Page 13 of Deadly Designs

“Will do. Thanks, guys.”

From what Christian had learned of Luke and Loganduring his time with COBRA Securities, they were beyond fair andimmensely understanding. He respected the hell out of both andcounted himself lucky to work for them. The meeting was a quickone, with them giving him the go-ahead to find out what washappening and to use company resources as needed. That, he hadn’texpected. Their generosity blew his mind.

Christian stopped by BeBe Hale’s office to ask if shecould arrange a flight and then hit the supply department, headedby BeBe’s husband, Tank. Christian gathered all the equipment hemight need. Due to flight restrictions, most would have to bepacked into a suitcase he would have to check instead of carryingon.

It had been just over five hours since Aja Bluecalled when Christian slid behind the wheel of the rental SUV BeBehad secured for him. He dialed Aja Blue’s number.

“Christian?”

“Yeah. Did I wake you?”

“Oh, uh, no. I was simply resting my eyes.”

Christian chuckled. A fancy way of saying yes, he hadwoken her up. “Give me the address of your assistant’s apartment,and I’ll be there shortly.”

“There’s been a change of plans.”

“Oh?”

“I can’t get in touch with him. I’m staying at ahotel. Oh, and there was another incident. I’ll tell you about itwhen you get here.”

Aja Blue rattled off the name of the hotel and roomnumber. Christian would wait to do anything until he heard aboutwhat happened earlier, but they wouldn’t stay there. Whoever wasfollowing her might be able to track her. Before he started thevehicle, he sent BeBe a text.

Traffic was heavy as Christian drove from the airportin Norfolk to the resort in Virginia Beach where Aja Blue wasstaying. He bypassed the valet and parked in the lot adjacent tothe hotel. Taking his luggage to the room made no sense since theywould bunk elsewhere for the night.

Aja Blue was on the twentieth floor, so he steppedinside the elevator and pushed the button. When the doors opened,he turned to the right and found her room. She whipped the dooropen on the second knock and slammed a baseball bat into hisgut.

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Christian ran his big hands down her sides, causinggoosebumps to erupt along the flight path. Aja Blue shimmiedcloser, plastering her body to his, reveling in the feeling of hissteely muscles. Her head tilted back, waiting for his lips to touchhers. She craved the firm, demanding press of his mouth. His headlowered, and her ears buzzed . . . no,wait.

Aja Blue gasped and shot up from the bed. She’dfallen asleep! One glance showed that her new dress was a wrinkledmess, and her hair was undoubtedly a wild, tangled rat’s nest.Christain’s name popped on her phone screen. She slid the buttonand answered the call. When he asked if he’d woken her, shelied—she had no idea why. It wasn’t a sin to fall asleep.

He was on the way, so she scrambled to the bathroomto freshen up. A comb tamed her hair into submission, and a swipeof lip gloss added color to her face. There was nothing she coulddo about the bags, so she ignored them.

Butterflies took flight in her tummy, and she placeda hand over her stomach. Why was she so nervous? He was just a man.Granted, she’d never met one more gorgeous or sexy than him. Still,she should be able to control her hormones.

When she found herself pacing restlessly, she droppedto the bed and picked up the remote to flip through the channels.Her scattered brain wouldn’t let her concentrate, so she picked anold rerun that required little to no focus. When a knock sounded,she practically leaped off the bed and hurried to the door to whipit open.

There was no way she had remembered him correctly. Hecouldn’t be as tall as her memory provided. As muscular. Handsome.But she’d been right. He was so much more in every way. Aja Bluefelt her head spin and her heart race. How could one man affect herso much?

They stood staring at each other. She wasn’t sure shewas breathing. Him, either. The ding of the elevator jarred themout of a trance.

“Thank you for coming.” Was that her voice, all huskyand deep?

“What . . . oh, right.” He shook his beautiful blondhead and stepped inside the room.

Aja Blue’s heart, already racing, took off in acheetah-like gallop. Though the suite was roomy, it seemed toosmall with him inside. The king-sized bed with the fluffy pillowsbeckoned her. She wanted to roll around on the mattress withhim.

“Aja Blue?”

“Hum?”

“I asked what happened today.”

“I don’t know. What?”

“You said something about an incident.”

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