chapter 11
Nathan held out a chair for Lilith at the coffee shop located conveniently across from where Audrey worked. He made sure to seat himself with his back to a post and an unfettered view through the window. While he didn’t expect Audrey to be leaving work any time soon, he felt better watching the exit.
As well as the soldier pretending to read a newspaper on a bench near the entrance. So the commander was still having Audrey followed. Why?
Lilith pushed her blond hair off her face, her eyes glimmering under a smoky shadow.
Audrey’s natural look appealed far more to Nate. He’d spent his life with people changing reality, and while a bunch of eye shadow didn’t qualify as subterfuge, he liked the natural look. Or maybe he just liked Audrey.
Yeah, that was probably it.
Good thing he was so self-aware, wasn’t it?
The waitress deposited their coffees in front of them, and Nate reached for his steaming cup.
“Why are you scowling?” Lilith straightened her posture, revealing breasts lifted by a bra working hard. She pressed her arms in, pushing the mounds higher, just in case he hadn’t noticed.
“I’m not.” He forced a smile, keeping his gaze above her neck.
“Oh.” She pouted out full lips. “I thought we might relax over coffee. Didn’t you have a good time at dinner last night?”
His mind counted back. Dinner? Sure. Watching Audrey on a date with another man had been incredibly fun. “We were spying on Darian Hannah and Audrey Madison, remember? Our goal was to investigate Audrey Madison before making the senator our next offer to create more manufacturing plants in his state.”
Lilith’s eyes narrowed. “Was that it? For some reason, it seemed like your interest in Audrey went beyond politics.”
His interest in Audrey went straight to the bedroom. Screw politics. Nate rolled his eyes. “Don’t be silly. I was merely doing my job.”
Lilith sipped her drink. “If you say so. Though I invited you in that night, and you kindly refused. I don’t get turned down very often, Jason. Is there somebody else?”
“No. I had more work to do. You know from my résumé that I’m a workaholic.” His fake résumé and falsified background, that was. Heaven save him from forward women. He didn’t have the energy to deal with Lilith.
“Maybe. What about another night?”
The woman wasn’t going to give up. “I’d love to make it another night—when are you thinking?” Hopefully he will have skipped town by then.
“I’m thinking right now, if you’d like to get out of here.” Lilith licked coffee off her lip, making a slow swipe of doing so.
He tried to pretend interest, but the image of Audrey’s stunning face, eyes glazed with passion, kept filling his head. What in the hell had he been thinking? One touch, one night with her, and now he was staking out her place of work. Just to make sure she remained safe.
Forcing himself back into the mission, he smiled at Lilith. “Work first, play later. Right now, I’d like to know more about lobbyists in the area. What is Darian Hannah’s bio?”
Lilith tapped red nails on the table. “Lately he’s been lobbying for a security firm that hires ex-soldiers and mainly provides bodyguard services. He goes where the money is.”
“Don’t we all?” Nate sat back, pleased that Sins Security, the company he and his brothers had created, would never even remotely seek funding from any government. Way too sticky, that. “Who did Darian work for before?”
“I think a teacher’s union , and before that, the beef industry. As a lobbyist, he is one of the best.” Lilith gave up all subtlety and ran her bare foot up Nate’s pant leg. Her toes were long and without stockings, and the big one dug into his sock and tugged down.
Thank goodness she’d ditched the three-inch high heel first. All Nate needed was a cut along his leg to explain later. He shifted to the left, and she dropped her foot with a large pout.
“I thought you liked me,” she murmured.
“I do.” He lied his ass off. The woman could probably eat him for breakfast and then go hunting again. “I like to be the one to make a move.” Which, frankly, was rather true.
“Oh.” She sipped her drink, looking thoughtful. “I see. You have to be in control.”
The woman had no idea. “I like to hold the reins.” It was the most truthful he’d been with her. Maybe now she’d back off.
“Why?” She ran her tongue along the rim of her cup.
He shook his head. “I don’t think we have that much time right now, but doesn’t everything go back to childhood?”
“I guess.” She studied him. “Did you have a good childhood?”
“Yes. I have two older sisters living in Alabama, where my parents still live and run a small restaurant.” He recited his cover story.
Lilith smiled. “Two older sisters? No wonder you want to be in control. I bet they dressed you up to play.”
What did that mean? His playtime with his brothers had included blade fighting and target shooting. He laughed. “Funny.”
“Thanks. So why haven’t you taken the reins with me?” Her voice lowered to husky.
Because he’d rather mate a grizzly? “I like to know a woman before I make a move. All I know about you is that you took a job with the PR department of TechnoZyn years ago. Before that?” He listened with half an ear, keeping his focus on the myriad of people exiting the building across the street.
