Was Quinn dying? Was he to lose her again so quickly after just finding her? He mentally shook himself.
She’s just playing you again. Don’t buy it.
“You’re under the false impression there’s anything to talk about. That was high school, Quinn. We’re not the same people.”
“You named your boat Seas the Day!”
“I wouldn’t read anything into that,” he replied trying to appear nonchalant. “I’m not creative. I’m a numbers guy, remember? It’s just a boat. And that’s just a name. Doesn’t mean a thing.”
She jerked her shoulders back as though he’d slapped her. Still, Ben didn’t take any joy in landing a verbal blow.
“I don’t believe you,” she challenged. “Now who’s running away?”
He studied her for a long moment. Since when had Quinn Darby developed a backbone? In high school, she used to sway with whatever wind the rich kids blew. Yet here she was spinning some yarn that had them rehashing history. She was up to something. And given her relationship with Alexi Ronoff, Ben’s interest was piqued. What the hell? He could spend some time hearing her out for the good of the case. But only under his terms.
“All right. I’ll be back this evening. I’m having dinner here at seven. If you want to make peace, it will have to be then.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “I’m staying at the B and B in town, but you don’t have to pick me up. I can just meet you back here.”
“Well then, isn’t that just like old times,” he said as he tossed the line at her feet.
*
Quinn stood on the dock and watched Ben deftly navigate the large sailboat out of the slip and into the bay as if it were second nature. He’d always been confident, but even more so on the water. Probably because he’d learned to sail practically after he’d learned to walk.
It’s just a boat.
He was lying. The boy she once knew and loved had dreamt of that sailboat since kindergarten. And as for the name having no significance, she was calling BS on that, as well.
Except this wasn’t the boy she once knew. She only had to replay their last exchange as evidence. Grown up Ben Segar was harder. And not just physically. He’d always exuded sureness, but this was something else. All the more reason to keep Alexi away from him. Ben was just brash enough to play the white knight. But a self-proclaimed computer geek would be no match for the ruthless Russian.
She sighed heavily. If only she’d been able to grab the stupid micro card and leave without confronting him. It was one thing to go through life carrying around the guilt that he hated her. But having to face the loathing head-on was an entirely different heartache altogether. Even worse, he didn’t sound as though he had any intention of forgiving her. Not that she blamed him. Tonight, she’d find a way aboard his sailboat, seize the list, and slip away before her heart was in tatters.
As she made her way back to the B and B to wait for him to return, her phone rang deep in her handbag.
She glanced at the caller ID and groaned. “Alexi. How are you?”
“The more important question would be where are you, my princess?”
The back of Quinn’s neck began to tingle. The location settings on her phone were deactivated, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t track her signal while she spoke to him.
“Did we have plans for today?”
“No,” he drawled. “But you left so quickly last night. I was worried about you.”
She bristled at the lie. Alexi never worried about anyone other than himself.
“You seemed upset to have your visit to the White House cut short,” she hedged. “I thought it best to head to my hotel room and let you brood in peace.”
His laugh rang a bit hollow. “You still haven’t answered my question.”
“I’m on the Eastern Shore photographing some old homes for another client.” It was a plausible alibi and one he couldn’t discredit. “That dress I wore last night didn’t pay for itself, you know.”
He was silent for a long moment. Quinn mentally calculated the time it would take for him to ping her location.
“Do I not pay you enough?”
“You pay me handsomely, Alexi. But, like you, this client is a friend and I couldn’t say no.” She prayed he bought her excuse. “But we can always talk about a fee increase when I return on Monday.”
“Yes. We will have a candid conversation when we see each other again,” he said cryptically. “I’ll look forward to it.”
Quinn quickly disconnected and turned off her phone. Glancing over her shoulder, she watched as Ben’s sailboat disappeared on the horizon. Alexi suspected something. And that meant she needed to act quickly. She needed that micro card. More than that, she needed to protect Ben.
Chapter Four
Ben leaned in, allowing the scanner to probe his eye. The beam flickered before the lock on the door clicked open. Securing the door behind him, he took the metal stairs built into the interior of the lighthouse two at a time. He bypassed both floors of living space, instead climbing to what once had been the torch room when the beacon was active over a hundred years ago. The glow of multiple computer monitors made up the room’s light source today.
Sliding into the leather desk chair, he skimmed the monitors without really registering what was on them. He needed to focus on the task at hand, but his damn mind only wanted to focus on the seductive woman he’d left standing on the dock. She was up to something. No doubt about it. Despite her being back in Watertown, he was even further away from solving the puzzle of Quinn. Heaving a sigh, he leaned his head against the chair back and closed his eyes. He needed sleep. But every time he drifted off, she was there to haunt him with her hypnotizing green eyes and traitorous lips. Damn it. He rose from the chair and headed downstairs for a shower.
A lot had changed inside since his high school days when Ben used the old lighthouse as a hideout from his female-dominated family. Thanks to the sale of a few apps he’d developed while in grad school at MIT, he had been able to renovate the entire place, turning it into a geek’s refuge and a safe house for his secret work. The first floor was no longer dark with wood paneling. Whitewashed shiplap boards gave the space an airy, open appearance. Instead of a beat-up old futon, the room featured two oversized sofas strategically placed to capture all the warmth from the fireplace as well as the panoramic views outside. Off to the side was a little game room housing both a foosball table and an air hockey game. A sleek galley kitchen now stood where he once had an old dorm room refrigerator and nothing else.
He’d dubbed the place the Think Tank and it was where he retreated for those assignments when he needed to bypass the government’s servers and lurk on the dark web. He was proud of the secure space he’d created. Too bad no one else could ever know about it. Thanks to his deep cover, his buddies would never enjoy the game room. Marin would never cook one of her gourmet feasts in the kitchen. He would never seduce a woman in front of the lighthouse’s stone fireplace.
Except he had seduced a female in front of that fireplace.
Thirteen years ago.
It was ironic that Quinn was the only person he would ever share this space with. That particular memory irked him more than any other involving her. Swearing violently, he headed for the bedroom and a shower.