by C. J. Miller
Griffin’s entire body heated as he realized he was attracted to Kit Walker. She was part girl next door who had no idea how appealing she was and part smart professor who had a room full of male students fantasizing about sleeping with her. He was interested in her, and that awareness switched his desire on high. He wouldn’t act like a sex-starved lunatic; he was a professional. But it was getting harder to keep those boundaries clear in his thoughts.
From what he’d read about her and what he had witnessed, she had a touch of social awkwardness, yet he didn’t feel uncomfortable around her. He guessed she had spent so much time in her sister’s shadow and then as a supergenius online, she didn’t interact as naturally with people face-to-face. But when he engaged her in a topic she enjoyed, that clumsiness melted away and she was magnetic.
If she’d been more aware of her feminine prowess, she would not have stood in front of him in a towel or crammed herself next to him in this copter. He’d sat in the bathroom while she had dried herself and dressed, giving her privacy with his eyes, but his thoughts were borderline indecent. He had imagined her rubbing the towel over her soft skin, sliding her clothes on, and he had wanted to watch.
He had to keep his attraction to her in check. Maybe the leftover adrenaline from the escape the night before was still charging in his veins, but his thoughts centered on her more than the Incognito assassins they had evaded.
Her big brown eyes had been the first trait he had noticed about her. But now he enjoyed her brain and her humility. Someone in her position could be demanding and egotistical about what she had accomplished. If she realized how much the West Company and the United States government needed her, she wasn’t capitalizing on it.
The pilot turned around and handed them blindfolds and earplugs. “Eyes and ears covered.”
Kit did as he asked without question. She had been through this before.
She reached for Griffin’s hand and slipped hers inside his. Kit was scared and she needed him. He sensed it in how she watched him and spoke to him. She was looking to him for guidance and reassurance that they were safe.
It was a heavy weight to carry, and it made him feel guilty for his thoughts of dumping her on someone else. But what could he do? Keep a job he was unqualified for? Could he handle being close to her, knowing he was attracted to her, and maintain objectivity?
Soon she would be in the care of a protection specialist, someone who hadn’t let his wife die. Placing Kit with another operative with the right skills was better for everyone involved. He knew where the line was, and he wouldn’t cross it with Kit.
After a short ride, the helicopter touched down. They were allowed to remove their blindfolds and earplugs. They would be met by one of the West Company’s operatives. Griffin would complete the handoff, go to his debriefing and then return home and wait for his next assignment.
Done and done.
Kit didn’t release him. He was helping her with her injury, but her hand gripped his clothing as if she was afraid they would be separated.
“I’m here,” he whispered to her.
“I hate not knowing where we are,” she said.
“We’re safe. That’s priority one,” Griffin said. He couldn’t get to his gun as easily with her hand in his. Her hands were shaking, giving away she was nervous.
In a small, comfortable room with plush tan carpeting and beige furniture, they were offered drinks. Trays of fruit, cheese, small sandwiches and vegetables were set in the middle of the table. The pictures on the wall were of generic floral arrangements.
A man Griffin didn’t recognize entered the room. “Thank you for your help in this matter. You may consider your service complete. Mr. Brooks, please come with me.”
“Wait,” Kit said. “You’re leaving me?” She sounded shocked, and her voice quavered.
“You’ll be working with someone more skilled to handle your unique situation,” Griffin said. He heard the words and hated how bureaucratic he sounded. He wasn’t the right man for the job, and knowing it stung. He had reached the end of the line for him and Kit. Kit was safest with someone who could protect her without thinking of her naked and writhing on his sheets.
“My unique situation? What is unique about my situation?” She didn’t hide her anger.
Griffin didn’t want to talk about this in front of a stranger. “Your skills are needed.”
She narrowed her gaze at Griffin. “If you walk away from me, I swear I will be less than useless. I know what you want me to do, and I am exclusively skilled to help you in this matter. But my memory might suddenly take a nosedive, and perhaps I’ll forget everything.”
The other man looked between them. “Is there something about your relationship with the target that we’re unaware of?” He addressed the question to Griffin. Griffin heard the accusation in the words.
“No,” Griffin said at the same time Kit said, “Yes.”
How should he respond to this situation? Laugh it off? Try to explain about Kit? Reassure her she was safer with someone else?
She was scared. She needed to feel safe. Everyone did. “Kit, I was sent to retrieve you and bring you in. I’ve done that.”
“You said you would stay until you knew I was safe,” she said.
“I know you are safe,” Griffin said, hoping he sounded confident.
“I don’t feel safe. I don’t know anyone here,” Kit said.
She was digging in her heels, creating an impasse.
“I’ll get Connor,” the man said and left the room.
“Kit,” Griffin said, trying to reason with her now that they were alone. “You’ll lead everyone to believe I’ve done something wrong.”
Kit stared at him. “Wrong? I’m still alive. That means you’ve done something very right. I feel safe with you. I don’t want to be passed around.”
