Page 5 of Ignite: Tony's Story
His eyes widen at my admission. People rarely expect outright honesty. But I’m a “lay it all on the table” kind of gal. Especially as this is so important to me, I don’t want there to be any questions as to what I’m proposing.
“But there’s more to it than that. I have some evidence− not enough, honestly, but some, that Adley is using this company to engage in some highly illegal and shady shit.”
“Like what?” He’s still being obtuse, but I can see the interest in his eyes.
“For starters, purposefully skewing lab results to fit their pharmaceutical research goals. Political bribery. Animal testing.”
He looks down at me, and I do mean down, he’s nearly a foot taller than I am. “What are you leaving out?” He asks, his skeptical tone matching his expression.
I return his look with a steely gaze of my own. “I have a personal interest in seeing BioCere, Inc. burn to the ground. They’re responsible for the deaths of my parents.”
The look he gives me is full of pity, but also incredulity. He probably thinks I’m just some overly emotional woman with a death wish. But I also have something he needs.
Pulling a thumb drive out of my pocket, I hand it out to him. “The rest of Adley’s financials are there. And there’s more information coming. I just need your help to decrypt it. It’ll take me forever otherwise.”
“You’re so sure I’ll say yes?”
Facing him full on, spine straight and chin lifted, I look right into his eyes. “Tell me you’re not curious or excited about any of this.” The words come out differently than I intended, and once again I find myself blatantly flirting with this man. Which, I mean, who could help it? He’s six feet of delicious, with toned arms, deep brown eyes, and an ass that is made for those jeans he’s wearing. I may or may not have admired it once or twice as we were walking. I’m no better than a man.
It’s hard to remain professional when every time I look at him, I think of raking my hands through his blonde hair and what it would be like to feel the chafe of his short beard against my skin.
His serious gaze makes my mouth dry. Eyes darkening, he zeros in on my mouth as I lick my lips, desperate for any sort of moisture.
Distant shouting near the shore breaks, and I remember just how awkward things are about to get.
“Yo! Mighty Mouse! How have you been, sweetheart?”
Quinn, the man we’re here to meet, throws one arm around me, the other holding a sandy surfboard. His wetsuit hangs open, low around his waist. I struggle not to eyeball his perfectly defined abs. I am definitely not imagining how salty they would taste.
Jesus, Mara, since when are you this thirsty?
Despite the talent before me, I’m having second thoughts about my team here. I knew there would be some attraction to Quinn. He and I have a bit of a past. But I didn’t expect Tony to be so freaking hot and now I’m standing between these two beautiful giants, second-guessing the purpose of being here.
But no, nothing is more important than the goal. Take Adley out, burn BioCere to the ground.
“Hey Quinn,” I beam up at him, honestly glad to see him. Aside from being sexy as hell, Quinn is genuinely a good person. I feel guilty for avoiding him outside of professional matters. There just isn’t room for distractions when you’ve had the same goal for over a decade.
If Quinn is upset about or even remembers the time we almost dated, he doesn’t show it. Instead, he shakes the salty ocean water off his short curls. They sprinkle over me like rain, making me shriek.
I stop giggling when I notice Tony gaping at us.
“Mighty Mouse?Are youserious?”
Quinn cuts his gaze over to Tony and then back to me as if he didn’t notice the tall blonde. “Who’s this dude?”
Clearing my throat, I get to the introductions. “Quinn, this is Tony. He’s a cyber security specialist that dabbles in some other types of programming. Tony, this is Quinn. He runs the information center at the city library.”
Tony raises an eyebrow.
“I forge documents.”
“Quinn!”
“What? If you brought him here to see me, I assume my services are needed, so there’s no need to beat around the bush. Unless he’s a cop.” He stops and looks Tony up and down, clearly appreciating the view. “You don’t look like a cop.”
“I’m not a cop,” Tony deadpans, not taking his eyes off me. “Are you seriously the Mighty Mouse? As in M!ghTyM0u$e919, one of the founding members of HackWeb?”
“That’s me,” I say with a shrug.
