He nodded, his expression pensive. “What about your email?”
“I reviewed it. Nothing there to help. I didn’t send any messages that day at all. And earlier that week, they were are all business emails unrelated to this investigation.”
“I assume you were driving the Mustang.”
She nodded, and the thought brought an ache to her heart.
“No navigational system to check, then.” He pursed his lips and looked like he wanted to spit tacks at the lack of leads.
She wanted to help move things along, but she couldn’t very well pull leads out of thin air. “What time does the team arrive?”
“Cam’s already at your office.” Mack glanced at his watch.“The others should be touching down anytime. They’ll be staying at the safe house if that’s okay with you. I figured having three Feds on duty would improve the odds of keeping you safe.”
“Sounds like a good plan,” she said, feeling a bit nervous about interacting with the team when she didn’t know them.
“Kiley will come by to image your computer just in case there’s any information we can use. But knowing you, you don’t keep important files on your computer.”
“Youdoknow me,” she said and tried not to frown at the thought. “I’m a security freak when it comes to electronic files. I figure laptops can be stolen, so I don’t keep anything important on my computer. And our office is basically paperless, so I have very little there either. But I do sometimes print items I want to follow up on. I take notes on them so that anything I printed could point us in the right direction.”
He leaned closer. “Do I have your permission to have Cam make copies of the files so we can review them?”
She knew they would be involved in the investigation, but at the moment his request felt like he was taking over. She didn’t want that to happen. “That’s fine, but I want to see anything he copies before you all review it.”
“Of course.” He smiled, and her heart flip-flopped. “I’ll just text him to make sure he knows.”
She watched him take out his phone and type the texts. When he looked up, she was still studying him, and he quirked an eyebrow. If they were going to be working together, she would have to get better at covering her feelings. “FYI, Harris confirmed that the network was hacked and my files were deleted.”
Mack frowned, and he looked so tired, her heart went out to him. “Have you gotten any sleep at all since you got here?”
“Some. But I’m good. You’re the one who should concentrate on getting enough rest. You’re not known for sitting still, and I don’t want to see you hurt your health even more.”
Oh, man, he really did know her.
He searched her eyes. “Did I say something wrong?”
“I keep forgetting how well you know me, so when you say something that pegs me like that, it hits me odd.”
“Oh, right. That makes sense.”
“You know I appreciate you and the team offering to help, right?”
His eyes narrowed. “Yes, but...”
“It’s going to be awkward for all of us, but most definitely for you and me.”
“I know, and I’m sorry about that. But it’s the right thing to do. Don’t you agree?”
“I wish I didn’t, but yes, I want to stop Razo from selling such dangerous weapons, and to accomplish that I’ll do just about anything.”
“Even if it means working with me?” He sounded so sad and disillusioned.
She wanted to assure him that she didn’t mean that, but it was better to let him think she could barely tolerate being with him. If he knew how attracted she was to him, she’d be sunk before they even started.
Chapter 9
MACK HAD WANTEDTO STAYwith Addy, but Sean texted saying they’d arrived and were at the safe house. Mack needed to check in on any progress they might’ve made as they had only five days to figure out Razo’s plans. Plus Mack needed a shower in the worst way, and he wanted to bring Bear to the safe house since no one was going to be around to take care of him. With another ICE agent standing watch at Addy’s hospital door, Mack felt like he could take off for a little bit.
Sean had arranged to use the same safe house they’d stayed at in the past, and Mack found the team settled in as if they were at home in the finished family room in the basement. The lingering smell of spicy pizza filled the air, making Mack’s stomach rumble.
