Page 44 of Falling Fast

Then he shut off the laptop. Not simply closed the case. Powered it off with the touch of a single button.

“Nothing,” she lied, then another wave of dizziness hit her. Stronger than the others. She blinked, put a hand on the desk to steady herself.

“Dizzy?” he asked.

Her gaze shot to his. His expression hadn’t changed, his tone wasn’t overt, but she heard the menace behind the words.

And then her gaze landed on the beer glass and she understood.

He’d drugged her. Fucking drugged her. But how?

She straightened, shot him what she hoped was a cocky smile, refusing to let him know the drug was affecting her. Stupid. She’d been so stupid to accept the beer… “No. Just not used to wearing heels. But I do need to use the bathroom. Where’s the closest one?”

The calm mask slipped, as though the sudden change in script had thrown him. She thought his jaw tightened slightly. “Down the hall. I’ll take you.”

No you won’t.“I’m fine. Be right back.”

She didn’t dare try to retrieve the transmitter. It had either worked or it hadn’t, and touching it now was too risky. She had to cut her losses, get the hell away from Baker and find Jamie so he could get them out of here.

As she walked out the the door, she reached her left hand up and squeezed her earring, hoping Jamie was close enough to receive the signal. With whatever drug Baker had given her already circulating through her bloodstream, Jamie was her only hope of getting out of here now.

Chapter Eleven

For a moment, Dean considered going after her, then stopped himself. She’d be almost to the stairs right now and if he went after her a guest might see and wonder what was going on.

She wouldn’t get far anyway, not with his men around. And besides, she truly hadn’t looked well. Pale, eyes glassy, swallowing as though she felt nauseated.

He forced himself to take a slow, calming breath, his mind whirling, rebelling against the terrible suspicion growing in his gut. The drug he’d had the bartender slip into her beer had been mild. He’d only given her a small dose intended to relax her, lower her inhibitions enough for him to make her compliant since she so obviously hadn’t been ready to come to him willingly.

Unfortunately she’d only taken a few sips, not enough to make her helpless, and something about her behavior just now had set off a warning buzz in his brain that was getting louder by the second.

Moving quickly, he turned his laptop back on and reached for the clutch purse on the desk. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but he’d long ago learned not to ignore his instinct.

He really wanted to be wrong about this. Because if he wasn’t…

His lips tightened, but he forced away the regret that assaulted him when he thought of what would happen to Charlie if she’d deceived him. He didn’t want her to die.

His hand was unsteady as he took out the lip-gloss. His heart rate picked up when he started a fast-forward of the security footage of the last several minutes, taken from the hidden camera across the room. He’d been checking the feed from the hallway when she’d taken it out, to see if James had come down, to gauge how much time he had for the drug to take effect. It was the sole reason he’d taken the laptop out of the safe.

Then he saw what he’d feared and hit pause, dread coiling in his gut as he stared at the image frozen on the screen. He’d been so intent on his plan, so focused on using that sweet, ripe body, he’d missed the expression on her face and the change in her body posture when his back had been to her while he accessed the safe.

Fixated. Far too interested in what he was doing, even with the drug in her system.

He switched his attention back to the lip-gloss, his heart thudding harder. He fiddled with the tube, searching for anything suspicious. It looked ordinary enough.

Anger and suspicion swirled in his brain as he took apart the tube, the sound of his elevated breathing harsh in the quiet room. She’d made a point of putting some on each time he was near a computer. And at his office the other day she’d set it beside her on the desk as she’d worked. What was she using it for? Recording their conversations? For whom?

With a soft grunt, he managed to pull the tube apart. Shock froze him for a moment as the bottom fell off and clattered onto the surface of his desk…

Exposing what looked like an electronic component wrapped up in a simple rubber band.

His heart lurched in a sickening roll.No.

Grabbing it, he ripped off the rubber band, a new fear wrapping its ominous tentacles around his chest. She’d duped him. Deceived him this entire time despite that he’d done a background check on her and believed her story while she’d secretly been plotting to steal from him.

His files. She’d been after his files, and he’d been too blind, had dismissed her as nonthreatening. And for her to have a clean background after the amount of digging he’d done, it had to mean she was working for a competitor.

Or a government organization.

---