Hot Package (A Hostile Operations Team Novella)(#3) Read online

  His jaw tightened. “You better tell me everything.”

  ***

  Since the minute he’d put her in the truck and brought her to his house, he’d been having a hell of a time concentrating on anything but the sight of her creamy skin. Her tights had been wet and ripped and she’d stripped them off in the bathroom before coming back out here in her skirt and turtleneck sweater. The sweater might cover her completely, but it was little better than the skirt because it emphasized the gorgeous curves of her full breasts.

  Breasts he’d licked and sucked and touched many times in the six months they’d been together. His dick hardened as he remembered the way she’d writhed beneath him, her blonde hair spread over the pillow, her pink lips parting to gasp his name as he took her over the edge of pleasure and into something that had only existed between the two of them.

  He’d fucked women before and since Olivia Reese, and none of them tangled him up inside the way she had. The way she still did. He was reeling as much from her presence as from the tale she told.

  A tale that shocked and angered him the more she went on. She sat on his couch with her head bent and spun out a story that tightened his guts into knots. If Titan was falsifying their results in order to get a lucrative contract, then a lot of people could be hurt when the technology didn’t deliver as planned.

  “Someone sent you a disc,” he stated, his voice as cool and emotionless as he could make it.

  She looked up at him. “Yes. But I don’t know if it was an accident or not.”

  “What did you do with it?”

  “It’s in my purse.” She reached for the bag she’d set at her feet and dug out a CD-ROM.

  Billy took it from her and grabbed one of his laptops from the desk. Then he inserted the disc and waited for it to open.

  “Holy shit,” he breathed when the information spilled across the screen.

  “It’s Alan Cooper’s notes,” she said. “He’s the head of development for Titan.”

  Billy clicked another screen. “He has some screen shots here of test results. And then his notes that say the information was falsified.”

  Billy shoved a hand through his hair. It was pretty damning stuff. But there was no hard evidence here, just an engineer’s notes. And without hard evidence, there was nothing to indicate this wasn’t simply one disgruntled employee’s attempt at giving the company a black eye.

  “What are we going to do with it?” She sounded so hopeful, as if she trusted he had all the answers.

  Billy sat back and blew out a breath. “Livvie, this isn’t good enough.”

  She blinked at him, her green eyes wide and wounded. Dammit, he wanted to haul her into his arms and comfort her. Not happening.

  “But those are Alan’s notes. I don’t doubt it. He has a certain shorthand he uses in his phrasing, and that’s consistent.”

  “Doesn’t matter. It’s circumstantial. The screen shots are all for the results they’ve presented to Congress.”

  “So there’s nothing we can do.” There was an edge of anger to her voice.

  “Not precisely. We need the real research, Liv.”

  “Then we need Alan. He’d know where to find it.”

  Billy turned back to the computer and clicked through a few more screens. At the end of the last screen was a typed note. Dig deeper. It’s all there.

  He turned the computer and showed her the screen. She put a hand over her mouth. “My God. But why didn’t he just copy the real information and send it to someone who could do something? Why me?”

  Billy started to reach for her hand, thought better of it. What kind of brush fire would he be igniting if he touched her again?

  “I imagine he couldn’t get to the real information. Where is Alan Cooper right now, Liv?”

  She blinked. “He went on vacation a couple of days ago. To St. Thomas.”

  “St. Thomas.” Billy didn’t believe it for a minute. “Who told you that?”

  She hesitated for a long moment. Her voice, when she spoke, was a whisper. “Tom Howard.” She bit her lip. “Oh God, Titan will be ruined if this goes public.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you think Tom…?”

  Hell, he thought a lot of things. But nothing he was willing to speculate on just yet. Billy closed out the files and called up the internet. He’d hacked into a lot of networks in his life. It was his specialty on the team. Well, one of his specialties. They were all multi-talented in HOT.

  “You got a VPN?”

