Читать книгу Calculated Risk - Heather Woodhaven - Страница 12

THREE

Jeff strode toward his office. Was it a coincidence that Wagner was moving him out of this department at the end of the day? He hadn’t told Victoria yet; no one else knew, in fact, but Wagner and Human Resources. There would be an announcement around lunch today. Victoria had come to him because he was her supervisor. If he told her now that she’d have a new supervisor come Monday, he couldn’t predict what her reaction would be, given the circumstances. So, for her sake, it was probably best to wait.

In fact, Victoria was full of surprises. She’d always been polite and answered his friendly attempts at conversation, but never beyond the bare minimum. She never initiated the conversation, either, unless it was work related. It seemed like she was friendly with everyone else in the department, and yet, she made goodies for only the security department. Why had she never brought her famous fudge to their break room? Perhaps he’d mistaken her aloofness for being shy?

He slowed his steps. Victoria wasn’t following. He turned to find her frozen, white as a sheet, barely outside of the elevator.

“We’re just here collecting a report. We’re not trying to expose fraud, jeopardize thousands of people’s financial portfolios, risk our jobs and ultimately shut the entire company down.” Victoria said the words rapid-fire and stared ahead, but it was as if she wasn’t seeing anything at all.

Was the shock from the fire catching up with her? He reached out for her hand. “You’re freezing.” He placed his other hand on top of her wrist in an attempt to warm her. “Hey. We’re just trying to get the truth. Nothing more.”

He leaned down a bit so she couldn’t avoid eye contact. “Victoria, you’re here because you’re a good employee. You care about doing the right thing.”

That seemed to do it. She blinked and looked straight into his eyes for the first time he could remember. He sucked in a breath at the intensity of her stare and his own sudden attraction. She glanced down at his hands over hers. The color in her cheeks made her blue eyes contrast with her dark hair. She was beautiful. Realizing his gesture came across as intimate, he dropped her wrist like a hot potato and straightened. “We don’t have much time before Wagner will arrive. Let’s find the files and get you to that FBI appointment. I’ll sort out what the deal is with your security clearance later.”

“Thank you,” she said softly. Victoria stood behind him when he took a seat at his desk. “Just so you know, I don’t usually freak out like that, but I’ve also never had someone try to kill me before either.”

“Well, that would do it,” Jeff mumbled, logging into the mainframe. He needed to focus on the task ahead and get her off his mind. “Now where’d you hide the file?”

She tried to direct him through the catalog of records, but she kept sighing and pointing at the screen over and over. Clearly, she was getting frustrated with his less-than-speedy computer skills. He wasn’t an accountant or a computer specialist; he was a supervisor who put in the time to work his way up the ladder.

She confirmed his suspicions when she pointed to his mouse. “May I?”

“Sure,” he said, and dropped his hands. Jeff intended to scoot back and let her have the chair, but she caught him off guard by leaning over his shoulder and reaching for the mouse. Her long hair swung down as a curtain between her face and his. Instead of focusing on the screen, he let his eyes close for the briefest of seconds as the coconut aroma enveloped him.

“It’s still there!”

Her exclamation snapped him from his thoughts. Victoria took a step back. He could see the file on the monitor, but the bald security guard standing in his doorway didn’t give him the chance to examine any further.

“I’m afraid I need to ask you to step away from the computer. We have a security breach. I need to escort you and your guest out of the building. We’re asking everyone to go home until the all clear is given.”

Victoria stiffened beside him. “A security breach?”

“Yes, ma’am. Please step away from the computer.”

Jeff put a hand on Victoria’s back. “After you.” He looked directly at the guard, trying to recall if he’d ever seen him, but the man’s beady eyes darted around the room. “Is this really necessary? Charlie could’ve just called me.”

The man stared straight ahead. “Charlie is out, investigating.”

Jeff leaned forward. “The security breach?”

The man nodded but didn’t meet Jeff’s gaze. Why did he feel as if this man was hiding something? Jeff stepped toward the doorway with Victoria by his side. She looked at the ground and clung to her purse.

In the elevator, the guard stepped in after them. His finger hovered over the buttons, as if not sure which one he was going to push. Victoria grabbed Jeff’s hand and pulled him back on to the floor. “I forgot I’m claustrophobic,” she called behind her shoulder, dragging Jeff to the stairway door. “We’ll meet you downstairs!”

