“You tampered with government property, which is a crime.” Owen looked far too satisfied with his reasoning. “You ready to go to jail?”
Seth fought off rolling his eyes, but just barely. “Let’s stay in reality for a second. The bigger problem is the corridor on the other side of that malfunctioning door. It leads to an outside entrance. That’s clear from the consulate blueprints.”
“Wait.” Ben slipped a hand through his hair. His voice carried a note of awe. His expression could only be described as wide-eyed confusion. “You did all of this today?”
“That’s why he’s here,” Rick said.
Not really, but Seth didn’t bother correcting him. “When I did a walk around, I saw the outline of the door on the outside. Then I investigated, which is what security people do.”
Owen shook his head. “That door to the outside can’t be opened.”
Rick cleared his throat. “Actually, do we know that? An hour ago we thought the door in the bike room had never been touched, and that was wrong. I’m unclear why we’re acting sure about anything.”
Yeah, Owen wasn’t getting this. Seth didn’t know if that was on purpose or some sort of defense mechanism. Or, worst interpretation, he knew all about the breach the whole time. That would make him a suspect in Ed’s death, though Seth had to admit Owen was likely already on Rick’s suspect list.
“I reset the door scanner to send me an alarm if the door opened. Then changed the settings so that as soon as anyone used either one of the doors to the corridor, the door on the other side would lock out their security pass, trapping the person inside the corridor.” Good thing he’d brought some of his tech devices with him. Seth had to admit the SAD gadgets did come in handy at times. “I’ve made it so that someone can get in but not out again. That’s why I needed the tech to unlock the door from the inside and get Tim out.”
“Tim could have been hurt,” Ben said.
As if Seth cared. “Then he shouldn’t have used the secret door.”
“Well, about that.” Ben seemed to give himself a mental shake. “Mr. Fine told me about the Lisa story. It checks out. They have been dating and Tim’s obviously restless.”
“And a dick,” Seth said.
Rick nodded. “Possibly worse.”
The snorting noise came from Owen and didn’t leave a lot of room for confusion. “Come on. What, you think he’s out on the streets of Germany giving away consulate secrets?”
Seth hated when otherwise trained people ignored logic. “You don’t?”
“Okay. I think we’ve all had enough for one night.” Rick clapped his hands one time and all the attention moved back to him. Once he had control of the room, he looked at Ben. “I told you to go home hours ago.”
“I was trying to get caught up on work.” Ben stood there without his tie and the top few buttons of his dress shirt undone. “It’s been crazy around here with Ed and…you know.”
No way. Seth didn’t buy the sad excuse. “Try again.”
Ben winced. “And the satellite TV in the lounge gets games from the U.S.”
That settled it. Seth would never understand people. There was a vibrant city right outside and Ben, young and attractive, sat inside watching television. “That’s a strange way to use it.”
“I think we have enough for now. Tim gets questioned again tomorrow, which is about four hours away.” Rick started listing out his plans, not sounding anything like the clueless replacement he was supposed to be. “We’ll run another polygraph, rip his background apart and go through his files.”
Seth tried to stop the information train. “Mr. Fine?”
Rick talked right over him. “We’ll need to interview everyone. All employees will answer questions about the room, while hooked to a machine, if needed. That includes Lisa, and if Tim really has someone outside of the consulate, that person gets questioned, too.”
As he talked, Ben fumbled for the small book in his pants pocket and started taking notes. “All of this tomorrow?”
“First thing. We grab people as they come in. Separate them. No one talks to anyone else before talking with us.” Rick winced. “I have an event tomorrow evening and I’d like us to be up and running again with everyone cleared by then.”
“I think we got it.” Seth wanted to shut this down before Rick accidentally proved he was competent enough to run a small country.
And the event? Yeah, that shit wasn’t happening. Rick wasn’t going anywhere until his safety could be assured. But that was a battle they could wage in private.
“If I’m not satisfied, Tim goes home.” Rick’s gaze moved to Owen. “And he might not go alone.”
“Sir?” Ben cleared his throat. “Tim is a consular fellow.”
Again with this. Seth figured there must have been a memo he missed about this supposedly huge important thing. “You act like that means something.”
“It’s a special program. Four years and—”
Rick cut him off. “He still needs to follow the rules.”
“I get that. I’m just saying it’s a big deal to cut him loose.” Ben talked with his hands, which made the pen in his fingers move around.
The constant flipping of the tip made Seth want to break the thing. “He has bigger worries right now.”
Rick looked like he was trying to hide a smile. “Like?”
Damn. Seth thought that was obvious. “Me.”
“Speaking of which, may I see you for a second?” Owen moved as he talked. Stepped over to the side as if he were trying to find a private place to talk in the small room.
Rick shook his head. “This can only be bad.”
Yeah, Seth had already figured that out. “No kidding.”
—
Owen waited until the room cleared to turn back to Seth. “We need to have a conversation.”
After hours of nonsense, Seth was talked out. Still, being here meant stepping on this guy’s turf. Seth understood that and cut some slack. But not much. “About?”
“I know you’re here for Mr. Fine.”