  Her forehead scrunched up. “A what?”

  “Can you log into your email remotely?” Most companies needed their employees to be able to log into email from other locations in order to get stuff done, so they used a Virtual Private Network to do it. It extended the company’s private network across the internet using gateways and kept it secure. Mostly secure, he amended.

  “Yes.”

  He handed her the computer. “Here, try it.”

  She reached for the keyboard and typed in a web address and a remote login. Then she looked up at him. “I’m into my email. There’s nothing unusual.”

  “Let me see what I can do.”

  She turned the computer back to him and he monkeyed around a bit with her account. He ran a few programs that allowed him access beyond her account, but there was nothing much to see. Titan Technology wasn’t stupid and they had their important stuff locked away on a secure LAN.

  “We’ll need to go to your office and dig.”

  She swallowed. “All right,” she said, getting to her feet with a resigned sigh.

  He reached for her wrist, circling it with his fingers. He regretted it immediately. Her skin was hot and soft and his throat tightened. He let her go as if her touch stung.

  “Not tonight. It’s snowing too badly and your car’s in a ditch. Not only that, but I need time to get credentials.”

  “Credentials?”

  He gave her half a grin to cover his discomfort. “I assume there’s security? A 24-hour guard and some sort of badging system?”

  “Yes. During regular hours, we badge in and out. After hours, we have to sign the log as well.”

  “I’ll need your badge to clone the RFID and to work up a passable duplicate with my information.”

  “I don’t understand why.”

  “I have to hack the system… and it can only be done from inside.”

  She looked grim. “My badge is in the car. When I slid off the road, I left everything but my phone and purse. I keep the badge in the door pocket so I don’t accidentally forget it at home.”

  He stood. “Give me your keys and I’ll go get it. Anything else you need while I’m out there?”

  “Not unless you can find my shoes in the snow.”

  “Maybe. Doubt it though.”

  She folded her arms beneath her breasts. He tried damn hard to keep his eyes focused on her face rather than let them wander down over that tight sweater and every sweet curve she possessed.

  She pushed past him and went to dig in the coat she’d set on a chair nearby. He couldn’t help but let his gaze slide down to the rounded form of her ass. The red skirt she wore was every bit as tight as the sweater, hugging her hips and ass before ending about two inches above her knee.

  She turned, her pale blonde hair swinging into her face as she did so. She’d gotten it cut since the last time he’d seen her, but he found that he liked it on her. It just touched her shoulders, so pale and silky that he wanted to shove his fingers in it and tilt her head back for old times’ sake. And then he wanted to plunder her sweet soft mouth until she moaned and clutched his shoulders.

  “Billy?”

  He shook himself out of his reverie and stared at her hard. “Yeah?”

  She came forward with the keys in her hand. “You seemed a million miles away there,” she said softly. “Is everything okay?”

  Hell no, it wasn’t okay. Olivia Reese was standing in his living room, needing his help, and all he could think about was
stripping her naked and losing himself in her body again. He didn’t have time for this.

  “Yeah, fine.” He held his hand out so she could drop the keys inside without any finger brushing, but of course she set them in his hand gently, her fingers touching his palm and sending a lightning bolt of sensation sizzling through him.

  He jerked his hand back and closed his fingers around the keys. “It’ll take me about fifteen minutes, maybe more depending on the road.”

  “All right, but if you aren’t back in half an hour, I’m coming after you.”

  His mouth twisted as he let his gaze slide to her feet. “Barefoot?”

  “If I have to.”

  He recognized the stubborn tilt of her chin. “I’ll be back. Don’t run away, Olivia.”

  Her cheeks flooded with color and he knew he’d scored a direct hit. It didn’t make him feel any better though. “Billy, I…”

  He backed away and reached for his coat. “Forget it, sugar. I shouldn’t have said that.” He shrugged into his jacket and went over to the door. “Make yourself comfortable while I’m gone. There’s some leftovers in the fridge, a few beers. Whatever you want, take it.”

