Reaching the top of the stairs, it took him a few extra moments to pie the corner in such a tight space. Then they were going down the short hallway to the room Elisa was staying in and clearing it, too.
Task completed, Rojas returned to the top of the stairs and called down to Elisa. “Clear. You can come on up.”
The security system was good. He’d told her so himself. The likelihood of an intruder hiding upstairs had been minimal. But considering the latest issues she’d been experiencing, he thought indulging his tendency for overkill wouldn’t hurt and might even help her feel safer coming up to the guest room.
Once she joined them upstairs, she headed into the guest room. Rojas lingered in the doorway.
The conversation they’d been having downstairs seemed weird to pick up now, and he opened his mouth and closed it a couple of times with false starts. Talking. Not exactly his forte.
Any of his interactions with women over the last couple of years had been infrequent and brief, limited to meeting in a club or bar, maybe heading back to her place. But he’d never stay the night and never tried to see the woman again. Standing here, wanting a different kind of connection, he didn’t know how to approach it.
Elisa turned to face him from the middle of the small room. She looked lost, tiny, standing there alone.
Clearing his throat, he pushed back the clumsy self-consciousness swamping his brain. “Do you mind if I come in?”
Chapter Thirteen
He stood there for a long moment waiting for her answer.
She blinked. Startled. “You were just in here.”
Of course. He sounded incredibly stupid. “Yeah, but that was to be sure it was empty. Now you’re in it.”
Brilliant. As explanations went, it wasn’t the best he’d ever made.
But Elisa smiled. “Thank you for the consideration.” She hesitated, dropping her eyes. “And, yes, you can both come in.”
“I’m betting Souze appreciates you including him in the invitation.” Actually, Rojas really liked her tendency to keep the dog in mind.
“So.” She glanced around, opened her mouth, and then closed it again.
Glad to know he wasn’t the only one grasping for what to say. “So.”
“There’s more.” Her voice came out low, almost a whisper.
“It’s okay. You can tell me.” Alex stood waiting, tried not to press in on her or add pressure.
“Joseph designed programs to integrate with weapons systems and he was planning to sell the code instead of securing it for the US government. It wasn’t right.” Once she got started, she kept talking in a hushed stream of strained words. “He…he had it all on a laptop, locked up in his research facility. But he always took me with him. I was his key, he said. The security system required my fingerprints and my retina imprint to pass through.”
Son of a bitch. Well, this explained the added effort to get a hold of her. This ex of hers was a special kind of obsessed.
Elisa stood there, shoulders hunched and head down. A tear fell and hit the carpet.
“Hey.” He bent to one side and craned his neck, trying to get into her line of sight without crowding her. “Elisa, it’s good you told me. It’s going to be okay.”
Her eyes met his and she hiccupped, straightening suddenly and wiping away her tears with her palms. He wanted to be the one to help her brush away her tears.
“Anyway, I hated being any part of that. But it is probably important to know.”
Alex nodded. “It is. And you should know, you didn’t do anything wrong based on what you told me. You know that, right?”
She swallowed hard. “At first, I was excited to see where he worked and have access to the restricted areas. He’d told me his work would have a far-reaching impact. And it could, but not in a positive way. I didn’t learn about that until later. Going into that research center was all I did. I just opened the access points. I wasn’t a participant. I was just a key.”
Alex couldn’t think of what to say, so he just held out his hand, palm up.
She hesitated, then placed her hand in his and let him curl his fingers around her palm. He gave her a brief squeeze. Her hand was so small in his and yet her return grip was strong.
A minute later, she’d reassembled her calm.
“What time do you need me at work tomorrow?” She pulled out her phone and started to set an alarm.
“There’s a morning training session here tomorrow at oh-seven-hundred.” Easy answer. “I’ll come by to train and then take you back with me. Sophie’s bringing a bunch of baked goods to try on us for breakfast. I hope you like sweet things.”
Elisa visibly brightened. “I’ll look forward to it and to meeting Sophie. She seems to be around a lot. Finances for the kennels. Getting you all new shirts.”
Danger. Red flags popped up inside his head. This was the sort of moment where his late wife would have been poised to jump all over him for mentioning another woman.