Page 20 of Hidden With You

“There’s no way that Matthew—”

“Not disagreeing,” Ryan said. “I know him, too. But maybe one of his people decided to try to work some PR magic. A new hire, very gung-ho. And until we know for sure, you’ll have someone from the SSA with you at all times,” he added, pointing toward Zelda.

“You can’t be serious.” She glanced toward Jasper as if asking for help.

“Until we know there’s no real threat, it’s the safest thing.” Jasper said, jealous of Leah or Emma or one of the other female agents who would surely be assigned.

“Meanwhile—” Ryan began, but the ring of his phone cut off his thoughts. He answered the call, listened, then ended it. Then he turned to Jasper. “Your things are here.”

“Excuse me?”

“I had hotel staff pack up your room. Leah’s at the gate with a small team to deliver them. That was the gatehouse, confirming access.”

Jasper glanced at Zelda, who laughed.

“Something funny?”

“It’s like your clothes are the Crown Jewels. An entire SSA team to transport them.”

“Excuse me,” Ryan said. “I have another call to make. I’ll meet them at the driveway gate and send them in.”

“No prob,” Zelda said, then broke into a smile the moment Ryan was out of the cottage.” “Looks like I’m not the only one trapped like a rat. The least we can do is make lemonade from the lemons.”

“We’re not going to be making anything.”

“You regret it, don’t you?” She took a step closer. “Admit it. You regret not touching me. You thought about it all night.”

“You think a little too highly of yourself, Ms. Clayton,” he said, hoping she couldn’t see the lie. “Quite the ego you have there.”

She shrugged casually. “Only about things I know I’m good at.”

He moved closer as an impossible thought slid into his head. “And what exactly are you good at? Seducing a man? Or maybe you’re good at crafting a story?”

Her brow furrowed with confusion, only to be replaced by fury as the meaning of his words hit her. “What the hell is your problem? Are you really suggesting that I set this up? Like a giant hoax?”

When he didn’t answer, she stalked forward, her face alight with fury. “That is fucking bullshit. And I wasn’t the only one in that atrium. So don’t you dare try to act all proper like I took your damn virtue or something. You were right there with me.”

“I was,” he said, studying her face. Trying to read her. To get inside that mind and discern what she was capable of. “Now here I am again, but this time I’m doing a job, and we will figure this out. We’ll find who’s threatening you.” He took a step closer. “And it looks like I’ll be right by your side until we do.”

“I’m suddenly less excited by that prospect than I was,” she snapped.

“Honestly? I think that’s for the best.” He was watching her face, looking for signs. Trying to read her thoughts. But he couldn’t. The woman had remarkable control. And a temper. From the fury that flared in her eyes, he could only assume that he was saved from a stream of vitriol by Ryan’s return.

“Well, you’re all set,” Ryan said, looking between the two of them as if unaware of the tension and temper filling the room. “And I’ll reach out to Matthew Holt to set up an appointment for tomorrow.”

“Sounds good,” Jasper said as Zelda crossed her arms and glared.

“Jasper, you know the drill. You’re her shadow. Hell, you’re her conjoined twin, and you two need to work together to tease out possible suspects. And Zelda,” he added, “I don’t care how much you think this might be a hoax, it is still a threat, and we’re going to take it seriously. So you two make a list of anyone and everyone who might want to harm you.”

“Ryan—”

“No. There’s work to be done, and you know it. We’ve talked about it enough when you wanted help plotting. Now you get to live it.”

“Great. I’m so thrilled.”

“Jasper, walk with me.” Jasper did, following Ryan back to the front door, then outside where they could talk without the risk of being overheard. “Initial impressions?”

For a moment, Jasper considered staying silent about his theory. After all, in the years since he’d left MI6, he’d reported to no one but himself, and he trusted his judgment. And what his judgment told him was that she wasn’t behind this. More than that, he knew that she’d be furious when she learned that he’d shared his hypothesis with Ryan.

But at the end of the day, he worked for Stark Security now. He wasn’t a free agent, no matter what his motives were for accepting Damien and Ryan’s job offer. He was using the SSA as a cover for his own investigation, but he was still doing the work they assigned him. And, dammit, he didn’t have it in him to do a half-assed job.

“You’re not going to like it,” he told Ryan, “but we need to consider the possibility that she did this herself. A call for attention. Publicity for the movie or for her book. She might think it’s terribly clever. And honestly, it would be. She’s smart. She’s smarter than I think most people give her credit for. Or maybe they give her too much credit. God knows she’s accomplished a lot for someone so young. Maybe she thinks she can get away with anything.”

For a moment, he thought that Ryan was going to argue. But then his boss nodded slowly. “I don’t want to believe that of her. I like her, and she’s been through a lot. But you’re right about her being smart. And arrogant. She’s accomplished a lot in a very short time against incredible odds. But the bottom line is that she’s a sweet kid who’s had it rough.”

Kid. He needed to keep reminding himself that she was just a kid.

Ryan paused, then shifted as he looked at Jasper more directly. “This movie’s been in development for two years, and Jamie met Zelda pretty early on. She reached out, asking if I’d answer questions to help her plot the next couple of books, and I did. And I got to know her a bit through those conversations. The Zelda I know wouldn’t play the kind of game you’re suggesting.”

“So you want me to just drop the theory?” Jasper snapped. “Based on your gut?”

Ryan tilted his head, his expression so hard that Jasper almost wanted to recall the words. “The woman I just described is the woman I know. But you don’t know that Zelda. Not yet. So you look at her through your eyes, and you find out who’s doing this. And if it’s her, we’ll deal. But I damn sure hope that’s not the way this turns out.”

Jasper let out a slow breath. “Me too.” The words were true. He barely knew the woman. But he couldn’t deny that he liked her, too.

And a hell of a lot more than he ought to.