Without waiting to see what the guard would do, she shoved open the stairway access and dropped his hand. “I don’t trust him.”

She took the stairs by two, and Jeff matched her pace. “Why are we going upstairs?”

“Shh,” she scolded. “I just want to go to the next level and take a different set of stairs down.” They rounded the corner and were halfway up the flight when they heard the stairway door behind them. Victoria froze and looked at him wide-eyed. She put a finger on her lips.

He wanted to tell her she was being ridiculous, but he couldn’t deny her pleading eyes. He remained still. They heard a few choice words muttered under the guard’s breath as his feet slapped the stairs going down, down, down.

Another stairway door slammed. Victoria crept softly back down the stairs. He followed until they had returned to the fourth floor. Her long fingers pressed on the door handle gently, opening the stairway without a sound. She held it open just wide enough for Jeff to slip through before she eased it closed.

“Why are we playing hide-and-seek, Victoria? What if there really is a security problem?”

“Did you notice he wasn’t sure what elevator button to push? Like he was debating where he was going to take us?” She lowered her voice. “I think he’s the guy that was following me yesterday. I think he’s the one who set my house on fire.”

“Are you sure?”

Her eyes widened. “Of course I’m not sure or I’d be the first one calling the police right now. I never saw him that close, but I have a strong feeling.”

“We need more than a feeling to go to the police.”

She threw her hands up and charged toward his office. “Don’t you think I know that?”

“The security breach could be real, Victoria. Let’s go.”

“Then why didn’t he tell us what the security breach was? Don’t you think that’s a bit odd?”

Jeff rubbed his left temple. He needed more coffee. “Maybe they thought the breach was you?”

“That’s ridiculous. I was with you.” She jogged into his office and slipped into his desk chair, her wide eyes directed at the computer screen. “No! No, no, no.”

“What?”

“Someone is updating or rebooting the entire system right now.” She slapped his desk. “I don’t know what’s going on!”

Jeff walked around to see for himself when a blast boomed so loud it shook the windows. He instinctively stepped closer to Victoria to shield her.

She looked up at him and grabbed his sleeve. “What was that?”

He clenched his jaw. “I’m guessing that was the security breach.” Jeff looked toward the elevators and listened closely for any secondary explosions. After a tense moment, he dared to look out his office window. His gut dropped at the sight, and he sagged against the windowsill.

“How bad is it?” Victoria joined him and groaned. “Oh, Jeff.”

He shook his head, staring at the shell of his beautiful convertible now covered in flames. It was used and old, but he had paid cash. A drive in that car invigorated him whenever he didn’t have time to skydive. He blinked and kicked at the wall underneath the window. That’d teach him to care about possessions...and to stop choosing the highest insurance deductible.

“Look! On the other side of that sedan.” Victoria tapped her finger against the glass. He followed her gaze and spotted Charlie crouched down with a walkie-talkie against his cheek. “I’m so relieved he’s okay.”

Jeff turned to her, focused. “I think it’s time to get out of here.”

“But the files,” she sputtered.

“The reboot is a little too convenient, isn’t it? I’m guessing your file is long gone now.” He led her across the department floor to a different set of stairs.

She let out a long breath. “You believe me.”

“I believe something is going on. I just don’t really understand what yet.”

She grabbed the stair railing and followed after him. “Where will we go? Your car—”

Jeff frowned but didn’t slow down. Surely an idea would come to him by the first floor. He pushed his legs to go faster. Adrenaline always helped clear his mind. Victoria let out a cry, and he jerked to a stop just as she slammed into his back. “Are you okay?”

“I think so. I was trying to keep up and missed a step.”

She straightened, and Jeff managed a quick look at her ankle. It seemed okay, but his gut twisted anyway. He was so focused on the anger from his car being blown up that he wasn’t being considerate. His mouth parted as an idea formed. “I know where we’re going.”

Once they reached the bottom stair, he turned to her. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m not going to let anything slow me down with that creep trying to find us. Where to?”

“I have a friend that lives near here.” His hands hovered over the exit sign on the door. “Stay close to me, okay?”

Victoria tapped his shoulder. “Jeff. Security cameras.”

“Then let’s hope our security breach friend isn’t watching right now.” Jeff glanced up briefly, then shoved the door open. Hints of dawn pushed back the darkness enough for Jeff to find his bearings. “We have about four blocks to go before we get to Drake’s place.”

