“I don’t know,” he murmured, “but it’s a good start.”
“Why would he want us to look at stuff that happened thirty years ago? Surely all this is old news. Who would be a threat to him after so long?”
“That’s what we have to find out.” Nick clicked the mouse and brought up the picture of Frank Richards in his uniform as a young man. “That’s Richards.” He pointed to the group photo and the man standing in the back row behind Charles Mercer.
Nick peered closely at the name tags on the other uniforms. Yellowed and fading, the letters were blurred. Reaching into a computer accessories bag, he extracted a magnifying glass and held it over the photograph.
Without turning, he sensed Mary’s presence behind him. She’d shed her heavy winter coat and stood in the formfitting black turtleneck sweater, the scent of her shampoo completely wrecking Nick’s concentration.
When she leaned over him, her breast touched his shoulder.
Nick caught himself before he groaned.
“You come prepared, don’t you?” she said, her breath warming his neck and the back of his ear.
An image of a foil packet tucked in his nightstand jumped into his mind until he realized, with a bit of disappointment, she’d been talking about the magnifying glass. “Part of the job description.” He held the glass out to her. “Can you make out any of the names?”
As soon as she took the glass, Nick swiveled and stood, inserting distance between him and Mary.
Who’d have thought a woman with a name like Mary Christmas could turn him on so utterly?
He touched the document scanner icon on his cell phone, ready to start the scanning process. Keeping his hands busy excluded him from touching anything else. Namely one curvy little blonde.
“Let me scan the photo.” Nick held out his hand. “My people can run a check on your father’s military records and see if they can find the names of the men in his unit.”
When she handed him the picture, their hands touched.
Something like an electric shock, more intense than the static electricity normal to the dry winter Alaskan climates shot through his arm and into his chest, making his entire body tense.
She looked up, her eyes wide. Had she felt it too? “Nick?”
Her blue eyes mesmerized him, making him forget what he was supposed to do. When her tongue darted out to moisten her bottom lip, he almost came unglued.
Before he lost his mind and perspective, he snatched the photo and laid it on the dark surface of the dresser. “I can take care of this if you want to go back to your room and get some sleep.”
“I’m not really sleepy. I’d rather look at the picture and see if I can read some of the names. I think there were two or three of the name tags I could make out. Give me a few more minutes with the magnifying glass.” As if to belie her words, she yawned, slapping a hand over her mouth.
“Yeah, you’re not sleepy and it’s not two in the morning.” He strode to the door. “Go on, hit the sack. I might need you coherent in the morning.”
“I can go without a little sleep. It won’t kill me.”
“Maybe so, but I can’t. And if you stay in my room, I know I won’t get any sleep.” He gave her a heated look, his gaze panning her body from her blue eyes to the flare of her hips.
“Oh.” She stared at him, wide-eyed. “Okay.” Her feet dragged toward the door, her hand reaching slowly for the knob.
Nick almost felt home free. If she’d just leave, his unreasonable attraction would subside.
Instead of opening the door, she turned back toward him, her face rosy. “If you find out anything...anything at all..., will you wake me?”
“You bet,” he lied.
Not on your life.
An image of Mary coming to her door in her flannel pajamas stirred more desire than a silky, sheer negligee, sabotaging his attempt to stay neutral. “Now, go to bed.” He hadn’t meant his tone to sound so mean, but it had the desired effect.
Mary scampered through the door and closed it behind her.
After one split second, Nick realized he hadn’t cleared her room. His heart leaped into his throat. He grabbed his gun from the desktop, and he sprung across the room, flinging open his door.
