Midnight Fever (Men of Midnight #5)(14)

Her clothes were strewn all over the floor. She picked them up and put them on an armchair. Either she would or she wouldn't be back to pick them up. Probably not. But last night's elegant raspberry outfit wouldn't do for whistleblowing and possibly running for her life. She had a stretch turquoise pantsuit that was just the ticket. Her friend Priyanka had loved it. Kay wore it because it was comfortable and light. It was perfect if she had to run and it honored her dead friend. And flats, of course. No running in heels.

Last night, she'd bought a wide-brimmed straw hat from the hotel souvenir shop and she put it on.

Right. Clean, dressed, holding the handle of her wheeled suitcase because she'd been told to pack a light carryon. Just in case. Okay. Ready to go.

But she hesitated, standing by the bed, watching Nick sleep.

She was walking out on something really, really good. The sex had been off the charts, but more than hot sex, there had been connection and affection in the bed with them. Even now, after a cold shower and dressing, with a suitcase handle in her hand, Kay could feel the connection, could almost see it shimmering in the air between the two of them.

Nick was a lot of things, but he wasn't a player. There were no stories about him loving and leaving women, using them. She knew he'd had partners but no one special. And he always treated his partners-whether for just the night or a week or a month-with respect.

She knew this because everyone at ASI, including Felicity, had made a point of telling her over and over again.

Nick was, in every sense of the word, a good man. Everyone made a point of telling her what a good guy Nick was, all but elbowing her in the side, just in case she didn't get it.

They didn't need to do that. She knew what a good guy Nick was. She hadn't known he was a god between the sheets, but … she'd suspected.

What made him so amazing in bed wasn't superhuman powers, though he did have a bit of that Superman vibe going. No, what made it so amazing was the chemistry between the two of them, exclusive to them. The joy and the heat between them.

A sob rose up from her chest, unstoppable, a searing ball of pain burning her up inside. At the last possible second, she was able to stifle it in her mouth, but it felt like a grenade went off inside her chest, shrapnel tearing up everything inside.

Goodbye, Nick, she thought. Who knew what lay at the other end of what she was about to do? It could take her away forever, she could be free within a month. She had no idea. But what she did know was that walking away from Nick, after the night they'd shared, was unforgiveable.

This was it.

Everything was blurred, but she could see the door clearly enough. The door she'd walk through to walk away from Nick.




       
         
       
        
Kay reached out one last time, her hand hovering over his. What she wouldn't give to be free. Free to touch him, free to stay with him. Free to take what was between them as far as it could go.

But she wasn't.

She turned and left before the first tear fell, texting her contact. He was somehow going to kill all the security cams in the hotel corridor, in the elevator, in the lobby.

Outside in the corridor, she wiped her eyes and quickly made her way to the elevator, small suitcase trailing.

Okay, focus.

She was supposed to be meeting with Mike Hammer, the pen name for a man who ran a website that so far had sent three senators and two CEOs to prison. thetangledweb. It published very uncomfortable truths and never backed down. Everything it published turned out to be true. Nobody knew where it was based and nobody knew Hammer's real identity.

Priyanka had first contacted him and offered to hand over very dangerous files. When Priyanka died, Kay inherited the mission. She'd contacted Hammer through channels Priyanka had given her. Hammer was amazingly proficient with computers and unusually knowledgeable about virology. He'd assured her that their email exchanges, using an email server on Tor, were private. He knew about Priyanka's death and he knew what Kay suspected.

They'd arranged to meet in Portland this morning. Kay used the excuse of her presence at the World Virology Conference, where she was scheduled to deliver a paper on the last day. She'd kept Priyanka's name on the paper.

There was almost zero chance she'd actually deliver that paper. There was almost zero chance her life would be recognizable after this morning.

It was entirely possible she'd have to leave the country with a false passport this afternoon, ending up sipping caipirinhas in Rio tonight. Mike Hammer had said he'd come prepared. He had some information for her too. Depending on what their combined info was, they'd take it from there.