Family Stone Holiday Box Set: (including Stone Cold Heart, Carved in Stone, and Heart of Stone) (Family Stone Romantic Suspense)

by Lisa Hughey

  Ava couldn’t figure out why he was so upset. They really didn’t have much going on right this moment. Just Riley delivering school supplies and whatever Jack was working on.

  Connor was pacing back and forth. The action so unusual for Connor that she just stared. Why was he so upset?

  Finally he leaned over her desk. “We have a breach.”

  Ava dropped into the chair behind her heavy wooden desk, the computer screen to her right had gone to sleep, and all the physical files were locked away in the vault in Jack’s office. “That’s not possible,” she blurted without thinking. Connor was great with computers.

  He blinked as if he hadn’t really been seeing her, and his laser focus narrowed in on Ava. “You wouldn’t think so. But I’m positive we had someone try to worm through our encryption program.”

  Ava leaned back at the vehemence of Connor’s words. She glanced around the silent and empty office. They were the only ones still at work, but she still didn’t feel comfortable discussing his problem out in the open. “We should go in Jack’s office. The walls are sound-proofed.”

  Ava pulled the large key ring from the bottom of her purse. In her four inch heels, sleek black patent pumps with a sexy peep toe and a slingback, Connor towered over her five foot five frame. So right now, wearing only her running shoes, he was enormous, and his frustration was was overpowering.

  “Excellent idea.” Connor stood next to her as she inserted the metal key into the old-fashioned lock. She tried not to notice the immense heat he generated as she clumsily fumbled the keys.

  Connor crowded behind her, the heat from his body surrounded hers. He awkwardly curled his palm around her bicep and held her still.

  Ava froze. He’d never touched her before. Ever. He wasn’t a toucher. Connor tended to keep his distance, and yet the unfamiliar clasp of his fingers against her bare arm, set off a riot of conflicting emotions. Thrill, surprise, longing, heat.

  Without volition, she released a little hum of reaction to the sensations from the touch of his hand and curbed the impulse to touch him back.

  Ava shook off the inappropriate feelings. She needed to gain a little distance, and a whole lot of perspective. His earlier admission and the incident on the beach must have rattled her more than she thought.

  Three

  Con almost swallowed his tongue. He had never been this close to Ava when she was dressed so casually. While at work she wore demure suits and pumps, a little on the formal side for casual Monterey but she rocked the traditional office look. Right now in short running shorts that showcased her long, lean brown legs and her fantastic rounded rear end, and a tight spandex top that hugged her breasts lovingly, her amazing body was revealed.

  She hid a serious bombshell figure, lithe feminine curves, beneath those boxy suits. With her hair down and curling around her face, and her cheeks flushed from her workout, all he could think about was how he’d like to press her up against Jack’s door and make her face flush another way.

  Her skin was warm and soft beneath his hand. He didn’t touch people. And yet, he was having the most difficult time making himself release her arm. He wanted to smooth his palm down her silky skin and thread their fingers together and hold on tight.

  As her body reacted to his innocuous touch, he was tempted to sweep back the errant curl that clung damply to her neck, and tuck her hair behind the shell of her ear, then whisper sexy nothings to her and see if he could make her crave Jack’s forbidden warning as much as he did. Their bodies swayed perilously close together as the air around them seemed to thicken with sexual awareness.

  Shit. He needed to shut those thoughts down. The company had a serious problem and he was too busy pawing Ava to figure it out. He needed to pay attention. Now. This was his chance to prove to Jack that he was worthy. Worthy of the Stone name, worthy of the responsibility of being in charge. That worthiness did not include fucking Ava on Jack’s desk.

  Ava fumbled the key to Jack’s office again and Connor finally clued into the fact that she had seemed very unsettled since she’d entered the building’s front door. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes.” But her gaze darted furtively around as if she were searching for a threat. She finally got the key in the lock, opened the door to Jack’s office, and scurried inside.

