Page 63 of Covert Temptation

“Okay, whiteboard. A big one.”

He nodded. “And anything else you can think of to help us.” He took his government card out of his wallet and slid it across the desk to her.

She gave him the side-eye. “I thought you said there’s a budget on the government card.”

His lips twitched. “I thoughtyousaid there isn’t.”

She laughed, the sound carefree. If there was anything Kennedy was good at, it was shopping.

After pulling up a shopping site with everything they could possibly need, she began adding items to the cart. Thewhiteboard, of course, and some dry erase markers. She also added more poster boards, just in case.

She turned her head, staring into space as she racked her brain for a list of supplies. Then her gaze fell over the empty spot where the coffee table had been.

They would need a coffee table to hold their drinks and plates when they worked late into the night. It was necessary to the op.

She found a simple table that matched the room décor and added it to the cart.

What else would they need? What would give her and Dante the best chance of success?

There must be a way to prove she was trustworthy. Dante had showed her trust when he went for a run and left her alone. But she wanted to help him prove it to everyone else who still suspected her.

She considered what other people under house arrest used, quickly discarding all thoughts of shackles or handcuffs.

Then it hit her. An AirTag, a coin-sized device used to track personal items and even pets.

It was a small thing she could keep with her to prove her word was her bond. The gesture might seem small and silly, but she wanted to show Dante just how trustworthy she was, because she cared what he thought about her. She cared a lot.

And just maybe they could find out how the damn spyware got on her phone.

Then they could figure out where Sheen came into the picture.

After a few final additions to the shopping cart, she placed the order and turned to Dante.

“Everything will be delivered today to a pickup point.”

He gave her his attention. Those deep, dark eyes latching onto hers. “That’s fast.”

She nodded. “I thought it would take longer too, but I guess there’s a warehouse a short distance from here.”

“Well, that’s good for us then.”

She thought of her last addition to the order, something that would bring Dante running to her bed with just a little flash of thigh.

Yes, it would beverygood for them.

TWELVE

The chemical scent of markers filled the air. So did a faint squeak as Kennedy drew a timeline of events on three poster boards she’d taped together and laid out on the small kitchen table.

The scent and sound were all familiar to Dante, except this wasn’t a mission briefing in a war room.

It was a safe house kitchen, filled with sunlight and a woman wearing jeans that hugged her ass like they’d been tailored for her. And his commanding officers didn’t wear barely-there lip gloss that drove him crazy.

And Kennedy’s red sweater… Christ, he wanted to run his hands all over it—then throw it on the floor.

Dante turned his attention back to the board. Kennedy had laid out the groundwork of names, events and dates. Without access to a printer, they didn’t have the ability to slap photos on the board for reference. But she was extremely thorough, labeling each section with things likeMotiveandUnconfirmed Sightings.

In large, neat letters in the center of the board, she’d writtenDANIEL SHEEN.

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