Blown Away (20 page)

What the—

Ah. Merri saw it now. The intruder was a woman.

And she knew Jimmy well enough by now to know he wouldn’t hit a woman unless she was trying to kill him.

Apparently this one wasn’t.

But Merri had no trouble hitting another woman. Especially one who was hitting her man.

She rushed the woman, hoping to take her off guard, but the intruder was good. She jumped out of the way to avoid Merri and landed behind the desk. Probably not where she wanted to be but the best she could do at the moment.

Obviously, she hadn’t been counting on getting caught but now that she had, she was looking for a way out.

“Don’t even think about it,” Jimmy said. “You’re not getting out of here.”

“Oh really?” The woman’s voice held a smug tone that grated on Merri’s nerves. “Considering you refuse to hurt me and she hits like a girl, I don’t know how you’re going to stop me.”

“Hey.” Merri’s hands automatically went to her hips. “Trust me, lady, if I wanted to hurt you, you’d hurt.”

Even in the dark, Merri could see the arrogance on the woman’s face. “So here we stand. Eventually one of you is going to have to move and then I’ll be gone. Why don’t you just give in to the inevitable now and step aside?”

“Why are you here?” Jimmy asked.

As Merri’s eyes grew accustomed to the dark, she saw the woman more clearly. Older than Merri but probably only by a few years. A little taller, more muscular. Pretty but in a nondescript way. She’d probably disappear in a crowd.

She also clearly saw the woman roll her eyes. “Please. You know why I’m here. Let’s not play that game. And you have to realize I’m not going to tell you anything else so you might as well just make a phone call to have someone pick me up. But I gotta warn you, the next person my employers send probably won’t be as nice as me.”

For a second, Merri thought Jimmy might just reach out and sock her. Then he started to laugh.

And their intruder showed the first signs of unease. She tried to hide it, but Merri noticed how her hands tightened for several seconds before uncurling.

“But in the end, they’ll be just as disappointed as you,” Jimmy said. “You didn’t find my notes, did you?”

The woman stared at him, her expression showing nothing.

“That’s because there are none,” Jimmy continued. “The only set that remains is with the Army. And even those aren’t complete. I learned my lesson years ago. Never put all your eggs in one basket. Or, in this case, in one set of notes. The only problem for you is, there is no complete set. Or there won’t be until I go to the lab and finish them.”

The intruder took several seconds to think that over and so did Merri. It made complete sense, though. If the notes were stolen, no one would be able to replicate the formula without the missing pieces. And once Jimmy committed the formula to memory, he only had to access that huge brain of his to recall the missing pieces and plug them into the formula at whatever facility they were using it.

Yeah, she totally loved the guy.

“If you release me,” the woman finally spoke again, “I’ll relay that information to my employers.”

Merri snorted. “So they can send someone bigger and stronger to take Jimmy hostage and force him to give them the information? No way.”

Jimmy slid her a smile. “That’s not gonna happen, Merri. Trust me. I’m pretty sure I know who put our midnight visitor up to this, and he doesn’t have the balls to take this any further.”

The woman shrugged, all tension gone now. “I can neither confirm nor deny the identity of my employer, but I can agree with the no-balls assumption.”

Jimmy’s mouth quirked in a half grin before his expression got dead serious. “You know who I am, right? Who my family is?”

The woman’s head tilted back for a brief second before she nodded.

“Then you know what happens if you ever try to steal from me again.”

She nodded again then shrugged as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “Can’t blame a girl for trying. You’re not what I was led to expect, Jimmy DeMarco.”

Jimmy laughed again and Merri’s gaze narrowed. Probably foolish of her, but she didn’t want Jimmy to smile at the woman who could have hurt him.

“Oh yeah? So what were you expecting?”

“Short, skinny, and nerdy.” Stepping closer, the thief lifted her hand and trailed a finger down Jimmy’s naked chest. “Definitely not tall, dark, and gorgeous.”

Merri’s mouth dropped open. Was the woman actually flirting? Merri had the almost insane urge to give her a shot to the chin. Just one…

Instead, she grabbed the woman’s hand and bent back her fingers until she grimaced in pain.

Thank you, Mal, for showing me how to fight dirty.

When she released the woman’s fingers, Merri stared at her until the other woman nodded in understanding.

And when Jimmy draped his arm around her upper chest and drew her back against him, she couldn’t help the grin that curved her lips.

“Can’t blame a girl for trying.” The thief propped her hands on her hips, looking as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “So, can I leave? No harm, no foul, and you won’t see me again.”

“Name first,” Jimmy said. “Then you can leave.”

The woman balked. Merri saw her weigh her options before she came to the only conclusion she could. “Kate O’Leary. But that’s not for public consumption, Mr. DeMarco.”

