Page 5 of Tempting Tessa

“Flynn fully understands the emergency this creates. He’s already got the heads of Homeland, the Justice Department, and the Feds working to ensure those computers are confiscated and the bases secured.”

“It’s not enough,” he growled. “Even if they deter the e-bombs, they won’t bring down the network. Those involved have probably already gone to ground. They’ll begin eliminating anyone who can identify them. I have to flush them out. Now. Or everything Jessie did—her death—will have been in vain.”

Her expression didn’t soften, but guilt and sympathy flashed in her eyes. “You’re good, Tommy, but you’re not a trained undercover operative. You need help.”

It was a gift—his ability to sense when someone was crumbling. “Help me, Tessa. You owe her that much.”

She glared at him, then looked away, jaw set. “Don’t you dare.”

“We both made promises to our country and to her. Ones we didn’t keep.”

“You don’t get to use her to manipulate me.”

Frustration boiled over, and he stood, nearly toppling the stool. “I’m reminding you of what’s at stake. Jessie gave her life to bring down this organization. The work is left undone. It’s up to me—and you—to see it through. If she were here, she’d ask you to do it.”

“She’snothere.” Her voice cut like a blade. She dropped her head into her hands, her voice lowering. “If you keep charging into every fight like this, you won’t be either.”

The kitchen was silent for a moment, except for their breathing.

He’d thought she was crumbling. That she would give in. Stupid of him. He headed for the bedroom to pack. “I’ll be out of your hair in a minute.”

His frustration continued to boil until his head felt like it would explode. Jamming the few clothes he had into his backpack, he checked his weapon and stuck it into the waistband of his pants. He was out of money, had nowhere to go in Ilford, and his side hurt like a son of a bitch.

But his own words rang in his ears. If Jessie were here, she would keep going until she uncovered every last bastard who was part of the plot. She wouldn’t wait for the Agency, the Department of Defense, Homeland, the FBI, or anyone else to do what needed to be done. She would do it.

“What exactly do you need from me?”

He whirled to see Tessa standing on the threshold. Her shoulders were tight, her mouth, too.

Relief flooded him, but he kept his tone even. “I need you to help me retrace Jessie’s steps. I don’t have the contacts to navigate London and Ilford. You do.”

She kept her feet braced and crossed her arms. The movement boosted her breasts. “If I do this, it doesn’t mean I’m returning to the CIA or avoiding them. I will not betray them or my country. I’m not letting you drag me into your personal vendetta, but I realize the enormity of the situation. If I can do something to prevent it from happening, then I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t do it.”

“If you have to tell Meg the truth, I understand. But doing so could compromise my mission.”

“You leave Meg to me. There’s always a way to work with the swans without compromising anything, and I’ll take care of that. Ilford and the technology company are probably a dead end. You know that, right?”

“Do you have a better idea?”

She marched across the room to her closet and grabbed a go-bag. “In fact, I do. We do this my way. No improvising and no lone-wolf stunts. Understand?”

Was it possible he wasn’t alone in this fight for the first time since Jessie’s death? “For now.”

She smirked at him, rolling her eyes, and he trailed after her as she returned to the kitchen, retrieving her gun. “Don’t make me shoot you, Tommy.”

He grinned. Not teasing her was too hard. “No promises on that.”

Three

Tessa pulled the hood of her jacket tighter against the misty drizzle as she led Tommy down the shadowed alley. The uneven cobblestones, slick with rain, demanded her attention, and she’d already twisted her ankle once but didn’t slow her pace.

Behind her, his footsteps thudded louder than necessary. He was angry, and his frustration reverberated off the walls. “Skipping Ilford is a mistake,” he muttered. “That’s where Jessie started. We shouldn’t bypass it.”

Men. They were always so…annoying. “We’re not skipping it,” she replied over her shoulder. “We’re re-prioritizing. The computer lab in Arizona is the key. It’s the bigger breadcrumb, so that’s our end goal, just like it seems to have been for her. If we have time and means, we can check into Ilford on our way through London.”

Tommy brushed past her to block her path. She stopped just short of colliding with him. He had his hood up, too, but the mist had collected on his unruly beard. Above it, his sharp cheekbones emphasized his blue eyes as they bore into hers. “How exactly do you plan on getting me into the States? The CIA has my passport flagged. The second I use it, I’ll light up Del’s warning system like a damn Christmas tree.”

Surely, he had put two and two together already. “That’s why we’re getting you a new one.” She stepped around him and continued marching down the alley.

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