“Sounds good.” As he turned to walk out the back door, she smiled. But it seemed more forced than her other ones.Huh.Definitely strange. And even stranger was his gut telling him something was off. But he had no idea what.
Sabrina gathered the dishes, put them in the sink and watched through the window as Jayson walked to the barn. God, he had a splendid ass. Firm glutes she’d love to grip as he railed into her. How many squats did he freaking do?
It doesn’t matter, Sabrina. Focus.
The moment he disappeared inside, she sprang into action.
Time to snoop.
Wasting no time, she headed straight for the office she’d noticed earlier. The room also served as a library with built-in shelves showing off more of his amazing craftsmanship. Loaded with books, the shelves filled an entire wall. The room had a cozy, masculine vibe with a large desk made from dark, polished wood. It was a nice piece, and she guessed he’d made it, too. Hemust be incredibly good with his hands to create something so beautiful. Just the thought made her insides warm.
No time for sexy thoughts,she chastised herself, making a beeline for his laptop. Unfortunately, the office/library faced the front yard, so she didn’t have eyes on the barn. But she figured she had a solid ten minutes or so to download the files off his computer and search through drawers and file cabinets.
She quickly plugged a flash drive into the side of the laptop and paused when it asked for a password. Her gaze moved over to the framed photo of him and Emma. They sat in a whitewater rafting boat, holding paddles and all smiles.
She typed “Emma,” but it didn’t work.Hmmm.Looking down at his desk calendar, she flipped through several pages. There were notes about work orders, deadlines for projects…there! In his neat, slanted writing, she read, “Dinner with Brett and Emmie G.”
Sabrina’s fingers quickly typed “EmmieG” and bam. She was in like Flynn.
Without a moment to spare, she began transferring anything that looked remotely important. He had a lot of stuff on there, so she had to make some guesses. One folder in particular caught her eye.General Mitchell Evans. When she opened it, she saw dates and locations, and a few words jumped out at her including Villarreal Cartel, Tierra Caliente and Ferrante.
Score.
“C’mon, hurry up,” she whispered, fingers flying across the keyboard. Once the download began running, she pulled open one desk drawer after another, looking for anything suspicious. Since she was pretty sure he’d built the desk himself, she was also fairly confident there would be a hidden drawer or two. Running her fingers along the edges and feeling around inside for a button, she frowned. Nothing. At least, nothing she could find.
She knew she was running out of time fast, so she turned her attention to a dark wood cabinet. But upon closer inspection, she realized the drawers were locked.Damn.She wondered if she’d have enough time to grab her lockpicking tools and pop it open before going out to the barn. Probably not. But she could always sneak back in tonight and do it once Jayson was asleep and—
“What’re you doing?”
Shit.Sabrina froze then straightened up and turned around. Jayson stood there, hands on his slim hips, looking more than a little pissed off. How the hell had he snuck up on her so easily? She’d clearly underestimated him, forgetting the seemingly harmless father was also a trained warrior.
“Who the hell are you?” he ground out. “And be very careful how you answer. Because if I think you’re lying to me, you won’t like what happens.”
Oh, shit.
His fierce tone sent a chill skittering down her spine. Those warm hazel eyes of his had turned cold, calculating, and she knew he wasn’t bluffing. A part of her wondered if she might be able to catch him off guard somehow and make a run for it, but she quickly discarded the idea. He might be older, but she was pretty sure his reflexes and instincts were still dead-on, and she didn’t want to fight him.
“I know how this looks,” she began carefully, raising her hands. “But I can explain.”
“Be my guest,” he invited coolly. “I’m all fucking ears.”
Her mind spun as she tried to figure out what she could share with him. The entire operation was now compromised. And based on what she saw on his computer? She was willing to bet he was involved in more things than she even realized.
“C’mon,Sabrina,” he coaxed, eyes narrowed and unblinking. “Is that even your name?” Something shifted in his icy gaze. She almost thought she saw…disappointment?
“Yes. I didn’t mean for things to go down like this, Jayson. I swear. But I had to—”
His phone started ringing. For a moment, he ignored it. “Don’t you fucking move,” he warned her, pulling the phone from his pocket. “Knight,” he answered, keeping his eyes on her and not bothering to check the caller ID.
From the other side of the room, she could hear a frantic voice start babbling over the line. Although she couldn’t make out what the seemingly panicked caller was saying, she saw the exact moment when all of the color drained from Jayson’s face.
“What?” he finally rasped, his long fingers tightening around the phone. “I’m on my way over.”
When he disconnected the call, she noticed his hand shook slightly.
“What is it?” she asked. Something had rattled him. “Jayson?”
“Someone took Emma,” he growled.