  The behavior was so out of character that against his better judgment, he shifted closer to her, tensed, and searched the lengthening shadows of her outer office for any sign of danger, ready to protect her. But nothing looked out of place or alarming. Finally, he pushed into Jack’s office and closed the door with a resolute thump. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s…nothing.”

  But it wasn’t. “Tell me anyway.”

  She stammered, “I—I felt like someone was watching me while I did my workout.”

  Connor’s thoughts quickened. He’d already identified attempted cyber intrusions, could there also be an imminent physical attack?

  Once again, Con needed more information. Ava didn’t strike him as reactionary or particularly paranoid. He’d barely identified the cyber threat before she’d gone for her workout. Could they possibly be related? He was pretty sure that he knew the answers to the questions he was about to ask, but he wanted to make sure. “Do you do the same workout regularly?”

  “No.”

  “Same time or same path?”

  “Not really. I do CrossFit so I vary my workout and today I just happened to be on the beach early since Jack wanted me to stay in the office late.”

  “So you thought you were being watched. Do you think you were followed?” Con persisted.

  “I’m sure it was nothing.”

  “Do you frequently suffer from feelings of paranoia or delusions?” Con definitely already knew the answer but he wanted to goad her.

  “What? Of course not.” Ava clenched her fists as if she was trying to restrain from hitting him and the slightly panicked look was replaced by the fiery passion he’d invoked earlier today.

  “Then trust your instincts.” Paired with the fact that he was positive that someone was trying to breach their cyber security, the hackles on Con’s neck raised. Something was very, very wrong here. And Ava needed to be on her guard.

  His words deflated her animosity. She straightened her shoulders, shifted them back, and nodded. “Okay.”

  They stood close together, huddled next to the door, and spoke in hushed tones as if unwilling to let anyone else hear what they were discussing. But as soon as she acquiesced, Con suddenly realized the intimacy of their position.

  He stepped away from Ava and focused on his other problem. He needed to talk to Jack. “Did Jack leave any contact information?”

  Ava shook her head, the messy black curls brushed the bare curve of her neck and Con found himself getting distracted all over again. “Just his cell.”

  Con had tried Jack’s cell with no luck. It was only about six p.m. Jack should have picked up. “Where is he?”

  “I have no idea.” Ava tilted her head and pursed her lips. “We could check with Shane and find out what flight plan he filed.”

  “Good idea.” Con pulled out his cell and called Shane’s cell. But Shane didn’t answer either.

  Con frowned. None of this made sense. Jack wasn’t usually completely unreachable. Unless he was still in the air. “I don’t like it. He didn’t leave any other contact information?”

  “No. He said you were in charge.”

  “Dammit.” Con paced around Jack’s office, trying to work out what to do next. But when Ava put a hand on the doorknob as if she planned to leave, he stopped her cold with the flat of his palm.

  Ava snapped, “What do you want from me?”

  Inappropriate images popped into his mind. “Nothing I can have,” he muttered.

  Ava blinked, then pretended she didn’t hear him. She stayed silent. Which worked just fine for Connor. He couldn’t have her so he needed to just get over it.

  Con glanced out the picture window into
the encroaching darkness. It was late. And then he wondered why Ava was still here.

  “So why aren’t you out of the office already?” Con’s eyes narrowed.

  “Jack needed me to stay.”

  “Why so late?”

  “Jack wanted me to wait for a checkin call from Riley. Normally he would take it. He’s supposed to call—” She glanced at the Garmin Forerunner watch on her wrist. “—in half an hour to an hour.”

  Con prowled toward her as he strategized out loud. “Okay. So while you’re waiting you can help me go through the list of recent Stone Consulting jobs.”

  “Actually, I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  Ava crossed her arms defensively over her chest. Connor tried to ignore the way the action plumped her breasts out the neckline of the tight top. Shit, focus on the problems, Con.

  “I don’t have clearance.”

