Hacking the SEAL (Saving the SEALs Series Book 2) (13 page)

“And if I don’t cooperate?” she teased.

He raised her fingers to his lips and kissed each fingertip before turning her hand over and tracing his tongue along the delicate lines of her palm. “Then I’ll just have to torture you to get it. Your choice.”

“I’m sure this is in violation of some Geneva code somewhere.” She squirmed in her seat and tried to pull away again, but nothing could hide the flare of desire in her emerald eyes or the quickening of her breath as he concentrated his efforts on the thudding pulse point at her wrist.

“Torture takes many forms. Any violating that happens here will be mutually enjoyable.”

“Okay, eww.” Spencer said from the front of the van. “Get a room, will you?”

Scotty chuckled and straightened, placing their entwined fingers atop his thigh. “I’m almost hoping she doesn’t share intel.”

“I bet you are,” Hayley said, squeezing his fingers slightly.

Perhaps there was hope yet for this day, Scotty thought as they sped toward the hospital.

*

Half an hour later, Hayley nodded her head at the officers standing guard outside Natalie’s hospital room then stuck her head around the door. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Natalie said, her voice weak.

Various monitors beeped all around her and there were IV tubes coming from her arm. A bright white bandage covered her right shoulder and arm. She looked tired as hell and her dark hair stood out in disarray around her head. Hayley took a deep breath and stepped inside, closing She pulled a chair up next to Natalie’s bedside and took a seat. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit.” Natalie snorted, then winced. “How are you doing?”

“Okay.” Hayley lifted up the edge of her shirt to show the bandages covering her left side. “It still stings like a son of a bitch though.”

“I bet.” Natalie gave a small smile then fiddled with the covers on her bed. “So.”

“So.” Considering everything that had happened over the past couple of hours, this would be the last quiet time the woman would have for a while. In fact, she’d passed several police officers and military investigators on her way to Natalie’s room, all of them chomping at the bit to get in here and question Nick’s widow. “It’s nice in here.”

“Yeah, if you like the industrial school of decorating.”

“Listen, Natalie. I—”

“No.” She held up a hand to silence Hayley. “I know what they’re saying about me and that there are men out there who can’t wait to get in here to drag me over the coals, but I have to know you believe me when I say I did not kill my husband or have anything to do with his death. I loved Nick. More than life. There’s nothing I wouldn’t have done to save him, if I could.”

Hayley hesitated, staring at the widow a long moment. Someone had killed Nick Matthews, but it was not this woman. “I do believe you.”

“Good.” Natalie stared at the window on the other side of the room, her expression wistful. “Growing up, I always thought I’d find a nice man, have a few kids, live happily ever after. But life hasn’t turned out that way for me.”

“You’re young,” Hayley said. Lame, but she didn’t know how else to respond. “You’ve got time.”

“Not me. I’m not starting all over again. At least romantically. Nick was it for me.”

“What are you talking about?” Hayley frowned. Maybe they’d given her some pain medicine that was making Natalie loopy.

The widow laughed, a short unpleasant sound. “Commander Brighton called me and offered me a deal. They report me dead from a gunshot wound and I get into Witness Protection—a fresh start, with a fresh identity in a fresh new place. Sounds perfect, right?”

Honestly, there were times Hayley had wished for that exact same thing herself. Especially now that her job at the FBI was essentially over. Except, if she left, that would mean leaving behind Scotty too, and he wasn’t something she was ready give up. From the widow’s melancholy expression, though, leaving her current life behind wasn’t exactly something Natalie embraced wholeheartedly either. She narrowed her gaze. “Why are you sad? This could be good.”

“Yeah, but it’s a start without Nick.” She blinked away tears and stared at the ceiling. “I should be thankful, I know. But it’s so hard, you know?”

“Yeah. I know.”

Natalie sniffed. “All he asked for in exchange is the letter Nick gave me right before he died.”

“A letter?” Hayley’s instincts went on high alert. Once an agent, always an agent.  “What kind of letter?”

“Just a note Nick gave me, about a week before he left on his final mission. It didn’t say anything important, certainly nothing to get him killed over. There must be something valuable in it though. Otherwise, why would all these bigwigs be after it?”

“Good question. Do you have it with you?”

“No. I’m not an idiot.” Natalie gave her a disgusted look. “And I’m not giving it to them either. Just like I didn’t give them those files either. Hid them real good.”

Hayley’s ears perked up at the mention of the files. “And how are you going to get them to fulfill your deal then?”

