Riley killed the engine and got out. He made his way around the front of the truck, turning to stare at the buildings across the street, pedestrians, all of it.
She was in good hands.
Erin was truly grateful for Riley and his team. That they’d been the ones sent to get her. She couldn’t imagine anyone pulling this off without creating more of a mess in a region already torn apart by war.
Riley opened her door and offered her his hand.
“How’s the vest feeling?” he asked.
“Like death.” She’d worn her share of Kevlar, and none of it was what she’d call comfortable.
“Well, at least you aren’t dying?” Riley shut the door and kept his other arm around her. “Come on, let’s get inside.”
Together they crossed the open stretch of ground between the parking lot and the building with Riley holding her close to his side. It wasn’t an affectionate hold, it was protective, and yet the lines between the two were blurred in her head. He was doing this because it was his job. If another woman was in the same situation, he’d react accordingly.
She wasn’t special.
It was something she needed to remind herself of today, tomorrow, and when they said goodbye.
Riley was a good guy. He just wasn’t going to be her good guy.
Her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes prickled at the thought of parting ways.
“Here we go.” He opened the glass door for her and ushered her inside.
“I need to go to security and get someone to let me into my office.” She blinked around, the better to get rid of her tears.
“You lead, I follow.” Riley pushed his sunglasses up.
Unlike her, he’d washed and re-worn his clothes from yesterday. People glanced their way, no doubt curious about Riley’s presence with her. Most of their security were plain clothes and doubled as body guards for those like Erin who needed a touch more care. Riley was decked out in green pants, shirt, Kevlar vest, belt and an assortment of gear attached to his body armor.
“Erin!” A tall woman with dark skin followed by her assistant sporting a colorful hijab that framed her angelic face stopped in front of Erin.
“Lilan, hi.” Erin stopped in her tracks. Lilan headed up the finance department. Word was she had her sights set on the American office and intended to work her way up farther.
“I thought you were taking a few more personal days?” Lilan frowned at her.
“Oh, no.” Erin glanced at Riley.
“I heard you got to tour the new facility. What were your thoughts? I’d love to pick your brain.”
The new site?
What were her thoughts?
Oh, God...
Lilan didn’t know.
No wonder the head office wanted her to skip the office and head straight home. They weren’t admitting the attack even happened.
Riley nudged her. Erin glanced at him, then back to Lilan before clearing her throat.
“I think we got ahead of ourselves and the facility isn’t ready yet.” Erin clasped her hands in front of her, hating the lie.
It was crazy to think that a facility had been partially blown up, and no one knew.
“Sad to hear that.” Lilan sighed.
“Hey, it was good to see you. I’m heading home, family emergency and all, so we’ll have to schedule a time to talk later, okay?” Erin sidestepped the women and set her eyes on the security office sign.
Riley kept pace with her. She could feel him staring. Did he get it? Had he thought through the implications of what’d been said?
Erin pulled herself together enough to handle the key request. Riley was signed in as her guest. A Ruddy Brothers Security guy escorted them up to her office with hardly more than five words exchanged. A few of her co-workers waved or called out to her as they were let in, but no one approached her to chat.
She ducked into the office and shut the door behind Riley, right in the other security guy’s face.
“What did I miss?” Riley turned to face her.
Erin leaned her back against the metal door and twisted the lock. She closed her eyes and massaged her temples.
What if it was all connected? What if they’d just walked into the lion’s den?
“Erin?”
“Lilan didn’t know about the explosion. She didn’t know I was kidnapped. That’s why NexGen hired your team. They didn’t want this getting out. That’s why they wanted you to take me straight to the airport. They want to bury that this ever happened. They probably intend to fire me...” She covered her mouth and watched Riley.
His lips parted, and his brows rose as the pieces clinked together. He got it.
“What if...what if they’re working with...?” She couldn’t even whisper the last of her question.
“If that was what NexGen wanted, they wouldn’t have hired us.”
She wished she could be that positive about anything. Right now, there was only one thing she knew. She could trust Riley. After that, she just didn’t know anymore.
“Hey?” He grasped her by the shoulders and pulled her away from the door. “We got this, okay?”
“Keep telling me that?”
“That’s what I’m here for.”
“I thought you were here to save my life.”
“I already did that. Now I’m working my way down the rest of the list.”
“Do I get to see this list?”
“No.”
“Can I make suggestions for this list?”
“No.”
She chuckled and shook her head. Riley grinned back and pressed a kiss to her forehead. It was a friendly gesture, nothing more, and yet it worked. Her body remembered how he’d kissed and held her before, what that was like. Losing herself in that would be better than what they were about to embark on.
“Where should we start?” he asked.
Erin gazed around her office. The ten by ten space was cramped with a desk, two chairs, two filing cabinets and a credenza that housed yet more files. She had boxes and stacks of paper on every available surface. The company’s operations here had barely begun to go digital. She still dealt primarily in
