Chapter 1

Rory Holmes ended the call with Lucia, her sister, and stepped into the hall, slamming right into a brick wall. But it wasn’t a brick wall. It was a very strong, good-looking man.

Her gaze traveled up his body, taking in his trim waist and the V-like spread of his chest. His hands were on her shoulders, steadying her. His touch might have short-circuited her brain because words wouldn’t come out and her thoughts stalled.

Then fear hit. Was this guy here for her? Did he know about the information she’d found and now needed to keep hidden?

His lips spread into a smile, and a pulse of electricity raced through her. It almost seemed like his blue eyes twinkled as he squeezed her shoulder. She had the sudden urge to move into the circle of his arms. The wild idea that he would protect her filled her mind.

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Thinking like that would get her killed. She opened her mouth to speak, but their gazes connected again, and she was at a loss for words.

“Sorry. I should have been paying better attention.” His voice was deep and velvety smooth, raking over her nerves, leaving her wanting for more.

Another shiver raced through her as she tried to recover. There were very few men who’d ever left her speechless. She must have been staring for way too long because he lifted his eyebrows like he expected her to respond. She’d been caught off guard, which didn’t happen often, actually never. As an intelligence officer in the Marines, she had to know what was happening. Maybe it was the crap she was dealing with, or maybe this man really was that good-looking. Whatever it was, left her dumbfounded.

She blinked, then stepped back, realizing that she was standing way too close to him in addition to staring up at him. She was acting like a fool.

“Don’t worry. It’s okay. I should have looked before I stepped out.” She’d come to this store to purchase a burner phone to call Lucia. She was overreacting. She knew it. A burner wouldn’t save her if she called her sister on it. But she needed to talk to someone. When Lucia picked up, she realized she couldn’t tell her sister everything she knew, or her sister would be at risk, too.

He bent and grabbed her phone from the ground. She hadn’t even realized she’d dropped it. She was a mess. Maybe everything wasn’t as bad as she thought. The information she’d seen could have been fake. She needed more proof, but looking for more would put her in danger.

She palmed the phone and then looked at the screen. Lucia had sent a text. It was just one word .

Careful

Had this guy seen the text warning her to stop looking? She drew in a sharp breath. There was no way he would know why she needed to be careful. Would he?

She studied him, taking in his hair that was longer than regulation and the fact he had beard growth that was longer than two days. No way he was military. Besides, who would have found out what she knew? Her sister was just being cautious and wanted her to stay safe.

The door to the store opened, and a man in a suit stepped in. Her gaze flitted over suit guy, and panic set in. Was he wearing an earpiece? She couldn’t tell. He was clean-cut and had a look about him that told her he was from one of the government’s alphabet agencies. Was the FBI or CIA or military intelligence already after her?

“Hey, are you okay?” the man she’d run into asked.

Her gaze flashed to him, and she studied the dude with the pretty blue eyes. Could he be a plant to trap her? She was being way too paranoid. There was no way anyone knew the information she’d found at her last posting, which was confirmed by chance here in San Diego. He reached out and squeezed her shoulder. His touch sent a wave of goodness through her. Again, she was struck by how good this man made her feel.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

She shook her head, trying to dislodge the fear. She hadn’t seen a ghost, but a spook who could be after her. She stepped to the side, moving so the man in the suit couldn’t see her. “I’m fine.”

His lips thinned, and his eyes narrowed. “Bullshit.” He glanced around, and his gaze settled on the supposed spook who’d just stepped in. “Let’s go out the side door. I’m Harry, by the way.”

“Rory,” she said, deciding that trusting this man was better than potentially passing by the possible agent who would arrest her if he knew who she was and what she knew. Then, she would never see freedom again. Not because she’d done anything wrong, but knowing what she did about who she did would put her in a very difficult position.

Once outside, she glanced back, seeing suit guy hadn’t followed. Relief filled her. Maybe suit dude had nothing to do with what she’d found, but she couldn’t chance it. She was about to walk away from Harry when his hand on her shoulder squeezed again. Warmth spread through her, and she glanced up into his way too beautiful blue eyes.

“Want to grab something to eat?”

The way he looked at her should have made her worry, but a wave of calm filled her. If she were smart, she would make up an excuse and walk away. But Harry wasn’t the clean-cut military or federal investigator type. She worked with enough government employees to pick them out of a crowd, and this guy screamed regular guy. Her gut told her this man was good, but could she trust her gut? She’d thought people in positions of authority were respectable, but she’d recently learned otherwise. Of course, she couldn’t prove anything yet without harming herself and potentially harming Lucia. She’d seen enough information and couldn’t forget what she’d read.

“Just food. We don’t even have to go far. We can walk over to the row of restaurants over there and grab something to eat. I’m hungry. What about you?”