“Nick was a romantic guy. He wrote me all sorts of letters.” She gave Hayley a smart little grin. “I’ll just slip them one of those instead while I keep my prize under lock and key.”

“Won’t they know the difference?”

“Yes, but not until I’m long gone again.” Natalie winked. “I like you, Agent Stevens. You remind me a lot of myself.”

“I do?”

“Yep. Smart, snarky, good in a crisis. Not to mention the fact you’ve fallen for a sexy SEAL.”

Hayley sighed, trying to suppress her smile and failing miserably. “We do have a lot in common, huh?”

“More than you know.”

“Say, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Who did you train with? From what I saw at the row house, you got some serious skills, girl.”

“No one local. And that was a long time ago. I’m strictly on my own these days.”

A knock sounded, interrupting their conversation

Special Agent Michael Carson, chairman of the FBI cyber-crimes division and Michelle’s supervisor, peeked his head around the door. “Hello, Agent Stevens. I was told you were here. I wondered if I might have a moment of your time.”

Eyes wide, Hayley glanced at Natalie again and they exchanged a look. She swallowed hard and forced a nervous smile. “Yes, sir. Of course. Give me just a moment.”

He nodded and left, the door creaking shut behind him.

“Natalie, is there anything you can tell me about Michael Becks? About the files you were hiding in that e-reader? Anything useful that might help the team clear their name and find out the truth about what happened to your Nick?”

“I—I wish I could, but I can’t.” What little color had stained the woman’s cheeks drained away and her eyes darted about the room, wild and scared. “Please don’t ask me to say anything. I wasn’t kidding before. These people are animals. They’ll kill me without a second thought.” Tears welled in her cheeks. “They killed my Nick. I wish they would’ve killed me too.”

“No.” Hayley took Natalie’s trembling hand in hers and sighed as the monitors around her went nuts. Before long the medical techs and nurses would be in here to find out what was upsetting their patient. “Calm down. I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to do. But eventually, you’ll have to tell someone. You know that, right?”

“I know.” Natalie sniffled. “Just not today, okay? Let me get somewhere new, somewhere safe first.”

“Okay.”

A nurse knocked on the door and came in to check Natalie’s vital signs.

“Well, I guess I better go then.” Hayley let go of Natalie’s hand after giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Good luck in your new life.”

“You too, Agent Stevens. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“I won’t.” Hayley winked then headed for the door. “Hopefully they’ll relocate you somewhere warm and sunny and near the beach.”

“With my luck, I’ll end up someplace just like this again.”

“Hey,” Hayley said, stopping halfway out the door. “Think positive.”

“Right.” She gave Hayley a thumbs-up. “See you around.”

“See you.”

At the end of the hallway loomed Special Agent Carson and her pulse kicked up a notch.

The walk down the hall was long, the moment she passed the waiting area stretching for what felt like an eternity as she spotted Scotty leaning against the wall, his gaze locked with hers, unreadable. She’d been a mess at the condo, her emotions all over the map. Did he think less of her because she’d taken the widow’s side over their team?
She’s mine
, he’d said. But what did that mean? It was clear the other guys saw him as a player. Did he want more between them than just sex, because if that’s all this was, then she was out. As hot as the sex was, that was never going to be enough for her.

She shook her head and tried to get back in the game. None of this would help her current situation. To speak with Carson, she needed a clear mind and strong heart. If there was one thing the Bureau didn’t tolerate, it was cowards. God, she’d loved working there, serving her country, fighting the good fight. Now, that was over and she’d have to start all over again. Natalie was right—starting over was hard. And yeah, they did have a lot in common.

At the end of the corridor, Hayley stopped and ran a shaky hand over her clothes then cleared her throat to alert Agent Carson of her arrival. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Yes, Agent Stevens.” He took her arm and led her over to a secluded alcove. “I know you’ve been through a lot over the last couple of days and I just wanted to say, on behalf of the FBI, thank you for your service.”

Stunned, she merely nodded.

“Also, we’ve had several meetings within the department and I firmly believe you would be the best candidate to replace Agent Michelle Harper as head of the new cybercrimes team, if you’re interested.” He gave her a cool smile. “You can, of course, take a few days and think about it.”

“What—?” Her brain seemed to have short-circuited somewhere around where he’d said she was the best candidate to replace Michelle. “Are you kidding?”

Carson almost cracked a smile. “Absolutely not.”

