Someone Like Her(49)

 Maria shot Brad a grateful smile. The guys had nicknamed him “Elaine” because he had the hots for Elaine on Seinfield. Rick they’d named “Tennessee.” She could sit and listen to him talk in that sexy southern drawl all day.

 She took Jake’s sigh as a sign of surrender, and grabbed a pen and paper off the table. “Contact and target’s name?”

 Information in hand, she left them to their planning and walked into the office she used whenever at K2. As soon as she graduated, it would be hers permanently; the plan was for her to take over the legal side of the business. From the day Logan had bought her a computer at the age of ten, she’d fallen in love with the thing and all the wonderful information hidden in such a little box.

 Growing up poor and considered trash by her schoolmates, she’d spent her lonely hours looking up famous actors, reading about their privileged lives, envying them. From there, she’d ventured into studying ways to get rich so she could one day buy a pretty dress or spend a day at a spa. She’d learned the stock market inside out, researched companies and their potential for investment.

 When she was fifteen, she’d begged Logan to give her a thousand dollars to play with. Bless her brother, he’d handed it over without the first blink, and she’d appreciated that it hadn’t been easy at the time for him to come up with that much money. In eight years, she’d grown that one thousand to over fifty thousand, and she now handled all of her and Logan’s investments.

 There was nothing she couldn’t find on a computer, and the thrill of discovery still elated her. Brad had claimed it would take one of them four hours, but it took her a little less than two to complete. She was contemplating what she could do next to help when Jake stuck his head in the door.

 “How’s it going?”

 She slid a file to the end of her desk. “Here’s the background on Chad Sinclair, aka Abdul Haq. Everything’s in there from the moment he took his first breath to now, what he likes to eat, his first girlfriend, and so on. Your contact in Egypt has managed to obtain all the items on your list but two—three pairs of night vision goggles and the C4. Why do you need C4?”

 He grinned. “Never know when you might want to blow something up.”

 Jeez, boys and their toys. He better not blow himself up. “Well, anyway, he e-mailed that he’s meeting a source tonight and should have everything you asked for.”

 “Good.” He approached her desk and picked up the file on their target. “The guys want to go to Seaside for a fish sandwich. Want to come with us?”

 “I really should run by the hospital and say hi to Dani. Why don’t you come with me and we’ll get a quick burger or something after.”

 He glanced at the doorway, indecision on his face. “Probably better if I don’t,” he finally said. “You don’t need to come back. Go and enjoy your new nephew and the rest of the weekend.”

 Stupid, stubborn man. “I’m coming back this afternoon, and I’ll be here tomorrow. This operation is happening too fast, and you guys need all the help you can get.” She stood and picked up her purse. “See you in about two hours.”

 Deciding to turn the tables on him and see how he liked it, she stopped at the door. “I want to thank you for last night. It was the most amazing night of my life, but I’m putting whatever’s happening between us on hold until you’re home safe. I suggest you do the same.”

 It was the most amazing night of her life? Jake stared at the empty doorway. He’d tried all morning to put her out of his mind, but she was there anyway. Her soft sighs, the way she clinched around him when she came, how she’d called out his name when she’d shattered—how was he supposed to put that on hold?

 He could give her a thousand amazing nights, wanted to. Angry she could so easily put them on the back burner, he slapped the file against his thigh. Striding into the main room, he thrust the folder at Bayne. “Memorize this. You, too, Stewart.”

 Sally was backing out of the parking space when he opened the passenger door and jumped inside the Mustang. He glared at Maria and dared her to say one damn word. All he got from her was a sweet smile and silence. Why he was so pissed off, he hadn’t a clue other than the fact she was very talented at messing with his mind.

 Hadn’t she just given him the space to concentrate on his mission? Wasn’t that what he wanted? He’d never been so indecisive in his life about anything, and now she had him acting like a yo-yo on the end of a string. This was all new to him, this wanting only one woman, and he didn’t have a road map for the trip she was taking him on. Small wonder he’d gotten drunk the night before.