She Who Dares, Wins

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A KNOCK AT THE DOOR had Katie sitting straight up in bed wondering where she was. In half a second she remembered. London. The hotel. Mac. Jogging to the bathroom, she found the hotel robe and wrapped it around her naked body.

Someone knocked again.

“Just a minute,” she said. It had better be important, since the person had obviously ignored the Do Not Disturb sign. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost four. Rising on her toes, she squinted so she could see through the peephole.

Growling, she opened the door.

“I thought I told you to stay put. What the hell are you doing here?”

Mac stood staring, his eyes moving down to the swell of her breasts and back to her face, trying to hide a smile.

“Get in here,” she said, yanking him into the hotel room. “We had a deal—I come get you at six and take you to your home. What’s so difficult about that?”

“No need to be so cranky.” Mac moved to sit down on the sofa in the living room. “I didn’t know you’d be napping. I thought you’d be running around doing detective stuff.”

“I was, but then I realized I had to get some rest so I could protect you tonight. Would you like to explain why you are here?”

“I had to see you.”

Katie frowned, wondering what had been so important that he’d risk his life to see her. “Is it about your case? Did you remember something?”

“The case? Oh, yeah. The dean stopped by. He wanted me to give you these.” He pulled a couple of files out of his backpack. “They’re files about other programs that have been targeted at the university.”

“Thanks. So this is it? It couldn’t wait until six?” Frustrated, she pulled the robe tighter around her. “I need you to follow the rules, Professor, so I can do my job. That means doing what I ask so that we can both be safe.”

“I took a cab straight here,” he said by way of explanation. “I was never alone. It picked me up at the door of the science building and brought me straight here.”

Katie looked to the ceiling, sighed and sat down again. “Anyone could have grabbed you on your way up here. The lobby at this hotel is crowded at four, because they have high tea, something the Brits seem to favor. I know this because when I checked in the desk clerk told me that I would need reservations, as the place was usually packed.

“There’s the elevator, stairwell, any number of places someone could have been hiding, and you would never have seen them coming.”

She threw her hands up in frustration. “I can’t help you if you don’t take this seriously. I’m good at what I do, but I can’t do my job if you don’t cooperate. It’s that simple.”

“I thought I was taking precautions by calling the cab. Normally I would have walked the twenty blocks or so. I don’t see how someone could grab me in a room full of people or on a busy street.”

She leaned forward, putting her elbows on her knees, and then remembered she was wearing the robe, so she sat back up. “You were mugged on a busy street a little over a week ago.”

He shook his head. “That was kids acting tough. I gave them the few pounds I had and they took off.”

“One of them hit you from behind with a bottle—your second head injury in as many weeks. They also tried to take the backpack you had on your shoulder, which no doubt had your laptop, right?”

He nodded. “I’d done some work at the pub.”

“Right. Those kids were after more than your wallet. That was to keep you from catching on to what they really wanted. If that couple hadn’t come around the corner when they did, the kids might have run off with it. Do you understand? Someone wants your research. I think we’re dealing with people who know you and this is personal.”

Something clicked in her brain. “That’s it.” She walked over to the files she’d been looking at before. All the crimes against Mac had happened at the same time of day. At the desk she rummaged through the files again.

“Let me guess, you have a pretty solid routine. You get to the university at the same time every day, and you leave at the same time. Am I right?”

He stood. “Yes, why?”

“It’s simple. They know your schedule. It’s either someone who is watching you, which will make them easy for me to spot, or it’s someone close to you.”

She couldn’t help but smile. “I knew there was something I wasn’t seeing earlier. If they were terrorists, they wouldn’t be playing games. We’d either be talking about ransom or requesting your body back for the family.”

“Don’t pull any punches on my account.” Mac’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Oh, sorry. I was thinking out loud. I do that when I’m working a case. I apologize if I’ve frightened you.”

“Not at all,” Mac said. “I’m glad you’ve been able to put the dean’s crazy ideas about terrorists to rest.”

“No, he isn’t crazy. Someone does want to cause you bodily harm. The dean is absolutely correct about that. But it isn’t an outward threat.”

Mac shook his head. “But none of this makes any sense. My friends don’t have any reason to cause me harm. Most of them don’t even know what I do. My colleagues at the university are professionals who have their own concerns. We are very pleasant with one another.”

“Pleasant is an easy way to hide mercenary and evil,” Katie said, her hands going to her hips. Her mind was on the case, but it didn’t keep her from noticing the way his sweater hid his gorgeous abs, or the slight bulge in his pants her fingers ached to touch.