by Anna Blakely
Jake didn’t seem as excited. Wheels turning, he nodded but muttered, “In more ways than one.”
“Boss is right,” Gabe agreed before turning his focus back onto Kat. “If this stuff truly does what you’re saying, I know a hell of a lot of people who’d love to get their hands on it. A lot of very bad, very dangerous people.”
“That would explain the text.” Zade nodded thoughtfully. “Someone did find out about it and was working with a person on the inside. That same person was probably paid a lot of money to access and share the formula.”
“When they mistakenly sent you the next instructions in the plan, you became a target,” Kole joined in.
Jake nodded, apparently agreeing with their theory. “Even if you didn’t suspect anything from the text, you survived the explosion. Whoever’s in charge knew there was a possibility you’d put two and two together, so they went looking for you at your place.”
“They didn’t find you,” Kole spoke up again. “But they took what they thought would lead them to the formula.”
Gabe’s face became dead serious when he stared over at her and said, “Problem is, they’re going to figure out pretty damn quick the formula isn’t anywhere in what they took.”
Now it was Kat’s turn to be in awe. Matt watched as she stared wide-eyed at each of the men. That’s right, sweetheart. Not a bunch of dumb grunts, after all.
“You said you went back to the lab yesterday to see if there was anything salvageable. You find anything?” Jake asked.
“Not really. A few miscellaneous notes, but mostly everything had burned.”
“Where do you keep your records from all the testing you do? Research files, that sort of thing?”
“We have one main computer system in the lab that everyone has access to. Or, had. It got destroyed in the explosion.”
“Is that the only place?”
“Yes and no. We store the data in a file in that computer, but I also have an external hard drive I would use to download the findings and notes from each day. That’s where the recipe for the formula is kept.”
“Did that survive?”
Kat shook her head. “It didn’t take a direct hit, but it was burned pretty badly. Our head tech guy has been trying to pull what he can from it, but last I heard, he wasn’t having any luck.”
“Damn. That sucks,” Zade commented. “All that time and money wasted. All that research and data just…poof. Gone.”
“Except it’s not.” Matt couldn’t keep quiet. “Not really.”
All eyes shifted to his.
“What do you mean?” Gabe’s brow furrowed.
“Go ahead, Doc.” He lifted his chin to Kat. “Tell ’em.”
Matt could tell she hated the mocking nickname, making him want to use it that much more.
Immature much? Fuck yeah, he was. Wore the badge with pride.
“Tell us what?” Kole asked.
With a sigh, Kat admitted, “I have a very good memory.”
Good, my ass.
“Ah, come on. You’re being modest.” To the others, Matt said, “Kat, here, can pretty much remember everything about, well everything. Isn’t that right?”
A look of hurt flashed behind her eyes at his mocking tone, but he refused to let it bother him.
“All right, enough.” Gabe spun his gaze to Matt’s, his intelligent eyes narrowing. “What the hell is going on between you two?”
Matt gave the man a simple shrug. “Absolutely nothing.”
“Don’t give us that bullshit,” Kole called him out next. “The tension’s so thick between you guys I can barely see your ass from here.”
Kat’s eyes shot to Matt’s before they skittered over to Kole’s. An instant flush began filling her neck and cheeks, and she looked uncomfortable as hell.
Welcome to my world, Doc.
“Matt and I know each other.” She decided to answer for them both. “Well, we used to. We grew up in the same town.”
“Oh.” Kole thought about that a moment before his eyes widened and his brows shot up. “Oh…” He let the word trail a bit that time. A smug grin began to form on the asshole’s baby face as he looked around Kat and to him. “I bet this is awkward.”
“Not if we focus on why we’re really here,” Jake told them all pointedly. The guy’s rugged face appeared impassive, but the look he was giving Matt said the guy felt anything but.
“Back to the situation at hand.” Jake turned to Kat. “Is what Matt said true? Do you really have an eidetic memory?”
Still appearing embarrassed, she said, “The jury’s still out on the precise term to use, but yes. I can remember everything I see. Have since I was a kid.”
“Do the people you work with know this about you?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think what happened at the lab was an accident,” he announced. “I think whoever sent that text was planning to steal the formula. When you messaged them back, they knew it had been sent to the wrong person. It’s possible they somehow learned of your extraordinary memory, and knew you’d give the information from the text to the authorities if the formula were stolen. I think they decided to silence you, and they used Todd to do it.”
“But that doesn’t make sense.”
“Why not?” Matt had to ask.
Chocolate eyes met his. “For one, Todd died. If he was doing this for money, he wouldn’t kill himself in the process. Two, all of the research data was destroyed. So if someone hired Todd to steal it, why would they then hire him to destroy it? Sure, they might get rid of me, but they also lost their chance to sell the formula. Plus, the explosion happened after I walked out of the lab. If I was the original target, why wait for me to leave before mixing the compound?”
“You said the chemical combination was highly explosive, right?” Gabe clarified.
“Yes, but—”
He cut her off. “You also said your people don’t normally mix those together. So isn’t it possible he either put too much of something in there? He messed up, and the explosion happened sooner than planned?”
