She felt stranger than ever—not connected to him the way she normally did. She had no idea why.

“That was amazing,” she said, trying to get them back to normal interaction.

“Yeah.”

He seemed so distant, despite what had just happened between them, that she reached a hand out to cup his cheek. “Are you okay, Caleb?”

“I’m fine. Just distracted from work, I guess.”

“Okay.” It was probably true, but it didn’t make her feel better. Nothing about this situation made her feel better.

And she felt even worse when she heard her phone beep and went over to check the message.

It was Jack. Saying he had something for her and he needed to see her right away.

Tonight.

—

Kelly knew that Caleb still had a bodyguard following her around, since he was still worried about the fictitious Albanian gangster coming after her again. If she was going to meet up with Jack tonight, then she would need to slip away from the bodyguard without his noticing.

Caleb’s security was well trained, so this wasn’t an easy thing to accomplish.

She went back to her own apartment first and thought about where they should meet. Then she texted Jack with the time and location.

A few minutes later, she left her apartment and took a cab to Georgetown, which was packed with tourists and students at this time in the evening.

She was pretty sure she’d lost the bodyguard in the traffic, since he would have to drive and then find a place to park. But just to be safe, she wandered into a crowded pub and immediately went to the bathroom, finally slipping out the back hallway into the alley.

From there she found another cab and went to the university library, where she had arranged to meet Jack. She made a quick stop at a computer on the first floor, like she was looking in the catalog for a particular book. Then she went up to the third floor, where she quickly found a private study room in the far corner.

Jack was waiting for her when she stepped inside.

He closed and locked the door behind her.

“I lost the bodyguard,” she said, “so we should be fine.”

Jack’s response was to grab her by the shoulders and swing her back against the wall. “What the hell are you doing?” he snarled, the rough, handsome lines of his face tight with what appeared to be anger.

Kelly gaped at him, having absolutely no idea what he was talking about. “What?”

“What the hell are you doing?” he repeated, his dark eyes blazing with anything but cool professionalism. “We’d agreed you’d avoid Marshall for the last two days.”

Kelly still had no idea what was going on, but her heart was starting to pound and her blood was starting to pulse in reaction to Jack’s uncharacteristic intensity. “What are you talking about?”

His strong hands, gripping her shoulders, were almost bruising. “We agreed you’d avoid Marshall for the last couple of days, and you didn’t, did you?”

She was so close to him she could see a pulse throbbing in his temple. So close she could see the stubble of dark hair on his jaw. “I tried, but it didn’t work out. What’s the big deal?”

“Because this whole thing isn’t safe for you.” He looked like he was holding himself back from shaking her.

Kelly’s hands had gone up instinctively, and she was holding on to his shirt. She suddenly felt trapped with him, and she was so tired of always being trapped. She pushed him back with her hands on his chest. “It hasn’t been safe from the beginning, but I did it anyway. So back the hell off!”

Jack stepped back, looking surprised by the shift of her tone. “Sorry if I was being pushy, but—”

“But nothing. You don’t get to act that way with me.”

Jack was breathing heavily, and a sheen of sweat had broken out on his broad forehead. “I know. Sorry. I haven’t been having a good week, but…but sorry.”

She took a deep breath and brushed out of her face the stray wisps of long hair that had escaped the clip at the nape of her neck. She leaned against the table in the room. “Yeah. I know. Sorry I snapped at you. I really do appreciate your help, but this has always been my thing, my show.”

With a sigh, Jack propped himself up against the table beside her. He didn’t touch her, though. “I know. Sorry about the macho routine. I was…upset.”

“I noticed that,” Kelly murmured drily.

They didn’t speak for a minute. Just gave each other sheepish sideways glances.

Finally Kelly turned to look at the man beside her. He was big, competent, decent, attractive, and as normal as any man she’d ever met.

And she’d dragged him into her twisted world.

“Jack,” she began, feeling compelled to reach out and put a hand on his arm. “Jack, maybe we should clarify the nature of our working relationship.”

He turned toward her, his mouth twitching up in surprisingly ironic amusement. “You think?”

And, despite herself, Kelly couldn’t help but like the man.

“My mom hired you originally, and now you’re working for me. I’m paying you to do certain jobs that I’m not capable of doing or that I don’t have the resources to accomplish. But that doesn’t give you any responsibility for me or any say about what I do on my own. You’re not my bodyguard.”

“Yeah,” Jack muttered, pushing a hand through his thick, dark hair. “Maybe we should talk about that.”

Her brows drawing together, Kelly said stiffly, “I don’t want a bodyguard, Jack.”

“I know. That’s not what I meant. I meant maybe we should rethink our working arrangement.”

Feeling a sudden stab of fear and the strangest kind of disappointment, Kelly mumbled, “Oh. You don’t want to work for me anymore?”

With a textured sigh, Jack admitted, “Kelly, I don’t know if I can. To say my professional objectivity has been compromised when it comes to you would be the most massive kind of understatement.” Giving her another dry smile, he added, “I’m having a hell of a time not just storming in and beating Marshall to a pulp—just on principle.”

Kelly’s heart lurched. “Jack, that wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“I know,” he replied, rolling his eyes a little. “I’m not going to do it. I’m just saying.”

Gripping his arm a little harder, Kelly said faintly, “I see your point. But…but I still need you. I don’t trust anyone else.”

She wondered when she’d started to trust him.

Jack let out his breath in a hoarse gust, almost like a low groan. “I was afraid you’d say that.”

She knew she should let him go. It was selfish and heartless to keep involving him in this crazy mess, and it couldn’t lead to anything good for him. But he was her last hope of finally bringing this whole thing to a close. “Please, Jack. I know it’s gotten complicated, but it will just be a little while longer.”

He shook his head. Then his arm went around her in an incongruously friendly gesture. Pulling her against his side in a casual embrace, he murmured, “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Then she remembered why they were here.

“So, did you really discover something?” she asked, straightening up and pulling away from him. “Or did you just call me here to yell at me for circumventing your manly prerogative?”

Picking up the file he must have dropped on the table earlier, he opened it up and continued, “We found something. Things are finally starting to come together. I never would have believed it when your mom originally contacted me.”

Feeling her heartbeat accelerate again—this time for a completely different reason—she tried to peer into the file. “What did you find?”

“Tom Earnest’s personnel file was mostly just useless stuff, except for some personal documents that were probably just moved into it when he died. Maybe whoever was going through them didn’t know what they were. But he kept those documents for a reason. I’m thinking leverage or a safety precaution.”

Feeling almost dizzy, Kelly tried to wrap her mind around this new information. “What documents? About my father’s death?”