Connor West entered the room. Griffin stood to attention, even though this wasn’t a military op. The man had that presence. He commanded and got respect. All the operatives who worked for him felt better with him at their backs. Griffin knew he had likely gotten little sleep, but Connor was clean shaven, his clothes pressed and his close-cropped brown hair tidy.
“Kit Walker, it is a pleasure to meet you. I’m Connor West,” he said. Connor’s voice was warm and genuine.
Connor didn’t shake her hand. Her profile had indicated she didn’t like intrusions on her personal space.
Kit glared at Griffin. “I’m not changing my mind no matter whom you parade in here.”
Connor didn’t appear upset by her hostile tone, but rather amused. “You want Griffin to stay with you. Could you tell me why?”
Kit looked at Griffin. “He’s killed to protect me. I can trust him.”
Connor nodded his agreement. “I like having Griffin on the team. I trust him implicitly.”
“Connor, can we speak in private?” Connor wouldn’t force Griffin to take up the post as Kit’s protector, but Griffin felt the question coming. Should he tell Connor the whole truth about how he felt about Kit? His attraction to her could deepen, and the deeper the attraction, the more dangerous the situation.
Kit folded her arms and sat. “Go ahead.”
He and Connor walked into the hallway. “What is the nature of her feelings for you?” Connor asked.
“She’s been through a lot. She’s attached to me. You know her profile. She’s guarded.”
“We need her. We need her calm and in control,” Connor said. “The safety and security of the United States government depend on it.”
Griffin rubbed his temples, where a headache was forming. Aside from his concerns about his ability to maintain professionalism with her, he had other problems that needed to be addressed—like, say, his track record showing he couldn’t keep someone safe. “She says she’ll make herself useless if I leav
e her.”
“Tell me what I can do to make this work,” Connor said. “You know her better than I do.”
“She’s smart. She may feign ignorance about the project, especially if she’s scared.” If she bowed out of helping them, they wouldn’t have a way to safeguard the Locker or counter Incognito’s threats.
“We need to convince her to help, and she may be more willing to help if she remains with you. Can you do that?” Connor asked.
“I am not trained to be someone’s bodyguard. That’s not my area of expertise.”
“You can handle this,” Connor said.
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Connor about his attraction to Kit. But Griffin could keep it in check. He wasn’t a slave to his hormones. Too much was at stake for him to give in to his feelings. Instead, he made the point that mattered most. “My wife died because I couldn’t protect her. What makes you think I can keep Kit safe?”
“This situation is nothing like what happened with Beth. No one blames you for Beth’s death except you. What could you have done differently?”
At the mention of his wife’s name, disgust for himself and anger at her killer renewed. “I ask myself that every day.”
“The answer eludes you because there is no answer. You couldn’t have done anything. What happened with Beth was a terrible atrocity, but protecting Kit will be different. You will be at her side around the clock. She is your sole mission.”
Griffin didn’t care for his body’s response to hearing that. As a red-blooded man, he wanted to be close to Kit. As an operative, he was inadequate to protect her.
* * *
Kit and Griffin were given accommodations, nicer ones than they’d had at the military base. Kit had even been issued a rolling suitcase filled with clothing and essentials. The clothes were in her size. Creepy, but Kit had been thoroughly investigated before becoming part of the Locker team, and she wasn’t surprised to learn every detail of her life had been recorded.
“We need to go on the offensive,” Griffin said.
“On the offensive against Incognito?” Kit asked.
“Yes. Covertly. You can strike back.”
“At Incognito?” she repeated. It sounded insane. She wasn’t a hacker who enjoyed hurting people, and she liked to avoid trouble. Obtaining her security clearance to be part of the Locker team had required an aversion to creating problems. While some people thrived off drama, Kit liked her life to be trouble-free.
“This will play out one of two ways. They will win or we will. Incognito will continue coming after you and everyone on the team until we stop them,” he said.
“You and me against Incognito?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Don’t think in those terms. We have the West Company behind us.”
“Except Incognito managed to find me,” Kit said.
“This is a challenge you’ll enjoy.”
A thrill traced through her at the idea of getting back into the game against a real competitor. “I didn’t work on the Locker alone. I need people with very specific skill sets.”
“Tell me where to find them.”
She took great joy in speaking her next words. “Gamer Con.”
“The video game convention?” Griffin asked.
She had attended whenever possible, three times in the past decade. She’d loved it every time. “Yes, a video game convention. Thousands of the world’s biggest computer and gaming enthusiasts packed into one conference center. The place will be humming with talent.”
Griffin ran a hand through his hair. He seemed resigned, but not excited. “Tell me how to get tickets and I’ll clear it with Connor.”
* * *
The flight from their meeting with Connor West to Las Vegas, Nevada took less than an hour. It took three times that to make the security arrangements and convince Connor West that Kit’s plan was safe and would have a positive outcome.
Gamer Con was the world’s biggest video game enthusiast convention. Kit hadn’t attended in a number of years, but she had a few online friends skilled at hacking who would be there.