Kat opened her mouth to answer but closed it. Matt could tell she didn’t want to believe her colleague had tried to kill her.
Wish the fucker was still alive so I could kill him myself.
Whoa. Where the hell had that come from? Matt didn’t care what happened to her. Not anymore.
“It’s possible, I guess,” she answered hesitantly. “I can’t imagine Todd doing something like that.”
“I’ll need Todd’s last name, as well as Evan’s and Amy’s. Just in case they were involved.” Addressing the team, Jake said, “Since Nate’s gone, I’ll get West on this ASAP. I’ll have him run their financials, check for any large deposits or anything out of the ordinary. We’ll start with Todd’s and go from there.”
Derek West was a former SEAL and member of R.I.S.C.’s Alpha team. Apart from Nate, West was the smartest man Matt knew when it came to computers and all that shit.
If there was something in the lab rat’s background, D would find it. Matt just wondered what it would be.
Another question ran through his mind. One he knew was going to royally piss Kat off.
Glancing down the table to where she sat, he asked her, “How closely did the authorities question you after the fire?”
Dark, perfect brows turned inward. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking.”
Bullshit. She knew exactly what he was getting at.
“Oh, come on, Doc.” Resting his elbows on the table, Matt linked his fingers together in a loose steeple and said, “I’m sure you can figure it out.”
She blinked, clearly taken aback by his not-so-subtle accusation. “You think I rigged the chemicals to explode?”
“You tell me.” He leaned back in his chair. “You said it yourself, no one other than you and your team went in or out of the lab that day. And the point of origin was right behind your work area. Not to mention, it’s a pretty big coincidence the place
goes up in flames right after you walked out.
A fierce anger replaced the hurt in her eyes. “I can’t believe you’d think I could do something like that.”
Truth be told, he couldn’t either.
He shrugged. “People do all kinds of shocking, totally unexpected things every day.”
“I’m the one who came to you guys, remember?” She slapped a palm to her chest. “I’m the one who hired you to find out who’s behind all this. Why would I do that if I was the guilty one?”
“Criminals insert themselves into investigations all the time, Kat. Just so they can keep an eye on what’s going on. What better way to know whether or not authorities are closing in than to be working by their side?”
Matt could hear himself. Knew he should probably stop, but damn if he could make himself.
“Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if whoever you were planning to sell the formula to encouraged you to come to us. Speaking of which, exactly how did you find us?”
“I can’t believe this.” Kat looked to Jake and the others as if she expected them to back her up. Honestly, so did Matt.
Instead, their focused eyes staring back at her, waiting for her to answer his questions.
“This was a mistake.” Her dark hair swished across her shoulders when she shook her head. “I never should’ve come here.”
Standing, Kat grabbed her purse from the table. After a couple awkward attempts, she shoved her chair back to its rightful place and turned to leave.
“Katherine, wait.” Jake stood. “I apologize for Matt’s behavior. However, while he was much more abrupt than necessary—”his boss shot him a look—“these are questions we need answers to.”
With an almost lost look in her glossy eyes, Kat stared up at Jake. “I came here because I thought…” her voice cracked. A tear fell down her cheek.
Matt refused to let it bother him.
Swiping it angrily away, Kat regained her composure and started again. “How I found out about your firm is of no relevance. I came here because I heard you were the best.” Surprising the hell out of Matt, she turned to him. “I know you hate me, and you have every right to. If I’d known you worked here, I would never have come.” Glancing at the others, she said, “I’m sorry to have wasted your time.” And then she walked out.
Mission. Accomplished.
“What the fuck just happened?”
Rather than answer Kole’s question, Jake told the man, “Go get her.”
“Why me?” Kole pointed his thumb at Matt. “He made this mess. He should be the one to clean it up.”
“Fuck you.” Matt glared at his teammate before looking back at Jake. “Boss, I’m sorry, but you don’t understand.”
“No, Matt. You don’t understand. I get there’s some bad shit between you two, but that woman came to us for help. And from the sounds of it, she needs it.” Before Matt could say anything else, Jake spoke to Kole again. “Go. Get her back here. Gabe, why don’t you and Zade go with him in case he needs help talking her down.”
Giving Matt a few awkward glances, the other three men did as they were told and left the room.
“Did you know?” Matt asked Jake.
“Know what?”
Because this man was his boss and he respected the hell out of him, Matt resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Did you know Kat and I used to date? I’m the only one you took into your office earlier, so I assume you did.”
Sighing, Jake sat back down. “Ryker contacted me late last night. Told me he referred a woman named Katherine to us. He didn’t give me a ton of specifics, only that she was a scientist working on a top-secret project for the military, and she felt she was in danger because of it. As soon as we got off the phone, I looked her up. Saw she grew up in the same town you did, I figured there was a good chance you knew each other. I took you to my office because I wanted to see if you did, in fact, know her. If you did, I wanted to gauge how well the two of you got along.”
“Ryker referred her?” Matt felt his brows raise. “How the hell does she know him?”
Jason Ryker was R.I.S.C.’s Homeland Security Handler. He ran a special division within the agency, and sometimes hired both Alpha and Bravo teams to either assist or fully execute sensitive jobs.