“Drake?” she said breathlessly. “Who is Drake?”

Victoria raised her chin and pumped her arms to keep up, but her stride seemed more like a hobble.

“You’re limping.”

“I’m fine.”

Her jaw was clenched; she was most definitely not fine. “I wish we could afford to go slower.” He offered his arm. “Lean on me.”

Victoria bit her lip and shook her head, until her eyes darted to the office building behind them. She took a deep breath, hooked her arm around his biceps, and they pressed forward. Except, he could barely feel her weight on his arm. “Victoria, we won’t move faster unless you put your full weight on me.”

She grimaced but said nothing. She did, however, lean in closer to him, and he compensated for her slight pull with each step. “Drake is a pilot and a fellow skydiving instructor,” Jeff explained. “He does the camera work on all my jumps and vice versa. We used to be roommates until I got my own place.”

“Skydiving? Wow. You really are quite the outdoorsman, then.”

In a normal situation, Jeff would feel nothing but pride hearing Victoria speak about him in such a way. His identity and dreams all involved the outdoors. The day job was a necessity until he saved enough money, which brought his thoughts back to his car exploding. He’d worked so hard to pay cash for that car. Heat surged through his veins as the reality truly sank in; the fire at Victoria’s house couldn’t have been an accident either.

He led Victoria in a hurried limp across the property’s lawn and into the adjoining subdivision where shadows and large trees would keep them hidden.

* * *

Victoria gritted her teeth, trying to will away the searing pain that shot up her shin every time her heel made contact with the ground. If she just had a moment to rest, she was sure the pain would retreat. She tried not to lean too much onto Jeff, but the faster he walked, the more she had to press into his arm.

At least for a brief moment, it was a relief for him to understand the gravity of her situation. But that relief quickly faded with the understanding it was her fault his car was burned to a crisp. His face looked red, and his arm felt rock hard. The man was stressed to be sure, but mostly seemed angry.

Sirens reached her ears as a disorienting dizziness washed over her. She hadn’t realized she’d stopped until Jeff patted the arm she’d wrapped around his elbow. The man’s touch was unnerving even amid the circumstances.

“Are you okay?”

Victoria closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’ll be fine. It’s the second time in hours that I’ve heard fire trucks coming my way.”

“We might be dealing with a pyromaniac.”

“Do you think we should’ve stayed there and waited for the police?”

“If the circumstances were different, I’d say yes. I don’t like the thought of what could happen to you before then.” Jeff jutted his chin forward. “Except the more I think about it... I’d like to be sure they weren’t trying to set you up first.”

“Wait. What do you mean?”

Jeff rifled his left hand through his hair. “Think about it. First they cancel your security privileges—your whole account, really—and then they say there’s a security breach.” He glanced quickly at Victoria. “I’d feel a lot better if we could get that evidence in our hands.”

“You and me both.” She pulled out her smartphone from her purse. “It’s barely past five in the morning. I’ve got three hours before my FBI appointment.”

“Drake is going to kill me,” Jeff muttered. She leaned on him as they made their way up the driveway to the left side of a duplex. Jeff rang the doorbell. Headlights rounded the corner from the street leading to Earth Generators. Jeff saw it as well but reacted by pushing Victoria into the shadows with him. “Stay still,” he said.

The silver muscle car slowly went down the street. Victoria sagged. “It wasn’t the Range Rover.”

He nodded, but his eyes stayed focused on the car. “Yeah, but it looks familiar.”

Victoria narrowed her eyes. She was no car expert, but it seemed like April had a car like that. “You would know better than me if it’s April’s or not.”

He shifted his focus to Victoria. Their faces were way too close for comfort. He tilted his head like a confused puppy. “I didn’t say anything about April.” The porch light flipped on, saving her from embarrassment. Victoria held up a hand to shield her eyes. Jeff stepped up to the door and waved at the peephole. “It’s me.”

The door swung open to reveal a guy in khaki shorts and an olive-green T-shirt. His matted sandy hair hung down over his squinting eyes. “Dude. It’s too-early-thirty. What are you doing here? You need a place to crash?”

Victoria stepped onto the patio to join Jeff. Drake’s eyes widened at the sight of her. “Well, hello.” He swung his head in a motion that flipped his long bangs back.

