Not so easy when Nolan worked in the next office over, and pulled the same kind of ridiculous hours. His recent trips to visit a sick parent had helped some, but they stayed in regular communication, and dammit, Dallas missed him when he was gone.
The entire situation was intolerable. Shy of finding a new job—something he couldn’t imagine—Dallas didn’t know what to do about it.
He groaned and lightly beat his forehead on the desk before resting it on the cool surface and closing his eyes. Fatigue had made a husk of him, but he couldn’t rest. Not when Emma was operating without aid. She hadn’t checked in since calling in help for Nat after the attack at the safe house.
Dallas had to find her, figure out what was going on, and help bring her in safely.
Bad enough that Natalie had been shot—
No. Donotgo there. Not now.He could fall apart later. At home. In the Playa Vista condo he still hadn’t finished furnishing after four years. Exhaustion chugged through his veins, making his muscles ache.
The computer beeped, and Dallas jerked upright, blinking and wiping moisture from his lips. Had hedrooled? For God’s sake, how long was he out?
Not long enough for Nolan to catch him. A small, but very welcome, mercy.
Dallas rubbed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose. Knocking the cobwebs from his mind with a few slaps to his cheeks, he refocused on the computer screen, peering closely at another possible match. “Nope.” Close, but definitely not Emma. He clicked the NO button and sat back in his seat with his hands behind his head, worry once again creeping over his skin like a vine.
He sighed and refreshed the online gardening forum his team often used to communicate. No new messages. “Where the hell are you, Em?”
In the dingy studio apartment where she and Jason were holed up, Emma forced herself not to squirm under his hard gaze. He stood so close she could feel the heat from his body, his heady scent encircling her like smoke.
“What’s on the drive?” he asked again.
He was trying to intimidate her, but she’d never been physically afraid of him. Not even that last morning she’d seen him, when he’d been so angry and hurt, and so oblivious to her own pain.
“I don’t know what’s on the drive,” she said, not backing up an inch despite the pain in her neck from looking up at such an extreme angle. “I haven’t exactly had a chance to check it.” Except for the brief glance at one document.
Rather than an angry retort about her being deliberately obtuse, he took a step back and said, “Then, how about we take a look?” He held out his hand.
Did he really think she’d just hand it over?
“Whatever’s on that SD card could directly hurt my client’s company,” he said. “I won’t leave without knowing what’s on it.”
She looked at him in alarm.Wouldhe take it from her by force? Maybe he’d changed more than she realized. Feigning a bravado she didn’t feel, she shook her head. “People need to know what Renfro and Byron are doing.”
He sputtered. “What does that mean?”
“You’re in charge of security. I presume you know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“Oh, Jesus.” He sat down hard across from her and flicked strands of hair out of his face, clearly annoyed by the thick chestnut waves that so completely changed his look. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those conspiracy nuts.”
“It’s not nuts if the conspiracy is real.” She took her laptop from her bag. Without her phone, it had no Internet access, and was otherwise untraceable to anyone, even her own team. It came to life the minute she opened it, and she did a quick search for the file she wanted.
Jason gave a harsh laugh. “Kerry’s death was ruled a suicide, Emma. I can’t believe you of all people have bought into this.”
The file opened and she adjusted the audio slider to the time she wanted before hitting Play.
A deep voice filled the room. “You signed an NDA. If you talk to anyone, you’ll be in breach.”
Emma hit pause as Jason’s eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms. “This is a recording Kerry Martin made of a call with Renfro Warner. It’s not admissible in court because California is a two-party consent state and she didn’t get permission to record the conversation.”
She started up the recording again before Jason could respond.
“I don’t care about the NDA, Renfro,” Kerry said. “This isn’t about what you did to me anymore, it’s about those girls.”
“Kerry.” His voice was low and angry. “I suggest you think of the cost to your loved ones before you take any action. Keep your mouth shut or youwillregret it.”
A short gasp. “Are you threatening me?”