“But, I thought—” She shook her head. No sense in alerting him to any of her improprieties if he didn’t already know about them. Plus, she refused to rush into any decisions about her future until she and Scotty had a chance to talk. “Uh, I will definitely consider it. Thank you, sir.”

“Do you have any questions for me, Agent Stevens?”

“What about Michelle? What will happen to her?”

“We apprehended her and her team shortly after their escape.” He exhaled and frowned. “Agent Harper is currently being held in federal prison pending her arraignment on charges of fraud and espionage.”

“Espionage?”

“She confessed to working for an outside party, but refused to give us specifics.”

Hayley frowned. “What about her son? He’s very ill.”

“We’re taking that into account. She claims he’s the reason she did all of this. To save him. The Bureau isn’t a monster, Agent Stevens, and I’ve spoken to a Commander Brighton also. If she was being bribed, then we’ll work with her to try and find a solution that’s beneficial to all. Don’t worry. I’ll personally make sure her son is well cared for during the process.”

“Good.”

“Here’s my card, Agent Stevens.” Carson handed her his information. “When you’re ready, please call the number listed. It’s my direct line. I’m always available.”

“Thank you, sir. For stopping by and for the job offer.”

“My pleasure. Talk to you soon, Agent Stevens.” He straightened his suit jacket and walked away, heading for the stairwell instead of the elevators and leaving Hayley alone once more.

She fiddled with the business card for several moments, staring down at it without really seeing it. Even without looking at him, she could feel the weight of Scotty’s stare on her, her skin prickling with the tingle of awareness that seemed to spark whenever he was around. At first—that night they’d first met—she’d put it down to professional instinct. Now, she knew better. What she felt for Scotty had nothing to do with her job and everything to do with her heart.

Still, for all his wonderful qualities, he was a maverick and a risk taker too. If they were going to be together, she needed to teach him a lesson about responsibility.

Hayley blinked at Agent Carson’s name emblazoned in bold black letters across the fine linen stock card and grinned. Yeah, after all the worry and frustration Scotty had put her through in that row house and down at the docks, it seemed the Bureau had handed her the perfect way to teach her beloved SEAL a lesson.

Scotty watched Hayley walk toward him, his heart slamming against his ribcage like a trapped bird. They needed to talk. He just wished they were somewhere a little more private, someplace that maybe smelled better, a little less like floor wax, bleach, and stale coffee—not to mention the medicinal smell that always permeated hospitals.

He lowered his head and stared at the toes of his combat boots, struggling to find the right words to say, the right sentences that would make her want to be with him. God, why was this so hard? He’d never had a problem charming the pants off ladies before, but it wasn’t the pants he wanted to charm off Hayley. It was Hayley herself he wanted to charm. The way he felt about her—she actually meant something to him, something more than just physical pleasure. Something like home.

“Hey,” she said, stopping a few feet in front of him.

The soft huskiness of her tone sent his stomach into a tailspin and his heart rate skyrocketing, the same dizzying feeling his got when he cut a chopper’s engine at 500 feet and went into freefall, just for the fun of it. Man, he was in trouble.

“Did you speak to Natalie?” Kyle came over and saved Scotty from having to speak right away.

“I did.”

“And?”

She gave Kyle a kind smile. “I’m sorry. I know you were hoping for something more about your brother’s case, but the only thing she mentioned was a letter.”

“A letter?” Kyle frowned. “What kind of letter?”

“Not sure.” Hayley shrugged. “She said it was a note he gave her about a week before his last mission. Natalie said there wasn’t anything of interest in it at all, as far as she could tell, but that your Commander Brighton seemed to want to get his hands on it.”

“Shit.” This from Spencer, who slumped in one of the area’s uncomfortable looking chairs. “Are we going off on another goose chase?”

“What? Like you’ve got something better to do?” Scotty leaned around Hayley to glare at his team mate. “If that’s what Kyle orders us to do, then that’s what we’ll do.”

Spencer grumbled and grabbed a dog eared copy of People.

“Dammit.” Kyle ran a hand through his hair and turned away. “Why won’t she talk?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she’s going through a lot right now?” Hayley said. “You know? Murdered husband? Being on the run? Give her some time.”

A nurse came around the corner and gave them a disapproving look. “All of you need to keep it down or I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Sorry,” the group said in unison.

“How long will she be in here?” Scotty asked after the nurse left.

Hayley glanced at him, hesitated, then looked away. “I—I’m not sure. She didn’t say.”

