Page 8 of Beckoning Liam

"Not directly. We can't risk the exposure, but..."

"I don’t care about the exposure," she interjected as he moved closer.

His proximity was like a magnetic field, pulling her into an orbit she wasn't sure she wanted to escape. "We need to know if she's compromised without compromising your safety."

"I understand that, but Rovena is my friend. She isn’t necessarily going to trust anyone else," Becks replied, her pulse quickening under the weight of his stare.

His hand reached out, brushing against hers with a touch that was both protective and possessive. The contact ignited aflame that Becks fought to contain, knowing it could consume them both if unleashed at the wrong moment. But it was there, the unspoken offer of restraint and release if she needed it. The man was an experienced Dom as well as an operative and apparently, he could read her like a book.

"Keep working on the message," Liam said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I'll see if we can’t get a message to her within the security protocols for keeping you safe."

"Don’t you just have some kind of secure phone?" she asked, her focus returning to the enigma on the screen. But even as she deciphered the dark omens woven into the text, part of her remained worried about her friend and acutely conscious of the man who stood watching over her—a man whose complexities were as captivating as the riddles she sought to solve.

“Give it time, Becks. We can pick this up tomorrow.”

“Rovena?”

“I’ll get word to Cerberus. Go to bed.”

“But…”

“Bed, Becks.”

She closed down her system and headed into the bedroom. When she started to close the door, he shook his head. “Leave it open.”

Stubbornly, she closed it and started to pull off her clothes.

The door opened, and Liam stuck his head inside. “Open.”

The next day, Becks paced the length of the main room, her strides measured and deliberate, a stark contrast to the turmoil swirling inside her. The safe house, perched on the rugged coast, was like a tiny fortress. She imagined it could easily withstand anassault. Strong as it was, though, it couldn't shield her from the urgency gnawing at her conscience.

"I’ve thought about this all night, Liam,” she asserted, turning sharply to face him. “I don’t care about your protocol; Rovena is in serious danger. Whoever attacked us at my office could be after Rovena as well. If these people are terrorists, they won’t think twice about killing her."

Liam leaned against the cold stone wall, arms folded over his chest, his eyes hard as the sea during a storm. "And what do you propose? I got a message to Cerberus that she’s in danger.”

Becks shook her head. “If Rovena is spooked or has any idea she’s in danger, she isn’t going to listen to anyone she doesn’t know. From her standpoint, the terrorists could tell her the same thing.”

“We can’t just broadcast our position. We'd be sitting ducks, Becks."

"Better than being cowardly lions," she retorted, the fire in her eyes reflecting her resolve. "I won't sit here while she...”

"Your heart's in the right place," he interjected, stepping closer, his presence overwhelming. "But your head is clouded by emotion."

"Emotion?" Becks' voice rose, a crackle of anger lacing her words. "This isn't about emotion; it's about doing what's right." Her frustration and unspoken desire seemed to be simmering just beneath the surface. Liam's gaze dropped to her lips for a fleeting moment before meeting her eyes again—was he feeling the same way?

"Doing what's right can get you killed in this game," he said, his voice a low growl that seemed, nonetheless, to caress her skin. "We need to be smart about this."

"Then help me be smart, not paralyzed by fear," she pleaded. “I can’t just do nothing. If something happened to her, I’d never forgive myself.”

Before Liam could say anything else, Becks’ laptop chirped, indicating a message. They both turned to face the screen.

Liam moved between her and the computer, inserting a flash drive to download the message through the secure network it contained. “Anyone seeing Rovena’s message won’t be able to trace it to us.”

"It’s Rovena," she confirmed, taking his place at the computer. "She's sent a coded message. It's layered, complex… it’s going to take me a little time…"

"Let me see." Liam brushed past Becks, his shoulder grazing hers, sending a surge of arousal through them both.

Becks scanned the message and grinned, her mind translating symbols and patterns with innate skill.

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