Page 30 of Faded Rhythm

My skin tingles mercilessly. My pants are suddenly tighter.

I look away. Fast.

She chuckles under her breath. Now, I’m pissed that I let her get me off balance like this.

That’s something else I can’t afford.

Thankfully, she walks away. I watch as she digs through one of her bags, finally producing something small and silver. She holds it delicately like it’s a bomb ready to explode.

“I found this in Brett’s safe deposit box,” she says as she returns to my side. “There were six of them. I didn’t think he’d miss one.”

I eye the USB, then her. “This is the kind of information you share, Sable.” I take it from her, turning it over and over in my hand, looking for clues. “Standard,” I mutter to myself.

I plug it into my laptop as she moves to stand behind me. She’s hovering. Too close. My neck stiffens. My fingers flex. I don’t like people in my blind spot.

She notices. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re behind me,” I grit. “I don’t like people standing behind me.”

She sucks her teeth, then moves around and sits in the tiny space between me and the wooden armrest. I grimace as she shimmies her hips, forcing me to scoot over to accommodate her.

But the chair’s too small.

And now her thigh is pressed against mine.

Jesus.

Her presence overwhelms me. And it’s not just her body. Her touch. It’s her hair…smelling faintly like coconut and something else sweet and creamy. Her lotion—cocoa butter. Her perfume…like a fresh honeysuckle. It’s soft and feminine and wrecking my fucking concentration.

Her arm brushes mine.

This shit is unbearable. She’s so fuckingwarm.

I try to focus. My finger is moving on the mouse. I’m scrolling. But I don’t see shit. Only her.

Then her hand shoots out. She’s pointing at the screen.

“Wait! Go back. What’s that?”

And just like that, the spell breaks.

I lean in, eyes narrowing on the file name she spotted. My fingers move quickly over the keys, but my thoughts are still divided.

Half of me wants to know what’s on this drive, but the other half wants to pull her into my lap and kiss her until the world disappears.

14

Sable

The screen glows faintlyin the dim light of the hotel room as we stare at the folder tree on King’s screen. His fingers move with practiced precision, opening one file after another, each one prompting a password request.

It was the file named RC that got my attention.

Redd Clay?

“Everything’s encrypted,” he says flatly.

I lean closer to the screen and squint like that will help me understand what I’m looking at. “How do we get past the encryption?”

---