  “What do you mean?” Connor frowned. “You’re Jack’s assistant.”

  “But I don’t have access to certain files.” She raised an elegant black eyebrow as if making a more subtle inference. Could she really mean that she didn’t see all the information that went through GHR and Stone Consulting?

  “Spell it out for me,” Connor said deliberately in a low, commanding voice.

  Ava pushed away from the wall where Con practically had her cornered and put some distance between them. He was distracted again by her sleek, smooth legs and the tight spandex top that snugged her waist and cupped her breasts lovingly. She was curvy in all the right places. Her unique scent, floral perfume and slightly sweaty woman, wafted in the air and wrapped around his senses, distracting him even more. Was the office shrinking?

  “Stone Consulting jobs are beyond my security clearance.”

  She still hadn’t said shit. “Ava,” Connor growled.

  Ava edged away from Con and roamed around the office. “Fine. Jack handles all the Stone Consulting reports himself. He types them, emails them from a secure accounts that I don’t have access to and then shreds them. And if he keeps a record of them, I have no idea where. He must have them somewhere but I have never seen them.”

  “Paranoid bastard.” Con knew that Jack was a secretive son of a bitch but that was extreme even for Jack. Was there a more sinister meaning behind that? And how could Con figure out what was going on without the knowledge of Stone Consulting jobs?

  Problem solve, Con. All Con could do was reconstruct what he did know.

  “The only reason I know that the jobs exist is because I edit the spreadsheet for the company accountant and know that Stone Consulting actually supports the efforts of GHR,” she said sharply. “But I don’t see any job details and I am not privy to the clients or the results.”

  Connor blew out an exasperated breath.

  Then she hesitated.

  “What?”

  “Jack did have me send a classified report today but it really wasn’t a report. It was only a few sentences.” Ava had roamed over by Jack’s desk. She ran a fingertip over the edge of the desk then straightened the blotter and replaced an errant pen in the cup holder at the edge of the blotter. “I can’t imagine a report I sent today could have anything to do with your breach.”

  She was likely right.

  However, the odds that the problems were related to GHR business were slim. The reason someone was trying to get into their system through the backdoor was far more likely something to do with Stone Consulting. Which she apparently had no knowledge of except for this one report. Jack frequently piggy-backed intelligence reports on local cultures in the areas where they donated goods and services. Maybe Con could piece together what was going on with her knowledge of GHR’s missions and glean some idea of what other information Jack had accumulated for Stone Consulting.

  Another thought occurred to Con. Jack had asked him to look into Jose Fernandez this morning. It seemed unlikely that their problems stemmed from the investigation of Fernandez since Jack just asked Con, but he couldn’t rule it out.

  First, he’d start with the one piece of Stone Consulting business that she knew about. “Can you show me the email?”

  “Actually he had me delete everything.”

  “Everything?”

  She was silent for a few more seconds as if debating how much to tell him.

  “Really?” Connor prodded. “Is that standard operating procedure?”

  Ava flushed. “I’ve never worked on any Stone Consulting reports.” She twisted a lock of hair around her long elegant finger. “So I don’t know but I would guess that it is SOP.”

  “Well I really need you to tell me what was in the report,” Connor prompted.

  She still hesitated.

  He understood that it was a big step for her but— “Jack left me in charge.”

  “It was…vague.” Ava looked uncomfortable for a few seconds. “I figured that’s why Jack let me send it, I really couldn’t figure anything from the contents.”

  “Can you try to remember word for word?”

  Ava closed her eyes, her black lashes fanned across her olive-skinned cheeks, as she attempted to recall the few sentences. “Something about a subject, retrieving evidence, and more information by Thanksgiving.”

  “I need the exact words,” Connor said impatiently. A small detail could make the difference between garbage and concrete actionable intelligence. She finally recited the email verbatim. Very slowly.

