SEALs of Honor: Mason (14 page)

She shook her head. “No. Not really. When they stopped the vehicle I slipped out the back and ran. I haven’t stopped since.”

She sighed and ran a hand over hair. “I heard a vehicle go by but was turned around. It was a black SUV and I thought it was Daniel but wasn’t sure. I figured they were heading to the highway.”

“Good. It’s not for you to go and look.”

“I’m happy to let you chase after them and bring them down. Although I’d rather be a long way away before that happens.”

“You will be. We’re taking you to town. The others are going hunting.”

“Town?” she asked hopefully. “As in a hot bath and a bed and would it be too much to ask for some food.”

He laughed and led her out to the SUV. He knew the others were watching. He gave the signal she was unhurt and he was moving forward with the plan to retrieve the package and move her to safety. He’d be travelling with her regardless of where she went. He was on her like glue now.

It took a few hair raising hours, after making their way back to the airport they’d flown in to. But they made it.

Hours later she was flown back to her home.

Just in time for the evening’s reception.

Something she had no wish to attend. But it was part of the job. If she could pull that off after the day she’d had and make it seem like nothing had gone wrong, then…

She had a shower, not as long as she’d have liked, not as hot as she’d have liked but still she was clean. There was little she could do about the damn scratches, thankfully there were none on her face. Her arms showed the mad dash through the brush still so she went for a very simple but elegant dress with long sleeves.

A quick glance in the mirror and she ginned. She’d do, although her cheek was puffy from the last hit she’d taken.

She hoped makeup had taken care of the worst of it. She walked downstairs to find Mason in uniform whites.

She stopped, her heart beating like mad. “Don’t you look wonderful,” she said warmly.

He grinned. “I think I’m supposed to say that to you.”

“Yes, you are,” she said pertly. “So?”

He laughed. “In truth, you’re glorious.”

On that note, he helped her into the private car that was at her disposal and with an armed guard riding escort front and back, she was taken to the reception.

She came to a dead stop at the massive entranceway. Chandeliers glittered all around them. Women moved a short flight of steps below her, their beautiful long gowns flowing in a sea of luxury and elegance. Brilliant colors blended and shone in a glittery display of money and people in the know.

And she’d never felt so much like a fish out of water.

“Are you okay?” Mason stood at her side, a gentle hand at the small of her back.

“A few hours ago,” she muttered, “I was running for my life through the brush, having escaped a horrible end. Now I’m here staring at all this glittery gold…and,” her voice dropped, “wondering if I should be looking to escape all over again.”

She felt his sharp glance.

“Any particular reason for wanting to bolt?”

“Someone here could have betrayed me. Many people are looking at my work with envy and might be tempted to sell me out,” she answered, and when she saw his nod of agreement, she added, “And I feel like I don’t belong. That I’d rather be in my sweats running the trails than trying to navigate the predators down there tonight. Not to mention, I clean up just fine but this isn’t my world. I’m not comfortable in this setting with these moneyed people. I’m just me.”

He slipped his arm around her lower back and tugged her slightly closer. “I’d put my money on you any day. You are more than everyone in here. You have created a program to save lives. You’ve done something special. You don’t just clean up, you have set the standard. Now straighten up and walk down there as if you own them, because in truth – you do.”

She grinned. “Thanks.”

“No thanks required.” He turned and waited while they were announced. “You got this.”

*

I
N FACT, SHE
dominated it. Dressed in midnight navy with a hint of glitter, the fabric shimmered with every step she took. Her hair was in a deceptively simple coil on the back of her head with a long pin sticking out of one side with a matching navy jewel at the top end. She wore the same simple cross she’d had on since he’d first seen her. That was it. Classy, elegant. Money. More than that, she had presence.

He was on duty, his job to keep her safe. Not one of the guys would fault him for wanting her as his date for the evening.

