Page 1 of Harry

Chapter 1

Rory Holmes ended the call with Lucia, her sister, and stepped into the hall, slamming right into a brick wall. But it wasn’t a brick wall. It was a very strong, good-looking man.

Her gaze traveled up his body, taking in his trim waist and the V-like spread of his chest. His hands were on her shoulders, steadying her. His touch might have short-circuited her brain because words wouldn’t come out and her thoughts stalled.

Then fear hit. Was this guy here for her? Did he know about the information she’d found and now needed to keep hidden?

His lips spread into a smile, and a pulse of electricity raced through her. It almost seemed like his blue eyes twinkled as he squeezed her shoulder. She had the sudden urge to move into the circle of his arms. The wild idea that he would protect her filled her mind.

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Thinking like that would get her killed. She opened her mouth to speak, but their gazes connected again, and she was at a loss for words.

“Sorry. I should have been paying better attention.” His voice was deep and velvety smooth, raking over her nerves, leaving her wanting for more.

Another shiver raced through her as she tried to recover. There were very few men who’d ever left her speechless. She must have been staring for way too long because he lifted his eyebrows like he expected her to respond. She’d been caught off guard, which didn’t happen often, actually never. As an intelligence officer in the Marines, she had to know what was happening. Maybe it was the crap she was dealing with, or maybe this man really was that good-looking. Whatever it was, left her dumbfounded.

She blinked, then stepped back, realizing that she was standing way too close to him in addition to staring up at him. She was acting like a fool.

“Don’t worry. It’s okay. I should have looked before I stepped out.” She’d come to this store to purchase a burner phone to call Lucia. She was overreacting. She knew it. A burner wouldn’t save her if she called her sister on it. But she needed to talk to someone. When Lucia picked up, she realized she couldn’t tell her sister everything she knew, or her sister would be at risk, too.

He bent and grabbed her phone from the ground. She hadn’t even realized she’d dropped it. She was a mess. Maybe everything wasn’t as bad as she thought. The information she’d seen could have been fake. She needed more proof, but looking for more would put her in danger.

She palmed the phone and then looked at the screen. Lucia had sent a text. It was just one word.

Careful

Had this guy seen the text warning her to stop looking? She drew in a sharp breath. There was no way he would know why she needed to be careful. Would he?

She studied him, taking in his hair that was longer than regulation and the fact he had beard growth that was longer than two days. No way he was military. Besides, who would have found out what she knew? Her sister was just being cautious and wanted her to stay safe.

The door to the store opened, and a man in a suit stepped in. Her gaze flitted over suit guy, and panic set in. Was he wearing an earpiece? She couldn’t tell. He was clean-cut and had a look about him that told her he was from one of the government’s alphabet agencies. Was the FBI or CIA or military intelligence already after her?

“Hey, are you okay?” the man she’d run into asked.

Her gaze flashed to him, and she studied the dude with the pretty blue eyes. Could he be a plant to trap her? She was being way too paranoid. There was no way anyone knew the information she’d found at her last posting, which was confirmed by chance here in San Diego. He reached out and squeezed her shoulder. His touch sent a wave of goodness through her. Again, she was struck by how good this man made her feel.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

She shook her head, trying to dislodge the fear. She hadn’t seen a ghost, but a spook who could be after her. She stepped to the side, moving so the man in the suit couldn’t see her. “I’m fine.”

His lips thinned, and his eyes narrowed. “Bullshit.” He glanced around, and his gaze settled on the supposed spook who’d just stepped in. “Let’s go out the side door. I’m Harry, by the way.”

“Rory,” she said, deciding that trusting this man was better than potentially passing by the possible agent who would arrest her if he knew who she was and what she knew. Then, she would never see freedom again. Not because she’d done anything wrong, but knowing what she did about who she did would put her in a very difficult position.

Once outside, she glanced back, seeing suit guy hadn’t followed. Relief filled her. Maybe suit dude had nothing to do with what she’d found, but she couldn’t chance it. She was about to walk away from Harry when his hand on her shoulder squeezed again. Warmth spread through her, and she glanced up into his way too beautiful blue eyes.

“Want to grab something to eat?”

The way he looked at her should have made her worry, but a wave of calm filled her. If she were smart, she would make up an excuse and walk away. But Harry wasn’t the clean-cut military or federal investigator type. She worked with enough government employees to pick them out of a crowd, and this guy screamed regular guy. Her gut told her this man was good, but could she trust her gut? She’d thought people in positions of authority were respectable, but she’d recently learned otherwise. Of course, she couldn’t prove anything yet without harming herself and potentially harming Lucia. She’d seen enough information and couldn’t forget what she’d read.

“Just food. We don’t even have to go far. We can walk over to the row of restaurants over there and grab something to eat. I’m hungry. What about you?”

Rory blew out a breath, then nodded. “Sure.” She glanced back, seeing the man in the suit talking to a blonde woman. Maybe the guy was just meeting his wife or girlfriend and wasn’t here to take her in. Coincidences happen. Right?

That she’d seen this guy who looked like an agent right after she’d discovered more information about the possible human trafficking ring run by someone in the government wasn’t connected in any way. She was being paranoid. No one knew what she’d seen. She didn’t need to act like a fool and do something stupid.

“Burgers or pizza?” Rory asked.

“How about Asian food? The noodle place over there is good.”

---