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Jet’s eyes popped wide. She heard Killian make an unhappy sound and turned her head. Her boss was frowning.
Shade held up a hand. “Hear me out. Hex and Mardis are the same height with similar looks. Mardis is a few pounds heavier, but close enough. She’s an introverted workaholic, so she has no social media accounts. There aren’t a lot of images of her out there. With the right clothes, Hex could pass for her. I also need someone who understands the technology, if she’s asked about it.”
Devyn nodded thoughtfully, studying Sara Mardis’ picture on the screen. “This could work.”
“I can’t hand that tech over,” Jet said. “What if the buyer gets away with it? I’d never forgive myself.”
“Whoever they are, they aren’t stupid. We can’t risk using doctored data.” Shade didn’t look happy about it. “We need to identify the buyer, then arrest him, and secure the data chip.”
Jet bit her lip. Could she do this? How could she not? She needed to stop this technology from falling into the wrong hands, and whoever this buyer was, he wouldn’t stop. If Mardis didn’t meet him, he’d find another poor idiot to blackmail.
The buyer had to be stopped.
“Hex isn’t a field agent,” Killian said. “This is too dangerous.”
Shade nodded. “I’m not going to let anything happen to her, because I’ll be with her.”
Jet straightened.Say what?
His gaze locked on her. “I’ll be undercover as her colleague.” His lips quirked. “I won’t let her out of my sight for a single second.”
The insides of her belly started dancing wildly.Oh, hell.
* * *
The next morning,Cain wandered into the Sentinel Security office, his nose following the sweet scent of coffee.
He loved the stuff, in any and all variations. He loved the thick, Turkish coffee from street vendors in Istanbul, to watery, gas-station coffee on the road in the US. He made his way toward the small kitchenette.
Killian had put him up in a guest apartment in the Sentinel Security warehouse. He couldn’t fault the digs. The warehouse had been thoroughly renovated. He liked that Killian had kept the old touches—the worn bricks, the concrete floor, hell, there were even old railway tracks in one of the courtyards downstairs. But it had modern elements, too. He glanced at the lush green wall that added a pop of color.
He paused in the arched, brick doorway into Hex’s lair.
She was in there, her back to him and her feet up on the desk. She wore fitted, dark-blue pants, and an olive-green T-shirt. She was drinking from a huge mug of coffee. The graphic on the mug read, Computer Whisperer.
He let himself look. Even though he knew he should resist the temptation.
He drank her in. The glossy dark hair, the bright-pink tips, the slender slope of her shoulders. He heard her mutter to herself. Even that was cute.
Damn. He dragged in a breath. He had to get this under control.
He was about to drag her into a dangerous mission. Yes, he’d be there to keep her safe, but things went wrong. Theyalwayswent wrong on missions. He knew that, he’d seen it happen hundreds of times.
His hands clenched.No. No one would be touching Jet, let alone hurting her.
She clearly sensed him, and spun her chair around. “Morning, Bond.”
Her expression was a little cool. “Morning. Going to share the coffee?”
She eyed him over the rim of her mug. “No.” She took a large sip. “Get your own.”
He wandered closer. He could smell her. The crisp scent of lemons. He’d never considered lemons sexy before.
“You prepping for the mission?” On her computer screen, he saw information on both Sara Mardis, and the Swarm Drone project.
“Yes. I have to admit Mardis is quite the genius. Her work is incredible. She studied at MIT and Harvard.” Jet’s nose scrunched. “Such a shame she’s a treasonous sellout.”
“Everyone has their breaking point.”
