Page 25 of Fatal Conspiracy

Whatever Cal heard in her voice must have told him there was more to the story, so he agreed to meet them in an hour in the conference room. She hung up and turned to the man still sitting beside her as he stared out the window.

“What’s funny is, last night, when those guys attacked me, the first person who came to mind was Josh Hunt. I wondered if he was behind it, but I couldn’t get there with him killing Hugo over an app. I should have thought to mention it to Cal.”

“You should have thought about all the people who mightwant your boss dead when you’ve been attacked twice and nearly taken hostage, then accused of your boss’s murder?”

“Well, when you put it that way,” he said, his lip tilting upward a little. “It has been a day.”

“I do think we should make a list of other companies that might be interested in buying Black Marlin Technologies before we meet up with them.”

“I’ve been thinking about it, but there aren’t many that have the drive or the capital to buy out Black Marlin, but I’ll keep thinking. If you’re hungry, we should get some food.”

Alayah took his hand and rubbed her thumb across his knuckles to comfort him. “That was for Cal’s benefit. I wanted to give you some time to recover from the phone call with Curtis before you had to jump into the next thing. It’s okay to take a minute to breathe in the middle of this awful situation.”

His nod told her that was exactly what he needed. It was heavy and laced with an intense sadness for what he’d lost over the last twenty-four hours. “It’s hard to find an empty slot to stick the hits that keep coming.”

“Derek, you lost someone you were close to for many years. You’re human, so it’s natural to feel a little bit lost and, in this situation, worried.”

“I am worried, but you’re the reason I’m sitting here alive, Alayah. I don’t know what I’d do without you and Secure Inc. helping me. Probably be behind bars, and going down for Hugo’s murder. It still hasn’t sunk in that he’s dead. I keep expecting him to call and update me on his day.”

“I wish with all my heart that things were different, Derek. There’s nothing I can do or say that will make this any easier, but I’ll be here for you if there’s anything you need.”

He leaned down and touched his forehead to hers. “Being here and fighting for me, even though you’re scared of whatever this spark is between us is everything. When this is over, I want to keep seeing you.”

“Derek, you don’t want to—”

He put his finger on her lips. “Don’t tell me what I want or don’t want, Alayah. Tell me what you want.”

The words stuck in her throat as she gazed up at him, his blue eyes hooded as he waited, a hairsbreadth from her lips. She had a decision to make. Offer this man a life preserver in the middle of a stormy sea or protect the wall she’d built around her heart. Intuitively, she knew she couldn’t do both. Picking him was a surefire way to a broken heart. Then she thought about how broken he already was, and she wanted to be the balm to help soothe him. Cupping his face, she brought his lips to hers.

He didn’t hesitate. His lips took over, brushing hers in a gentle, close-lipped tease of getting-to-know-you like she’d never experienced before. First kisses were usually awkward and uncomfortable, but not this one. She’d only known him mere hours, but his kiss felt like walking in the door after a long day and knowing you were home. That you were safe. The very thought drew a whimper from her, and he caressed her cheek with his thumb, as though he knew she needed to feel safe as she opened herself to him. She’d never kissed a man with such tenderness before. That was when she realized she’d never opened herself so completely to the other men she’d been with. Her heart never allowed it. With Derek, it wouldn’t let her hold back. That was terrifying beyond belief but also, oddly enough, freeing. His kiss, touch and words told her she was safe with him for however long they were together.

She broke the kiss first, reaching to trace his lips. “I’msorry. My low lung capacity makes long kisses more difficult.” While she wanted to look away in embarrassment, the honesty in his gaze wouldn’t allow it.

“Don’t apologize. I only have two words to say. Thank you,” he whispered, his thumb caressing her lower lip.

“For what?” she asked, the sensation of his skin on hers sending a skitter of desire down her spine.

“For trusting me. For offering me comfort when the very idea terrified you. For showing me that this thing I’m feeling in here,” he said, running his fist up and down his chest. “It’s real and you feel it, too. Does that scare you?”

“Strangely enough, no. For the first time in my life, you showed me the door marked Hope instead of the one marked Fear. So even if we never kiss again and you disappear from my life, what you gave me in that kiss will stay with me forever. I’ve spent so long walking in fear that I never once considered what hope might feel like. For that lesson, I’ll always be grateful.”

As though hope was all he needed, the fear in his eyes disappeared as he wrapped her in his arms. “Sweetheart, the last thing I want to do is disappear from your life, so I’m going to fight like hell to prove my innocence. I want nothing more than to keep kissing you.”

She gazed up at him, a shy smile on her lips. “Prove it.”

And he did.

Chapter Fifteen

The conference room was quiet when they walked in, other than the tapping of keys as the team searched through the footage to prove Derek and Cal were innocent of Hugo’s murder. He was struggling to bring his mind back around to clearing himself after kissing Alayah. It wasn’t just the kisses that had blown him away, though. It was the kisses followed by the twenty minutes she’d let him hold her in silence and just breathe. She’d given him twenty minutes with no phones ringing and no one demanding something of him. It was the time he needed to remember the man he’d lost as someone he loved, even if he was demanding. There was nothing truer of geniuses in general, and Hugo certainly was one. That was the reason others, including Josh Hunt, wanted to copy his every move.

The kiss had unlocked a new worry. That she would be ripped away from him now that he’d found her. When she was in his arms, he could put aside everything else and remember there was still hope in the middle of this mess. He wanted to ask her to share his bed tonight, for comfort only, but he figured that would be a tough sell. He believed that intimacy had nothing to do with sex, and while it could occur during lovemaking, it also existed without it. To him, true intimacy was opening yourself on a deeperlevel than required for casual sex. It was showing the other person your demons and letting them decide if they were ones they could accept. Sex, when consensual, only requires you to open your body. Intimacy, on the other hand, requires opening your soul.

He’d gotten a taste of that in the hotel room a bit ago, and now he craved it. He craved the comfort it offered him as he rode this Tilt-A-Whirl of uncertainty. Would he feel this way if someone else were helping him? No, because no one else was Alayah. She was vivacious, intelligent, open and sometimes brutally honest. After the kiss they’d shared, he somehow knew nothing would ever be the same again.

Cal walked in with Roman, and everyone turned in their seats to give them their undivided attention. Derek knew the team respected their leader, but of all the interactions he’d witnessed thus far, it was more than respect. It was love. They all loved each other and wanted to pull their own weight in keeping Secure Inc. above reproach in every job they did.

“Sorry for the late hour, but our digging revealed questions only Derek can answer for us. I want everyone to have the same information as we branch out in our search, so I’ve asked him to walk us through it. Before we do that, how did the conference go for you today? Any hang-ups? Do we need more help?”