Her anxiety was getting out of control. By the time Liam pulled up to the curb, she was picturing herself in orange prison garb. She knew she was overreacting . . . yet what if she wasn’t? She wanted to lash out at him for putting her through this agony but decided she would be a perfectly composed lady instead. Cold as ice, but still a lady.
She stood by the window and watched him come up the sidewalk. He’d changed out of his suit into jeans and a white button-down shirt and jacket. She had to admit he didn’t look nearly as menacing as he had earlier. If she didn’t know who he was and had seen him walking down the street, she would definitely have been attracted. Men like him turned heads. Too bad he was an agent. Allison grabbed her purse and headed outside to meet him halfway.
—
Liam stopped as soon as she came down the steps. He watched her stride toward him and made every effort not to react, but it was nearly impossible. He couldn’t explain the pull he’d felt the moment he met her. He just knew he didn’t like it one little bit. She was a job. Nothing more, nothing less. A means to an end, he reminded himself. She moved as though she were on a runway—back straight, head held high, her expression giving nothing away—no doubt a pose she’d practiced until she perfected it. Damn, she was one beautiful woman . . . a woman with an attitude.
When she got close to him, she frowned and said, “I really don’t want to go out tonight.”
In answer, he opened the car door for her to get in. “Sure, you do,” he said, closing the door before she could respond.
Once they were on their way, he asked, “Are you hungry?”
“I’m always hungry.”
He thought she was joking and laughed, until he glanced at her and saw that she was serious. She stared straight ahead at the street with no expression on her face.
“This is really a waste of time, you know,” she said. “I don’t understand what you think you’ll accomplish by taking me to Jordan’s house.”
“I thought you’d be more receptive to my proposal if you were in a friendlier environment.” When she looked skeptically at him, he added, “Don’t worry. I’m not going to hold you captive.”
“Why me? How did all this come about?”
“I’ve worked with Alec Buchanan a few times, and he told me about his sister, Jordan, and what a computer genius she is. Right now I need a genius.”
“Jordan is brilliant. Everyone knows that. You heard her speak at the seminar.”
“Yes,” he agreed.
“So . . . why didn’t Phillips offer her the job?”
“Because you’re better.”
“You can’t know that,” she protested.
“Yes, I can. I came to the seminar to hear Jordan, but I also heard you. That’s when I began to do some checking. You’d be surprised what you can find out about a person.”
The slight grin that turned the corners of his mouth made Allison extremely uneasy. Was he teasing? Or was he smiling because he was so pleased with the incriminating information he’d found on her?
“I still don’t understand,” she said. “If you wanted to ask me to work for you, why didn’t you just arrange a meeting and ask me? Why the deception to get me out to the FBI’s cyber center?”
“That was Phillips’s idea. He didn’t think you’d talk to us. Plus, he didn’t believe the reports on your abilities. He had to see for himself.”
“I’ve already given you my answer. You needn’t have gone to all this trouble.”
Nothing was said for several blocks, and the silence was only making Allison more anxious. She crossed one leg over the other, then uncrossed it and crossed it again . . . and again . . . and again. Her hands were folded loosely on her lap, and she was sure she looked relaxed . . . until Liam reached over and put his hand on top of hers. She realized then how jittery she appeared.
“Are you nervous with me?” he asked. The notion seemed absurd to him.
“Nervous? No, of course not. Why would I be nervous? I have nothing to be nervous about.”
“Okay,” Liam said. He couldn’t imagine what was going on inside her mind, but she appeared to be close to hyperventilating. “Tell me about yourself.”
“Why?” Allison could hear the apprehension in her voice and cringed inside.
“I want to get to know you, and you can get to know me,” he answered.
“You have a file on me. I would think you’d already know everything.” The second the words came out of her mouth, she realized how caustic they sounded. God, she wished she could calm down. “Okay. What would you like to know?”
“You live with two men. Are you involved with either of them?”
“Two students,” she corrected, “and no. They’re my friends.”
“Have you always lived in Boston?”
“No. What about you? Where did you grow up?” she asked in an attempt to divert his attention from her.
“I was born in Philadelphia and lived there with my family until I was three,” he explained. “Then my dad was promoted and transferred to Melbourne, Australia. I grew up there but moved back to the States to go to Princeton.”
“Do you live in Boston now?”
“No.”
She waited for him to continue, and when he didn’t, she asked, “Where do you live?”
“Pretty much out of a suitcase these days.”
It wasn’t much of an answer. She wasn’t going to press, though. What did she care where he lived? After tonight she probably would never see him again. “Any brothers or sisters?”
“One younger brother. Okay, now it’s your turn. Tell me about your family.”
She was certain he knew all about her family. The background check Phillips and he had done had obviously been thorough, but she decided to play along. Better to humor the man than to alienate him.
“My aunt and uncle live in Emerson. It’s a small town about two and a half hours away from Boston. I have a sister, Charlotte. She’s older, but we’re very close.”
