Dead No More. L. R. Nicolello

that for a moment. “Kennedy may be on my personal shit list for making me stand over Jackson’s fake grave, but I still trust him. If he sent Derek here, then he trusts him, and one thing I know about Kennedy is that he knows how to read people.”

      “Except Jackson.”

      She cringed. That would always be the one black mark in all their files. “We all fell for Jackson. I can’t fault the director for that, not when I fell for it, as well.”

      “I still don’t like it.”

      Lily pushed off the door frame, stood on her tiptoes and kissed George on the cheek. “I hear you.”

      He nodded and grunted an acknowledgment, turned and walked away.

      She shut the door, then reached for the tiny note tucked in the envelope. Tugging it out of its hiding place, she read the smooth, controlled handwriting.

       For the second time in just as many days, I apologize. I didn’t mean to insult your character or your intelligence. If you aren’t interested, I understand. But if for some strange reason you are, you know where to find me.

       Derek

      Lily flopped down onto her oversize white sofa, let its soft, brushed microsuede envelop her. As angry as she was for the disruption in her quiet—granted, ridiculously mundane and yawn-inducing—life, a feeling that had been a stranger to her for the past year reemerged.

      Excitement.

      Suddenly feeling energized, she stalked to her room, threw the note onto her bed and went to work on her computer.

      She spent several long hours back-channeling into 67’s computer mainframe, researching and vetting Derek Moretti, filling the recesses of her mind with every detail she could find as her eyelids grew steadily heavier. She finally signed off her computer, padded to the bathroom and flicked on the lights, and stared at her reflection in the mirror.

      “You took an oath to serve and protect.” She dared the soft hazel eyes returning her gaze to disagree. “Who are you kidding? This is your chance to get back to the life, and work, you love...without having to crawl back to the director with your tail between your legs. You’d be an idiot not to take it.”

      * * *

      DEREK WAITED UNTIL the lights in Lily’s loft went off before moving from his perch. He yawned and stretched, then checked his watch. Two-thirty. Damn, woman. No rest for the weary, eh? She had no doubt spent the past several hours drilling down into his file as far as she could go—which, knowing her, was down to whether he wore boxers or briefs.

      Rubbing his hands over his face, Derek walked into the kitchen, searched for a glass and, once finding a clean one, filled it with water. His computer had pinged every time she’d broken through the next level of his encrypted files. It had only taken her four hours to track down just about everything. He downed the water and set the glass on the counter.

      He hoped she liked what she saw. If she didn’t, his mission was dead in the water.

       CHAPTER EIGHT

      Wednesday, September 17, 10:00 a.m.

      LILY STUDIED HER MARK from the trees along the running path, hidden within their shadows. Dakota sat obediently on her right side. She reached down and stroked the soft fur on the top of his head. He pushed her hand with his wet nose. Her eyes wandered behind her dark, oversize, oval sunglasses, traveling down Derek’s powerful back to his defined legs. With every stride, his quads tightened and straightened. The muscles in his back strained against the running shirt, which was dark from sweat.

      She had to admit, she enjoyed the view.

      Derek turned and ran toward her. Dakota got up as Derek stopped in front of Lily.

      “Morning, sunshine.” He smiled at her, then bent down and rubbed Dakota behind the ears. “Hey there, handsome.”

      Dakota nuzzled Derek’s neck and Lily’s mouth dropped open. What the...? She’d never seen Dakota take to another person like he’d taken to Derek, not even Jackson. She trusted her dog’s intuition more so than her own...he’d never gotten into bed with the enemy. Dakota nuzzled Derek’s neck again and she cleared her throat. “I’m here to talk to you about your proposition, Derek.”

      Looking up, he grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that.” Straightening, Derek ran his hand through his short brown hair and tipped his head toward the water. “Walk with me?”

      They veered off the running path and headed toward the river walk, making their way to the farthest bench overlooking the river. Lily peeked up at her companion. At five-nine, she wasn’t short for a woman, but his large build dwarfed her and—yep, damn it—he was still as smoking hot up close as she’d remembered. Sinking down onto the worn wooden bench, she turned slightly to keep her line of sight open.

      “I see you haven’t lost your instincts.”

      “No, I haven’t, which is the only reason I’m willing to listen.” She crossed her legs and bounced her right foot. It was a bad habit she had when she focused, one she’d never been able to break, no matter how much she’d tried. “There are no ears here, so start talking.”

      “No, there are not.” Laughter played in Derek’s eyes. He hooked his hands together and leaned his head back. “I work directly for John Elsworth, CEO of ARME Industries—”

      Lily stopped bouncing her foot and whistled. Nearly every advance in modern warfare and weaponry during the twenty-first century had its genesis within ARME’s walls.

      Derek glanced at her. “Heard of him?”

      “Not him, no.” She shook her head. “But I wouldn’t know my stuff if I didn’t know that ARME is our leading weapons manufacturer.”

      He lifted his face toward the sun. “Exactly. ARME and John are one and the same. When one is threatened, the other is, and vice versa. I’ve been working this case undercover for almost a year now as Elsworth’s security adviser.”

      “Unit 67 has you working as a glorified security guard.” Lily smirked and went back to bouncing her foot.

      “Easy, tiger.” Derek gave her a sideways glare. “Not all assignments are the glamorous kind.”

      “Ain’t that the truth. But I can’t help it—just calling it how it is.” She shrugged and winked at him.

      He did a double take, his eyes growing wider at her unexpectedly playful response. Seeing him caught off guard only made Lily want to laugh that much more—served him right. He caught her eye and they stared at each other for a moment. The wind fluttered, whipping her dark hair around her jaw, and he smiled, his expression softening. Lily sat back. Wow. Time to rein it in, Andrews.

      “Sorry, please continue,” she said, smiling wryly.

      “There’s been chatter that his COO, Rowland James, is working behind the scenes on certain business deals that could put the company, and subsequently the family, in harm’s way. My objective has been twofold—protect Elsworth and his family, and gather as much intel on Rowland James as possible to put him away and neutralize any possible national security threat.”

      “Wait.” Lily’s brows pinched together. “Couldn’t the local cops take care of protecting his family? It seems a bit extreme to bring in black ops for babysitting duty.”

      Derek hesitated.

      The muscles in Lily’s shoulders constricted. She didn’t have time, or the mental energy, to walk into anything with less than complete transparency. Fair? Hardly. But he’d come after her. The ball was squarely in her court, and she wasn’t waiting around to see if Derek would play nice. Not this time. She jumped up.

      “Lily. Wait a minute. Where