“We need a ride, Drake. My car—” Jeff closed his eyes a moment, in grief. “Can you drive us back to my place?”

Drake groaned and muttered a few unpleasant words as he shoved on shoes and grabbed his keys, but he didn’t ask any questions. What kind of guy had friends who would help him out at five in the morning without any questions asked? Did she even have a friend who would do that?

The backseat of the pickup had very little legroom, but she had it to herself. When would be the next time she would be in a place of her own? Her neighbor Darcy would no doubt let her stay a night or two, but then Victoria would need a place to stay with Baloo while her house was rebuilt. And if she didn’t have a job to— Victoria blinked back tears. She couldn’t let herself think that way.

Drake pulled into Jeff’s assigned space in front of the set of town house buildings. Looking out the window, Victoria noticed Jeff’s front door was open. Thoughts of her dog out in the city propelled her forward. “Baloo!” she shouted and flung the back door open. Disregarding the pain in her ankle, she ran up the stairs toward his door. Two arms grabbed her around the waist.

All the air rushed out of her lungs as her feet left the ground. The arms around her middle loosened, and she turned to find Jeff holding a finger up to his mouth. She tried not to cough, but it was useless. Her lungs were still very sensitive after the night’s events. Victoria glared at him. “Baloo,” she croaked.

“You can’t just walk in there. Someone might still be inside.” Jeff pointed hard at his front door. “Go back to the truck with Drake,” he whispered.

“Then you shouldn’t go in there either!”

The outburst made her lungs to spasm again, and a series of coughs prompted Jeff to put both hands on her arms.

“You okay?”

“What if the guy bombs your place like he bombed your car?” she asked, careful not to strain her voice.

Jeff straightened to his full height, several inches above her. “I hadn’t thought of that.” He pulled out his phone and dialed the police. “Hopefully they caught the creep that blew up my car by now, and this will just add to his sentence.”

She didn’t take her eyes off the door. “What if there is more than one creep?”

Jeff’s jaw clenched. He offered her his free arm and marched her back down to the truck. He took her behind it and around to the other side, the farthest distance away from his ajar town house door. Just as she worried he was going to force her back into the tiny backseat, she heard a growl. Jeff’s arm dropped as he turned and found Baloo giving him the evil eye.

“Baloo!” Victoria dropped to one knee and let her dog snuggle up into her arms.

Drake watched from behind the steering wheel, his window rolled down. “Guess your stalker dude likes dogs more than cars.”

Victoria stood, her jaw clenched. “Please don’t compare a hunk of metal to a hero.”

“A hero?”

“Baloo saved my life last night.”

“Seriously?” Drake nodded appreciatively. “I totally respect that.”

She drew in a deep breath, hoping to regain control of her emotions. “I didn’t mean to snap at you.” A small square of fabric hung from Baloo’s bottom lip. She reached down and removed the denim from his lower canine tooth. “Besides, I don’t think he let Baloo go by choice.” She ruffled his fur. “Good dog.”

Jeff missed her interchange with Drake as he spoke rapidly into the phone.

Baloo stood directly at her side, practically on her foot. She looked over her shoulder to confirm they were still alone. They were safe, for now.

Baloo left her side, approached Jeff and pressed into his leg. Jeff patted Baloo’s head while he answered questions on the phone. Huh. Baloo must’ve decided Jeff was all right. She blinked hard. It was a good thing Jeff was off-limits, because her heart was getting harder to guard.

Her neck tingled as if someone was watching her. She turned to find Drake looking between her and Jeff with a goofy grin on his face. She shook her head but wasn’t willing to talk about the reasons why a relationship would never work.

Drake’s head bobbed to the seventies music playing softly on the radio. Was he disagreeing with her, or truly enjoying the music? She racked her brain, trying to think of something to say to ease the awkwardness. “So, you skydive with Jeff?”

“Yeah.” He yawned. “We met in the Earth Generators factory like ten years ago. I watched him work his way out of there, but he didn’t leave me behind. Dude’s got a heart of gold. He got me started on this skydiving business. Jeff’s got some big plans, which means big plans for me, you know?” Drake looked forward out the window. “I’m better off for knowing him.”

Victoria blinked. A heart of gold?

Her next question froze on the tip of her tongue at the sight of police cars and a black armored van surrounding them.