Page 15 of Falling Fast

Jamie stood there looking all rugged and sexy. Even though she’d prepared herself, he still made her heart beat faster. The fiercely independent part of her still rankled at the idea of him expecting her to capitulate to his terms if she wanted to pursue things between them. Given their current situation, she couldn’t avoid him. Ignoring the attraction wasn’t working, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to agree to his ridiculous terms either.

I play for keeps.Really? Well, he didn’t get to call the shots on that. No man dictated to her how she ran her life.

“Hey,” she murmured, stepping back to let him in. She’d done her best to overlook her attraction to him, but it was impossible to do it convincingly when he was living literally next door. Every time she heard the old building’s pipes groan in the wall between their apartments she imagined him standing naked under the shower spray, water sluicing down that hard male body.

His dark-honey gaze warmed as he smiled a little, softening the rugged masculinity of his face. “Hey.” He walked in, his big frame making the cozy space feel so much smaller with his restless, commanding energy. “Good meeting?” he asked, nodding at Liz.

“Great,” Charlie answered. “Just hope I can do the real Spider justice.”

“Honey, trust me, I’m already flattered. The real Spider never looked so sexy, even back when I was in my twenties.” She tipped her head slightly, gave Jamie an appreciative look before winking at Charlie.

If he noticed, Jamie didn’t let on. He turned to face Charlie, hands on hips, the afternoon sunlight gilding his broad shoulders and highlighting the sculpted muscles in his arms and chest under his T-shirt. It wasn’t fair that he was being so damn stubborn about them, even if she wouldn’t start something while they were on this job together.

Did he ever think about her? Fantasize about her when he lay alone in bed, or in the shower, with only mere inches of plaster and drywall separating them? She wanted him to be suffering too.

“Just got word from the team,” he said to her. “Baker took the bait. Our informant contacted Spider on his behalf. He’s called you in.”

Charlie’s pulse sped up and she looked over at Liz. “What’s your usual procedure for contacting someone in a situation like this?”

Liz shrugged. “Burner phone while I’m out doing errands. I’ve never made an in-person service call of course, usually I either work remotely or walk a client through it over the phone.” She raised her tea mug in salute. “You’ll do great.”

Hope so.A lot’s riding on this.She nodded at Jamie. “I’ll go get a phone.” The agency had given them several disposable, encrypted phones so that their calls couldn’t be traced back to them.

She alerted the team that she was about to make a call, then slowed her breathing as she dialed the number she’d been given. Probably not Baker. Someone who worked for him, maybe. The team would be trying to trace the guy’s phone, but likely wouldn’t be able to find him if he was using an encrypted phone.

“I heard you were looking for me?” she asked when the man answered.

“Spider?”

“Depends.”

“I’m calling on behalf of a prospective client,” he said.

“Why didn’t he or she contact me personally?”

A derisive sound. “You’re not the only one who wants to protect their identity.”

She paused, making sure to proceed with the caution appropriate for someone with Spider’s reputation. “I’m listening. What’s the problem?”

He told her about the virus, and that no one could figure out how to fix it. “So my client’s hoping you can help. His office is right here in Manhattan. You interested?”

“Maybe. But I don’t usually make house calls. It’ll cost you.” She glanced at Jamie, who was over at the table with Liz, both of them watching her with their chins propped in one hand.

“I understand. My client’s prepared to make it worth your while.”

“How much?”

“Ten thousand for coming out to look at it. Another twenty if you can fix it.”

Thirty k for getting rid of a virus. Baker really was desperate. “Oh, I can fix it.” The real Spider had just told her exactly how to. “If I agree to do this, your client needs to understand that my identity must be kept a secret. Because if he tries to expose me, he’ll regret it.”

“Of course. Believe me, we have as much interest in exposing you as we do of being exposed ourselves.”

Because they were afraid she’d be able to hack into Baker’s computer and find something to incriminate him with, then go public with it before they could stop her.

“Good.” She paused another moment, letting him think she was mulling over his offer, when in fact it was already a foregone conclusion. “Okay, I’ll do it. Tomorrow morning, six o’clock. Before anyone else arrives. I’ll need the address.”

Jamie was still watching her when she ended the call a moment later. “Well?” he asked, leaning back in the chair, that magnetic amber gaze making her lower belly flip.

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