There’s a television, which I doubt Charlie watches, but he gets it hooked up and streams in the latest Star Wars movie for Grady. Then he beckons me to the desk. I follow because we need to talk.
“My sister and Grady-” I begin in a hushed voice, stepping close to him so we can whisper.
“Are on a need-to-know basis,” he finishes for me. My skin prickles at his proximity. Even in normal clothes, Charlie could never be mistaken for a civilian. There’s too much power, too much energy packed into his hard, muscled body. “I would never tell them anything that would put them in jeopardy.”
I nod.
“Show me everything you have on this case.”
This case.
It seems strange to call my father’s death a “case,” but I guess it is.
“All right. What I know is my father’s death coincided with the signing of the Chapultepec Peace Accord ending the civil war in El Salvador. As I’m sure you know from your American history, our government had an interest in keeping the military-led government in place despite their horrific acts of violence and human rights abuses.
“The story I heard growing up was my father was on Marine security detail for one of the U. S. Government officials and was killed by a left-wing political activist. He was given a hero’s burial. So, when I found out he was killed in the line of duty while on a mission for the CIA, I started digging.
“What mission did we have? Who really killed him? I don’t know why I needed to know, but-”
Charlie waves his hand. “You don’t need to explain yourself to me.” His tone implies he understands too well the obsession that came over me to find the truth. “So, what did you find?”
“Absolutely nothing. So, I called Director Scape. And he-” I grind my teeth at the memory, my stomach twisting up in a knot.
Charlie’s watching me closely. “Tell me everything,” he warns like he knows this is the part I want to leave out.
“He implied my father went rogue and did something bad. That I’d be better off remembering him as a hero because if I found out what really happened, it would change how I felt about him.”
“Did you believe him?”
I shrug. “At first I did. But the way he ended the conversation, with such a strong warning not to keep looking, well-” I chew the inside of my cheek. “It made me suspicious. Of a cover-up.”
“Okay. Then what?”
“He wanted to know how I found out my father was a covert operative. That’s when I made up the journal thing. He said it was government property, and I had to turn it in, so I said I had already destroyed it.”
“That was your mistake,” Charlie says. “If you’d turned in something manufactured and innocuous, they might have put this to bed. Or even if you promised to turn something in.”
I suck my cheek in between my teeth. “I could still do that. Call in and offer it. Apologize for everything. Maybe they’d let me keep my job.”
“Yes. That’s an option. It has risks.”
“Which are?”
“There will certainly be disciplinary action, for both of us.”
A spike of fiery regret slices through my belly. One phone call, one decision and I cost Charlie his job, possibly his freedom.
And he hasn’t once complained or pointed it out to me.
“There may be manufactured charges or inflated ones. Enough to put us in jail and out of their way. Depends on how well you’re trusted and who’s willing to go to bat for you. Or how afraid they are of you discovering the truth.”
“What about you?” I whisper.
He shrugs. “I’m useful to them. I might get a slap on the wrist, especially if I play you up as my lover.”
I’m pretty sure the blood drains out of my face. Did he-? Is that why-?
“No,” he says firmly as if he’s guessed my thoughts. “I didn’t have sex with you to cover my bases. Not even close.” He speaks so certainly, with total conviction, I have no choice but to believe him. My anger drains away, leaving only raw vulnerability.
Damn my lips for trembling.
“Hey.” His fingers tangle in the back of my hair, and he uses it to lift my face to his. His lips brush across mine. “Sex with you was completely out of my control. I didn’t plan it, I don’t know it if was wise, but there was no helping it. What I feel for you is pure, raw animal magnetism. The only thing that would’ve stopped me was you. I’ll always respect your wishes. I hope you know that. It’s not a requirement for my help.”
Something rearranges in my chest. A warmth and lightness steal through me like rays of sun after rain. “Thanks,” I mumble and try to drop my head, but Charlie won’t allow it. He keeps me captive in his iron grip, the gentleness in his expression in direct opposition to the dominating hold.
“Believe it, Annabel.”
Tears pop into my eyes. “I do,” I whisper.
He claims my mouth with the passion, the fervor of before. His lips drag across mine, open and close over mine, devouring me. “You’re like an addiction,” he murmurs when he’s thoroughly taught me a lesson in submission, and my pussy is wet for him.
I wriggle in my chair, needing relief, but it’s not destined to happen. I feel my sister’s curious gaze on us from across the cabin and Grady’s right there, too.
Damn.
“Keep talking,” he orders, releasing my hair like nothing just happened. “There’s more, isn’t there?”
My voice shakes a little as I tell him about my boss calling and her direct warning, and about leaving a message with Senator Flack.