Susan Sleeman - Thread of Suspicion

She was such a study in contrasts. Tough and determined, yet fragile. On the one hand, he found her to be sensible and grounded. On the other, she did things like not wearing a coat when the weather called for it and supporting him when the facts screamed his guilt.

She looked up and caught him watching. Her eyes, the color of rich cappuccino, locked on his, and he was riveted until she looked away and jumped to her feet. She headed toward him, and he noted a hint of concern in her expression.

Luke braced himself. He didn’t know if he could handle more bad news. “Is there something I need to know?”

“We need to talk.” Her voice held a definite edge that he hadn’t heard before. “In private.” She didn’t wait for him to respond but hurried toward the exit.

He had half a mind not to follow her, to keep from hearing another problem. But he wasn’t one to run from his troubles, so he trailed her outside. She stopped on the sidewalk and a strong gust of wind hit hard. A shiver rippled over her body. He took off his jacket and tried to settle it over her shoulders, but she stepped back.

“I’m just trying to be a gentleman,” he said, watching her carefully.

She gave him that same I-can-take-care-of-myself look she’d fired at him several times yesterday, so he shrugged back into his coat.

Strands of her long, silky hair whipped into her face, and she impatiently swatted it out of the way. “Mitch Elliot, my brother-in-law who’s a cop, came through for us. Kat and Mitch spent a good part of the night personally reviewing every computer in evidence and found the one we’re looking for.”

“That’s great,” he said, wondering why she’d felt a need to be secretive about this. “How did the police get it?”

“They picked it up during the bust of a small-time burglar. We don’t think he has anything to do with the network hack, but he might be able tell us where he got the computer. This is a perfect time of day to catch him at home, so I’m heading over to talk to him now. I thought you might want to come with me.”

“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Then let’s go, and I’ll give you the details on the way.” She held out a remote to click open the doors on her large SUV, then flashed a mischievous smile at him. “After your accident yesterday, I’m thinking you don’t have a very good record behind the wheel, so I’ll drive again.”

Despite her adorable smile, he wanted to argue but didn’t want to admit he had a thing with letting other people drive. He climbed into the passenger seat and slid it back to accommodate his legs.

She slipped behind the wheel as gracefully as she did everything else. Not at all like he’d expect from a P.I. and definitely not from an FBI agent. He could easily see how criminals like the man they were going to talk to might subdue her.

Luke would have to keep a watchful eye on her—no hardship, that was for sure. But no matter how intrigued he was by her, that was as far as things would go. He had too many unsettled issues for that to ever be a possibility in his life.

She turned the key, and the powerful engine roared to life, then purred smoothly. “You seem like you’re in less pain today.”

“I am,” he said and waited for her to demand additional details as she always seemed to do.

Surprisingly she concentrated on winding her way out of the lot. While she merged the car seamlessly into heavy morning traffic, Luke called Tim to tell him he’d left the building and to ask him to inform his assistant so she didn’t worry. He’d already shared with Tim that they’d hoped a stolen computer was used to access the network, but despite questions Tim fired off, Luke kept the nature of this trip to himself. He didn’t want Tim to lose hope if the lead didn’t pan out.

“You really care about Tim, don’t you?” Dani asked when he’d stowed his phone.

“You can tell that from a simple phone conversation?”

“You’re reserved and cautious when you talk to people, but when you talk with Tim, your whole demeanor changes.”

He shook his head. “I need to remember you think like a P.I., assessing everything I say and do.”

“And I need to remember you’re a former SEAL doing the same thing.”

“Touché,” he said and laughed.

“So back to Tim.”

“I think I mentioned he’s Hawk’s little brother.” Mindful of Dani’s observations, Luke worked hard to keep the emotion over the loss of his friend from his voice. “I figure the least I can do for Hawk is to fill in for him with Tim when I can.”

She cast an appraising look his way, but he hadn’t a clue what she was trying to ascertain. After a quick shake of her head she said, “I should tell you that I reviewed the computer from your sister’s friend last night and I started vetting your sister.”

“And?” He crossed his arms.

“The friend didn’t use his computer to access your home network and I haven’t found anything to suggest your sister is involved.”

“Makes me sad that they’re now involved in this mess, but I get that you have to work every angle.”

“I’ll still need to dig a little deeper on your sister before I can fully rule her out.”

“Will you let me know as soon as you finish vetting her?”

Dani nodded. “I also need to tell you that General Wilder called me last night.”

Right. Here comes the thing that had her so uptight in the office.

“And?” He braced himself for the answer.

“He said they’d traced the anonymous phone call they received and it led to a disposable cell.”

“So it’s a dead end, then,” Luke said, fighting back his disappointment.

“Yes.” She braked as they approached a stoplight. “But while I had him on the phone, I got him to agree to relook at your software. Provided they haven’t signed another contract by the time it’s fixed, that is.”

Luke swiveled to face her. “He agreed? Yesterday he led me to believe that the sabotage had pretty much ended our chances with the other committee members.”

“It had, but I promised him I’d personally vouch for the software. I’ll have to review it thoroughly after your team makes the corrections, but we should be able to get it in front of the committee again.”

“I’m so relieved I could kiss you,” Luke blurted out before his brain caught up with his emotions.

She came to a complete stop at the light then looked at him, straight and long, those luminous eyes burning into his like an infrared scope. He wouldn’t have been able to pull away even if he wanted to, which he didn’t. She was one of those women you couldn’t seem to take your eyes off. Not because of her physical beauty, but because of a strength and determination that glowed from inside.

He wanted to ignore his common sense and give in to the sparks of interest. To forget everything else. To finally forget all about the hurtful things Wendy had flung at him before she’d left and think about dating again.

Wendy. Right.

Be a real man, she’d shouted at him. Let go of SatCom and get a job that can support a wife and family.

Words that sounded very much like his father’s when Luke had tried out for the SEALs. He’d thought his dad would be proud. Instead, he’d cut Luke to the quick when he’d said becoming a SEAL wasn’t honorable. It was selfish and self-serving. Only men who sought accolades as the hero followed that path. Real, hardworking men settled down with a wife and family.

Luke had worked even harder to make it as a SEAL after that, but he’d carried his father’s words as he carried his backpack, unloading a bit of the old man’s garbage with each trip. He thought he’d succeeded in ridding himself of all of it until Wendy had spit similar words at him.