“Right.” Seth leaned back against the edge of the table and crossed his arms over his chest. “Why do I think we’re about to have a power struggle?”
“We’re not because I’m in charge. I run security here.”
Great story, and it was just that. The perfect mix of wishful thinking and fiction. Owen might have the official credentials and big job title, but Seth wielded the power. He had the assignment from his CIA superiors to prove it.
Not that he could mention any of that, so he went with the obvious issue. “You missed the door in the bike room.”
Owen shifted his weight from foot to foot. “What’s your angle here?”
“To keep Mr. Fine safe.” The truth of that statement made Seth twitchy. He’d laughed off the role of bodyguard at first. In little more than a day it had morphed into the most important job of his life, maybe more important than finding Ed’s killer…if there was one.
“About that…you and Mr. Fine…” The shifting grew more pronounced.
Seth had no idea where this conversation was headed. He also feared Owen might wear himself out if they kept going like this. “Say whatever you want to say.”
“That’s my job, too.”
“What?”
“Mr. Fine is my responsibility. In some ways my ultimate duty.” Owen stilled. “So why do we need you?”
Wrong on the first count. “I was assigned.”
“By the State Department.” Owen said the words nice and slow, as if he turned them over in his head as he heard them spoken out loud.
“You’ve seen my paperwork.”
“But I don’t understand it.” Owen was in full control now. No more shuffling or panic in his voice.
This sort of battle was not new or surprising. Helena had tried to smooth out the issue of adding random security personnel without warning. The cover story dealt with Rick being new to the position and coming out of a hot zone. Helena painted Seth
as a precaution and temporary, and also as a recognition that the same security personnel who knew Ed and dealt with his suicide might not be in the needed head space to protect the new guy.
Then she got on a plane and got the hell out of there. Smart woman.
Now the task of stroking Owen’s ego fell to Seth. This was not the kind of stroking he had any expertise in. He could play the game and get people moving, but he had little patience for even that part of the job right now.
Seth tried anyway. “Let’s make a deal.”
“I’m listening.”
The way Owen had his arms clenched around himself didn’t exactly come off as open to conversation. That was fine with Seth because he didn’t plan on negotiating.
“You handle the consulate, the employees and the exits. I’ll take care of Mr. Fine.” And that was his final offer.
Owen started shaking his head before Seth finished the sentence. “You know I can’t agree to that.”
The guy was career security. Seth had checked out his file. He had a few complaints over the years, mostly from people he stopped or searched or refused entrance to out of security concerns. All of his choices held up except one. That time when priceless artifacts and antiques went missing on his watch during a temporary assignment in Iraq.
No evidence tied him to the theft and the items never surfaced. From what Seth could tell, though he had Nathan doing a more thorough search, there wasn’t any evidence in Owen’s finances that he’d ever had a windfall. But he did have debt. Lots of debt in the form of two alimony payments and two college tuition payments. He’d dipped into his retirement more than once to cover the shortfall.
Owen’s position was enough to put him high on Seth’s list. The money factor only made him more interesting. Seth planned to watch Owen, assess. He’d known Ed for years, dating back to two other overseas assignments. They had a history. It was possible they also worked together on this side project. Seth would ferret all of that while keeping Rick safe.
But he had to admit this Owen guy didn’t back down. Despite his skepticism, Seth gave him points for that. “Then I sense we’re going to continue to have conversations like this.”
“Until one of us wins and the other one leaves.”
That sounded like a challenge. Seth always rose to those. The habit had gotten him in trouble more than once. He’d spent a lifetime fighting and challenging. He’d never been easy and refused to be satisfied.
He’d been the “troublesome” son. When his brother died Seth only got worse. He rebelled his way through his guilt and sadness. His father referred to him as “a constant disappointment” or he did back when they still talked on more than holidays.
The years didn’t help to settle him down. That defiance served him well in SAD except for that one shitty assignment where he ignored the voice in his head and it had nearly cost him his life.
“You think the one leaving will be me?” Because Seth knew better.
“It’s not going to be me.”
Wrong again. “We’ll see, Owen.”
Chapter 10
Rick finished cleaning up the mess in the kitchen right as Seth walked back into the living room. He got into the rooms without being told the alarm code, which wasn’t much of a surprise. He wasn’t the type of man to look away as someone punched in the numbers. The fact he memorized them so quickly and without showing any sign he was even paying attention was the impressive part.
Everything Seth did seemed to be at a higher level than most other people. He managed to stake out the entire building, all three levels of the consulate aboveground plus the garage, run through the staffers and check blueprints within a few hours. He worked fast and efficiently. No wonder Helena sent him.
Rick just wished he wasn’t so intrigued by him. That would make staying on task easier. But there was no way he’d skip the sex or back away now.
He stepped out of the kitchen area and met Seth by the couch. “How did that go?”
“We didn’t shoot each other.” Seth seemed distracted as he took out his weapon and dropped his wallet and cell on the coffee table. He didn’t spare Rick a glance.
“A triumph of brains over testosterone.” Rick watched every movement, so fluid and sure. Seth kept his clothes on but he stripped every other piece of his lethal life off.