“Don’t worry, Ms. O’Leary. The DeMarcos know how to keep secrets.”

“So I’ve been told. But I’m not usually in the habit of putting my life in other people’s hands. Still, I guess I owe you one.”

When Kate moved toward the window she’d obviously climbed through, Jimmy made no motion to follow her and Merri, though it went against everything she believed in, stayed by Jimmy’s side.

After the woman had disappeared back into the night, Jimmy sighed as he leaned down…to bite her earlobe.

Desire swept through her on the heels of the adrenaline still pumping through her veins. Sex should have been the farthest thing from her mind right now but it was front and center.

When his teeth grazed along her neck, she shuddered. “Shouldn’t you call your brother or your parents? Tell them what happened?”

“Yeah, I guess I should.”

But he made no move to stop. His hands cupped her breasts, fingers pinching at her nipples. And his erection pressed against her ass.

“Jimmy?”

“Yeah?”

One hand began to work its way down her body to the hem of the shirt. Then it dipped beneath and she could barely breathe.

“I think you should make that call later.”

In the next heartbeat, he’d turned her to face him and lifted her onto the desk. “I think you’re right.”

Chapter Eight

 
“Kate O’Leary. Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a while.”

Mal sat at the breakfast bar in Jimmy’s kitchen, drinking coffee and shaking his head between sips.

“So you do know her?” Jimmy asked. “I figured if anyone did, you would. Seemed pretty young to be that good. I figured she had government training.”

“Yeah, she’s former Navy intelligence. Went out on her own about a year ago and slipped off the grid. Didn’t know she’d joined the dark side.”

“I’m not sure she has completely.” Jimmy tugged on one of Merri’s braids, though when she looked at him, she could tell his mind was elsewhere. He’d been doing that a lot, touching her while occupied in another way.

She liked it. A lot.

“She had no weapons, and if we hadn’t caught her, she would’ve been gone. I’m pretty sure I know who she’s working for, and I don’t think we have to worry about him trying this again. Rick
Devereaux
isn’t stupid… well, he might be a little stupid, especially since he thought I’d have another copy of the notes in my house. But a little healthy corporate espionage keeps everyone on their toes.”

“And you’re sure that’s all this is?”

Jimmy nodded. “Yeah. I just needed you to confirm her identity. Sorry to drag you out here this early, Mal, but I wanted to be sure.”

“No problem. Hey, Mare, you coming into the office today? Janey’s got some new program she wants to show you.”

“Sure, I—”

Her phone gave a familiar ring that made her heart stop for a second before beginning to race like a revving engine. Even from the bedroom, where she’d left it lie on the table next to the bed she hadn’t slept in last night, she heard it loud and clear.

“Merri? Hey, what’s wrong? You just turned white as a sheet. You feel okay?”

Jimmy’s hand tightened on her shoulder, and she wanted so much to turn in to him, wrap her arms around his waist, and ignore her phone.

But even though she was on leave, even though she’d been
told
to go on leave, she couldn’t let it go unanswered.

That tone meant shit was hitting the fan somewhere and she needed to get her ass back to her team at Fort Meade.

She didn’t want to go.

For the first time in, well, ever, she wasn’t itching to go back. Wasn’t
jonesing
for her office or the next challenge.

“Shit,” Mal muttered under his breath, but she knew he knew what that tone was. He used to have the same one.

Merri looked up at Jimmy, into those blue eyes. She reached up to rub one hand along the dark stubble on his chin and watched his expression darken. “What’s going on?”

“My phone’s ringing. If I don’t answer it or return the call in ninety seconds, my boss will assume I’ve been compromised and send a team after me.”

Jimmy’s brows lifted. “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Mal answered for her, probably because he realized she couldn’t find the words. “Merri, you better get it.”

She knew that. She also knew once she did answer the phone, the little fantasy world she’d been living in came to an end.

Jimmy had apparently reached the same conclusion. His expression went blank as he nodded and took a step back. Maybe he thought he was giving her room to breathe. Maybe that’s all it was.

But she couldn’t help but think he was distancing himself.

It hurt. She knew it shouldn’t. Knew the feelings she had for Jimmy could be heightened because of the situation.

And yet… She knew that wasn’t it.

From the moment she’d met him, she’d known there was something different about him. Something that drew her to him. Not just his intelligence or his looks. It was the whole package.

She wanted to stay. Didn’t want to go back to Fort Meade, where she’d lose herself in her work again. Leave him to lose himself in his.

Tears began to gather and before they could fall, she turned and hurried into the bedroom to get her phone.

Jimmy watched Merri practically run for her phone.

The sense of helplessness that hit him in the gut sucked the air from his lungs. He seriously considered going after her to lock her in his bedroom.