  She stood there staring at him with those wounded eyes and her arms folded tight. He felt like an asshole. “Thanks,” she said.

  “You bet.” He opened the door and slipped out into the frosty night. The snow was still coming down, a bit harder now, and he stood on the porch and breathed in the cold air, willing it to cool his temper and his libido both.

  Since that was damn near impossible, he went and got into the Tahoe. Then he took out his phone and made a call. “Hey, Big Mac,” he said when Kevin MacDonald answered. “Got a situation.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Olivia stood in the middle of Billy’s living room with her arms still wrapped around her for a long minute after the door closed behind him. It was almost like déjà vu, watching him walk out the door. She shook her head and went into the kitchen to fix more coffee. Out of curiosity, she opened the fridge. Billy wasn’t the typical bachelor in that he actually had food and not just pizza boxes. Not only that, but she knew he could cook a decent meal.

  Something he’d learned from his Aunt June. Olivia sighed and pushed her hair behind her ears. She wasn’t quite as cold as she’d been before, but she sure would love some pants—or at least another pair of tights—to keep her legs warm. And dammit, how was she going anywhere with no shoes? The pair she’d lost in the snow weren’t expensive, but they’d been broken in and comfortable.

  She knew that she couldn’t fit into anything of Billy’s. But she could wear his socks at least. She went down the hall, opening doors until she came to his bedroom. Even if it weren’t the only bedroom, she’d know it was his by the duffel lying on the foot of the bed. She stared at the familiar sight and felt a pinch of something deep inside. Typically, the appearance of the duffel indicated an impending operation.

  She closed her eyes, remembering how it had felt for him to kiss her goodbye and then not see him for weeks at a time. They’d only been together six months, but that six months had been punctuated by a lot of absences. She was familiar with the signs of departure.

  She went into the room and opened drawers until she found his socks. Then she grabbed a pair of the thick socks he wore under his combat boots and tugged them on. They went halfway up her calf, and while she might look silly wearing them, she felt warmer already.

  By the time she’d fixed the coffee, Billy was back. Snow glistened on his dark hair and eyelashes and his cheeks were red with the cold. He glanced down at her feet but didn’t say a word. He tossed her badge on the coffee table—but no shoes—and took out his cell phone.

  “Big Mac,” he said after a moment, and she knew he was talking to Kevin MacDonald. “I’ve got the badge. Standard RFID. … Yeah, shouldn’t be too difficult to clone.” He shoved a hand through his hair and stood quietly for a long moment. “Copy. See you in the morning, then.”

  He tossed the phone down and blew out a breath and she could tell that brilliant mind of his was working overtime. Warmth surged through her. He had every reason to despise her, but he wouldn’t let that stand in the way of doing a job.

  She curled her legs under her and sipped her coffee. “I really appreciate your help, Billy.”

  He stood there, so tall and hard and masculine. A lean military machine just waiting for the go order. It made her shiver in a new way.

  “And here I thought you hated what I did.”

  Heat crept into her cheeks. She’d known, hadn’t she, that when she came to him, there were still things simmering between them?

  “I don’t.”

  “You tried to make me choose, Olivia.”

  She tilted her head back and looked up at him. “And I lost, didn’t I? You didn’t even have to think about it.”

  He didn’t answer the question. “If you care about somebody, you don’t put them in that position. You don’t make them choose like that.”

  Her heart beat hard. “You don’t get to say whether or not I cared about you. Only I get to say that. And I was scared of losing you.”

  “You wanted to control me.”

  She closed her eyes and pulled in a breath. “You won’t ever see my side of it, so why are we going there? It’s been over between us since you left for that last mission, and I know I’m to blame for it.” Her eyes snapped open again. “But so are you, Billy Blake. It takes two to have a relationship. And you weren’t ever going to give me more than a warm body in my bed for a few weeks at a time.”