The easiest part about Gamer Con for Griffin and Kit’s cover was the ability to blend. Gamers wore jeans and T-shirts as well as costumes of favorite video game characters. Incognito had been targeting events like Gamer Con looking for members of the Locker project. Griffin was on high alert.
“Have you ever played a video game?” Kit asked Griffin as he parked his car in the multilevel garage behind the hotel.
“I have,” he said.
“Recently?”
“Not recently. A shooting game isn’t as fun when I’ve been involved in the real thing. When I’m not working, I don’t like to handle a gun or pretend I’m handling a gun.”
“Not all video games are violent and involve guns,” Kit said, though most of the ones she played did have elements of fighting, even if it was with fantasy weapons.
“If we need to play games here, I can hold my own. Don’t worry about me.”
She wasn’t worried about him. Everything she had seen about Griffin spoke to how competent and capable he was. “I ordered costumes from a local boutique and paid the rush fee for them to arrive today. They should be waiting for us at the front desk.”
“Costumes?” Griffin asked. “What’s wrong with what we’re wearing?”
“To hide from Incognito, we can dress as our favorite video game characters,” she said.
“I don’t have a favorite video game character,” he said.
“My favorite video characters,” she clarified.
“I’m not wearing a tutu,” he said.
She smirked at the idea of him in a pink tutu, the pure ludicrousness of his six-foot-something muscled self crammed into a delicate tulle skirt. “I would never be so cruel to you.”
A woman and man with their faces painted green and wearing purple latex jumpsuits walked by.
“Oh. Okay. I got it,” Griffin said. “Who will we dress as? Want to give me a clue?”
She wouldn’t ruin the surprise or give him a chance to protest. “You’ll see.” Seeing Griffin dressed as a video game hero held an enormous appeal. He could rock the buff bad boy look better than most of the men she knew. He had that even without the costume.
They slipped on their sunglasses. Anyone recognizing her was unlikely, and while she was at Gamer Con, she would use only her most recent online alias, Orchid. Lotus was dead, and if Kit wanted to survive this, it needed to stay that way.
Chapter 4
“Stay close to me,” Griffin said.
The conference center was crowded. Without the West Company, it was unlikely they would have been able to book a room in the connected hotel. Though the temperature outside was in the nineties and humid, the hotel was a frosty sixty degrees. A pianist at the baby grand in the lobby played classical renditions of video game tunes.
“Griffin?” she asked.
He stopped and turned to her. “What?”
“You’re walking like a Fed.”
“A Fed? You mean like a federal agent?”
“Yes,” she said. “You need to walk more casually. This conference attracts tons of hackers from around the world. Because of that, federal agents come here to recruit hackers or to look for wanted ones. You don’t want to be pegged as a Fed.”
Griffin stared at her. “What happens if I’m pegged as a Fed?”
“People will avoid you. Because I’m with you, they might think I’m one, only better at keeping my cover, and therefore be unwilling to talk to me.”
He relaxed his shoulders and slowed his gait. The change was remarkable. When he wasn’t rushing, his slow, easy mannerisms indicated he was relaxed. She guessed he rarely relaxed, and not while working.
They entered the ho
tel, and a couple darted between them.
Her social anxiety ticked up. Many people stuffed in a small space. Kit slipped her hand into his. “I don’t want to lose you.”
Griffin’s hand was firm and strong. If the conference became too crazy, she would close her eyes and let him lead her.
They checked into their room, and Griffin handed her a keycard. The front desk slid Griffin a large box that was waiting under their aliases.
Griffin looked at the box and then at her. “How elaborate are these costumes?”
Fairly elaborate. The costumes would conceal her identity. The wig and sunglasses she was wearing could only do so much.
“We’ll fit in,” she said.
Griffin glanced at a couple walking by in matching bright yellow jumpsuits. He said nothing to her, but she saw the brief flash of amusement pull up the corners of his mouth.
Griffin gathered their box, and Kit pulled their suitcases.
“We’re on the fiftieth floor. I don’t like being that high,” Griffin said.
“Scared of heights?” she asked.
He snorted. “I’ve jumped from airplanes. It’s not the height that’s a problem. Fiftieth floor is high enough that we can’t jump to safety.”
Was he always thinking about the next attack? She was the same way when she was designing software. Every line of code, every call to a database had to be checked and rechecked for flaws. That attention to detail was what had made the Locker so valuable and impenetrable. She and the team had tried to exploit each other’s work, and every single breach had been closed.
They took the elevator to their room. After three floors, the elevator stopped, and a trio stepped in. The man in the middle had a woman on either side of him. Both women were dressed in short, provocative dresses. One had her hand down the front of the man’s pants, and the other stroked his chest.
The woman closest to them looked at Griffin and licked her lips. “Room forty forty-three if you’re interested in joining us.”
Griffin smiled. “Thanks. That’s a nice offer.”
Kit couldn’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses, but he was lying. The threesome exited the elevator and they were again alone.