“That could be the mantra for my career.”
Yeah, that voice sounded wrong. He wasn’t shooting back sarcastic one-liners with his usual energy. It was late and they’d barely eaten, but Rick sensed this might be more than hunger or the need for a few hours of rest. It was as if his brain kept clicking with theories and strategies. Maybe Owen had managed to do or say the wrong thing.
Rather than push, Rick decided to let this play out however Seth wanted. “Interesting night.”
“Understatement.”
Another staccato response. Great.
Rick let his mind wander off the man in front of him and back to the job. “We have a diplomat who may or may not have been murdered. A crime that may or may not be happening. And a consular fellow who may or may not have been trying to get laid tonight.”
Seth sat down on the couch and spread his arms over the top of the cushions on either side of him. “Very well said.”
“One thing is for sure.”
“What’s that?”
“Lisa could do better.”
A smile broke across Seth’s face. “Hell, yeah. Absolutely. I don’t even know her and I’m sure of that.”
There it was—the note of interest. A touch of humor and a spark of life in his eyes.
Rick decided to take that as a good sign. “I’ll schedule an intervention in the morning.”
He glanced around the room and opted for close over comfort. Pushing Seth’s legs to the side only the slightest bit, Rick used the table. Sat across from Seth with the outsides of their thighs touching.
Seth’s gaze dipped to Rick’s hands, where they were folded on his lap, then to his lower body. “Speaking of scheduling…”
The revving started deep in Rick’s gut. A building excitement that he tried to tamp down. “This should be good.”
“You’re not going to an event tomorrow night.”
“I am, but we’ll debate that in the office tomorrow.” That would only be the start of the conversation. Rick intended to let Tim out and bring him along, just to see if he met up with a contact or did anything out of the ordinary, He could only imagine the yelling when Seth figured out that plan.
“I’ll win.”
Rick had never found this sort of back and forth sexy before. Now it made him want to strip Seth’s clothes off and push him down on his knees. “Doubtful.”
Seth’s eyebrow lifted. “We have some other unfinished business.”
Like that, the mood shifted. The thoughts had crept into his head and then Seth backed them up with his words. Exhaustion pulled at every muscle but Rick no longer wanted to sleep. Not at all. “It’s after three in the morning.”
Seth nodded toward his lap. “I’m still up for it.”
The growing bulge would have been tough to miss. Adrenaline burn-off or pure attraction, Rick didn’t know. Didn’t care. “I can see that.”
He didn’t get off on near-death experiences, but that’s not what happened tonight. They got keyed up and now it was time to come down. To finish what they’d started earlier. To have more than a few minutes over a desk in a club.
“Or are you too tired?” Seth dropped his arms to his sides and sat forward. “Maybe between the food allergies and the practiced cluelessness you need a nap.”
Every cell in Rick’s body snapped to life. “You do like to issue a challenge.”
“You weren’t clueless, by the way.” Seth’s hand traveled up Rick’s leg and over his thigh. “Tonight you morphed into an actual boss.”
“I doubt anyone noticed.”
They sat there in silence as Seth’s fingers brushed lower. Down, inside and sneaking between Rick’s legs.
He couldn’t remember how to breathe. But he needed space. He widened his position, giving Seth’s hand plenty of room to explore.
“I did.” Seth’s fingers pressed forward, skimmed right over Rick’s erection to cup his balls through his pants. “Ben did. I watched him realize you weren’t just a placeholder here.”
Rick’s body jerked from the touch. His brain kept stuttering as he struggled to form sentences and keep up with the conversation. “That was a circus tonight. How did you notice or analyze anything?”
“I don’t slack off. I watch and listen.” Seth slid forward, putting a hand on the table beside Rick’s leg and ignoring the creaking of the straining wood from the addition of his weight. “And I did both things with you.”
The hand cradling him felt so fucking good. “What did all that observation tell you?”
“That you’re the kind of guy who should run a place like this.”
The blood drained from Rick’s brain in an all-out race to his dick. “Not my thing.”
Seth dragged his mouth along the side of Rick’s face, right by his hairline and above the scruff of his beard. Whispered in his ear. “What is your thing, Blue Eyes?”
Rick liked the nickname. Liked a lot about Seth so far. “Right now? You.”
This slow seduction was going to kill him. Zap the energy and common sense right out of him. That’s what happened every time he was around Seth so far. His mind wandered and his dick got hard. He enjoyed Seth’s company on every level, but Rick really enjoyed the touching.
Seth licked his tongue around the outside of Rick’s ear. “I was talking about work.”
When he did it a second time, Rick’s entire body shuddered. “I’m not.”
Seth’s mouth hovered right over Rick’s bare skin. “Show me.”
Fucking hell yes. Before he could think about the late hour or his grumbling stomach, Rick slid his hand down and put it over Seth’s. Pressed their joined hands until they snuggled against his erection. Kept Seth’s palm there, nice and tight, grinding against him.
Rick felt raw, turned inside out. The touch set a wild need running through him. The need to abandon common sense and dive in.
Guarding Mr. Fine (Tough Love #2) Page 8