Page 8 of Falling Fast

He’d pinned her to the brick wall and reduced her to a panting, mindless mass of need with nothing but that sinful mouth and his hands in her hair.

And then he’d walked away and never called her, because he’d found out who she was. Or rather, that she was Easton’s sister.

Charlie wouldn’t dare say anything about all that here though. And there had to be something more to this. Some specific reason they would want her for this assignment.

“You know each other and you worked well together during the incident at your family’s place,” her boss went on. “There’s already trust between you, and that’s critical for undercover work.”

The wordwellmight be stretching it a little. Jamie certainly hadn’t been too happy with her that night back in September. “There’s more. I know there is. So just say it. Why me?” Because there had to be a really specific and big goddamn reason for them to want her for something like this.

Her boss inclined his head, looking a bit guilty. “The things I already said still stand, but yeah, there’s more. To put it bluntly, you’re Baker’s type, exactly. In addition to your skill set, we think you’re the best shot we have at gaining access to that laptop.”

“What type is that?”

“Brunette. Young. Attractive. Girl next door look.”

It felt like a giant fist closed around her stomach and squeezed. “What exactly are you expecting me to do to get access?”

“Nothing physical,” he answered immediately. “But once you put yourself out there he’s going to make a pass at you, guaranteed. Maybe more than a pass. You need to be ready, and you need to stay close to Rodriguez.”

The thought of this Baker guy putting the moves on her made her feel dirty, but she tried not to react outwardly. If her boss thought she could handle this and needed her specifically, then she must have what it took, and he wouldn’t ask it of her if it wasn’t vital to their investigation.

Though she maintained eye contact with him, she was acutely aware of Jamie seated at the end of the table, arms folded across his wide chest. It drove her nuts because she knew damn well he wasn’t always as contained as he’d like people to think. She’d experienced glimpses of the fire that raged beneath that calm surface twice already when he’d let his control slip with her.

Her boss slid a file across the table to her. “For you to peruse later on about Baker. We’ll come up with a way to invent an introduction between you two before you meet him in person. From what we know of him, he’s a playboy with lots of cash to throw around and he loves to impress the ladies.”

Oh, awesome.

“After you meet, it’s just a matter of you making the right impression, intriguing him enough to gain access to his house, then getting close enough to that laptop in order to transfer the files. We’ll invent a solid cover for you and Rodriguez, and an airtight reason for Baker to want you there.

“After you get the files, you’ll never have to see him again, until we nail him and you testify against him in court. But you need to think this over carefully, because while Baker seems like just a rich businessman and we don’t believe he’s a real physical threat to you, he’s got power and connections, not to mention information he wants to hide. There’s still a significant level of risk involved in taking this assignment, if he finds out about you or Rodriguez.”

Charlie took a deep breath and digested everything he’d said. As an analyst, this was totally out of her scope and job description. It was also a hell of a lot more exciting than her average day sifting through encrypted files on her computer. A challenge. And God knew she could never walk away from one.

She shifted her gaze to her brother, seated next to Hamilton, wanting his input. Or at least his reassurance.

“Whenever you’re with Baker, Jamie’ll be there to make sure you’re safe.” Easton’s warm brown eyes were solemn, a hint of worry shadowing them. He trusted Jamie with his life on a daily basis, but he didn’t know about the attraction between her and his best buddy. Would that have changed his mind? “If you take this on, the agency will make sure you’re ready before you start, and then it’ll give you adequate protection in case you need a quick extraction at any point during the op.”

But Jamie would be the bulk of her protection. “And in the meantime, I’ve got to get friendly with Baker and lie to his face every time I see him, not to mention stay in character the whole time. I’m not a trained actor.” And why the hell wasn’t Jamie saying anything? Didn’t he have any objections to this? She guessed he would have spoken up long before she’d arrived if he did.

“We need someone with specific technical skills for this job, and your boss told us you’re the best in your department,” the Fed to her right said. “Not only that, you match Baker’s known type perfectly. You’re the best fit for this op considering the tight timeframe we’re working with, because there will likely be computer expertise required mid-op and we might not be able to establish direct coms with you, depending on how Baker’s house and security is set up.”

Was he trying to talk her into this, or out of it? “What will my cover be?”

“You’ll be known as Spider, a gifted hacker from the dark net. We’ve been working on a fake ID for her for some time now. That’s how we’ll make the introduction between you and Baker happen. We’ve got a team working on introducing a special virus into his business computer system. One of our informants who works with Baker will arrange for the introduction. Based on what we know about Baker, he’ll hire you to fix his problem, then, after you gain his trust, we’ll go from there.”

“Spider,” she repeated, feeling number by the minute. This was so surreal.

“You can go by Charlie or Charlotte in person, so it’ll be more natural for you. But you’ll need a different surname and a background that’s close to yours, though different enough to avoid problems later on. You and Rodriguez will pose as neighbors in the same condo building in New York City, so it won’t be too far away from Baker’s place.”

Neighbors? She barely kept her eyes from bugging out. She and Jamie, living side by side as platonic coworkers for an unknown amount of time? After she’d decided to cut him out of her life completely and forget all about him because she refused to allow him to play with her? “Why is Baker so important?”

“He’s been laundering money for a good chunk of theVenenocartel. We just haven’t been able to prove it yet.”

Oh, God. The Venom cartel. One of the most powerful and ruthless narco-organizations the world had ever seen. It was so secret that no one knew who the leader was, only that anyone who crossed him wound up dying a hideous death, along with everyone they cared about. Innocent or guilty, it didn’t matter to theVenenos.

She steeled herself. “When would the job start?”

“Now,” her boss answered bluntly. “After some intensive training to get you ready, you’ll both head to NYC in three days’ time. The meet with Baker will happen as soon as we can arrange it after that.”

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