Page 2 of Girl Code
“They don’tknow,know.” Cameron shrugged dramatically and then smirked as he leaned close again, “But they had their suspicions and that wasbeforeTalbot started pacing the office looking for you.”
Mickey’s jaw fell open, “Talbot’s looking for me?”
Cameron nodded excitedly, “Yep.”
“Jesus, Cam. You could’ve led with that!” She hissed. “Is he mad because I’m late or…”
“Because you black hat hacked the biggest politician in the state?” Cameron shrugged, “Probably a little bit of both knowing him but also…”
“Also what?” She insisted, smacking his knee to regain his attention when his gaze scanned the room instead of looking at her. “Cam, what else?”
“It might also have something to do with the tall, dark and gorgeous drink of water that was in his office when I got here.” Cameron bit his lip and groaned, “Gorgeous,Mickey. He’s absolutely fucking gorgeous. Dark hair. Broad shoulders. Air of authority that makes me want to get on my knees for him and you know I don’t do that for just anyone….”
“Cam!” Mickey groaned, “Stop waxing poetic about the guy and tell me who he is. Why is he here? And why do you think he’s here for me?”
“Because I’m most definitely here for you.” A deep voice came from just over her shoulder and Mickey froze.
That voice, she recognized it instantly and dread began to pool through her veins. She knew that voice. It wasn’t a stranger standing behind her, wasn’t a stranger that was here at her office looking for her just hours after the biggest, most salacious hack of her life. It was a man she knew far too well, one she’d been hoping she would never have to see again.
Slowly, she spun her chair around and her eyes jerked up of their own accord, trying to prove to herself that she was wrong, that she was daydreaming, or having a nightmare, but as soon as she caught sight of him, all of the air fled from her lungs on a curse.
It was him. Not a dream. Not a figment of her overactive imagination. It was really him, standing tall and broad and serious not even two feet from where she sat.
“Shit.”
She hadn’t seen him in years and she didn’t want her body to react to him, but it did. It did, because even now, when she was certain she kinda, sorta, hated him, Dante Chinn still had the power to knock her speechless.
His jet-black hair was longer than it had been the last time she saw him and it fell over his forehead. He was also sporting the rough beginnings of a beard, either that or he hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. Whatever the reason for it, it looked good, emphasizing his strong, square jaw and full, pouty lips. It was a mouth that should have looked ridiculous on a man but it didn’t, not on him, because everything else about him was sharp, strong and masculine. His almond eyes glittered despite the poorly lit hallway and she was absolutely mesmerized by him in that moment.
“Yeah, oh shit is right.” He flashed a grin that could’ve been featured in a toothpaste commercial, a grin that made Cameron all but swoon off his perch on her desk, a grin that instantly brought her back into reality.
She knew that smile. Once upon a time that smile had seemed to exist only for her. Back when she was a silly teenage girl and her heart had been naive and unburdened with the truth about the opposite sex. Men lied and they cheated and they couldn’t be trusted. Her father had been the first man to teach her that lesson but it was Dante that had been Exhibit A in her head for so long now she almost didn’t know what to do with him in real life.
Almost.
Mickey took a deep breath and reminded herself that she wasn’t the same teenage girl that she’d been when Dante broke her heart. She was a grown woman. She was a badass. She was a hacker and an activist and a friend to anyone that had been run over by those with more power.
She wasn’t the same girl Dante remembered.
She hated being at any sort of disadvantage, especially when it came to this man. She pushed up to her feet to meet him head on, or at least as close to it as she could get being so much shorter than him. She tried not to let the fact her body registered that he still smelled the same distract her.
“What do you want, Dante?”
“You.” His voice was a low, soft growl that hit her in all the right places, or in this case, all the wrong places, since Dante wasn’t allowed anywhere near those parts of her body.
Not here. Not now. Not ever again.
2
Dante Chinn was drowning. That was the only word for it. He’d felt like he couldn’t breathe since the moment he heard the news.
His entire life, everything he’d worked for, was circling the drain. He was on the edge of losing it all. After years of dedication, of giving up his personal life to succeed in his professional one, he could feel the life he should have had slipping away from him.
Standing here now, face to face with Mickey Hill for the first time in far too long, he couldn’t be sure if she was the anchor pulling him down beneath the dark depths or the life preserver that would keep him afloat. That was the thing about Mickey. He’d been off balance with her since the moment she walked into his world.
The first day of school in eighth grade, a new girl had been introduced to the class and he’d been mesmerized. Even pre-teen Mickey had been beautiful with her wild curls, cotton candy pink glasses and braces. He’d been entranced, like every other boy in class, and when she’d raised her hand to answer a difficult math equation without hesitation only minutes later, he’d known that this girl was like none he’d known before.
They’d become fast friends, easy friends. They did their homework together. She ruined the curve on all the math tests for him and he ruined the curve on the science tests for her. They battled and argued and made up over ice cream and cheese balls. She beat him out for captain of the debate team. He beat her out for Valedictorian of their graduating class. They’d been rivals but above all else friends and teammates, always pushing each other to be their best.
