changed.”
The blunt assessment should have wounded her. Once, maybe. Not now. “I know. But after you … died, I decided I no longer wanted to color inside the lines.” She shot him a grin, her best imitation of his own cocky one. “It worked. My success rate went way up. I’ve been promoted twice, most recently to team leader. So, if I’ve changed, I think it’s for the better.”
He went silent, considering. To her disgust she found herself hoping he’d agree.
Instead, he asked another question. “How do you know they even looked for you?”
“They destroyed my flat. I’d taken the code with me, so I don’t think they’re aware I have it.”
One corner of Sean’s mouth quirked up in a half smile. “I’m glad they didn’t get you.”
“Yeah. That way you didn’t have to fake your death for nothing.” Bitterness again leaked through her voice. While she wished she could have sounded impersonal, she couldn’t help it. This was Sean. He should understand how she felt.
Once, he would have. Back when they’d allowed emotion and hot, wild sex to be the basis for their marriage. She hadn’t even known she’d wanted more, until now.
He took her hand, covering it with his. Staring down at their intertwined fingers, she tried to regain her equilibrium. She’d always loved his hands—masculine and callused. The roughness of his skin gave her a sense of protection, or had, once.
Now, his touch only made her hurt and angry.
She pulled her hand away and took a deep breath. “Are you sure Corbett was able to send us a laptop?”
“Yep.” He jerked his thumb toward the duffel bag in the backseat. “The laptop’s in there—I checked.”
“What about an Internet connection?” Keeping focused on business would be the only thing that could keep her from crying.
Sean seemed to understand. “Corbett said it would have wireless. All I have to do is find a hot spot, and I can work.”
Of course he’d go first. His job involved a bait-and-wait situation, while hers would be time-consuming and tricky.
Not to mention the fact that deciphering code required intense concentration. She found it far too difficult to concentrate with him around.
Still, she hadn’t gotten to be a team leader without understanding how to work well on a team.
“While you’re trying to hack into my employer’s database, what should I do?”
The grateful look he sent her wasn’t lost on her. She was astonished to realize he’d thought she would argue.
“Play lookout, of course. Stop the bad guys before they get to me. Once I get inside the system, I can’t be interrupted.”
He spoke like it was a done deal. “Pretty confident, aren’t you?”
“I told you, I’m pretty good.” He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Let’s just say I’ve perfected my computer skills over the last two years.”
Like an arrow straight to her heart. Another reminder that he’d lived an entire life without her, while she’d dedicated herself to her job and had barely lived at all.
Correction, she thought grimly. She’d learned to live for her work and nothing else.
A honking horn brought her out of her reverie.
“Do you think there’s been an accident?”
He checked his watch. “No. Just normal rush-hour traffic. Help me look for a hot spot or a place that advertises an Internet connection.”
“There.” She pointed. Someone had converted an old church into a trendy coffee shop. Sean swung out of the traffic and into a small lot across the street from the stone building. He found a spot and parked, leaving the engine idling while he leaned over the seat and rummaged in the duffel bag.
“Here we go.” He pulled out a smallish laptop. “State-of-the-art. That’s good.”
Her fingers itched to examine the machine, but she wisely held her tongue. “Good luck. What kind of time are you going to get once you’re in?”
“Pretty confident of my abilities, aren’t you?”
Throwing her own words right back at her. She couldn’t help but smile. “Maybe your self-assurance is contagious. How about an answer? Once you get into the SIS system, what then? What kind of a trap?”
“I’ll figure that out once I’m in the system. Until I see what’s involved, I have no idea.” He got out of the car. “Wait here.”
As he’d no doubt known she would, she bristled. “I’d rather go in.”
“You’d be a better lookout in the car.”
“And you’d be trapped inside, alone. A sitting duck.”
“Better one than both of us.”
She pushed open her door. “Don’t start that.”
“Start what?”
“Trying to protect me.”
He glared at her as she brushed past him. “I don’t like this,” he growled, catching up and taking her arm.
Shaking free, she gave him her sweetest, most fake, smile. “Then why don’t we both just sit in the car? You’d have more privacy.”
“And we’d also be a helluva lot more noticeable.” He held open the café’s door for her to pass through. “Plus, I happen to have a craving for a strong cup of coffee.”
The robust aroma inside tickled her nose. She licked her lips. She’d always loved the scent of fresh coffee. “I could go for a café mocha.”
He flashed her the grin that had always made her knees go weak. “I’ll buy you one when I’ve finished.”
“I’ll buy my own, thank you.”
He shot her a look full of amusement. “Then buy me one, too, sweetheart.”
She bit her tongue to keep from telling him not to call her sweetheart. No doubt he knew and was doing it deliberately to bait her. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of rising to the bait.
Stalking to the counter, she ordered two large mochas. Sean claimed a table near the front, taking a seat with his back to the wall, protecting his computer screen from curious eyes as well as enabling him to watch the door. Exactly where she would have sat, had she been the one working on the laptop.
Once the drinks were ready, she carried them to the table and read the newspaper while he worked. She pretended to be intent on the articles, but continually scanned the door and watched out the window for anything out of the ordinary.
“Bingo,”
