She put them back into the briefcase and shut the lid then rubbed her forehead. Nothing. Only standard paperwork, his suggestions and other completely relevant and legitimate items she’d expect to find. She sighed and leaned forward to collect the jacket that had slipped to the floor.
Maybe she’d been wrong. What were the chances anyway, that the security company they’d called would have a subversive agenda?
She clutched the jacket to her chest. The material smelled like Connor. Clean, masculine, fantastic… She gazed at the coat then slowly slid her hand into the front pocket.
Empty.
Yet the nagging sensation in the back of her mind pushed her to check the satiny pockets on the inside. She groped around the cool space until her fingers caught on a smooth object. She tugged it out and stared at the flat little USB stick.
Her pulse ticked faster. She strode to her computer and pushed the end into one of the tiny slots on the desktop PC. She folded herself into the chair and watched the files open. The icon for a single document showed on the screen. The title jumped out at her and punched her in the chest, forcing all the air from her lungs. The audit she’d seen that morning—the freaking missing audit. The world tipped, slowed. Her chest squeezed as if a fist had shoved itself between her ribs and clutched her heart.
A sob beat against the back of her throat.
The door handle jiggled.
“Charlize?” he called out in that rich, familiar voice.
She stared at the door. The room caved around her but she found that place inside, that quiet, indestructible place inside herself.
She pulled it up around her like a shield and vowed she’d never let it down again.
Chapter Fifteen
“You plan on talking to me again anytime soon?” Connor pulled up the handbrake and shifted in the driver’s seat of the Challenger.
Charlize stared out the window at the front door of her home. She’d waited until after work to confront him. Like she needed any more scenes at Halifax. “Tell me, would you have taken me more seriously if I hadn’t let you fuck me?” Her voice sounded loud and toneless in the emptiness of the car.
“Jesus, Charlize. I only asked you to take a day off not quit your job.”
She snorted. Energy bubbled under her skin, looked for an exit but she held it in. “Not today anyway.” She turned to him. Faint lines framed his eyes, as if he might actually be bothered by something.
Good, she wanted to bother him. Bother him badly.
“Did you think I was stupid, I wouldn’t work out what you were up to?”
“Dammit, what exactly is it you think I’m doing? One request and I’m undermining your entire career?” His jaw tightened.
If he was acting, he did a damn fine job of looking sincere. Her chest tightened. He leaned across the space between them and leveled his gaze at her. The intensity in his eyes gave her pause.
“Listen ’cause I’ll only say this once—I want you. I want you in my bed doing what I say, when I say, because I know that’s what you fucking well want.” He swallowed and his mouth twitched. “I want all of you but that doesn’t mean I can’t share you with your life. It doesn’t mean I need to run your world.”
Charlize shut her eyes. Her chest quivered and she held back the tears.
Damn him.
Damn him for saying just what he knew she’d want to hear. Damn him for being a lying bastard. She tucked her hand into her pocket and curled her fingers around the plastic USB. “No?” She reached for his hand. He frowned and held it open. She pressed the stick into his roughed palm. “What are you really doing with me, Connor?”
He grasped her fingers before she could draw them away. “It’s not what you think.”
She tried to tug away but he held tight, curled his fingers around hers, stroked his thumb over her skin as if trying to soothe her. She didn’t want to be soothed, didn’t want to be coddled.
“Then explain,” she shouted.
“It’s my job to protect you, Charlize. That’s all I’ve done.” He raised his hand to her cheek, cupped her face. “I’m trying to protect you—can’t you trust me to do that?”
She jerked away from his touch before she sank into it. He dropped his hands.
“You protect me by stealing company files? By hiding things from me? Hiding things you know I’ve been searching for?”
“Yes. Because this information can only put you in more danger.” His voice sounded gravelly. “Let me handle this. It’s going to get messy. Step back from Halifax for a while until we work it out.”
She shook her head and it swam. He didn’t, couldn’t understand… What he called protecting her only showed her what he really thought of her—that she was less than capable. She pressed her fingers between her eyes and held herself together by focusing on that touch. A gentle weight settled on her arm.