Page 59 of Near Miss

“It’s obvious he cares for you.” Emily leaned close, her eyes sparkling with curiosity and no small hint of mischievousness. “Come on, spill. How is he in bed?”

“Emily.“ Why was it so hot in the room all of a sudden? Sophia tamped down the urge to fan herself. A satisfied smirk ruined her attempt to appear blasé.

“You’re in love with him.”

Sophia’s startled gaze flew to meet her friend’s knowing one. “What? No. I mean, it’s too soon to be in love. Right?”

“Be careful, Soph.” Emily’s expression sobered. “A man like Lachlan could break your heart. Plus, he brought danger to your doorstep. I’m not sure I’d trust him just yet.”

Sophia’s body ached in pleasant ways. Lachlan’s scent lingered on her skin. “I trust him.” That didn’t mean Emily wasn’t right about Lachlan breaking her heart. She wanted something from him he might be unable to give her. Love. Commitment. A happily-ever-after found in sappy movies and romance novels.

“You said Lachlan told you your stalker was gone, but someone tried to hurt you last night.” Emily’s face puckered like she’d sucked a lemon. She drained the last of her mimosa. “Refill?”

Sophia shook her head.

Emily headed for the kitchen. “As much as I hate to say this, maybe we should call my dad.”

Reality crashed in, filling Sophia with a weariness that went bone-deep. Emily still didn’t know about her agreement with the admiral. Even worse, neither did Lachlan. And, she was keeping the truth about the weapons shipments from both Admiral Dane and Jared. Jared would probably fire her and Lachlan both, even if they managed to unmask the actual arms trafficker. The damage to his company’s reputation would take time to repair and could cost LAI its government contracts.

Her stomach hurt from the sheer number of secrets she held. “Let’s hold off on calling your dad.” When Emily returned to the sofa with a fresh drink, Sophia gave her friend a smile to reassure her. “He’ll go overboard and put me in witness protection.”

After he got done telling her how disappointed in her he was.

“Since you started work at LAI, you’ve had a stalker, a co-worker’s been murdered, and you’ve been run off the road. If your boss hadn’t come along, who knows what that guy might have done.” Emily’s light blue gaze was as serious as Sophia had ever seen it. “What’s really going on? What aren’t you telling me?”

“I—“ It killed Sophia that she couldn’t confide the entire story to her best friend. “Look, it’s got to do with some sensitive company information that’s come to light. Lachlan’s looking into it. He’s going to Kabul on Monday, and when he returns, we’ll be able to bring the information to Jared and find a solution that protects LAI and its employees.”

One of Emily’s manicured brows arched. “Lachlan’s tripping off to Afghanistan and leaving you on your own at the office sitting on what sounds like a powder keg. Are you sure you’re safe?”

“Perfectly,” Sophia assured her. She crossed fingers on the hand sandwiched beneath her thigh. “I did agree to ask you to take me to work each day and not travel anywhere unaccompanied. And,”—she gave a little eye roll—“use the alarm system even when we’re home.”

Emily looked unconvinced. “We need to call my dad.”

“One week, Emily. Give me one week. Once Lachlan returns, this will all get resolved.”

“Fine.” Emily harrumphed. “One week. But if anything else happens, the deal’s off, and I’m siccing the admiral on you.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Lachlanglancedathiswatch as he left the office Monday afternoon for the airport. The numbers over the lift cycled past the lower floors as the car made its way to eight and opened. Before he stepped in, he looked in the direction of the empty executive suite. Maybe it was good Sophia wasn’t around to say goodbye. He might be tempted to haul her into his office, close the door, and make love to her on his desk.

Store up more good memories as he headed back to a place where there were only bad ones.

His ghosts had stayed away from his dreams the past two nights. Instead, his brain thoughtfully played an endless loop of making love to Sophia, her expression when she came apart in his arms. He’d woken up in a sweat, hard as a tent pole, the shower and his hand a poor substitute for her soft skin and warm body. Blood rushed south even now at the memory, and he wrestled his wayward thoughts into submission before someone else joined him in the lift and got an eyeful.

He’d cracked open his dark soul to her in a way he’d never done with anyone else, leaving him feeling vulnerable and unmoored. She’d poured her light into him, stood her ground, and hadn’t run even after he told her about how badly he’d failed the people who’d trusted him to watch their backs.

How he’d killed the woman he’d trusted more than his senior enlisted man.

Sophia was important to him in a way no one else had ever been. He wanted—no, needed—her in his life. When this was over, if he wasn’t in prison, he’d do whatever he had to do to get his head on straight, be the kind of man she deserved.

The thought both excited and scared the piss out of him.

He pressed the button for his parking level, then delved into his suit pocket for the Mercedes’ fob. The familiar weight was missing. Right—Jeremy Powell had asked him for it earlier.

He rang Jeremy’s mobile. “Where’s my car?”

“Hey, Mr. Mackay. It’s done. I haven’t taken it back to the garage. Mr. Landry said not to bother ’cause you were leaving early today.” Crunching, likely from Doritos, Jeremy’s favorite crisps, punctuated his words.

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