Page 40 of Once a Killer

“It’s a horrible idea. And I meant what I said. If you get a gun, I’m out of here. Understand?”

His gaze held hers for a long moment. Then he nodded. “Yeah. I understand.”

As she slid out of the car, she realized that hehadtaken her mind off that distracting, way-too-hot kiss from the night before. That kiss had been running through her mind on a loop, and she’d spent the night beating herself up about it.

Somehow, Jameson had realized that and found exactly the right words to distract her. She watched as he slid out of the car, and when he came around the front of the SUV, she touched his arm. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “I needed something else to focus on, and you getting a gun? That did the trick.” She shook her head. “You got me.”

He smiled at her, his eyes softening. “Good. And just for the record? You’re really hot when you’re pissed off.”

“And we’re back to square one,” she sighed as they began walking toward the building. But she knew he was yanking her chain again, trying to distract her, and she smiled before she could stop herself.

They got only a few minutes alone in the lab before Hayley showed up. She nodded toward them and hurried to her work area. Sat in her chair and began working immediately.

Joe was the next one in, followed closely by Brewster. Both of them got right to work. When Stu showed up, about an hour after Joe, he moved some equipment around. Tidied some papers. But didn’t do any real work.

“You see what Stu is doing?” she murmured to Jameson.

He nodded, his gaze fixed on Stu Rivers. “Yeah. I’m gonna keep an eye on him today. Pay attention to what he does. If he doesn’t appear to be doing any real work, I’ll take him aside and talk to him. See if I can convince him to see a doctor.”

“He won’t like it,” Bree said as she watched Stu. “He’ll resist.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he will. But I can be persuasive when I need to be.”

He turned his gaze on her, and desire burned bright in his eyes. Then he blinked and returned to watching Stu.

Bree swallowed as butterflies fluttered in her belly. Yeah, Jameson could beverypersuasive.

A few hours later, as Bree was researching Hayley Brogan, Jameson leaned toward her. “Can you work out in the lab for a while? Stu hasn’t gotten anything done. I’m going to bring him in here and talk to him.”

“Of course,” she said, gathering her computer and notebook. “I’ll use the vacant workstation.” It had the advantage of letting her watch Jameson while she pretended to work.

As she dug deep into Hayley’s background, she kept one eye on Jameson and Stu in the office. Jameson was leaning toward Stu, talking quietly. Stu was paying attention, but it was hard to tell if he was absorbing what Jameson said. Or if he was open to his suggestions.

After at least fifteen minutes, Stu shook his head and stood up. Jameson stood up, too. Leaned closer. Murmured something to Stu, who jerked back. Stared at Jameson for a long moment.

Jameson finally nodded at Stu. Sat back down and opened his computer. Began typing.

Stu stared at him for a long moment, then turned and walked out of Jameson’s office. He returned to his workstation, and Bree pretended she wasn’t looking at him. But she was aware of his every move.

Stu sank into his chair. Picked up the tangled wires on his desk and stared at them for a long moment. Then he slowly began to untangle them.

Bree sighed. Focused on her work again. Whatever Jameson had said, it looked as if it had made an impression on Stu. He was trying to untangle the wires, but that tangle was just the physical manifestation of his depression. She sure hoped he’d get the help he needed.

After giving both Stu and Jameson another half-hour, Bree picked up her computer and returned to Jameson’s office. He looked up when she came into the room, and his expression softened. Then he nodded and looked back at his computer.

Jameson worked through the afternoon, and Bree returned to her research on his engineers. When she’d unearthed all the information she could find on Hayley, she sat back and assessed what she had. Nothing that sounded any alarms -- no suspicious debts, no dubious friends or colleagues, no shady neighbors. She’d dig deeper on Hayley, like she would on the other three, but right now, she could find no obvious reason Hayley might want to steal Jameson’s program. Other than the obvious one -- greed. Or a desperate need for money.

It was possible the woman was an expert at hiding her tracks, and Bree would dig a lot deeper. She’d also send Hayley’s name, along with the other three engineers, to Mel and have her see what she could find.

When she looked up from her computer, she was shocked to realize she and Jameson were alone in the lab. Glancing at her watch, she realized it was almost time to leave.

As she studied Jameson, her eyes met his. His gaze was intense. Focused. Heat crept over her face as she said, “Were you waiting for me?”

“You looked like you were deep into something. Didn’t want to interrupt.”

“I’m good to go, if you are,” she said, saving her work and closing her computer.

“I’m ready.” He slid his computer into his briefcase, and she did the same with hers. Then they exited the lab.

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