Scotty’s Spidey senses went berserk. That was a lie if he’d ever heard one, but he didn’t want to press the issue. Not yet anyway. Not until he got things settled between him and Hayley. He leaned a little closer to her and his chest squeezed a tight. “Can we go somewhere and talk?”

She looked back at him, her eyes wary. “Where?”

“I don’t know.” Scotty sighed. “These places usually have a cafeteria, right?”

Hayley bit her bottom lip and he’d never wanted to be a set of teeth more in his life.

At last, she nodded.

“Great.” Scotty took her hand and pushed away from the wall. “We’re going downstairs to grab a coffee. Be right back.”

“Hells yeah.” Spencer tossed his magazine aside and stood. “I’ll come with.”

“No. You won’t.” Scotty gave him a pointed glare then tugged Hayley forward. “C’mon, Red.”

“You’re no fun,” Spencer called from behind them as they started down the hall and Scotty flipped him off for good measure.

“Well, that was mature.” Hayley pulled free and stalked toward the elevators alone.

“What?” He trailed behind, feeling more like a screw up with each passing second. “Unless we’re on a mission, our team doesn’t exactly understand subtle, okay?”

She jammed the Down button with more force than necessary then crossed her arms. “You want to dump me?”

“What? No!”

“Then why did say I could walk, back at the condo? Why are we going to the basement?”

“Because I’d rather not have my personal feelings laid out in front of the team like a frigging greeting card, all right?”

“Oh.”

“That’s right.” The elevator dinged. He held the doors for her then boarded. “Pardon me for liking a little privacy.”

“You’re pardoned.”

“Good.”

“Fine.”

Yeah, things were going swimmingly well. He dug the toe of his boot into the carpet and leaned against the metal wall of the elevator. Like rearranging deck chairs on the fucking Titanic.

They reached the basement and once again, he let her off first, along with a few other patrons they’d picked up on the way down, then followed her through the brightly lit hall toward the sounds of chatter and the smell of fried food.

“You hungry?” he asked as he caught up with Hayley. “I hear the burgers aren’t bad.”

“No, I’m fine, thanks.” She walked in ahead of him. “I prefer to hear bad news on an empty stomach.”

“It’s not bad news,” he called after her. “I’ll get our coffees. You find us a table.”

Hayley continued on her way, with only a little wave over her shoulder to acknowledge she’d heard him at all.

She wasn’t going to make this easy on him and that was fine. He just wished he didn’t feel so damned out of his element. Hell, he’d been in some of the worst firefights in the Iraq wars—outmanned and outgunned on all sides—and never felt as helpless as he did right now. What if she didn’t want to be with him anymore? What if she turned him down?

Fuck.

He’d always been the playboy, the guy all the men wanted to be and the stud all the women wanted to be with. Rejection wasn’t in his usual repertoire. But Hayley was teaching him a whole new tune.

After filling two mugs and paying at the register, he stopped by the condiment bar for fixings, then headed to the corner booth where Hayley sat staring out the atrium window beside her. She was so damned beautiful it almost hurt to look at her. His heart thumped hard.

He loved her.

“Uh, here we are.” He slid a cup of coffee across the table to her then took his seat on the opposite side, tongue-tied and twisted in the worst way. Scotty sighed, frowning down into his mug. “So.”

“So.” She said. “About this thing between us.”

“Yeah?”

“I think we need to make some changes.”

He flinched. Oh, God. There it was. She wanted out and he loved her enough to let her go. Even if it would break his heart, even if he’d never get over it. Even if it would damn near kill him to watch her walk away.

Scotty didn’t speak. Just nodded.

“I think we should start dating exclusively.”

He frowned, looked up, confused. “I’m sorry?”

“Yeah.” She sat back and grinned. “It makes sense. We obviously like each other and—”

“But, I thought you wanted out.”

“Why would I want that?”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head and looked away. “Maybe because you could do so much better than me.”

“True.” She agreed, then winked. “But you do have your charms.”

“I do?” He narrowed his gaze. “Like what.”

“Well, before we get into that, let me just make something clear. If you ever, and I mean ever, run off and almost get yourself killed like that again without giving me some warning, I will personally kick your ass.”

Scotty raised a brow. “Kind hard to agree considering I’m a SEAL and all. That’s sort of what we do.”

“Yes, but next time take me with you.”

“Why? So you can get your head blown off too?”

“Better than living without you for the rest of my life.”

