He beamed a smile at her, and she almost gasped at the sharp jolt of awareness that plunged through her. He was a fine-looking man—she’d figured that out already—but when he smiled? Oh, man. Wow. Just wow. She was putty in his hands.
He held out the cup. She tapped her table. No way she was going to risk touching him. If a smile left her breathless, what would physical contact do?
His head tipped in question. She wouldn’t explain.
He set down the coffee, the pungent scent filling the sterile air.
He straddled a chair and watched her carefully. “So how has the rest of your day been? Is your head still pounding?”
“Yeah, but it’s manageable.” She clutched the stiff sheet in her fingers and thought about what she should share, how she should act with him. Especially with the way his focus was so intently pinned on her.
“Any word on when you might get out of here?” he asked, solving the problem for her.
“Doctor said if things don’t change for the worse, he’ll discharge me in the morning.”
“That soon? Great.” He frowned.
“Why the frown? Doesn’t look like you think that’s good news.”
“No, it is.” He quirked a tight smile. “We just have to figure out a protection plan for you is all.”
Protection plan? No way. She lifted her shoulders. “I won’t be coddled and locked up in a safe house like my mom. I’m going to work the investigation right alongside you.”
“Yeah, I knew you’d say that. But you can’t go home either.”
“That’s true.”
“You know as a Marshal, I’m well-versed in protecting people. So would you let me come up with a plan and find a safe place for you to stay?”
She could already tell that he was the kind of guy who was used to giving directives, and yet he’d asked her. That meant a lot to her and warmed her heart. “I’m okay with that, if Harris is.”
“I called to update her on the team’s arrival. She’s good with it.”
Addy picked up the coffee cup, the warmth feeling good in her cold hand. “She doesn’t usually give in so easily.”
“Who said it was easy?” He grinned, and the tiniest of dimples formed in his left cheek, giving him an adorable vibe so at odds with his tough-guy exterior.
She was quickly starting to see that he had many sides to his personality, and she shouldn’t even be thinking about his personality at all. But honestly, even if she wasn’t attracted to him, she would want to know what kind of man she’d fallen for and said the big “I do” with.
“But I’m glad Harris agreed because you need protection.” Mack’s smile fell. “I’ve been doing some research on Razo to try to formulate the best plan. He’s one bad dude and has a lot of Mini-Me types following in his footsteps.”
“Yeah, I checked him out today too.” She had to work hard not to shudder over the photos she’d seen of people Razo had allegedly brutally murdered. She wouldn’t focus on that, though, or she would live in fear and lose her effectiveness as an investigator. “But honestly, Razo’s profile doesn’t scream computer savvy, and I really can’t see him deleting my files.”
“He might not be tech savvy, but I’ll bet he has someone on his team who is.”
“You mean because a lot of the illegal drug-and-gun sales are conducted on the dark web nowadays?” She didn’t bother to explain. His job on the RED team made him well versedconcerning the hidden layer of the internet, accessible only via a special browser where criminals conducted illegal transactions of all kinds.
“Which is why it’s even more important that the RED team is tagging in on your investigation,” he said. “You might not remember us, but we truly are the best.”
“I Googled you and the team too,” she admitted. “Not that I expected to find much. Not with you all being law-enforcement officers. And I didn’t learn anything other than the formal HSI press releases about the team.”
“We do our best to make sure we don’t share anything. I know you do too.”
“I do.”
“Could you look up your phone records online too?” he asked. “You could’ve made a call that will help us figure out your movements.”
“Already done. No calls from before the accident. So, either I didn’t need to call who I was going to see, or I used the office landline. Which is something I usually do when I’m in the office. Harris is requesting the call log. I also checked my credit cards. I did purchase a cup of coffee at a cart near the office, but nothing else to give us a lead.”
