Page 25 of The Agent
He liked Marley.
No, hereallyliked her. And he wanted her so badly he couldn’t think straight anymore. Just the thought of her made every part of his body ache. His head. His groin. His heart.
“Forget about that,” he mumbled to himself, raking his fingers through his hair as he leaned back. “Focus on the job.”
Unfortunately, his body wouldn’t let him forget. He had an erection of colossal proportions straining against the front of his gray sweatpants, and in his groin an ache so deep his bones hurt.
His cell phone started ringing before he could slink off to the bathroom and resort to self-gratification. Noticing the caller ID, he suppressed a sigh and picked up the phone.
“Hello, sir,” he said.
A vile curse battered his eardrums. “What’s going on over there, Ford?” his supervisor demanded.
“What do you mean?”
Ken Stevens wasn’t put off by his casual tone. “Miguel Hernandez just gave me a call, wanting to know why one of my agents is cozying up to Marley Kincaid.”
Thanks a lot, Hernandez.
“I’m not cozying up to her,” he replied. “I had no choice but to make contact with her.” Quickly, he explained the ladder incident, finishing with, “AJ thought since I’d already interacted with her, I should keep it up to see if she knows anything about Grier.”
“And does she?”
“No.”
Stevens made a frustrated noise. “Next time, speak to me before you decide to go against protocol.” Stevens paused. “What’s this email Hernandez mentioned?”
Caleb told him what the message contained, even though Stevens probably had a copy of it sitting in front of him on his desk. “I told you he wouldn’t be able to stay away from her,” he said. “He’s going to make a move soon, sir. I feel it in my gut.”
“Then stay put and keep your eyes open.”
Despite his sometimes hotheaded nature, Stevens had always possessed a great deal of faith in Caleb and his abilities, which Caleb appreciated at the moment. He knew his boss wasn’t happy that he’d befriended Marley, but both menunderstood that there were bigger things to worry about at the moment.
“I’ll catch him, sir,” Caleb said “He’s been lucky all these years, keeping his cover solid, avoiding charges, but his luck is up. I think he’s obsessed with Kincaid, and he will come for her.”
Stevens sighed. “He’d better.”
“No breaks on your end?”
“Lukas is still monitoring the bank account Grier opened with Kincaid, but there haven’t been any more deposits and no withdrawal attempts. I’ve got six agents on the airports, two watching San Diego General and a few more talking to Grier’s associates. We’re running out of manpower.”
Stevens’s voice hardened. “Don’t get too close to her, Ford. Keep the contact casual—we can’t risk having this case thrown out of court if you get involved with a witness. And keep me posted.”
As usual, his supervisor hung up without uttering a goodbye. Stevens didn’t have time for pleasantries, never had.
Caleb set the phone on the desk and glanced down at his ratty sweatpants, then lifted his hand to his chin and rubbed the thick stubble he hadn’t bothered to shave this morning. He should, though. He couldn’t have dinner with Marley looking like a disheveled lumberjack.
He rubbed his forehead, wondering what the hell he’d gotten himself into. His job at the agency was all he had, all he cared about, and here he was, risking it for a woman with big brown eyes and a gorgeous smile.
Why couldn’t he stay away from her? He had no reason to maintain contact—he was already convinced she had no information about Grier. He should be walking away from her, not running straight toward her.
He could always cancel their dinner date. Tell her he was sick or that he had to go out of town. But then he imagined thedisappointment in her voice when he backed out, and knew he couldn’t do it. He didn’t want to disappoint Marley. He wished he knew where these protective instincts had sprung from and why he so desperately wanted to make her happy.
Don’t get too close to her.
He almost laughed. What would Stevens do if he knew Caleb was going over there tonight for dinner?
Probably can his ass.