Speechless, Scotty snapped his mouth shut and tapped his fingertips on the tabletop. Okay, then. She did care, apparently. Good to know. Still, he couldn’t promise her he’d always play it safe. Being a SEAL was who he was, part of his DNA. He’d trained to be a solider his whole life, lived to defend his country and all it stood for. He wouldn’t be him without being a SEAL. “C’mon. I won’t say I’ll never run into the face of danger again, but I will promise to keep you by my side through it all.”

“Hmm.”

He bumped feet with her underneath the table, then caught one of hers between his and grinned. “Admit it. You like me. Just a little.”

She shook her head and stared out the window, her cheeks coloring a delectable pink. “Just a little.”

“See, was that so hard?”

“Excruciating.” She kicked off her shoe then ran her stockinged toes up the inside of his calf. “Seeing you like that… A gun to your—”

“Me too, Red. Me too.”

*

They sat in companionable silence for a few moments, before Scotty got up and moved over to her side of the booth, putting his arm around her shoulders and snuggling her close to his side. “Who was that man you were talking to in the hallway?”

Hayley did her best to keep from melting into his delicious heat and instead took a sip of her coffee. “He was with the Bureau.”

“Really?” Scotty leaned away and frowned. “You lose your job? I’m sorry about that crack earlier—I know how important—I shouldn’t have— You aren’t in any trouble, are you?”

She kept quiet just a moment more. Let him squirm a bit.

“Well,” she said, keeping her tone low. “I figured my career was pretty much over…”

He blew out the breath she hadn’t realized he’d been holding in a big puff and slumped a bit. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

And then she couldn’t help it. She smiled. “…but, they want me to come back. Surprised the hell out of me.”

He sat up. “What? I thought you were done.”

“Nope. I get to keep my job.”

“And? Are you going to go back to work there?” She didn’t miss the slight stiffening of his posture or the shadow passing through his lovely blue eyes.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “It’s everything I’ve spent my whole life working for. What do you think?”

“It’s what you love to do, right? All that computer hacking and cyber stalking.”

“Uh, yeah.” She chuckled. “Sort of.”

“And you’re good at it too.”

“I’m the best at it.”

Scotty snorted. “That’s my Red. Always humble.”

“Hey, you’re one to talk.”

“True.” He laughed. “You should take it. It’d be handy having someone on the inside. You could help us search for Nick’s killer, feed us information. You know, if it wouldn’t get you into trouble.”

“And if it did?” She placed her hand on his thigh, felt his muscles bunch tight beneath the soft denim, and smiled. “Get me in trouble, I mean.”

“Then I guess I’d just have to swoop in and rescue you again.” He kissed her softly on the lips. “Like always.”

Hayley sat back and scrunched her nose, taking his obvious bait. “Seriously? You did not just say that to me. If I recall correctly, it was me saving your sorry ass from ending up as fish food at James Creek, mister.”

“Hey.” He held up his hands in mock surrender, his expression smug. “I only call ‘em like I see ‘em.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Well, call this then.” She fisted her hands in his hair and pulled him in for a deep, hot kiss, not caring that everyone in the cafeteria could see them. By the time she pulled back, they were both breathless. “What do you have to say about that, huh?”

“More, please.” He yanked Hayley against him and kissed her back with just as much passion. He was the one who pulled away this time, his lips wet and his eyes smoldering with wicked intent. “God, I love you, Red.”

“You do?”

“I do.”

“Me too.” She grinned. “You really think I should take it?”

“Take what?” He gave her a sly look up and down. “Me?”

“The job! At the FBI. Should I take it? He wants me to head up their new cyber-crimes team.”

Scotty took a deep breath and raked a hand through his now disheveled hair. “I think as much as I want to lock you away and protect you forever, you’re a woman who can more than take care of herself. I think you should do whatever makes you happy, Red.”

Damn.
She’d expected a fight and here he was being more loveable than ever. Truth was, they were a great team together and that wouldn’t change no matter where she worked. Plus, he was right. If she was on the inside, her chances were better of accessing intel that would help them find out the truth about Nick Matthews death. “I think I want to take the job.”

“Good.” He smiled and pulled her closer once more.

“Good.”

She leaned in to kiss him again, but was interrupted by Spencer and Kyle sliding into the booth across from them while Gage pulled up chairs for him and Anna at the end of the table.

“What the hell?” Scotty asked, his tone outraged.

“What?” Spencer said. “You’ve been down here forever, man. We figured you died of food poisoning or something.”