A Breath Away

She was surprised to realize her throat was dry, and her face was warm where he’d touched her. “How do you know I put in twelve years?”

“I know a lot about you, Jade Katherine Broussard.”

His silver eyes turned to the color of smoke, and the heat emanating from his body slid around her like a cashmere wrap. There had been times in her life when her spirit had been so cold and lonely she’d have given anything for that sensation.

But she’d found strength and purpose in her work. She had loyal friends and colleagues and didn’t need anyone to hold her hand when she ran into trouble.

There were times, though, when she longed for something more. For a relationship like the one her parents had shared. For someone who both understood and challenged her. For white-hot passion that overwhelmed her, burning down the walls she’d so carefully built.

“You’re very beautiful,” he said, leaning toward her.

She blinked. What had she been thinking? Had she actually been daydreaming in the middle of an interrogation? The man was a client, an admitted thief and probably a master manipulator.

She ignored his compliment—which was no doubt empty, anyway. “When did you last talk to Hillman?”

“I called him last night.”

The chief guy took his call? Another oddity in an already strange case. “You didn’t detour to Washington on your way to Puerto Rico?”

“No.”

She planted her boots on the floor and sat forward, her forearms resting on her thighs. “You talked to him? Not his assistant?”

“Yes.”

“Yet you said you were pretty much between cases. Just doing a little research. If you’re consulting with the top man, you’re doing a great deal more than that.”

He said nothing for several moments, then he smiled. “Perhaps I am.”

“That’s it?” She stayed in her seat and held her temper by the barest margin. “Look, I’ve had about enough of your evasive answers. And your mysterious past doesn’t intrigue me, it annoys me. If we’re going to make this…”

“Relationship?”

“…unconventional partnership work, you’ve got to trust me.”

Still smiling, he shook his head. “Isn’t gonna happen.”

He trusted no one. She understood, since she felt exactly the same way.

“But—just so you know—there isn’t a big case or mystery,” he added. “I always work directly with Hillman. That was part of my agreement when I signed on with the NSA.”

She got over her irritation long enough to be impressed. “Convenient.”

He shrugged. “Mostly it was a power thing.” Grinning, he added, “I like having it all on my side.”

The guy wasn’t just slippery good, he was amazing good. He charmed and disarmed, even as he stole your wallet. He worked for the government and still made a profit. “I imagine you do.”

She stood to pace, as she often did when she was thinking. But tonight she did so because she couldn’t think. He was distracting. His smile, his sleek good looks, his craftiness, even his evasiveness. She’d lied when she’d said his mysterious past didn’t intrigue her.

In truth, she wanted to know more. She wanted to know all. And more than the professional details. Her body wanted intimate details.

But her job required her to set aside her curiosity and pretend her senses weren’t completely overwhelmed by the temptation he presented. “Why don’t you want Hillman to know the shooting is part of your past?”

“I don’t trust him to keep his word and leave my past in the grave where I buried it.”

She didn’t trust Hillman, either, so her opinion of her client rose a bit. She also respected his intentions to move ahead, away from the criminal life he’d led.

But she knew she had to hold her sympathy in check. She was intrigued by him, her body wanted him, but she wasn’t sure she really liked him.

She’d solve his case, take his money and protect her cousin. As long as she kept those distinct objectives in mind, they’d all come out just fine.

“But I’d think you and Hillman would be buddies,” she said, not trying to hide her sarcasm. “Of the same mind and all. You’re the poster boy for trying any means necessary to get the bigger, badder criminal of the moment, after all.”

“Yes, I imagine that’s his philosophy. I guess you don’t agree.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at him. “You guess correctly.”

“You don’t think the government should make deals with the other side?”

Well aware he was asking her if she agreed with Hillman’s decision to offer a deal to him in particular, she refused to soften her stance. “No, I don’t.”

“Leopards don’t change their spots.”

“Not in my experience.”

He simply nodded.

During her NSA career, she’d been appalled by some of the arrangements made with midlevel criminals in order to bring down their bosses. The idea that justice was negotiated in a boardroom, and that any wrongdoing could be wiped out by ratting out somebody else, was abhorrent to her.

Tremaine had benefited from such an agreement, which she’d always resented. What had precipitated his change of sides? And why had he taken the government’s deal in the first place?

To save his own hide, most likely, though he did nothing now to defend himself. What was up with him? And why did she have to be so damn interested in digging beneath the surface?

“So, that’s the present—at least professionally. But we haven’t talked about the personal present. Friends and lovers.” She watched his expression, hoping he’d squirm. “Anybody there have it in for you?”

“Like if I slept with my best friend’s wife?”

Given his lothario reputation, she certainly wouldn’t be surprised, but somehow she didn’t see the man before her putting himself in that position. He’d be selective about his bed partners, and he’d consider all the options and consequences before taking that step.

What else about him had been exaggerated?

“Yeah, like that,” she said finally.

“I don’t have a best friend, so no.”

Her pulse jumped. How did he manage to get to her that way? She cleared her throat. “So now that we’ve covered the present, it’s time for the past.”

She could have sworn she saw him flinch, but he recovered quickly.