“Before that? I went to college, and George Fairbanks gave me a good offer to work for the tech firm upon graduation. PR is my game.” Something clicked under the table. She must’ve slipped her foot into the shoe that more than likely served as a weapon for fresh kill. “Now you know all about me.”
Somehow, he doubted that. “All right.”
She took another sip, nearly humming. “Do you believe in destiny?”
“No.”
“I don’t, either.” She set down her drink. “But I’m drawn to you. Do you know why?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “I have no idea.” Which was true. Everything he’d garnered about the woman told him she went for the king of fish, the head dog, the big cheese. In his current cover, he played a lobbyist. One who answered to her, actually.
She sighed. “I don’t know why, either.” The scent of expensive perfume clouded his nose when she leaned forward. “But I have excellent instincts, which means there’s more to you than you’ve let on.”
He tuned in completely to her from heart rate to respiration rate. No stress, but definitely some arousal. “What do you mean?”
“Why are you a lobbyist?” she asked, her lids dropping to half-mast.
He hardened his gaze. “I like money, and I make a lot of it as a lobbyist. Much more than you make.”
“So you care about money.” Respect filled her eyes.
Only for the freedom it provided and the weapons it allowed him to buy. “Of course.”
“I think we have a lot in common,” she said.
Somehow, he doubted that. “How so?”
“You’re determined and dedicated, and I think you’ll end up much wealthier than you are right now.” Her focus dropped to his lips. “More importantly, I can help you become a powerhouse in DC. Power is so much more important than money, and I can tell you want it.”
Wow, had she pegged him wrong. Power meant nothing to him unless it kept his family safe, just like money. He’d like nothing better than to go live a quiet life in Montana away from power, people, and prestige. “You read people so well.”
The outside door opened, and Fairbanks strode inside. He made his way to their table.
Lilith scooted over to make room. “I told George we’d be here, and he thought we should meet.”
The last thing Nate needed was actual work from his current cover. “Great.”
“We need to finish wrapping up the agreement with Senator Nash before he changes his mind.” Fairbanks signaled the waitress and ordered a vanilla latte.
“Trouble?” Nate asked, finishing his drink.
“Yes. The senator is a crusader who needs funding for his state. If he finds a more above-board method to accomplish his goals, he’ll drop any deals with us.” A thread of desperation wound through Fairbanks’s words.
Nate concentrated on the man’s heartbeat. Too fast. “Why do you really want to build in Wyoming? Besides providing a type of kickback to the senator?”
“We need the tax breaks and the subsidies,” Fairbanks said bluntly. “The economy hit us harder than most, and we’re going under if we don’t get a home base that works.”
Odd that he said a home base. Nate nodded, wondering if he should dig deeper into his temporary boss’s finances. Something was up, but since it didn’t deal with Nate or his family, did he really care? “Why Wyoming?”
Fairbanks shrugged. “The senator is a good guy, and Wyoming is a long way from DC. We can work autonomously out there, and we can pursue the scientific world we’ve earned.”
“Huh?” Nate asked.
Lilith laughed. “These days, George here likens modern technology to divination from God, and he doesn’t like the safeguards put into place by the government.”
Fairbanks leaned forward after glancing around. “I’m working on nanobite technology that will revolutionize medicine and disease treatments. It’s beyond anything natural, and it’ll make us billions.”
Computers as weapons. Who knew. Nate’s shoulders slowly relaxed. Nanobite technology was theoretical, or was it? Either way, it was normal science. Except… “I’m assuming your problem with governmental oversight is the prohibition against human testing?”
“Exactly.” Fairbanks nodded, pleasure lighting his face at finding an ally. “If someone consents in exchange for payment, why shouldn’t we experiment? It’s for the greater good.”
That one phrase made Nate see red, and his hand curled into a fist with the desire to punch Fairbanks in the face. Yeah, obsession ruled the man, and it was an obsession that had nothing to do with Nate or his mission. Even so, he’d like to knock good ole Georgie out. “I’d sure like to see your research.” Not.
“You got it. But we need the perks from the senator and his home state to really get the project off the ground. Do you have an in there?” Fairbanks asked.
“Not really.” Not unless one counted the woman Nate had made orgasm three times the previous night. “Do you?”
“Maybe.” Lilith tapped her fingers along the back of Nate’s hand as if she couldn’t help but touch him. “Nash’s chief of staff and I go way back. I have a dinner meeting with him tonight to talk about it. Don’t worry, I’ll do what I need to do.”
For the first time, Nate really wanted out of DC. Away from politics, away from murder, away from people. He needed to get Audrey to safety as soon as possible. Not only for her safety, but also for his damn sanity.
He was finally losing it.