She was stunning. She moved easily through the throng, deflecting questions and doing the social scene as if bred to it. And maybe she had been. Between her father and Harry, she had to have been exposed to a certain number of ceremonies. Not that they had the same social level as this big do did.

And the presentation…wow. If she was nervous she didn’t show it. She spoke with calm organized thoughts, her voice easily modulating to affect the flow of information. She caught everyone’s interest from her opening sentence, “I lost my brother to a land mine. I don’t want to see another of our men go down from the same cause. Not when I can do something about it.”

After that she had them eating out of her hands.

He was proud of her.

When she left the podium to a standing ovation, she beamed. And the world beamed back.

After that the hours passed in a mess of smiles and handshakes. They walked as a pair, his hand on her back or her arm hooked into his. And they felt like a pair. By the time the evening wound down, he realized they’d been holding hands for several hours.

It felt natural. Special.

Just like her.

Chapter 20

T
ESLA’S MOUTH HURT
from smiling, her feet were throbbing from her killer heels and the damn scratches on her arms were driving her nuts. What had seemed like super-soft material at the beginning of the evening was now aggravating the problem with every movement. The dress needed to go and the shoes had to go now.

“Can we leave?” she asked in a low tone. She was dancing a slow waltz in his arms, loving the romance of the moment but forcing herself to remember it wasn’t real. It might become real but it wasn’t yet.

And he wasn’t hers. Although he should be as far as her heart was concerned. Somehow he’d become very much a part of her life.

She watched as he glanced around, motioned to someone out of sight before he glanced down at her and said, “Yes, we can leave.”

“Good,” she whispered. “I can barely stand anymore.”

“Your feet?” he asked in a harsh whisper ladened with concern.

She loved that protector part of him. “Yes, but more from the heels than the old injuries.”

“The combination can’t be good.” He led her off the dance floor and through the dwindling crowd.

She was so tired, she barely managed all the good-byes and thank yous as he led her outside. She waited at the doorway while the car came around, Mason standing in front of her. Then he walked her to the passenger side and helped her into the back seat. Inside she saw Swede in the front riding shotgun. She gave him a tired smile.

“I think I’d have rather had your job this evening,” she said quietly. “My feet are killing me.”

He grinned. “My size fourteens aren’t made for high heels.”

That was what she missed this last week. The teasing. The laughter. The sense of camaraderie.

“I think we might be able to find you a pair,” Mason said, with a grin. “Cross-dressing has become much more popular.”

Swede glared at him.

“When’s your birthday?” she asked him in a teasing voice. At his horrified look, she laughed. “No worries. No high heels as gifts.”

“Damn right,” he muttered.

They pulled up to her house, and Swede hopped out and opened the door for her. Mason got out and came around to offer her a hand out.

“Thank you,” she said to Swede and let Mason lead her into the house. She needed sleep. Tomorrow was big. As in national security big. But she had to get through tonight. She knew it was going to be a long one. She was physically and emotionally exhausted but too keyed up mentally to sleep. And she wanted to run through her program again.

There were a few things that had been bugging her in the back of her mind. She couldn’t take the chance of there being a problem at this late hour.

“Bed,” he said and walked her up the stairs to her room, searched the closet and bathroom then dropped to the floor to check under the bed.

He turned back to face her. “It’s all clear.”

She kicked off her high heels and stood for a moment in joy as her feet sank into the plush carpet. Her arches were trying to adapt to the change in position.

“So damn good,” she moaned.

He laughed. “If it’s so bad why do women wear them?”

“’Cause they make our legs look miles long,” she said saucily. “And men love the look.”

He walked closer and tugged her into his arms. “I can’t argue that. You knocked them dead tonight.”

She chuckled. “You mean
I’m
dead tonight.”

“After the day you’ve had, that you managed to go at all and then ended up doing so well is fantastic. Now you need sleep.”

“Are you staying here,” she asked, desperately trying to keep her voice neutral.

“I am. The door will stay open and I will be on guard outside.”

