“Cameron went out to find you,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Youdidn’t see him?”
Jackson fought the heat rising to her face. “He had to take care of something. He’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Derek’s gaze rested on her for an extra beat. He knew something was up. Thank goodness she’d come to her senses before she followed Cameron back and did something really stupid. Correction: somethingelsereally stupid.
She tugged her scarf across her chestand walked into the room. Derek and Max were dressed like Cameron: white shirts, black pants and holsters strapped around their shoulders. No wonder Blackmore Inc. was in such high demand. Both of them looked like they were ready for anything.
“Don’t let me interrupt,” she said.
Max glanced at her dress and laughed. “Good luck with that.”
Jackson felt her face heat.
“Enough, Max,”said Derek. “Let’s review what Ms. McAllister needs to know.”
She sat in the empty chair next to Derek, and Max passed her a paper across the table.
“Here’s the schedule for the evening,” he said. “In all likelihood, you’ll see very little action on this job. But you never know. Because of some recent problems, this client suspects he’s being targeted, and he’s a little jumpy. He has hisown full-time security back at the hotel, but he wants us along because we know the area.”
She looked at the minute-by-minute plan, starting at an unnamed hotel.
“Who is the client?” she asked.
Derek shook his head. “Sorry. Can’t give that information out.”
“Fine,” she said. “Where’s Simon?”
Derek pointed to the top of her sheet. “He’s already at the venue. Cameron will driveyou there and get you into the place, and Max and I will pick up the client and his wife.”
Which meant more time alone with Cameron. Her heart thumped.
Derek pointed farther down the timeline. “The client will stay for a couple hours, and then Max, Simon and I will take him back.”
“And Cameron?” she asked.
“He’ll take you back. He didn’t want you near the client. In the unlikelyevent that anything would happen.”
“Oh.” Jackson frowned.
What was the board thinking when they insisted she tag along on their assignment? The more she thought about it, the more she suspected that Cameron was right. She was in the way. Hanging around on a job was risky, both for her and for the team, and Harlan Blackmore and his board had no idea what they were asking her to do. ButCameron did, and he had taken on the job of babysitting her.
Derek was still looking at her.
“He volunteered, Jackson,” he said quietly. “He wanted to make sure you were safe.” Derek punctuated his statement with a nod and turned back to Max for more planning talk.
Was Derek trying to tell her what a pain in the ass she was for Cameron, or was he saying something else? If it was theformer, she didn’t need any reminders. If it was the latter? It didn’t matter. She was leaving tomorrow, so even if there was something more between them, there wasn’t anything to do about it.
Derek and Max stopped talking, and Jackson looked up. Cameron stood in the doorway. His thick black hair was off his face, and his blue eyes were steely and cold. He wore a suit coat, unbuttoned. Hishands were shoved into his pants pockets, showing hints of the now-loaded holsters around his shoulders. His eyes met hers, and for a moment, heat flared in them. Jackson drew in a breath, much louder than she meant to. Both Derek and Max looked at her, then back at Cameron. Shit. She had just all but announced her inappropriate interest in Cameron.
Max smiled at Cameron. “I think I betterget out of here before I say something stupid.”
Derek snorted. “That would be a first.”
Max and Derek stood up and headed out the door. Max patted Cameron on the shoulder as he passed, shaking his head. The men’s voices faded, leaving her alone with Cameron.
His gaze was steady on her. She wrapped her scarf tighter around her shoulders and stood up.
“You ready?” he asked, his voicerumbling from his chest.