  “We were together for six months. How in the hell do you know what I was going to give you if we’d been together longer? I said we’d talk, but you weren’t there when I got back. You ran away, Olivia. Like a brat who didn’t get her way.”

  She hated the way those words sounded on his lips, but how could she argue? She had run away. And part of her had regretted it since.

  “I was leaving the Army and you knew it. What did you want me to do? Hang around and wait for you to come back every few weeks? I had resumes out, and you knew I could get picked up anywhere. But you never said a word about what came next. It was like you just thought I would be there, no matter what.”

  He glared daggers at her. “You were planning to leave the Army when we met. Why would I think you might need my input on a decision you’d already made?”

  She gripped the mug tight. “Well, gee, I don’t know, Billy. Maybe because I thought we had something but I wasn’t ever really sure where you stood. You never said.”

  His hands clenched into fists at his side. “I kept coming back. To you, Olivia. I spent every day I had stateside with you. And that meant nothing to you.”

  “It did mean something. But I wasn’t sure it meant anything to you.”

  “Jesus.” He shook his head. “Forget it. It’s been too long and there’s no sense raking over the past. You made your choice and we’ve both moved on.”

  Her eyes stung with frustrated tears. “Yes, we’ve moved on.”

  He turned away from her, all stiff military precision. “Good, great, end of story.” He went over to the dining room table at one end of the long room and grabbed another computer. Then he powered it up and retrieved the disc Alan had sent her.

  “What are you going to do?”

  He sat on one of the chairs across from her. “Send it to HQ.”

  “What about security?” She knew he was a great hacker, but there had to be others equally as good.

  “This is a secure satellite link. Not a problem.” He popped the disc in and his fingers flew over some keys. Then he sat back and waited for a few moments. When he was satisfied, he ejected the disc and closed the computer. “Mendez will get some engineers on this. Anything we can learn from here might help when we break into Titan tomorrow.”

  Olivia shivered. “I’m not breaking in. I work there.” It was semantics, sure, but she didn’t like to think in terms of doing anything wrong. It made it easi
er mentally.

  “We’ll start searching for Cooper too. If he’s in St. Thomas, we’ll get him.”

  “You don’t think he is?”

  Billy shrugged. “Honestly? I don’t think so. But if we’re lucky, whoever’s behind the plot to sell faulty equipment to the military doesn’t know either.”

  Olivia hated to think of what could happen to Alan Cooper. Or to her. “What if someone knows what he sent me?”

  Billy’s eyes darkened. “No one’s getting to you.”

  “But going back there tomorrow…”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “Who said you were going?”

  “I assumed—”

  He got to his feet now. “Hell no. You’ll brief me on the layout, but you aren’t going. It’ll be me and one of the guys.”

  Anger flipped to life in her belly. “I realize this is what you do, but you won’t get the information without me. Even with a fake badge and the codes, it won’t work.”

  “Sweetheart, you’d be surprised about the places I get into.”

  “I’m sure you could tell me but then you’d have to kill me. But I’m telling you, Billy Blake, that you won’t pull this off without me. Alan’s office is in a secure area, and though you can hack into it, you need me—a recognizable employee—to watch your back. There won’t be that many people working on Christmas Eve, but those that are there will know you don’t belong. If you’re with me, I can make it believable. Not only that, but if you look lost for even a second, you’re toast. So face it, sugar, you need me to guide you and to watch your back.”

  Her pulse was pounding with adrenaline, both over standing up to Billy and over the idea she had to help him break into Alan’s office. Yeah, there was a risk that someone knew Alan had sent her a disc. But that didn’t mean they knew what was on it. Or even that it was potentially volatile. She’d been afraid to go home tonight, but she’d walk into Titan’s offices tomorrow with a trained military fighting machine at her side. That was a no brainer.

  Billy’s jaw hardened. “I don’t like it, but you have a point. We’ll go in together—but only if my CO approves it.”