The rumors, although awesome, hadn’t given Hugh enough credit. He was amazing in bed.
Or maybe her big crush on him helped.
She pushed wet hair off her shoulder and smoothed down her faded jeans. The air had turned cold enough she was comfortable in her light blue sweater. Her phone dinged, and she tore her gaze away from the demolished bed. “Smithers,” she answered.
“You alone?” Deke asked without preamble.
“Yes.” Striding quickly, she reached her laptop next to the computer and flipped it open, easing back to perch at the end of the bed. “What’s up?”
Deke cleared his throat. “The intel came in on Hugh. He’s not one of the good guys, Eleanor.”
She snorted and inhaled the scent still left in the room from Hugh. Masculine and tough. “He’s beyond good.” In more ways than one, actually. “You’re being silly.” Was Deke being overprotective? How loud had they been last night? Had Connor somehow heard something from the next room? She bit her lip. Had she screamed at one point? Geez. “Give me a break, Deke.”
“I’m sending you the intel. Call me after you’ve read it.” He clicked off.
Well. She huffed and rolled her eyes, quickly opening an attachment from him. Documents, dossiers, and FBI investigational files quickly filled her screen.
She read them, her stomach beginning to hurt. “This isn’t right.”
A knock on the door nearly stopped her heart. “Who is it?”
“Connor.”
She stood and quickly unlocked the door for him, moving back to her computer instantly.
He slipped inside and leaned back against the door, his dark eyes somber. “I finished at the plant and left Hugh to continue briefing the new security details. Told him I’d be back after grabbing more coffee. Did you read the information from Deke?”
“Not all of it. I’m about halfway through.” She didn’t believe this. Not at all.
Connor rubbed a hand across his eyes. “Let me fill you in. Hugh’s family had financial troubles with what had been very successful tire stores, and Gregor bailed out his brothers. That put Hugh in a world of hurt.”
If there was a way to get to Hugh, it’d be through family. She shook her head anyway. “I don’t believe this.”
“Believe it,” Connor said grimly. “Hugh had no choice but to work with Gregor. Fed the guy information on nuclear plants, vulnerabilities, and hot targets. There was a hell of a lot more than just one picture of them together. He really was being investigated by the FBI.” His lips pressed into a thin white line as he took in the status of the bed. “Shit, Ellie. You didn’t.”
She stood, her chest filling. “I did, and he’s not a terrorist. Or a co-conspirator with a terrorist organization.” The information had to be wrong. It just had to be.
“Read the rest of the files,” Connor said softly. “Hugh has been under FBI investigation for the last four months. His vacation? Yeah. That was forced on him, basically so the FBI could go through all of his records at work without his knowledge. He’s a bad guy, Eleanor.”
No. She’d known Hugh for years. People didn’t change that much. They just didn’t.
Connor’s phone blared out a Florida Georgia Line tune, and he pressed a button, igniting the speaker. “Connor here with Eleanor. What do you want us to do, Deke?”
“Options?” Deke asked, his big voice booming over the speaker.
Connor’s rugged face lost all expression. “We can leave him here, bring him with us to answer questions, or put him down and not look back.”
Ellie gasped and tossed her laptop on the bed. “We are not putting him down like a dog.” There had to be a decent explanation for all of this. “Come on. I know this guy.”
“You knew him. Years ago,” Connor countered, looking beyond deadly with the gun strapped to his thigh. “It has been about ten years, and a lot can happen in that time. I say we put him down and move on from here. Vet people better in the future.”
“No.” Ellie moved closer to Connor, almost getting into the big guy’s face. “We are going to give him a chance to explain.” Her chest hurt. Was she having a heart attack? A panic attack? Yep. One of those was happening right now.
“Deke?” Connor asked quietly.
Silence ticked over the line for a minute. “Fine. Bring him in. But it’ll be a lot easier if he’s cooperative, so don’t let him know we have questions,” Deke said.
Connor sighed. “That might be difficult. Apparently, Eleanor and Hugh tore up the sheets last night. Literally.”