The guy was like a fucking ghost. Everywhere and nowhere, all at the same time.
“Jason said Kat’s father contacted him because he was concerned for her safety and wanted advice. Ryker suggested she come here.”
“Hold up. Kat’s dad is friends with Jason Ryker?” Falling back in his chair, Matt linked his hands behind his head and laughed. “Oh, man. This shit keeps getting better and better.”
“Then you’re probably going to love this next part.”
“There’s more?” Matt wasn’t sure he could take it.
Jake nodded. “I’m assigning you to be Kat’s protection detail.”
He stared at Jake, waiting for the ‘gotcha’ to come. It never did.
And the hits just keep on coming.
Matt didn’t know who he’d pissed off, but goddamn. He must’ve done a bang-up fucking job to deserve this shit.
“Boss, that’s a terrible idea.”
And understatement of the fucking year goes to…
“You might be right. But Ryker thinks this is our best shot, and I happen to agree.”
“Best shot at what?” Matt looked back at the other man as if he’d lost his damn mind. “Killing each other?”
“You two have a history. I get it.”
“All due respect, Boss. You don’t.”
Jake studied him a few seconds before nodding. “Fair enough. But this isn’t about you. It’s about finding out who put the target on Kat’s back.”
“I get that, but I really think it’s in everyone’s best interest if someone else took this on.”
Jake hesitated a half second before dropping yet another bomb. “You brought up the possibility that Kat was involved.”
Shit. “I was just…” Matt tried to figure out the best way to say it.
One of the guy’s dark brows rose with a knowing smile. “Trying to piss her off so she’d leave?”
Matt sighed before admitting to his boss, “Yeah. I was.”
“Well, Ryker is wondering the same thing. We’re certain Kat has a target on her back. Question is, is it because someone knows she’s the key to getting the formula, or is it because they’ve given up on the idea and want to get rid of the final loose end? Personally, I think she’s telling the truth.”
There was a time Matt would’ve died to defend her honor. The only thing he said was, “But?”
“Ryker wants to be sure.”
Ah, hell. “You want me to find out if she’s lying.”
“I want you to protect her. First and foremost, that’s your job. But, yeah. While you’re protecting her, Ryker thought you could feel her out.” When Matt opened his mouth to comment, Jake quickly shut him down. “Not like that. This case is already complicated enough without it turning even more personal.”
“It won’t,” Matt assured him. “That will definitely not be an issue. Trust me.”
“Good.” Understanding filtered through Jake’s tough exterior. “Look, Matt. I can tell I’m asking a lot of you, here. But Ryker was able to confirm this project Kat’s been working on was, in fact, top-secret. Commissioned for and by the United States military, like she said. If someone is trying to sell it, you can bet they’re doing so to use it against us.”
“To make their forces less vulnerable.”
“That’s right. And we’ve been tasked with preventing that from happening, which is what I need you to stay focused on. Not your past with Kat. Although, it would be nice if the two of you could work your shit out. She’s not going to want to open up about a damn thing if you’re a complete dick to her the entire time.”
Voices from the hall reached his ears, one in particular standing out amongst the rest. Kat had come back, after all.
Matt co
uldn’t believe this was happening. He wanted to tell his boss no, but Jake was right. This wasn’t about him.
“All right. I’ll do it.” The words had no more left his lips when his teammates walked back into the room, Kat picking up the tail behind them.
“Do what?” Zade asked as he made his way back around to his original seat.
Rather than answer him, Matt looked over at Kat with a fake-as-shit grin and said, “Looks like you and I are going to have that chance to catch up after all.”
An hour later, he was driving them both to her apartment to pack a bag with only one thought rolling through his mind…
I’m so screwed.
Chapter 4
I’m so screwed.
It was the first thought in Kat’s head when she found out Matt was going to be her bodyguard, and it had been playing on loop ever since.
There were three other men who, from everything Kat knew about them, were perfectly qualified for the job. Instead, she was stuck with the one person on the team who hated her guts.
From the moment Jake told her of his plan to keep her safe, she’d begun to question his sanity. Of course, she’d been questioning her own since this whole thing started.
During the silent drive here, wherever here was going to be, a few optimistic moments had seeped through her despair. For the most part, however, Kat wasn’t convinced this was the best option.
Now that she’d actually seen the place where she and Matt—of all people—were going to be laying low, she had no doubt. This was never going to work.
The cabin belonging to Kole and his wife was so far out in the middle of nowhere, Kat couldn’t imagine anyone ever finding them here.
Kind of the whole point, I suppose.
Standing just inside the door, Kat took a few seconds to study the quaint space.
To her left was a small niche big enough for the round table and chairs there. Directly in front of her was a small, narrow kitchen.
Cabinets, a sink, and a dishwasher took up the wall to her left and the refrigerator, stove, and another small section of cabinets covered the right.
To her right was a decent sized living room. A dark area rug covered its wooden floor. The brown leather couch and recliner appeared a bit worn, and the rustic coffee table and end table matched the small TV stand positioned on the same wall as the door.