Lethal Game

by Katie Reus

  He lifted a shoulder as he pulled out a box of sesame chicken and broccoli. He slid it over to her, loving the way her eyes lit up as she eyed it.

  “I seriously love you,” she said, laughing. “I only had a protein bar today because of Lizzy. That woman is crazy.”

  His heart skipped a beat at the casual way she said the “L” word. He knew she didn’t mean anything by it, and that was a huge disappointment. Jesus, what was wrong with him? He rolled his shoulders once and pulled out his Mongolian beef and rice.

  “Why did she make you skip lunch?” Because a protein bar did not count as food.

  Emerson shook her head, still laughing. “She’s on this crazy exercise kick where she works out for her entire lunch break, running up and down all the flights of stairs in the entire building. More than once. She decided she needed a buddy and I’m apparently a sucker.”

  Carlito let out a short laugh and sat in the chair in front of her desk. “How long do you think you’ll keep it up?” He knew she preferred yoga or Pilates to running and other cardio.

  “Maybe another day or two. I’m working on a new job and know I’ll be busy for the next couple weeks so I figured it was good to stretch my legs while I can.”

  For some reason those benign words made him think of stretching her legs out in a very different scenario. Stretching them around his waist or draping them over his shoulders as he buried his face between her legs. Clearing his throat, he shifted uncomfortably and focused on his food. “So…you headed to see your dad tonight?”

  “Yeah.” Her voice took on that odd tone again but when he looked at her, she was scooping out chicken onto her plate. “What are you up to after this?” Something about her voice was strained. It was slight, but he knew her well enough by now to pick up on it.

  “I…thought I’d go with you.” He always went with her to visit her dad in his assisted living facility. Which was more like a posh golf resort. Frowning, he set his fork down. “Unless you’d rather go alone?”

  “No, I… I just talked to Camilla earlier and she made it sound like you couldn’t go tonight.”

  “She did?” His oldest sister and Emerson talked all the time. They had ever since his sisters and mom had met Emerson at a Halloween party a month and a half ago.

  “Yeah.” Again with that weird tone. And he noticed she wouldn’t look at him, was way too focused on her food.

  “Well, she’s wrong. I probably should have stayed late and finished up with that paperwork, but it’ll wait until morning. I wouldn’t miss seeing your old man.” He loved the guy—Emerson Sr.—loved talking to him about his days in the Corps and hearing stories about Emerson when she was a kid. He liked being part of her life, knowing the people most important to her.

  Her shoulders eased at that. “Well, good. He loves seeing you.”

  “What about you?” he asked.

  “What about me?”

  “Do you love seeing me?” he asked in a teasing tone—even if he did want to know the answer.

  She rolled her eyes before giving him one of those heart-stopping grins that made him forget how to function, let alone speak. “You just brought me food. Of course I do.”

  One day he was going to put that smile on her face because he’d given her the best damn orgasm of her life. Because he loved her more than any other man ever would. He was going to convince her that they were meant to be together.

  She was already one of the closest friends he’d ever had, and that was saying something. His family loved her, and hell, even if they didn’t, he wouldn’t care. He just needed to get his shit together. Christmas was soon and he planned to let her know how he felt then. Planned to give her a present that made it crystal clear how much she meant to him. If she didn’t return his feelings…

  He’d deal with it.

  Chapter 7

  As Isa steered into her garage she frowned at the sight of headlights in her rearview mirror, pulling into her driveway. They quickly went off, making her frown deepen.

  She lived in a quiet neighborhood. She’d rented for about a month when she moved to Miami, but then she’d found this adorable little ranch-style home in a quiet cul-de-sac neighborhood that she loved. It was filled with palm trees and pools in practically every backyard, and she loved everything about it, including her neighbors. Everyone here knew everyone and they looked out for each other.

  She pulled out her pepper spray from her purse and quickly exited the vehicle. It wasn’t too late for visitors, but no one ever stopped by for a random visit and she didn’t recognize the vehicle.

  When she saw Graysen’s familiar form step out of an SUV, that momentary spike of panic left her body. Maybe there had been an emergency at work?

  She tossed the pepper spray onto the driver’s seat and hurried out of her garage. “Hey, what’s going on?” she asked, her heels clicking on the pavement.

  Instead of answering, he opened the door behind the driver’s side and a bundle of gray and white fur jumped out. Yipping excitedly, Peaches raced toward her and as she jumped into the air, Isa caught the adorable mutt in her arms. She was inundated with licks and kisses as she buried her face against Peaches’ head.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked Graysen.

  He wore the same suit he’d had on today, sans tie. The top button of his dress shirt was undone and for some insane reason she wished she’d been the one to take off that tie, to unbutton his shirt, to…

  Nope, nope, nope. Not going there.

  He lifted a shoulder. “Peaches missed you.”

  “There’s no emergency at work?”

  He shrugged again, all casual nonchalance. “Not that I know of.”

  Her eyes widened. “So you just decided to stop by with your dog? Out of the blue?” Like we’re freaking friends?

