HelenKay Dimon - Sheltered

She tightened her grip on the gun. “For now, I think I’ll ask the questions.”

The woman played this well. He admired her refusal to get sucked in. “Why do you think I’ll agree to that?”

“You are in my house. You dragged me out of bed, stripped down and—”

“Fine.” Round One to Lindsey. “Go ahead.”

Using the hand with the gun, she motioned for him to sit down on the couch. “What’s the Corcoran Team?”

He settled for leaning against the armrest because he had a feeling he needed to be up and ready to fight with this woman. “Can’t tell you that.”

She stood right in front of him, close but not close enough for him to grab the gun or get a jump on her. If he didn’t know better, he’d say she’d been trained. And if he was right that she’d spent some time at the retreat and lived to talk about it, her survival instincts might rival his own.

“Are you with the government?”

“With?” He knew what she was asking but didn’t know if she knew.

“An FBI agent or something.”

The out waited right there and he took it. “Or something.”

She sighed at him. Threw out one of those long-suffering exhales that women did so well when men ticked them off. “I feel like we’re going backward here.”

“We’ll get to all that, but first we’re going to contact the police.” He should have made the call as soon as the attackers left.

“No.” That was all she said. A curt denial.

People generally didn’t question his orders. Probably had something to do with his size and no-room-for-debate scowl. His sister said he’d inherited the look and demeanor from their dad. Holt knew that wasn’t exactly a compliment.

“Excuse me?” He kept his voice deadly soft in an attempt to telegraph his mood to her.

Her eyebrow lifted. “Oh, I’m thinking you heard me.”

This woman didn’t scare easily. He had to admit he found that, along with everything else about her, smoking hot. The not-backing-down thing totally worked for him.

Not that he had time for anything but work, which led him right back to his point. “We need to file a report.”

“We know who attacked. You just confirmed it. You came here to stop it...I guess.”

Her refusal to get that point had his temper spiking, but he didn’t let it show. He never let it show. He didn’t need the West Point education and years in the army after to teach him how to remain calm. For him, playing this game amounted to common sense and he could pull off outward disinterest even while his insides churned. “The people at New Foundations can’t know I’m onto them.”

“Why?” Her tone now rang with interest, as if she were trying to fit the pieces together in her head.

“I’m working undercover, which means you can’t say anything.” He’d already blown that one, but since she hadn’t shot in him in the head he believed he’d made the right call.

“Who would I tell?”

That wasn’t exactly his point. “I have no idea.”

She hesitated while her gaze toured his face. “Let’s talk about the undercover thing for a bit.”

Yeah, enough sharing. “After we call the police.”

She shook her head. Looked even more determined to shut down his plan. “The police around here protect the people who run New Foundations. They have some sort of relationship that keeps the camp in business.”

Holt got that. There would need to be some sort of quid pro quo for the retreat to operate in such an information vacuum. At least he hoped so. “I’m counting on that.”

Her stance eased and some of the tension tightening her shoulders disappeared. “You lost me.”

A quick once-over glance told him some of her fear had subsided. The glance also tugged on his concentration. Her pajamas, the lack of a bra...he noticed it all.

He forced his mind back to the conversation and off her body and that face...man, she was killing him. “We have one hope of keeping you safe.”

“What’s that?”

“Me.”

She treated him to a second sigh, this one longer than the first. She also put her gun down on the table at the end of the couch. “I knew you were going to say that.”

No need to spook her, so he didn’t make a move or even look at the gun, even though it sat just inches from his thigh. “If they think we’re dating, I become more helpful.”

“How?” The skepticism in her voice slammed into him.

He gritted his teeth as he tried to ignore the attitude. “You stay protected.”

“Why wouldn’t they just grab me?”

A fine question, which led him to one of his own. “Why do they want to?”

“Don’t know.” She folded her arms across her midsection. “Ask them.”

“Are you always this difficult?” She was almost as prickly as he was when it came to holding back information. He admired the skill even as it blocked him from getting the intel he needed.

“Yes.”

The honesty was pretty hot, too. Still, Holt knew his plan provided the right answer. “We call the police. We file a report. The report gets back to the New Foundations folks and my cover holds. With all that in place, it becomes that much harder for them to grab you.”

She shrugged. “Or I could leave town.”

A good plan. The smart one. For some reason not one he liked very much. “That’s the better option, but I was betting you’d say no if I suggested it.”

“Why?”

“In addition to the fact that you seem to question everything I say?”

The corner of her mouth lifted in what looked like an almost-smile. “I’m tempted to deny that, but I fear it would prove your point.”

Since he felt as though he actually won that round, he answered the original question. “The people I’m protecting usually refuse to leave their homes, family, friends...you get the picture.”

He’d heard the refrain so many times that he was starting to believe Connor’s argument that people valued family and home above all else. Not one to stick around in one place for very long, Holt didn’t really get it.

He had people in his life he’d die for and a job he loved, but the whole craving a home thing never registered with him. Maybe it stemmed from having a father more dedicated to the army than his kids.

Maybe it was what happened when the person you trusted most left you to die on an abandoned stretch of dirt road in Afghanistan. Holt suspected that didn’t help, but it didn’t really matter how he got to the emotional freeze-out, because that was his reality and he didn’t see it changing.

“You do this a lot?” she asked.

“Rescue? Yeah, it’s all I do.” All he knew.

The final bit of tension zapping around the room ceased. “So you can actually shoot that thing?”

He followed her gaze to his gun. The one she could see. “Yes, ma’am.”

“You’re not a handyman.”

It was his turn to shrug. “I’m handy.”

“Oh, really?”

“I’ve got skills.” He needed to pull back. Knew it but didn’t.

Her expression changed then. “Are you flirting with me?”

So tempting. “That would be bad form, since two guys just tried to kick my butt.” He needed to stay on his feet and aware, though he could understand why she asked. His gaze kept wandering. So did his thoughts.

Not good at all.

“I don’t understand any of what’s going on tonight. I’ve seen you around town. I stay away from the camp and never say anything about what goes on there.” She broke away and walked toward the kitchen, then paced back.

She walked with her movements jerky for the first time. Frustration pulsed off her.

Yeah, he needed this intel. He felt for her, but she talked about knowing what happened in the camp. Didn’t say she “heard” tales. No, she had personal knowledge. He’d bet on it. “You’re saying you don’t know what you did to upset the New Foundations people?”