“I’m just surprised, that’s all. Your dad was really okay with it? He spent a long time building up weapons sales.”
“Then he and the board entrusted the future of the business to me. It wasn’t what he would have done. My dad and I didn’t always agree, but he always supported me. He knew I was already in an uphill battle with the employees over being named CEO.” She frowned down at her lap. “I think he knew if he didn’t support me on this, my leadership would be in trouble.”
“He was a good dad,” Davis said, but Leila wasn’t sure if it was a statement or a question.
“Yes,” she stressed, standing up and facing him. “He was the best.”
She could practically see his mind working, going over what she’d said about her uncle looking after her when her dad had checked out after her mom died. But it had been a long time ago. Her dad had grown up with parents who’d abused him. It had been just him and Uncle Joel for so long, only counting on each other. He’d once told her that when he’d met her mom overseas when he’d been there on business, a single glance from her had changed the entire trajectory of his life. Leila knew it was the fanciful memory of a man who’d loved his wife deeply and then lost her too young, but the idea always made her smile.
“Yeah, my dad took a while to get over losing his wife. That’s pretty normal, I think. Especially when you have no one to lean on besides your brother—who’s busy running your company and watching your ten-year-old daughter.”
Davis didn’t say anything, but she could tell he wanted to, probably about her own care in that time.
“Anyway, once he dealt with his grief, you couldn’t ask for a more involved father.” She smiled at the sudden memory of the first day she’d brought Eric home to meet her dad. When she’d met Eric, she’d been thirteen and just seen him as a friend, nothing more. But her dad had probably seen that Eric—two years older—had a deeper interest.
“What’s so funny?” Davis asked.
“If my dad had met you, he wouldn’t let you out of his sight for a second.”
Davis frowned, maybe thinking she’d meant because her dad would have known Davis was undercover.
She used a lighthearted tone, intending to be playful, make a joke out of their mutual attraction and this impossible situation. “Not for the investigation, although he probably would have figured that out. But he would have watched you closely for another reason entirely.” She raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to catch on.
Finally a smile stretched his lips, starting slow like it always did. With it came a gleam in his eyes. “Is that right?”
She swallowed, resisting the sudden urge to lick her lips. She’d meant it as a joke. She’d let her serious CEO persona slip with him yet again, and oddly, it didn’t feel strange. She was actually more comfortable being herself around Davis than she’d been with anyone in a long time.
Spinning away from him, she tried to get her guard back up. It made no sense to feel this normal around Davis. Not so soon after her dad had died and not considering who Davis was, why he was here.
At the end of this investigation, he’d be leaving. And he might try to take down Petrov Armor when he did it.
No matter how he made her feel, she couldn’t let him in. Couldn’t let him destroy the one thing she had left.
“ANY NEWS?” DAVIS asked Melinda. He’d retreated to the privacy of his SUV in Petrov Armor’s parking lot to talk to her without being overheard. He felt a little ridiculous sitting in his vehicle while the sun baked him through the windows. But he couldn’t take his jacket off without the possibility of his gun showing. He didn’t want Leila—or anyone else—to overhear his discussion with Melinda.
“Kane is off on some meeting.” Impatience crackled in her words as Melinda added, “He’s been gone for a while.”
“How’s that going, working with Kane Bradshaw?” Davis couldn’t help asking. He’d liked Melinda from the minute he’d met her. She was smart and always willing to lend her psychological expertise on a case. She was also quiet and a bit of a loner, but Davis didn’t mind that. She’d gone out with the team for drinks a time or two. Although she kept her personal life to herself, she’d been friendly.
Kane, on the other hand, managed to be both a charmer and antisocial. The fact that he’d once been partnered with Pembrook’s daughter—had actually been undercover with her when she’d been killed—was common knowledge. But what exactly had happened, no one seemed to know. His MO was to avoid the team as much as possible while running his own operations. Davis still wasn’t sure why Pembrook let him get away with it, although it was hard to argue that the guy got results.
“Fine.”
Her short answer was obviously a lie, but she couldn’t see his amusement, so Davis didn’t bother hiding his grin. It served him right that Eric Ross chose that moment to stride through the lot, probably returning from a sales call. He gave Davis a quizzical look, then kept going, disappearing inside the building.
Davis felt a visceral dislike toward Eric, but he tried to quell it because Eric hadn’t actually done anything to deserve it, besides once date Leila.
Focusing back on Melinda, Davis told her what he’d learned that put some questions in his mind about Neal Petrov. “So, according to Leila, her dad supported her when she wanted to stop the gun side of the business. She says his support allowed her to do it without massive pushback from