He didn’t say a word. He simply waited for her to tell him more.
“My parents went up in a small plane with a friend. All three of them died in the crash. I was four years old when it happened, and Charlotte was ten. My aunt and uncle took us in. If they hadn’t, we would have had to go into foster care and probably be separated. I’m very grateful to them.”
It wasn’t what she said but how she said it in a flat voice that revealed volumes, as though she’d said it so many times it was now an automatic response.
“I have a cousin,” she continued. “His name is Will. He’s two years older than I am, and we aren’t close at all. You know that, too, don’t you?”
“I do?”
Liam flashed a quick smile that nearly broke her concentration. He really was a sexy devil. She shook away the ridiculous thought and remembered what she wanted to say. “Now you want me to talk about him, don’t you?”
“Actually . . .”
“Yes, Will’s been in trouble with the law. More than once, as a matter of fact, and I’ll admit he can be really obnoxious, and yes, he does have a terrible temper, but he went to anger management classes and has a counselor to get help with that. Okay, so it wasn’t his idea. The court made him go. Still, I’m sure it will make a difference.” She sighed then and said almost in a whisper, “No, that’s not true. I don’t think it will make a difference. Will has some bad habits. Running with a group of troublemakers is one of them.”
“What’s another?” he asked.
“He’s not willing to work hard to get ahead. He’s after easy money and doesn’t care how he gets it and who he hurts,” she answered. “He can justify anything,” she continued. “He’s always got a get-rich-quick plan, and of course they all backfire. He’s bounced a lot of checks, but his parents always cover them. The truth is, Will hasn’t grown up, and I’m not su
re he ever will. He’s been spoiled all his life. His parents live to please him. It’s disgusting, really—” She stopped abruptly, realizing she was sharing far more than she should. It was just that, once the feelings surfaced, she couldn’t stop them from spilling out.
“What about computers?” Liam asked.
“What about them?”
“How good is Will with computers?”
“He isn’t a hacker, if that’s what you’re wanting to know. Yes, he knows his way around a computer, and he thinks he’s good, but he isn’t. I’d rate him mediocre.”
“Does he know what you can do?”
“I don’t think so, but I can’t be sure.”
Allison stared at the passing streetlights, lost in thought. She had rambled on and on and didn’t have any idea what Liam was thinking now. Had she been disloyal to tell him the truth about Will? The irony was, she’d actually softened the truth. After mulling the question over, she decided she hadn’t told him anything he didn’t already know. She suddenly noticed she was crossing and uncrossing her legs again and immediately stopped.
“Allison?”
“Yes?”
“Are you always this uptight?”
“No, not always,” she replied. “But when I’m with an FBI agent who won’t tell me what he wants from me, I do tend to get a little apprehensive.”
Everything about this situation was bizarre. Here she was, riding in a car with a man she knew virtually nothing about, other than the fact that he worked for the FBI and held a great deal of authority. That was obvious in the way the agents answered to him. It was also undeniable that he was very attractive and charismatic. He definitely oozed animal magnetism. Women went weak-kneed over mysterious men like him, but not her. She would never allow herself to be so vulnerable. She didn’t have time.
Allison was so caught up in her musings she wasn’t aware that the car had come to a stop.
While she was sitting there pondering her circumstances, Liam had walked around the car to open her door. He waited a minute and then asked, “Are you about ready to get out?”
Startled, Allison jumped, then looked up to see Liam standing over her with his hand out. She felt like an idiot. How long had she been in the zone? This was so unlike her. The only time she ever lost touch with her surroundings was when she had her headphones on and was staring at a computer screen. She stepped out of the car and led the way to the brick town house half a block away. Climbing the steps to the front door, she rang the bell.
Jordan and Noah had lived in their home for less than two weeks. They had been searching the historic section of Boston for some time, trying to find the perfect place, and when this newly renovated brownstone came on the market, they snatched it up. Even though it had been completely updated, it retained the charm of its past life. The double doors still held their original etched glass, and the antique lanterns on either side, which had long ago been converted to electricity, gave an amber glow.
Jordan opened the door and smiled graciously. “Liam Scott, I presume?” she said, holding out her hand.
Liam let Allison walk in ahead of him, then took Jordan’s hand. “Thank you very much for allowing us to barge in on you like this.”
“Oh, I’m sure it was all my brother’s idea,” she said. “I’m afraid our home isn’t quite ready for guests yet, so I hope you’ll forgive the mess. I’ve been very busy, and my husband has been away on assignment.”
“I’ve never met him,” Liam said. “But I’ve heard a great deal about him. Noah Clayborne has quite an impressive record in the bureau.”
“I hope the two of you will get to meet someday.”
They stepped into a wide entry hall with an open staircase that led to the second floor. Boxes were stacked next to the wall. The living room to the right was mostly bare, with only two chairs and a sofa. Two lamps, still in their bubble wrap, sat on the floor. Jordan was leading them to the rear when the doorbell rang.
