Page 34 of Wanted
“Arnold Pfizer.” Just the guy’s name was enough to make Reno’s stomach sour. “Dani said that he hit on her a couple of times, and she blew him off. It might be the motive we’ve been looking for.”
“Pfizer? Isn’t that the guy you worked with last week?”
“The one and only.”
“Holy cow.” George paused for a second. “Let me look into it and get back to you. I know our hacker isn’t happy serving time alone for this.”
“Thanks, George.” Reno hung up and stuffed the phone into his back pocket. He looked at Danielle, who was waiting anxiously. “He’s going to work on it.”
Dani put a hand on her stomach. The butterflies inside felt like they were riding a rollercoaster. She been on her last nerve for months now, but there was too much riding on this wild assumption. She and Arnold had never been friendly, but social skills in the tech world were different. Were they grasping at straws, trying to pin this crime on him?
“Relax,” Reno said. He put his arm around her shoulders. “Making yourself sick isn’t going to help.”
She leaned into him. “I don’t know if I can take this.”
“It will be over soon.”
It was going to take more than words to make her feel better. She knew better than anyone how quickly things could go wrong. “What if we’re jumping the gun? If this hacker didn’t notice anything, we’ll be right back where we started.”
“No, we won’t.” They’d reached his car, and he opened the passenger-side door for her. “For one thing, I won’t have to chase you anymore.”
Dani took a step back. “I thought you believed me.”
“I do. I meant that neither of us will have to go it on our own. I’m not going to let you take the fall for this.” He leveled his dark gaze on hers. “If this thing with Pfizer doesn’t pan out, we’ll just start over. Together. No more running. Got it?”
“Got it,” she said past the lump in her throat.
She blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. She’d taken a huge risk this morning, but he was making good on her trust. A lightness that she hadn’t felt for a very long time suddenly filled her chest. It was relief, with more than a tinge of hope.
He gathered her into his arms. “What do you say we go find a hotel room—somewhere other than the Roquefort—and try to get a few more hours of sleep?”
Oh, Dani didn’t know. She was running on fumes, but her mind was racing. She didn’t know if she could turn it off. “I don’t know if I could sleep.”
His voice sounded close to her ear. “I wouldn’t be opposed to finding other ways to pass the time.”
She curled her fingers into his jacket. “How long do you think it will be before George calls back?”
“Hours.”
* * *
Soon, they were checked into another hotel. Danielle followed Reno into the room and found herself quickly caught up in his strong arms. Her eyes drifted closed as he pushed her jacket off her shoulders and began tugging on her shirt. His wicked tongue danced along the side of her neck, and goosebumps made her shiver.
“I was ready for you this morning, but you weren’t there,” he growled. His hands spanned her waist, and he tugged her along as he walked backward to the bed.
Dani looked over his shoulder. She hadn’t even taken a look at the room. She saw the bed, but a flame lit inside her belly when she saw an easy chair in the corner. “Wait,” she said.
She took his hand and stepped around him. Comprehension lit in his eyes when he saw where she was leading.
“Let’s finish it this time,” she whispered.
“I’m all yours, sweetheart.”
Her belly clenched in delicious anticipation. She let her hands drift down to the front of his Levi’s, and he jerked under her touch. “Had it really been six months?”
He nodded toward the bulge that was trying to get out of his pants. “No other woman interested me.”
Her gaze snapped back to meet his. “Because of me?”
