bed, but she was awake, watching him.
“I wish you were mine,” she said.
The statement pierced his heart. He searched for the words to accomplish what he had come here to do. “My job is my life and right now, my job is to keep you safe, to find the members of Incognito. To stop them. To m
ake sure you can live your life without looking over your shoulder. When I went overseas and Beth was killed, it was like a part of me had died, too.”
Kit watched him, saying nothing, just listening.
“I couldn’t forgive myself. My occupation means I should be able to keep the people I care for safe. I wasn’t careful enough with Beth.”
“The person responsible for Beth’s death is Beth’s attacker,” Kit said.
“I know that here.” He touched his head and then brought his hand to his heart. “But here, I feel if I can’t keep you safe, then what good am I?”
She blinked at him and propped herself on her elbow. “Is that what this is about? You think in order to keep me safe you have to finish the mission against Incognito by rooting out every last terrorist involved with the organization?”
If Incognito knew Kit was alive and where she was, they would come after her. “It’s the only way.”
“The only way for what?” she asked. “To protect me? Because Griffin, I will be a target of other groups. I work for the West Company now. I won’t advertise my occupation, but plenty of bad guys want to stop me and my work.”
He stroked a strand of hair behind her ear, taking in her words.
“Am I safer with you globetrotting around the world, or am I safer with you at my side, protecting me, with us protecting each other? When we’re together, we’re amazing, and I feel safe. It’s being apart too much that scares me.”
He hadn’t thought about it in those terms. “Together. How would it work? How could I do my work out in the world and you do yours in an office?”
She stroked the side of his face. “We could travel together. Take on missions together. When we need to be apart, it won’t be for long. I told you once before I love you, and I’ll love you enough for the both of us.”
Griffin kissed her. He loved her. He knew it with every fiber of his being. “You won’t have to do that. I love you, Kit.”
Tears filled her eyes. “You love me?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
She threw herself into his arms and kissed him. “I needed the words.”