“That must be Alec,” she said. “I called him and asked him to pick up dinner on his way here.”
When she opened the door, Allison saw a tall, broad-shouldered man holding half a dozen bags imprinted with Chinese symbols.
“Did you order the entire Bo Ling menu?” he asked Jordan, lifting the bags out for her to see.
“Hi, Alec,” she answered as she leaned up, kissed her brother on the cheek, and took a couple of the bags from him.
When Jordan introduced him, Allison could see the similarity between brother and sister. It was in their eyes when they smiled. She could also see the comfortable familiarity between them, and it was obvious that they not only loved each other, but liked each other as well.
Everyone followed Jordan as she walked down the hall to the dining room. A folding table about twice the size of a card table sat in the middle with four folding chairs around it. Paper plates and napkins were set at the places.
“The dining table won’t be here for a couple of days,” Jordan said apologetically. “And our dishes are still packed away. I hope this will do.”
After everyone assured her it was fine, she took the cartons out of the bags and set them in the middle of the table. She then asked for drink preferences, and Allison went with her to the kitchen to get the bottles of water and beers.
Alec waited until the women were out of earshot before he turned to Liam and said, “She’s the computer genius? Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
“She’s—I don’t know—not what I expected. You told me she was a model, but . . .”
“But what?”
“You have noticed she’s beautiful. Right?” Alec asked.
Liam laughed. “No, I hadn’t noticed. Thanks for pointing it out. You do realize your sister is a brilliant programmer, and she’s also very beautiful?”
“I suppose,” Alec admitted with a shrug, as only a brother would acknowledge when assessing his sister. “I guess it’s just that a lot of the techie types I’ve met have been guys with long, stringy hair and stains on their T-shirts.”
“Kinda like you,” Liam remarked. “Are you going undercover again? Is that the reason for the longer hair and the beard?”
“No, Regan and I have been on vacation. I’m only here for one night, then back to Chicago. Regan’s already there. She has a meeting early tomorrow morning.”
While the two men were catching up, Jordan and Allison stayed in the kitchen, talking in low voices.
Jordan handed Allison a couple of bottles from the refrigerator and whispered, “You look as though you’re about ready to jump out of your skin.”
Allison let out a long exhale and said, “I’m afraid they’re going to force me to take a lie detector test.”
“No one can force you,” Jordan assured her.
“What if Liam has some kind of leverage?” Allison said.
“You don’t know what he wants yet,” Jordan reminded her. “Don’t freak out until you have all the information. Besides, I’m on your side, no matter what.”
A few minutes later they were seated around the table. The muscular men made the small table and chairs seem minuscule by comparison, but even though they looked uncomfortable, they didn’t complain. Alec and Liam kept the conversation light. Jordan wanted to know when Liam and Alec had started collaborating, since Liam had mentioned he traveled all over the world and Alec was assigned to the Chicago office. They answered by telling about a couple of the cases that had brought them together. Liam insisted he was the first to do a favor for Alec, and Alec was just as certain he was the first to help out his friend.
“Liam was with Interpol for a while,” Alec told Jordan and Allison.
“A short while,” Liam corrected.
“But you work for the FBI now?” Allison wondered.
“Yes.”
“Why are you traveling to so many c
ountries? The FBI doesn’t handle cases overseas . . . or do they?”
“Sure, we do,” Liam answered. “We have agents and personnel in attaché offices around the globe, and we work with the governments in our host countries. Whenever there’s a crime or an attack involving an American abroad, we’re there to help. We also offer our resources to foreign governments when they need them.”
“Weren’t you with the FBI Fly Team after the hit in Indonesia?” Alec asked.
“I met them there,” Liam answered.
“What’s the Fly Team?” Allison asked.
Alec explained. “Counterterrorism unit. When there’s an attack, they’re deployed within hours. They’re the lead operatives in getting the investigation started.”
She turned to Liam and waited for him to expound, but he didn’t. He remained silent until the conversation turned to another topic. She just then realized the stories he and Alec had been telling were about insignificant matters, mostly about eccentric characters they had worked with and interesting places they had visited. For the most part, they had shared very little about the dangers or the threats they had faced. Liam, especially, gave little away. She wondered what he had seen that he didn’t talk about. There was something intriguing about him. He definitely was an enigma. One second he was authoritative and domineering, and the next he was charming and charismatic. As she sat there watching him, she wondered if anyone ever saw the real Liam Scott.
Alec was telling the story of their first meeting. “For a while there I thought Liam was a criminal,” he said.
“For a while there I was,” Liam countered.
“You don’t mind bending the law?” Allison asked. She sounded thrilled.
“Depends,” he answered.
Once again Liam didn’t explain his meaning, yet his response gave Allison a tiny grain of hope. If he didn’t mind bending the law, maybe he would be more understanding about her collection of bugs and the number of sites she had visited illegally.