Samantha Hunter - Hide & Seek

For Milene, Jane and Vivian.

“The bird a nest, the spider a web,

[wo]man friendship.”

—William Blake

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Epilogue

Coming Next Month

JENNIE SNOW GRIMACED over the top of her laptop screen, trying to focus on the work in front of her but failing miserably. Nathan Reilly was to blame. He stood outside the windows of the climate-controlled HotWires offices, deep in conversation with a detective. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him.

Though it was uncomfortably cool in the office—the computer crime labs were kept at low temps to protect the machinery that populated the room—she became uncomfortably warm every time she glanced in Nathan’s direction. He was hard to ignore.

Nathan wasn’t overly tall or burly like so many of the men she’d grown up with—he had a nice, solid build and was just the right height to meet her eyes when they shared a level glance. If she were held against him, all of their important parts would mesh perfectly. And meshing with Nathan was becoming more of a possibility, though she’d been struggling hard to deny it.

He’d been seducing her for the past three months with his sexy glances and clever conversation. Not to mention the flowers he kept sending her. They were never the same type of flower. Nathan always managed to surprise her. However, the accompanying card always asked the same question: “When?”

She’d put him off for as many good reasons as she could think of. First off, he was five years younger than she was: twenty-eight to her thirty-three. Plus, he was relatively new to the job, having only been with HotWires for under a year, and he was busy building his career.

Lastly, Jennie never formed close romantic ties with any of the men she’d known, and there’d been a few over the years. She wasn’t a nun. Still, she couldn’t allow herself to become involved in anything more serious than a casual relationship. For a multitude of reasons. Though Nathan was getting more and more difficult to resist.

She pulled absently at the soft cashmere neckline of her sweater and heard a distinctly female chuckle come from the desk to the left of hers. The chuckle was sarcastic as hell, and Jennie knew she’d been caught in the act of lusting openly.

Sarah Jessup-Sullivan, one of the original members chosen to join the prestigious computer crime unit, followed Jennie’s gaze with a mischievous, knowing look, and laughed again.

“You’ve got it soooo bad for that man. He’s hot stuff. Admit it.”

“I’ll admit no such thing. You just go for Irish guys.”

Sarah sat back, crossing arms over her stomach, which was back to being washboard flat even though she’d just given birth not quite two months before.

“Only one, thank you very much. Actually, before Logan, I was much more attracted to the macho Latin type, Italians, Hispanics. I’d never dated an Irish guy, though there are plenty of them in the city. Logan was my first.”

“And the last. The only.”

“Yeah.”

Jennie smiled at the soft look that warmed Sarah’s face as she spoke of her husband and baby. Sarah wasn’t an overly sentimental woman by nature, but marriage, and then motherhood, had smoothed her rough edges without making her any less formidable. Sarah was one of the toughest cops Jennie had ever met, yet she somehow managed to preserve her hard-ass image in the department even when she showed up wheeling a stroller and carrying a diaper bag.

They were the only two female members of the unit. The HotWires—a nickname reflecting the group’s high-tech specialties—had been around for almost seven years. It had been started by Ian Chandler, who was still the head honcho of the group. He’d hired them all. Not only was the unit expanding locally, there was also growing demand for similar units across the country. Ian had his hands full, but stayed in the thick of it even as his job involved more and more administrative duties.

And while Jennie enjoyed close friendships with her male colleagues, it was nice to have a female friend around, even if Sarah was frequently gone on assignment. Jennie didn’t work out in the field very much; she’d had the training, but her expertise in mapping crime was more useful in the background of the action. If Sarah was Batgirl, Jennie was more like Alfred.

Having Sarah back was great. Jennie knew that while Sarah loved her baby, Caleb, she was thrilled to be back in the saddle again, too.

“It’s great that Logan has the time to spend with Caleb so you could come back to work so soon.”

“I know—his shop is doing well, and he loves being Mr. Mom.”

“He’s so devoted to you both, you’re lucky. Don’t you miss being home, though, just a little?”

Sarah appeared thoughtful for a moment, and shook her head resolutely. “I went crazy for the two months I was home. I love them both to bits, but I felt like I would crawl out of my skin if I couldn’t get out of the house. Logan is much more of a homebody.”

“It works then. And he’s not upset about the risks you have to take in this job?”

“Sure, it still comes up now and then. But he knows I wouldn’t be happy doing anything else.”

“Quite the man you found.”

“You said it. I love him, and I love that he can understand how much I love my work, too. Not all women are so fortunate.”

Jennie nodded, not entirely sure she completely understood, but pleased for Sarah anyway. Jennie loved her work, too, but that was because it was all she had. Marriage and family were out of the question for her. If she had what Sarah had, she might quit and contentedly stay home, baking cookies and taking walks in the park…enjoying her children and making a home for her family.

She sighed, and pushed that fantasy aside. Right now, she should be concentrating on bringing Sarah up to speed on current cases.

Sarah, whose sharp observation skills missed little, caught her ogling Nathan again.

“That poor guy has been after you nonstop for months. When are you going to give him a break?”

Jennie grinned, knowing her answer was going to set Sarah back a few feet.

“Friday night.”

Yup, she thought with satisfaction, as Sarah leaned in, her hand grasping Jennie’s forearm.

“Are you kidding me? You two are finally going out on a date?”

“It’s just dinner.”

Jennie couldn’t help smiling, though she remained conflicted about going out with Nathan. On one hand, she had a very good list of reasons why this shouldn’t happen. However there were two very influential items that undermined all those good reasons: one, she liked him; two, she was lonely.

Jennie was used to attracting a certain amount of male attention. Sometimes she even enjoyed it. She had the normal urges that healthy women had, and she liked to work them off with a good-looking guy from time to time. And Nathan certainly fit that bill. But maybe she’d made a big mistake accepting his invitation to dinner.

She might be fooling herself that she could keep this under control. She enjoyed having a nice no-strings-attached relationship with a man occasionally. But she’d just celebrated her thirty-third birthday—alone. The years were slipping by, and what did she have to show for them except her work? Her work was challenging, and it helped her deal with her past and feel as if she was making a difference in the world. All the same it didn’t keep her warm at night, that’s for sure.