Well, until the world exploded.
Yes, this was something she had to do. It didn’t matter how embarrassing it was going to be. Two people had lost their lives to whatever Nolan was plotting, and she wasn’t about to let more victims get sucked in.
She strode up the steps, forcing her feet to move. She pressed the button on the elevator, got in, and pushed number fourteen. When the doors opened, she strode out even as her heart started to pound.
When she got to his door she heard the sound of laughter coming from inside and hesitated for a moment.
He had people over. The clock was closing in on midnight and he had guests. Probably a girlfriend. She should…
She knocked on the door. She hadn’t come here because she was trying to reignite a flame. She wasn’t here to have fun and catch up. She was here because people’s lives were on the line and Deke was the only person in the world she trusted who had the right skills and connections to help her.
She put a hand on her backpack strap to stop the fine tremble that had come over her.
She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt and sneakers. In the last eighteen hours she’d been on three different planes in case anyone was following her. She’d had little sleep and was pretty sure her hair was going everywhere.
So different from the polished woman she’d wanted to show him fourteen years before. He was getting the full-on real-world Maddie Hill, and she was a hot mess, but that was okay because she was over him now, truly and fully.
Right? He was probably a hot mess, too.
The door came open and she realized she’d been halfway right in her assessment.
He was hot.
So freaking hot.
Somehow she’d thought he would still be the man Angie had described all those years ago. Broken, tragedy etched on his face. She’d been told he’d gotten better, left the military, found a job in Dallas and was doing well.
He looked like he was fan-freaking-tastic, and she was a mess who had to tell him she was also an idiot who’d done the stupidest thing in her life and she needed him to save her.
That suddenly seemed like a terrible idea, but she didn’t have another one.
He stood in the doorway, staring at her like she was an alien being who’d dropped down from space.
There was nothing else to do but brave her way through and pray he could help her out for old time’s sake. “Hey, Deke.”
He wore a white dress shirt that had probably included a tie at one point. It was unbuttoned at the throat, but the collar was a little wrinkled as if Deke had pulled a tie through it before he’d tossed it aside. Black slacks and dress shoes completed the ensemble. “Hey.”
Well, at least he didn’t slam the door in her face.
She heard someone laugh in the background and glanced up and down the hall. Despite all her subterfuge, she was still a little worried that her boss would figure out she wasn’t where she was supposed to be. She’d made sure her cell would show her in Sedona. She’d left her personal phone in a hotel room she’d rented and then written a code that duped her phone and sent it to the burner she was using. She knew the tech and had carefully researched how to fool anyone who might casually try to figure out where she was.
But if someone was physically following her, she was fucked.
“Can I come in? I’m afraid I’ve got a problem and you’re the only one who can help me.” She prayed he would help her and that he didn’t laugh in her face and send her on her way.
She also prayed her intel was correct and she wasn’t about to embarrass the hell out of both of them.
“I am?” He shook his head as though trying to clear it. “I mean what kind of problem?”
His dark hair had the faintest hint of gray right at his temples, but otherwise she couldn’t see the years on him. Oh, he was definitely more masculine than he’d been, but it was hard not to see the youthful Deke she’d loved so much.
But she was over him, and this was nothing more than a job. “The national security kind.” He was quiet for a moment, and she felt another surge of panic at the idea of him closing that door. “I’m in over my head. Please, Deke.”
She hated begging, but she couldn’t let him shut her out. Not when there was so much on the line.
He stepped aside, opening the door wide and letting her in.
Relief flooded her system and she walked inside. The minute he closed the door behind her, she felt some modicum of safety.
“I’m sorry it’s so late. I just got into Dallas, and I came straight here.” She’d taken a cab and paid cash.
“Are you okay? Is someone following you?” Deke moved to the end of the entryway. “Hey, MaeBe, can you hop online and check the CCTV cams around the building? Go back at least fifteen minutes.”
Maddie followed him and found herself staring into his living room/dining area. It was a big space with a couple of armchairs and a comfy-looking couch. Everyone seemed to be congregated in the dining room, however. Deke had a big table that was covered in…holy shit. Deke Murphy played board games?
Deke Murphy was a jock who played football and baseball and effortlessly won at both. He was the popular guy who everyone looked up to. She was the nerd who played board games.
A pink-haired young woman popped out of her seat as though she’d just been waiting for something to go wrong. “Sure thing, Deke. Am I looking for anything specific?”
“I’d like to see if anyone might have followed my friend here,” Deke replied.
“Something going on?” A man with piercing green eyes and super-short dark hair asked. He looked military.
There were several women and men around the table. The men were all dressed in a similar fashion to Deke, dress shirts and slacks. The women were in cocktail dresses.
“I don’t know yet, but I want to be careful.” Deke gestured her way. “This is an old friend of mine from high school. Her name is Madeline Hill.”
A stunningly gorgeous blond guy whistled. “The Maddie Hill?”
“Not now, Boom,” Deke said with a shake of his head. “Maddie works for Nolan Byrne.”
A collective gasp went through the room, and she realized where she was. She was in a hall of geeks. Her people.
She hadn’t expected them to be Deke’s, yet here she was in a room full of people playing an economic game based around small woodland creatures and their railroads and who likely worshipped Nolan Byrne.
“Who’s that?” Except the gorgeous blond guy who seemed to know who she was. He was also huge. Like he was probably taller than she was right now and he was sitting down.
“Dude, even I know that and I’m usually the dummy of this group,” the man with the military cut said.
“Not if I’m here,” Blond Hunk shot back.
“That’s why I said usually,” Military Cut replied.
“Don’t be rude,” Pink-Haired Hacker said to Military Cut, and mentally Maddie put them together. There was something about the rebuke that screamed girlfriend.
That wasn’t the only conclusion Maddie could draw. There was no question in Maddie’s mind what Pink Hair did for a living. She’d basically walked off the pages of a techno thriller. Pink Hair worked in cybersecurity, and likely for the same firm as Deke. They weren’t two people who looked like they would fit together except for the forced proximity of work. It could make for unlikely friendships.