She shoved the towels into his hands. “Bathroom’s first door on the right.”
He didn’t want to leave the room. He wanted to kiss her. Nothing more. Just kiss her. He wouldn’t, not when she was reluctant even to think about anything personal with him.He grabbed his duffel. “Thank you for letting me use your shower.”
She nodded. “I’ll get some bedding for the couch while you do.”
“Thanks,” he said, and the atmosphere grew even more awkward.
“We need to leave for the airport at four. See you then.” She nearly bolted from the room.
He stood frozen in place. Watching. He’d hoped explaining about the day Olin died would clear things up between them. It had the opposite effect. Made things more uncomfortable, and he honestly doubted it would ever be easy between them again.
CHAPTER 17
READY TO LEAVE FOR THE AIRPORT,Kiley stopped at the end of her apartment hallway and looked into her living room. She loved the bright colors, but with the stress of the investigation weighing heavy on her, she longed for something more soothing. And seeing Evan sitting on her sofa, the bedding neatly folded, didn’t help with finding that relaxed feeling.
He was concentrating on his phone and didn’t notice her standing there. She should turn away. Should, but she didn’t. Instead, she took in his freshly shaven face, his solid jaw, and a body built by hours spent in the gym.
The sizzling look that had passed between them last night came rushing back. Though he’d made it perfectly clear he was interested in more than her forgiveness, she didn’t get it. How could a good-looking guy like Evan with such an amazing personality be interested in her, a socially awkward computer nerd?
She had no answer, and yet the same warm pull she’d felt last night was drawing her toward him this morning. She was clearly attracted to him. Maybe more than attracted. And now, if she stopped to think about their conversation about Olin, she might be able to remove that obstacle.
Not that it mattered. She still wouldn’t follow these sincere and, if she was being honest, wonderful feelings. Years of her mother’s constant warnings about not putting herself in a place to lose a loved one wouldn’t disappear because of a warm feeling. Here she was over thirty years old and was still letting hermother control her life, even when her mother wasn’t part of Kiley’s world anymore.
But the fear was very real. Visceral even. Especially fear for Evan, who worked a very dangerous job. And if by some miracle she could get past all of these complications—maybe head to Arizona to confront her mom—Kiley didn’t really possess the necessary social skills to keep a relationship going.
Professional. That was what she needed to be with Evan. And only needed to be. She let out all her feelings on an exhaled breath and stepped into the room. “Ready to go?”
Evan ran his gaze over her from head to toe, and she flushed. She’d put on her usual tactical pants and T-shirt, then added a button-down shirt to cover her holster. Nothing special, and definitely something few women would wear to impress a guy.
“Morning,” he said, his voice husky and low as his eyes connected with hers in a heartfelt, intimate way. His look washed over her like a warming balm.
Oh, man, she had to let this go. She had an investigation to run. Millions of people counting on her. Lives at stake. A threat to annihilate. She took another cleansing breath and focused her thoughts to make sure she sounded businesslike. “Good morning.”
He stood, looking tough in his green tactical pants and tan tactical polo stretched taut across his chest. She caught a whiff of his minty scent and had to force herself to ignore the tantalizing smell.
He smiled. “Thanks again for letting me crash here last night.”
She nodded, and when she was about to ask if he got any sleep, she clamped her mouth closed and grabbed her keys on the way out the door.
“Any updates from your team?” he asked in the elevator.
“The results came back on Firuzeh’s notepad. She’d written Waleed’s name but nothing else.”
“You think he’s involved in the plot?”
She shrugged. “She might have noted his name because she planned to meet with him.”
“Yeah, could be as simple as that.”
“Also, our analysts finished reviewing the other port videos. No additional sightings of the men.”
He shook his head. “I was hoping we’d get a look at their faces. Maybe see what they hauled out in their backpacks.”
“Yeah, me too.”
He parked a shoulder against the wall and crossed his ankles. “I heard back from HSI’s Counterterrorism Unit on the pictures I took at The Righteous meeting. None of the people were on the watch list or under surveillance.”
She had to fight to keep her mind on his words and not his mouth, the mouth he might have used to kiss her with if she hadn’t run off like a scared little girl last night. “Not surprising as it was a recruitment meeting.”
