Page 36 of Near Miss

She was alone, and she knew why. It was her. She wasn’t enough.

She was never enough.

When she’d first laid eyes on Lachlan, she knew she was out of her depth with a man like him. And that was before she’d seen the emotional baggage he carried around like a pack mule.

His rejection hurt, but she should have expected it. A few weekends sitting in her condo all weepy as she sipped wine, shoveled down Ben and Jerry’s, and felt sorry for her miserable self, might be in order. Then she’d move on and find satisfaction in her accomplishments without needing anyone else’s validation. Like she always did.

She sighed and pushed back from her desk to head to the break room for a fresh can of diet pop. As much as it saddened her, she’d done the right thing resetting the boundaries of her relationship with Lachlan back to a strictly business one.

At least she’d gotten her act together this morning to finish assembling the information for the Global Security division’s part of the government compliance report, handing it off with a sigh of relief to Fred just after lunch. There had been nothing to warrant Admiral Dane’s suspicions that Lachlan was involved in anything illegal, news she would happily convey to the admiral the next time they spoke.

She pulled out a can from the break room fridge and pulled back on the tab. It pressed through the thin aluminum barrier with a satisfying pop and fizz. Carbonated bubbles burst across her tongue and down her throat.

Lachlan might be many things. Complicated, stubborn, haunted. But he wasn’t the type of man to profit off the misery of others. His care for the homeless vet only confirmed her gut instinct that he was a decent man. A man with secrets, yes. A man who struggled with his past, but not a criminal.

The snack basket on the counter teased her. Penny had restocked the candy bars, darn her. Eating an apple was so much easier when there weren’t peanut butter cups around. Sophia grabbed an orange-wrapped treat and headed back to her office to enjoy this food of the gods.

Time to get back to work and focus on what she did well. Her job. Now that her spying days were over, she could put her full attention into promoting LAI’s projects and securing additional funding.

“Sophia.” The sound of her name coming from Fred’s office halted her steps. She stuck her head in to see him sitting at his desk. “Did you call me?”

Irritation deepened the lines on Fred’s face and colored his smoke-roughened voice. “I need to discuss the information you assembled from the Global Security division.”

She stepped further into the room. “Now?” The data was all there. She’d double-checked.

“Now.” The poor man looked like he wanted nothing more than to take a cigarette break and suck down a cancer stick. A slight sheen of sweat dotted his forehead, and his fingers drummed restlessly on his desk. “You must have missed something. The numbers don’t add up.”

She drew back with a frown. “I went over everything with Lachlan. What do you think is missing?”

“I decided to perform my own audit for each division so there are no unpleasant surprises if the government auditors find discrepancies. There are more payments for supplies for Mackay’s security teams than there are invoices, export licenses, and shipping manifests.” He glared at her from beneath bushy brows. “So, where is the rest of the documentation?”

“There must be a mistake.” She winced at the stammer in her voice. “Maybe it’s an accounting error?” There had to be a simple explanation.

Fred’s gaze turned speculative. “Maybe. I’ll take a closer look at it.”

“I’ll check with Lach—”

“No need,” Fred cut her off. “I’ll look into it. Finish getting the information from Meier’s division. The paperwork for LAI’s development projects is even more of a hassle than Mackay’s security contracts.”

Her neck warmed, the heat moving up to the tips of her ears. She prided herself on doing things right the first time. Had she overlooked something?

Or had Lachlan kept information from her?

Chapter Fifteen

Longredvelvetcurtainshung from the king-sized canopy bed, obscuring enough of the light from the bedside lamps that Sophia could imagine they were candles, and it was another century, the raven-haired man whose hands were secured to the brass columns at the head of the bed a gentleman pirate. She straddled him, raking red-tipped nails across his bare chest. He couldn’t touch her, but his emerald gaze was a tangible caress, hot enough to soak her black lace teddy.

“Stop teasing and kiss me,” he purred, his lilting accent brushing against her skin like raw silk.

She gave him her best seductive smile and arched her breasts in line with his mouth. “I’m getting there.”

What was that annoying sound? She frowned. The Outlander theme song?

“Kiss me.” Lachlan’s molten gaze made her squirm. She ground her sex against the hard ridge of his erection and was rewarded by his deep-throated groan. The song fit him perfectly, her sexy, dangerous Highlander.

Darn it. Why was it playing in her head?

She came awake to pitch black darkness, her phone vibrating on her bedside table, the haunting notes of her ring tone filling her bedroom. The digital numbers on her clock told her it was one a.m.

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