Page 21 of Falling Fast

She headed straight through to her bathroom and took two pain relievers before rummaging in her fridge for something to eat. Nothing looked the least bit appetizing, so she shut it again and headed to the bedroom instead. Her mind kept wandering back to this morning as she rummaged through the clothes she’d brought, searching for her loungewear and robe.

Everything had gone better than expected so far. Baker was definitely interested in her—well, the version of Spider he’d met today— and she’d gained at least a measure of his trust today by getting rid of the virus for him.

The man was gross, totally skeevy, but she’d have to see him again. And again, until she could get access to his laptop without him being suspicious.

The thought exhausted her even more. At the meeting the team had decided she should meet him for dinner tomorrow night with Jamie at a restaurant as planned, and see how things went. As of right now, she and Jamie were basically on their own, no more meets with the team to protect the undercover op in case Baker had people watching her or Jamie. Unless there was an emergency.

The tricky part was going to be figuring out a way to get Baker to invite her to his place in Sagaponack, so she could try and take a crack at that laptop.

For now the plan was for her to keep pulling on the weapons collection thread. They’d brainstormed several ideas at the meeting. The transmitter appeared to have worked well enough, at least from initial analysis, but it had only been able to send a small amount of files to the team while Charlie had been working.

Taylor was going over the data now to see if she could find anything of use for the case. No one was holding their breath on that count, however. Baker wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave files on his criminal activity on his work server. Charlie still had to find a way to access his laptop.

Right now, she didn’t even want to think about that.

The peace and quiet after such a long, stressful day was bliss. She took a hot shower, changed into her fuzzy jammies and robe, and flopped on the couch to watch some TV, thinking about what to order in for dinner.

A knock at the door a few minutes later made her groan. She got up and went to answer it, her heart skipping a beat when she saw one of Jamie’s eyes peering back at her through the peephole. Laughing, she unlocked the door and pulled it open.

“I come bearing pizza and your favorite beer,” he said, holding both up.

The rich smell of the tomato sauce coming from the cardboard box made her stomach growl and her mouth water. She could also use some company right now. “I can’t resist that offer. Come on in.”

He eyed her outfit as he stepped inside. “Ready for bed already? It’s not even eight o’clock.”

“Been a long day, so I made myself cozy.” Thankfully the headache was beginning to ease up.

“Yeah, I know it was.”

She grabbed plates and napkins from the kitchen then led the way over to the couch, took a seat on one end of it while he took the other. “How did you know this is my favorite beer, anyway?” she asked in suspicion, twisting it open. It wasn’t a common brand.

“I remember you drinking it at your dad’s place. Spotted some in the cooler when I was down at the liquor store on the corner and thought I’d grab it.”

Shouldn’t have surprised her that he’d remembered details like that. The man had serious training and didn’t miss much. “Well thanks.” His thoughtfulness touched her.

“You’re welcome. You earned it. Great job today.”

His praise sent a rush of warmth through her.

The building had been under surveillance by the team while they’d been gone, and no one had breached either apartment, so she was safe to break character here. “Thanks. Just glad everything went smoothly, and that I didn’t blow our covers.” She took a sip of beer, sighed as the cold, bitter brew slid down her throat. “Oh, man, that’s good.”

“So what did you think of him?” Jamie asked, helping himself to a slice of pizza.

She wrinkled her nose. “He’s…slimy.” She’d barely kept from smacking his hand away when he’d put it on the small of her back this morning.

“Yep. Asshole kept stripping you with his eyes the entire time you were working,” he muttered, sounding none too happy about it.

“Ick. Can we talk about something else?”

“Sure. How’s your dad doing?” He reached for a second slice.

The question surprised her. “Pretty well, all things considered.” He’d suffered a debilitating stroke a few years back. His speech was slurred and one side of his body was weak but his mind was still razor sharp. “It’s been harder on him since Wyatt moved in with Austen.” Her eldest brother and his fiancée had renovated an old Victorian house together and were now living in it.

Jamie nodded. “Easton said that too.”

He and Easton were close. Much closer than she’d realized until this op. She’d watched them together during meetings and team meals over the past few days, the way they talked and laughed together. Totally at ease with one another, like brothers.

“I’ve been going back at least every other weekend to visit him. I’ll do a big grocery shop for him, freeze some meals and run errands, give the house a good scrubbing since he’s too stubborn and cheap to hire a cleaning service. My brothers help out when they can, and my future sisters-in-law have been awesome too. Even Trinity.” She glanced at him. “Have you met her yet?”

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