  “Yep.”

  She narrowed her gaze at him, tried to keep her annoyance clear, but it was hard to look serious and frustrated when Peaches was licking her face, just begging for attention. “How’d you even know where I liv— Never mind. Don’t answer that.” He’d probably found out long before he started working for Red Stone.

  “Aren’t you going to invite us in?”

  “I must be out of my mind, but come on.” She didn’t want to stand outside and have whatever conversation he wanted to have while any of her neighbors might see and come out to check on her. She turned back toward the garage, and, still holding Peaches, grabbed her purse and laptop bag from her car before shutting the door. Once inside her mudroom she disarmed her alarm system, but only after making sure Graysen turned around. Not that it would likely matter. He would probably have no issue breaking into her place if he truly wanted to.

  Before they’d taken two steps into her kitchen, Graysen stepped in front of her, his weapon drawn. A little burst of panic set in before she realized what he was doing.

  The man was a total freak sometimes. Even when she’d thought of him as Michael, he’d been the same: vigilant about security.

  “Sure, go ahead and sweep my house as if you have every right,” she muttered more to herself than him as he made his way through the kitchen to one of the attached rooms.

  He clearly wasn’t listening and didn’t care anyway.

  “You are in luck,” she murmured against Peaches, who’d stopped squirming and was now sitting contently in Isa’s arms. “I’ve got a treat for you.”

  Peaches knew what the word treat was and started wiggling again, licking Isa’s face as if she loved her more than anyone in the world. Unexpected tears stung her eyes. She’d really missed this sweet dog. She’d even contemplated getting one of her own when she moved to Miami, but she’d been a mess a year ago and hadn’t been ready.

  Now… Yeah, she could get one now. Of course, no dog compared to Peaches.

  Reaching into her pantry, she held onto the dog with one arm and opened the plastic bag of fake bacon treats. “One or two, do you think?” she asked.

  Peaches let out two little yips, as
if she actually understood.

  Laughing, Isa gave her the two strips and when she wiggled to be freed, set her down. Peaches scurried away, probably to hide one of the strips, right as Graysen walked back into the kitchen. He was sheathing his weapon as Peaches raced by him.

  “So any dangers lurking in my secured house?” He clearly knew the security system had been armed.

  “You’re good.” He frowned slightly at the bag of treats. “Why do you have dog treats?”

  “Babysat a neighbor’s dog not too long ago.”

  “Ah.”

  “So…why the heck are you here?”

  “I wanted to see you.” Heat flared in his blue eyes as he watched her.

  She didn’t like that she was affected by that look—and his mere presence. “That’s not an answer.”

  “It’s the truth. I told you that if in one week you’re done with me, I’ll walk away from the job. We have six days left.”

  “That doesn’t give you the right to just show up at my house unannounced.” But it was so typical Graysen. He could be incredibly pushy when he wanted. Which…she’d liked about him. Before. Back then she’d liked everything about him.

  Before she’d discovered what a liar he was. Before her father had died.

  “I know.”

  “But you did it anyway?”

  He leaned against the island in her kitchen, looking at ease here, as if he belonged. Or more likely that was just wishful thinking on her part. “Two people after Gina infiltrated your computer today. I wanted to make sure you were safe.” He said it as if he truly had been concerned about her. Which, okay, wasn’t actually a surprise.

  “No one there knows who I really am.” She always took precautions when she worked on a Miami job. When she was out of town it was easier to maintain anonymity, but when she was in her own city she had to be careful for sensitive jobs. And the one they were on was definitely sensitive. People were afraid they might be losing their jobs because of her. Not only that, someone was stealing from the aeronautical company. Clearly some employees were going to be let go because three employees, including Gina Scott, had copied information from her laptop.

  Isa still couldn’t believe the three of them thought she’d be stupid enough to just leave her laptop lying around unlocked. But given enough time and what they thought had been an opportunity, three individuals had sneaked into her office in the middle of the day. The only miracle was that they hadn’t run into each other while doing it. The video footage Graysen had gotten was pretty damning too.

  “And I don’t think I was followed home.” Well, except by Graysen, but he might have just come to her house since he would have had her address. The man was too skilled at getting information to not know where she lived.

  “You weren’t followed. Except by me.” He sounded positive about that, and if anyone would know, it would be him. She might not know what most of his training had entailed, but he’d worked for the CIA for eight years—and been in the Marine Corps before that. He’d certainly fooled her.

  She stared at him for a long moment and tried to bury all the emotions that wanted to push their way to the surface. Emotions she should have buried long ago. He simply watched her right back with those bright blue eyes she could easily drown in. She’d gotten caught up in his gaze more than once in the past. It was like he ensnared her, and once she was hooked he was impossible to escape from.

  Right now she had no idea what he was thinking. He had that neutral expression in place. The neutrality did nothing to hide the savage edge to the man. There were handsome men and then there were men like Graysen, who fell into their own category. He was good-looking, all right, and knew it. But there was an intangible edge to him that rolled off him in waves, warning he was trained and lethal. And…she liked that about him.

