Debra & Regan Webb & Black - Heart Of A Hero

“Hey there, Charly.” Will’s smile lit up his silver-blue eyes.

“Hi.” Her knees felt weak. How silly. “Having a good day?”

“Good enough.” He nodded to the big box he’d set on the counter. “New gear?”

“Ball caps,” she said. “We sell them—” she tipped her head toward the display in the front window “—but we give them to our guests. A gift-with-purchase kind of thing.”

“The bright colors must make it easy to do a head count.”

“You’d be right about that.” She turned to Tammy. “I have the list and deposit ready to go.”

“Cool.” Tammy accepted the bank bag and the grocery list. “On account?”

“Please.”

“You got it. I’ll just take this back to Clint. Have a great day,” Tammy said, aiming a wink at Will.

“She’s got a little crush going on,” Charly explained.

“On me?” Will’s dark eyebrows winged up.

“On men in general, I think.” She appreciated his quick laugh. “But I meant she has a crush on Clint. At least this week.”

Will looked mildly relieved. “Hope that works for her. Are we still on for pool tonight?”

Charly winced. “Sorry. I have to take a rain check. We picked up a new client determined to squeeze every minute out of his tour, starting bright and early tomorrow morning.” She tapped the stack of waivers on the counter. “Some bigwig software guy with more money than sense wants a team-building excursion. Clint and I need to prep.”

Will glanced at the paperwork and then raised his gaze back to her. “No problem,” he said easily. “We’ll make up for it when you’re back.”

His smile looked sincere, but she wondered if she’d shown enough regret about canceling. She stopped before the analysis paralyzed her and turned her into a babbling dork. If she wanted something different with Will, she’d have to behave differently than she had with other guys. “Maybe you should practice your bank shots while I’m away,” she said. Did that come out as a challenge or as the flirtation she’d meant it to be?

He rested his forearms on his side of the counter, bringing himself closer to eye level with her. “Maybe I threw the game last time we played.”

She licked her lips, watched his eyes follow the move. “Maybe I don’t believe you.”

“Would you believe I was distracted by the view?”

Oh, my. Her throat went dry. She desperately wanted that to be true. Just as she wanted to believe she could take some time to play a couple games of pool with him tonight and still get things ready on time, but she knew better. “I really hate that we’ll have to wait to find out,” she said at last, uncertain of the next step in the game.

He stood tall and gifted her with a smile guaranteed to keep her warm over the next three nights sleeping in a tent near the cold summit of the mountain. In that instant, she was determined to give him good reason to aim that sexy smile her way more often.

“I’ll get back to my route and leave you to it.”

“Okay.” She did a mental eye roll at that profound comeback. “I’ll see you as soon as I get home,” she added as he reached the door.

“Can’t wait.” He pushed the door open and paused. “Be safe, Charly.”

The gravity of his tone, the concern in his eyes, turned her mute. She stared as he left and passed the window. He looked back, caught her watching, and waved.

She managed to return the gesture before his long stride propelled him down the street.

“Whoa,” Tammy said from behind her. “I thought the store might catch on fire from the sparks flying.”

Not likely. But the comment made Charly feel better. She couldn’t quite believe the attraction and chemistry went both ways. “I thought you were out on errands,” she muttered, flipping through the stack of envelopes Will delivered.

“And miss that? No way.”

Charly had to laugh it off, resisting the urge to ask Tammy for how-to advice on men. “We both need to get busy,” she said and turned for her office. “We barely have enough time as it is.” It would take a concentrated effort to keep her mind on the details. She promised herself the reward for her focus now meant she could daydream about Will on the hike tomorrow.

Chapter Four

Will had spent the early-morning hours before his shift reviewing the full intel and reports from Director Casey. The capabilities of the Blackout Key Casey had outlined in the brief phone call were the tip of the iceberg.

The more he’d read and uncovered about Reed Lancaster, created a different kind of chill. If Lancaster had somehow pulled off this theft, if he had the key, this situation would get ugly in a hurry.

The man had an ax to grind with the top-level players in the technology and software development food chain. For years Lancaster had been outspoken, the proverbial squeaky wheel demanding justice from the companies he claimed had stolen his cutting-edge work and tossed him out without so much as a severance package. According to the file, Lancaster didn’t just want the Blackout Key, the damned thing was his brainchild. Though it had gone through several development stages and was most recently funded by a government research group, the technology was his creation. While nothing proved he had it, a fully developed, working version of the key could help Lancaster strike back at his perceived enemies. If he did that—and succeeded—the security protocols that protected the nation would fall like dominoes.

As Will studied the file, Lancaster’s outspoken threats didn’t bother him nearly as much as the recent silence. Men didn’t preach vengeance with such intense venom, only to walk away from it without any logical explanation. Not without a settlement or gag order. Will had combed the internet and the files and found no sign of either scenario involving Lancaster.

He’d had all of that rattling around in the back of his mind as he’d started his mail route, wondering what might bring a man like that to Durango. Nothing in the file suggested Lancaster could satisfy his revenge here, which made it more surprising when he’d spotted Lancaster’s face on a picture attached to a Binali Backcountry liability waiver as he’d delivered Charly’s mail.

The man hadn’t bothered with an alias. Bold. In Will’s experience that kind of bold meant all kinds of trouble. As he continued along his route, he prioritized the next steps: notify Casey, get a net over Lancaster. Good thing he knew where to find him. As long as Lancaster didn’t get spooked before meeting Charly for the hike in the morning.

Hard to believe Lancaster suddenly wanted to commune with nature. It didn’t make any sense. What was he after in the mountains? Nothing good, Will decided.

He stalked up the street, his nice-guy postman smile on his face, all the while knowing he couldn’t let Charly just walk out into the wilderness with Lancaster. The man and the—missing—Blackout Key he’d envisioned were wanted by nearly every federal agency in the nation. He laughed at the irony. It was possible the postal service was the only agency that hadn’t been alerted to the problem.

He spent the rest of his route brainstorming ideas to close in on the target. It would’ve been weird if he’d asked to go along. Charly would never let her new pal, the friendly mailman, tag along as an extra on what promised to be a tough three-day exercise. She had no way of knowing he could handle things as well as anyone on her staff. He needed more information about the client, the tour and who was going along, but she’d canceled their dinner and now he didn’t have easy access.

Logistically, he couldn’t tag along even if he wanted to. It wasn’t an option to take time off from the day job. He hadn’t accrued any personal days yet and maintaining cover and operation security protocol was essential to his long-term success here.