She’d be damned lucky if Dietz didn’t focus on Liam as a potential threat to security.
“Anyway, I’d better run,” he said, glancing away. “You need anything from the store?”
“More of that wonderful Malbec you served with dinner the other night?”
“Done.”
“Liam… are you all right? Other than being worried about Jude.” Standing, she went to him, laid a hand on his chest. His heart thrummed a mad tempo under her palm.
“I’m not sure what you mean.” His body language said something else.
“You’ve barely made eye contact with me since our fun by the pool. Was it so terrible?”
“What? No!” He pulled her into a hard hug, then drew back and looked into her eyes, appearing genuinely shocked. “I loved being with you, and I’d do it again. I’ve just had a lot on my mind.”
“It’s nothing I’ve done?”
He shook his head, kissed the corner of her mouth. “I swear. Sorry I haven’t been myself, but I’m doing my best to shake off this weird mood.”
“Anything I can do to speed things along?” she asked suggestively. One male nipple hardened, poking her palm through his T-shirt.
“Later?” His smile softened the rejection. “I guess I’m not in the right head space lately.”
“I won’t push. But if you need a friend-”
“I know. Thanks.” He gave her another hug and extricated himself gently. “Gotta go.”
Watching him retreat, she sighed. What would happen to him after Jude was gone? She’d suggest bringing him into SHADO’s main compound, but what use would they have for a chef? Perhaps Michael could think of something. All she knew was the idea of leaving Liam alone, grieving, and out of a job did not sit well.
Yet coming up with a solution might not matter when Liam hated her guts.
She squashed the pang of regret and returned to her e-mail, still amazed at the amount of correspondence Jude received. She scheduled a couple of charity events and dinner with an acquaintance, rescheduled a meeting with an architect regarding renovation of a building Jude had purchased, and answered several pleas for donations. Seemed her “boss” was a generous man to those less fortunate.
What an irony.
Two hours passed with record speed and Lily blinked at the clock. She’d promised to check on Jude and she had no idea how long the other man had been gone.
She hurried out, heels clicking on the tiles, then digging into the carpet as she ascended the stairs. Too bad she couldn’t go barefoot, but she couldn’t dress down when anyone might stop by to see Jude.
What wasn’t underneath the clothing didn’t count.
She reached Jude’s bedroom to find the door cracked a bit, so she pushed it open and tiptoed inside. His big body lay sprawled on his stomach, sheets tangled around long legs, a slice of tanned, bare ass making her mouth water and fantasies run rampant.
Too bad the man was out of commission or she might be tempted to caress that delectable rump, see whether she could entice him to finish what he’d started between them the other day.
Considering her mission, however, perhaps it was better that he remain distracted by Liam and Tamara.
The thought depressed her and she shook it off, walking over silently to check and make certain he wasn’t in distress. He slept soundly, auburn hair spilling over his face, lips parted slightly. He looked so young and vulnerable, though she knew he was anything but.
“Why couldn’t you have been one of the good guys?” she whispered, aching at the sight of him.
But he wasn’t, and with Liam gone, his boss unconscious, she had a prime opportunity to extend her search beyond the previous boundaries.
Where…? Her eyes fell upon his walk-in closet, the door ajar. A tingle went up her spine and she crossed toward it. Was it possible?
The master closet didn’t share a wall with Lily’s room. Instead, it was situated across his room, on the outer corner of the house, on the wall with the window overlooking the pool. His office on the first floor was directly below.
The familiar thrill of the hunt warmed her blood. She was on to something. Easing inside, she flipped on the light, careful not to make too much noise. The space was so huge it could’ve served as a pro football team’s locker room.
Suits, jeans, slacks, and shirts-both dressy and casual- lined the walls on rods. Shoes of all types were parked on several rows of shelving, four pairs wide. Doing a double take at the clothing, she realized the outfits were organized by color and style, pants and the appropriate shirts hanging together. Liam had likely done this so Jude wouldn’t have to worry about trying to match his things.
The care and consideration that had gone into his gift brought unexpected tears to her eyes. With a quiet sniff, she began checking cubbies and boxes, what few there were. The closet was pristine, free of the typical clutter one might expect to find.
Next she pushed hangers aside, disturbing the clothing as little as possible. As she’d done in Jude’s office, she checked the walls of the space for seams, hollow places. What was unusual about the closet was the detailed molding work. People normally put effort into such decor in a living or dining room, not a place guests wouldn’t really see.
The molding formed long, vertical panels more than six feet tall and three feet wide, which, in itself, aroused her suspicion. She pressed on each one with no luck, and was about to quit when one panel gave under her palm.
Pay dirt! Suddenly nervous, she went and peeked at Jude to find he hadn’t budged an inch. His soft snore reassured her and she returned to her task.
The panel was located in the perfect spot should it conceal a small hidden room-at the corner of the house where no one would notice the discrepancy in the scant number of feet between the panel and the outside of the house. Not in a million years.
Her excitement grew as she gave a quiet knock. Definitely not solid. But if it opened, where was the spring? “Come on,” she muttered, pushing all around the inside edge of the panel. No luck. In frustration, she leaned against the right- hand strip of molding.
And the whole piece popped inward. In surprise, she jerked away and it popped out again, spring-loaded. The entire panel slid neatly and almost soundlessly to the left, revealing a metal ladder facing her, affixed to the brick.
“Holy shit,” she breathed. “Robin, I think we found the Bat Cave.”
She peered over the edge. The ladder descended into darkness and, she bet, to Jude’s “war room” underground. There, she was likely to find one or both of the missing encrypted files.
A groan from the bedroom kicked her pulse into overdrive. Cursing her bad luck, she pushed the strip again and the panel slid into place once more. She’d have to return when the coast was clear, but at least she’d made progress.
Glancing around to be sure all was as she’d found it, she turned off the light and moved stealthily out into the bedroom. Jude was sitting up on the side of his bed, back to her, stretching and obviously trying to wake up.
She was halfway to escape when he stiffened. “Who’s there?” God, he must have the supersonic hearing of an owl. She cleared her throat. “It’s me, Lily.”
He turned his head toward her, a slight frown on his handsome face. “What are you doing?”
“I came to check on you like I’d promised Liam.”
His expression cleared and he made no attempt to cover himself. “Oh. Well, that was sweet. I hope my being naked doesn’t bother you.”
“Not in the way you mean, which I believe we’ve established,” she said, smiling. “How do you feel?”
“Surprisingly, much better. I’m usually out for the day when it hits, but the nap and the meds seem to have done the trick.”
Lily closed the distance between them. The proof of how much better he felt jutted from between his thighs. Licking her lips, she wondered if he always got morning wood.
“I-I’m glad. No more nightmares?”
“None that I recall.” But his posture tensed, shoulders hunched as though to weather a blow.
Seemed she’d touched a nerve. Was he telling the truth? She thought so, but it was hard to say.
