The adrenaline coursing through my body made me dizzy. This could all crash down on top of me….
“Hannah!” Mason waved from behind a desk at the very back of the room. As I approached, he smiled, getting to his feet.
“Hey,” I said a little breathlessly.
“You found me okay?” I nodded. Mason pulled out a chair on the other side of the desk and I sat down, pulling my keys into my lap and hiding them with the fold of my jacket. I surreptitiously pulled the thumb drive from its compartment and palmed it.
“You have one messy desk,” I joked, hoping my laugh didn’t sound as fake as I thought it did.
Mason picked up a pile of files and dropped them into his desk drawer, making sure to lock it afterward. “I work best in chaos,” he said. His eyes heated for a brief moment. “I can’t get anything done today. I keep thinking about last night.”
My palms were sweaty and my belly erupted in butterflies. The tingling between my legs indicated that I too was thinking about last night.
“Don’t talk like that here, Agent Kohler, or you’ll get us both into trouble,” I flirted, lowering my lashes just enough.
I needed to distract him long enough to put the thumb drive in the port at the back of his computer. He wouldn’t even see the root kit installing. It would take only a few minutes.
But his focus was entirely on me.
Crap.
“Maybe you can stay with me tonight. We could stop by your house after seeing Charlotte and get you a bag,” he suggested, still looking at me. The thumb drive burned through my skin.
“I’d like that,” I said.
Mason grinned, his eyes warm. “Okay, then.” He sat back in his chair. “I just have to talk to my partner, Perry, and then we can leave.” He stood up. “Are you okay to sit here? I’ll only be a minute.”
I almost sagged in relief. I nodded, trying not to be too enthusiastic. “Of course. Go do what you need to do.”
Mason grabbed a file and walked over to a man seated behind a desk only a few feet away. His eyes kept flitting back my way. I would have to be quick.
I leaned across the desk, the thumb drive between my fingers and quickly inserted it in the USB port. I was breathing quickly; sweat dripped from my brow.
Mason was still talking to Perry. He handed the other man the file and patted him on the shoulder.
I checked the time on my watch. Only thirty more seconds before I could remove the thumb drive…
“What are you doing?”
I sat back in my seat and looked up at the beautiful blonde looming over me, a scowl on her face.
I recognized her instantly as the woman I had seen Mason with when he was nothing more than a name on a screen. They had been involved. She was an ex.
“Excuse me?” I asked, feeling instantly defensive. I tried not to stare at the USB drive still stuck in the back of Mason’s laptop.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Civilians aren’t allowed on the floor,” she informed me, crossing her arms over her chest. “And what are you doing with Mason’s computer?”
I gave a nervous giggle. “I’m not doing anything with his computer.”
The woman leaned over the desk. “I saw you—”
“Madison, what can I do for you?” Mason had reappeared and momentarily distracted the overly observant blond woman. With her back to me, I reached across the desk again and deftly removed the thumb drive, tucking it back into my purse without being noticed.
“I was just wondering why you had a civilian on the floor. Especially when I saw her messing with your computer,” Madison snapped, turning to me again.
Mason frowned. “What is she talking about, Hannah?”