She nodded. Of course he was. He was on duty. She was in danger and they had to keep her safe. Feeling let down but knowing she needed to sleep alone, for everyone’s sake, she turned and tilted her head forward. “Please undo the zipper. I’m not up to any fancy contortions tonight.”

He slid the clasp down then stepped back. “I’ll be outside if you need me.”

And he walked out.

Resigned to being alone again, she watched him retreat until he was out of sight. Turning back to her closet, she slipped off her dress, hung it up then stripped down to her skin and grabbed her boy shorts tank top pajamas. It took a moment longer to take off her makeup, her arm feeling heavy and unwieldy as she finished. So damn tired.

Crossing to her bed, she pulled back the covers and crawled in. Sleep hit at the same time her head hit the pillow. She could feel her body sinking deep into the bedding. And she was out.

She woke up several hours later and rolled over. Her body ached with each shift. Why? She opened her eyes, remembering the hours of being tied up in the SUV and the panicked run through the woods. She was so damn grateful to be safe and home again. Well, maybe not home but here in a soft bed knowing she had people looking out for her. She just needed to get through tomorrow. She checked her phone. It was three in the morning.

And she hadn’t gone over those few lines of code that were bugging her.

She slipped out of bed then realized her work was downstairs. She grabbed her silk robe and tied it around her waist as she walked to the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Mason asked from the shadows.

“Earlier, something bugged me in the program. I can’t sleep worrying that it might be more than a small error and need to check it out.”

“You can’t leave it until morning?” he asked, his voice gritty from lack of sleep. She studied him.

“How are you supposed to look after me if you’re not rested?”

“I’m rested. Just waking up again. I relieved Hawk. He’s sleeping downstairs. If we go down he won’t get any rest.”

She hesitated then shook her head. “I’ll be quiet but I need to check this over.”

He nodded and fell into step beside her.

Hawk was crashed on the couch, but she detoured into her office. “If it’s nothing, I won’t need but a moment.” She hooked up a keyboard to the set of monitors.

“They took your laptop, didn’t they? We never did recover it.”

“Yeah, but I don’t need it.”

She pulled out her hard drive and booted up.

The screen lit up as they watched. She logged onto the one database she needed to check and scanned through the lines of code. Not seeing what she was looking for, she did a search. Empty. Feeling better, she went to the log to see the activity over night. Nothing.

She sighed happily.

“It’s all good?” Mason asked.

“It’s all good. I just need to look at one more place…”

She brought up the security files and gasped. “Except someone is trying to hack into the program.”

“What? When?”

“Right now and has been for the last forty minutes.” She refreshed the log. “But he stopped once I logged in.”

“That makes no sense. If he’s trying to log in he wouldn’t know if you are logged in.” He pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. “Right?”

She clicked a few keys, her mind storming through the possibilities. “Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Did anyone contact Robert and Jordan,” she asked. “I’ve sent them a message to let them know I’m okay. But has anyone checked in to make sure they are as well.”

“I don’t know.” He had his phone out. “I can find out. I believe they were both contacted last night.”

“Yeah, but has anything changed now, is the question.”

“Why?”

“Because it looks like my employee Robert is online and can see that I’m online, that might account for the constant logging in and failing on my server and would account for them stopping as soon as they saw me online.”

“But why would he stop then?”

“Because he’s trying to use my log in to get on.”

“And it’s not working?”

“No,” she said absentmindedly. “I changed it all yesterday morning before I was kidnapped.”

He froze. “You changed it? Why?”

“I do as a matter of course change it every night, but yesterday morning I just wanted the extra precaution. The program was in theory done and no one needed to be working on it at all. So I locked everyone out then and moved it.”

“And could they see that you’d moved it.”

She frowned. “Yes, but I doubt this is a problem.”

“Why, because you’ve worked with these people for months?”

“Years actually. Robert came on when I started this program. He was instrumental at helping me solve some bigger issues at the beginning.”