Rory blew out a breath, then nodded. “Sure.” She glanced back, seeing the man in the suit talking to a blonde woman. Maybe the guy was just meeting his wife or girlfriend and wasn’t here to take her in. Coincidences happen. Right?

That she’d seen this guy who looked like an agent right after she’d discovered more information about the possible human trafficking ring run by someone in the government wasn’t connected in any way. She was being paranoid. No one knew what she’d seen. She didn’t need to act like a fool and do something stupid.

“Burgers or pizza?” Rory asked.

“How about Asian food? The noodle place over there is good.”

She looked him up and down. “Noodles, really?”

“What? Don’t I look like a guy who enjoys a good bowl of ramen?”

She shook her head. “Not really. You look like a man from the middle of America who eats meat and potatoes.”

Harry threw his head back and laughed. “I’m not from the middle of America. I’m from South Carolina.”

“Really? That surprises me. And yes, I love ramen. I don’t think I’ve been to that place, though.”

“It’s good. I go by there often. It’s not far from where I live.”

She lifted her eyebrows, glancing around. This area was too rich for her pay grade. He definitely wasn’t military. “You live around here?”

He shrugged. “Not too far.”

“Nice.”

They stopped talking as they navigated crossing the street. Just because there were crosswalks, and it was the law that people had to stop, didn’t mean they did.

She stole a glance at Harry, worried she was making a mistake going to eat with him. She needed food, and she needed time to think. They weren’t going far, and the area was very public. He hadn’t given her strange vibes either, which was a good sign.

They ordered ramen and took a seat at a table close to the window. She didn’t see the guy in the suit, which helped her relax. There was no way anyone knew about her most recent find. No one knew she’d seen the file. Plus, that one file only told part of the story. To connect the dots, there was other information you had to know. Because of her job in the intelligence department, she knew a lot of stuff that most Americans wouldn’t believe or want to know about. The file was one of those things. If she’d read the information correctly, including what she already knew, it was bad.

“Rory, that’s an interesting name,” Harry said.

She shrugged. “It’s just a name.” Discussing her past with strangers was always weird. She’d learned early on that people weren’t really interested. Their faces tended to blank out as soon as she mentioned that she didn’t know her mother. Being passed from family to family, moving every few months grew a tough outer shell that took a lot to crack. But Harry wasn’t some jerk she would have to live with, and he wasn’t making fun of her. She smiled and tried to act like a regular person instead of a jaded asshole.

“Have you lived in San Diego long?” She realized she’d timed the question badly as he swallowed the ramen he’d just put in his mouth.

“A few years. How about you?”

“A year. It’s an interesting city. I like the beaches and parks. I try to do runs in fun places instead of the same old place.”

“Really? Would you like to go running in the morning?” Harry asked.

She raked her teeth over her lower lip. How much harm could going running with this man cause? He was good-looking, nice, and he wasn’t being a creep. He held eye contact with her actual eyes and not her nipples. That had to account for something.

“Would four miles be too much for you?” Rory asked.

He shook his head. “No, not at all. I’d love to go running with you in the morning.”

“I was thinking about heading to Morley Fields’ trail. Does that sound good to you?”

“Sure. It’s been a while since I’ve run there.”

“Awesome. How about we meet at, um, seven in the morning?”

Harry flashed her a smile that made her feel hot all the way through her body. “Sure, sounds great.”

They chatted about the weather and the city, not getting too involved in their personal lives, which she didn’t mind. She didn’t want to reveal everything to this guy in case he turned out to be some weird creeper. If he didn’t know she was a Marine, he wouldn’t ever be able to find her if she determined something was wrong with him.

“Rory, it was nice meeting you, and I’m looking forward to our run in the morning.”

“I am, too. I’m glad I ran into you.”

Laughter spilled from Harry’s lips. Her heart squeezed, and she ached for his touch. Why did this man affect her so? Perhaps it was because she hadn’t dated anyone in over a year, maybe more. She wasn’t interested in getting involved with another jerk. Her career had come first because guys just weren’t that reliable. Maybe this guy would be. She would take it slow, because if she started dating again, the guy had to be right.

“I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow,” Harry said before he waved goodbye and took off. She waited for him to leave before she got in the old car she’d owned since forever that had barely limped across the United States on her drive from Virginia. The old beast had made it, and there was no way she would get rid of it now.

She thought about calling Lucia again but put it off. There wasn’t anything her sister could do, and if she told Lucia more, that could get her sister in trouble, too. Besides, the information wasn’t all that clear. Maybe she was overreacting. She needed more files before she jumped to conclusions.

Before going back home, Rory turned off and hid her burner phone. She didn’t want anyone to find it. Not that she had any information on the phone, but the last thing she needed was that phone pinging a tower near where she lived or worked. It was bad enough that she had it in her possession. She should forget what she’d seen and move on. Nothing good would come from the information she’d learned.