  “SC is investigating Subject F more deeply through online records. Going after living proof of wrongdoing. Beyond witness, no other physical evidence exists at this time. Will have updated report or hopefully evidence in custody before Thanksgiving.”

  Con mentally reviewed the text. Subject F. Fernandez would be his guess. Could the esteemed activist that Con was investigating be behind the current intrusion and Ava’s feeling of being watched?

  “Does that help?” Ava stare was direct and uncompromising.

  He wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about his investigation. He couldn’t confirm that the email did make sense and it was likely connected to his orders. And it was possible that it was connected to her sense of being watched. However right now it was all speculation. He had nothing specific he could share.

  “Connor?” She stared him down until they both broke contact. Unfortunately, they both focused on the same object at the same time. As one their gaze locked onto Jack’s desk. Connor thought about that flush. Thought about the images that kept taunting him. Of her, of him, locked together in a passionate embrace. And for a long taut moment, he wondered if she were imagining the same things. He thought about the sleek, smooth glide of his palm over her skin.

  And wondered if she was as sleek and smooth in other more intimate places.

  Shit. This was going to be a long night. Because he couldn’t let her go yet. “I need you to go over some more information with me before you leave.”

  “What do you need to know?”

  “I want the mission and location of everyone in the office right now. And maybe the last mission they were involved in.”

  Ava sighed.

  “Do you have any place you need to be?” Connor asked with regret. Like a date. He hoped the answer was no.

  It was, after all, a Friday night.

  Ava sighed. “No,” she replied softly. “I’m all yours.”

  He wished.

  Four

  Two hours later, they’d gone through all the missions that Global Humanitarian Reliefhad completed over the last six months. From those missions, he could make some educated guesses about what kinds of reports Stone Consulting had submitted.

  The few that really jumped out at him were Jess’s little foray to Port-du-Bois, Riley’s current mission in the Philippines, and Jack’s current MIA. Not to mention his own investigation of Fernandez.

  Ava had identified a new philanthropy beneficiary, S.S.A.F.E., but so far they hadn’t done any work for them yet. So there couldn’t be any connection there.

  But Con thou
ght about that new philanthropy. And the obvious connection to Jose Fernandez. Connor knew Ava had first hand knowledge of the incident, the abduction of the children of immigrants, that catapulted Fernandez into the career that had gotten him where he was today.

  He needed to ask her some questions. But he hated to bring up something that he figured, based on her choice of philanthropy, still haunted her.

  “So I couldn’t help but wonder what made you choose S.S.A.F.E.?” Con was pretty sure that he knew but he wasn’t about to tell her that he’d read her file.

  Ava didn’t say anything, just averted her gaze and licked her lips. He’d spent enough time watching her and thinking about her, that he didn’t think she was the type to prevaricate. On the other hand, this was the most time he’d ever spent ever talking to Ava. She was sharp, smart, had an excruciating eye for detail and he wanted to jump her bad.

  Then she spoke, and all thoughts of jumping her disappeared. “When I was fifteen, my friend was taken.”

  Con’s first thought was ‘thank god it wasn’t you’. His second instinct was to question. “How did they know she didn’t just run away?”

  But Ava was already shaking her head. “No.”

  “Okay.” He wanted to wrap her in his arms protect her from whatever she was going to tell him next. The temptation to stop her from remembering was strong. But he needed her firsthand account. So he rubbed a hand over his rumbling stomach and eased back into Jack’s chair, giving her the illusion of space. “So tell me.”

  “My parents were migrant workers.”

  Which of course he knew. But she must have worked hard to eradicate her accent because there was no inflection or cadence to her words that would indicate English wasn’t her first language.

  He waited as she gathered her thoughts. “When I was fifteen, there were several girls snatched from our community on their way to the fields after school. On the day my best friend, Maria, and the other girls were taken, I was home sick.”

  Several girls. His heart nearly stopped as he realized, she could have been one of them. Had she been spared solely because she’d been sick?