Tegan blinked once but Aaron wasn’t surprised. The owners of Red Stone were civic-minded, but if Porter thought Aaron considered Tegan his, then his boss would go out of his way to keep her safe.
Porter held out the laptop bag to Tegan. “This is for you. Carlito said you’d be taking time off work at the coffee shop but would be working on your design business. My wife told me that this laptop is heavily encrypted so if anyone tries to track your movements online, you’ll be safe.”
Aaron had been with Red Stone Security for five years and, while he’d always been happy with his job and knew the guys he worked with were good men, this went above and beyond anything he’d expected. He’d have never asked for this kind of assistance. Hell, he hadn’t even thought about her laptop.
Tegan looked at Porter, wide-eyed, her surprised expression adorable. She seemed to be shocked that anyone was helping her at all, let alone for free.
“Thank you,” she finally murmured, looking unsure as she took it.
Porter cleared his throat, flicked a glance at Carlito, and said, “We’re looking into De Fiore, too.”
Carlito sighed and pushed up from the desk. “Yeah, I’m not hearing this. I’m gonna grab some coffee. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Tegan frowned as the detective closed the door behind him. “What just happened?”
Aaron wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “Carlito doesn’t want to hear what we’re talking about. Porter has no business looking into De Fiore but Lizzy is…good with computers.”
Tegan frowned slightly. “Oh. Okay. So she’s researching him?”
“Not exactly.” Porter’s voice was dry. “More like she’s hunting him. If he’s alive, there’s a good chance she’ll find him. Just depends on how far underground he is.”
Now Tegan’s eyes widened. “You mean she’s, like, a hacker?”
Porter didn’t answer one way or another but his expression was enough.
“Okay, wow. I…can see that.” Tegan’s lips curved into a grin. “I started talking code to her about one of the websites I was redesigning and she totally geeked out. She’s one of the few people to ever understand me.”
Porter just snorted. “If there’s anything you think might be pertinent about De Fiore, anything you know, send it to her.”
“Ah, I will, but I really don’t know much about him. Other than he’s a monster who threatened to kill me and maybe tried to kill me yesterday. Also, I don’t know how to contact Lizzy.”
“I’ve got her info,” Aaron murmured.
“Good, then. I’m heading out.” Porter looked between the two of them. “I don’t know that I’ll even be there if my sister-in-law goes into labor, but either way, bring Tegan to the Christmas party Friday if you guys are going stir crazy. My condo’s one of the safest places in the city. We’ll arrange a secure pickup so you don’t drive your own vehicle and there’s no possibility of either of you being seen inside or caught on a CCTV.”
“I will.” Aaron shook his hand, grateful to have such a good boss. He turned to Tegan as Porter left. “Red Stone has a lot of parties over the holidays. They’re having one at Porter’s place for the security teams directly under him. It’s fun and he’s right. His place is locked down tight and if we take the right precautions it’ll be okay to take you.”
Her brow furrowed slightly. “Don’t feel like you have to take me. I’m just grateful you’re giving me a place to lie low and that you’ve helped me with all this. If I go stir crazy it’s a small price to pay for safety.”
“I want to take you.” And yeah, he was caveman enough to admit that he’d take pleasure in showing her off. If he thought the place wasn’t secure, he’d never consider it but…taking Tegan to a Christmas party with his coworkers and friends? She was the kind of woman he wanted to bring with him. Sure, she was beautiful, but it was more than that. She was fun to be around and wouldn’t freak out on him if he left her alone for a few minutes. She had no problem making conversation with other people. Unlike his ex—and he hated that he was even comparing the two of them. There was no comparison. Tegan was one of a kind.
“Yeah?”
“Yes. I would be proud to.”
Her cheeks flushed an adorable shade of crimson. With her auburn hair and pale skin, it was impossible for her to hide her reactions, and he loved that he could read her so easily right now.
“We’ll see how things go.”
He could understand her cautiousness, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. And at least it wasn’t a no. His gaze dropped to her mouth and all his muscles pulled taut as he ordered his body under control. He was thirty-fucking-one, he’d been in control of his body a long damn time. Except around Tegan apparently. “Just we’ll see?” he murmured.
Her eyes went heavy-lidded and whether she was aware of it or not, she leaned into him just a fraction. She inhaled slightly, as if she was smelling him. “I’m still trying to come to terms with this sweeter version of Aaron Fitzpatrick, rather than the man who used to growl at me every time I saw him.”
“I never growled.”