  She cleared her throat, feeling unnerved by her physical reaction to him. “You don’t have to make sure I get home safely every night.” Because the thought of him coming into her home for the next week was too much to deal with. He was too much to deal with.

  “You’re my priority.” His voice was low and somehow sensual.

  “This job is the priority.”

  “Not to me.” He rounded the island, closing the distance so only about four feet stood between them. Definitely not enough space.

  Being this close to him had her entire body heating up and her nipples tightening. Stupid physical reaction! It was hard to remember to breathe when he was this close. All day she’d managed to maintain a certain distance from Graysen. Even when they’d been watching the video feeds together, she’d been so focused on work that it had been easier to tune out his presence. Obviously not completely, because he was Graysen. But still, easier.

  Having him in her personal space, her domain, was jarring and messing with her head. And after what he’d just said? Yep, no response for that.

  He took a step closer. “You want to have dinner together?”

  Against her will, her gaze briefly strayed to his mouth. She mentally shook herself. “Not tonight.”

  He took another step, his advances slow and precise. A patient panther, stalking its prey. “But another night?”

  She cleared her throat again, willing her voice to work. “What do you think you’re doing?” She hated that her voice trembled, hated that he had a sort of power over her.

  “I’ve got a week, Isa. I want to spend time with you when we’re not at work. I’ve missed you, thought about you every damn day.” The sincerity in his eyes pierced her. He lifted a hand as if he wanted to touch her, but quickly dropped it.

  Yeah, well, she wanted a lot of things, mainly to rewrite the past so they didn’t have such a shitty history. And she didn’t want to be affected by him. Not only that, she’d never agreed to see him after work hours. “Call or text me, then. Don’t just show up at my house.” If he did that, she could just blow him off.

  He opened his mouth but her cell phone buzzed in her purse, the sound music to her ears. Turning away from him, she grabbed it, glad to see Emerson’s name on the screen.

  “Hey,” she said, answering on the second ring.

  “Hey yourself. I’m heading out for the day but just sent updated files to both you and Graysen on the three top suspects.”

  Isa wasn’t surprised Emerson was just now leaving work. The woman always worked late. She also got to work from home sometimes and had leeway with her schedule—and got paid very, very well for her skills. “Thanks for letting me know.”

  “They’ve all got interesting financials, but take a good look at Gina Scott.”

  “Will do.”

  “I’ll be in later tomorrow, probably around ten, but I’ll have my phone on me if you need me.”

  “Okay. Tell your dad hi for me.”

  She could practically hear Emerson smiling through the phone. “I will. He said thanks for the popcorn tin and wants to know when to expect more.”

  Isa smiled, glad he’d enjoyed it. “I’ll get more in time for Christmas.”

  They talked a minute longer and when they disconnected she felt more like herself, more in control. Setting the phone on the countertop, she turned to find Graysen leaning against the island, looking all casual and sexy as he watched her.

  “Emerson sent us updated info. And…I need you to go, Graysen.” She needed space from him. Having him sprung on her for this job wasn’t as easy to handle as she’d thought it would be. Yes, she could be professional. “We need boundaries. Showing up here? I’m not okay with that.”

  His jaw tightened once but he nodded. “Okay. I’m sorry.”

  She blinked, surprised he’d acquiesced so easily.

  “Have dinner with me this week?” he continued. “We can meet somewhere.” The slight edge of desperation in his voice took her off guard, almost made her say yes.

  But… “I just want to get through this job.”

  He nodded once, let out a short whistle then Peaches raced back into the kitchen, her nails clicking on
the tile. Instead of running to Graysen, she charged Isa again.

  Heart melting, Isa picked her up, snuggled her against her chest.

  “I’m not giving up on us.” His quiet words had the effect of a grenade going off.

  There is no us she wanted to shout at him, but the words stuck in her throat. Somewhere, deep down, though she didn’t want to acknowledge it, she knew they could have something incredible together.

  But she was terrified of all the ugly baggage between them. Worried that she’d never be able to move past his betrayal and would just resent him if she let him back into her life again. If she did that and things spiraled downward…

  She just didn’t know if it was worth the almost guaranteed heartache. She wasn’t a masochist.

  She glanced away from him, used Peaches as an excuse for a distraction and grabbed another treat for her. “I’ll walk you to your SUV,” was all she managed to get out.

  Because telling him anything else wasn’t an option.

  Chapter 8

  Stepping into her dad’s office, Isa leaned against the doorframe as her dad spoke into his phone. Even on a Sunday afternoon he was working; no surprise. Larger than life, her dad smiled at her and held up a finger that she should wait before he continued his conversation.

  Isa had to get up early for a meeting tomorrow and her place was in DC. Sometimes she stayed over at her dad’s but his estate was in Virginia and while the drive wasn’t terrible, her boyfriend Michael had asked her to stay at his place overnight. Had said he wanted to talk to her about something. Whatever that something was had butterflies dancing in her stomach. She was actually running late, but she’d call him as soon as she was on the road.