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“It does.”

David looked up. “Thank you.”

Christian shook his head. “Don’t. I’m just glad I was able to help.”

“And take a peek into my private life,” David added with a grin.

Christian ducked his head, laughing nervously. “I would like to stand here and say I didn’t get a thrill from what I saw, but I won’t start lying to you now. But I promise I didn’t look at anything I hadn’t already seen...even the pictures.”

David smirked. “And considering how curious you are, just how tempting was it to take a peek?”

“On the grounds of not wanting to self-incriminate, I’m going to plead the fifth and restate that I looked at nothing in detail and deleted everything thoroughly,” Christian said with pink cheeks.

It was, by far, the most flirtatious conversation David had ever had with Christian. It went well beyond what he usually allowed, even if it was tempting with someone as good-looking as Christian around. But considering his sudden good mood and the debt he now owed Christian, he found himself letting his strict standards slip a little. Well, and he’d never seen Christian blush so much since the man had laid eyes on David’s naked body, and he found himself liking the attention.

“Well, I should probably...get back to my desk. Reyes is still looking at everything like he’s never seen a computer or keyboard before, so I should make sure he’s not having a stroke out there,” Christian said, stepping back toward the office door.

David nodded, still holding tight to the drive. “Okay, we’ll talk later.”

Christian hesitated, looking like he wanted to ask for specifics. “Uh, okay.”

David watched him go, his continuing lack of standards allowing him to stare at Christian’s retreating ass as he left. After a moment, he returned his attention to the device in his hand, chiding himself for being foolish.

“Behave, old man,” he reminded himself.

He was spared having to consider whether he was toeing a dangerous line by the sudden shrill ring of his phone. David jumped, forgetting he’d turned the ringer on and left it that way while waiting to see if he’d hear from Christian. Frowning, he pulled his phone out, smirking when he saw the unknown yet strangely familiar number.

David answered. “Ethan.”

The man’s voice came through in a high, angry shout. “How the fuck did you do it?”

David held the USB stick up again, eyeing it. “You’re going to have to be more specific, Ethan. I do a lot of things throughout the course of my day.”

“You know damn well what I mean! How did my stick disappear?”

David raised a brow, wondering how the solution hadn’t already risen in Ethan’s mind. Had David almost been done in by someone who did not top any intelligence charts?

David clicked his tongue. “You really should learn to keep a better watch over your things.”

“Fuck you! I had it safe. You don’t even know where I live! It’s not even in my name. How did you know?” Ethan demanded.

“If you haven’t managed to put the puzzle together by yourself, then why do you expect me to put it together for you?”

“David, you absolute asshole!”

“I’ll tell you what, I’ll give you what you gave me. When you figure it out, go ahead and call me and let me know. But until that time, stand around and think real hard about your life choices. You almost had me this time, you try it again, and I’ll bring you and anyone helping you down too.”

“Don’t threaten me, it would ruin you too!”

“Maybe. It depends on what you tried to throw at me. But the thing is, I would still have a career, even if it wasn’t the same. But you? You’d end up in jail. And yeah, blackmail? That’s a serious offense, especially when you’re coming after a general, so you can count on getting a felony on your record. Keep that in mind the next time you decide you want to hold something over my head.”

David ended the call before Ethan could think of anything else to add. Then, before Ethan could dial him back, David blocked the number. For good measure, he also went into his email and blocked the email address. Sure, Ethan could generate unlimited email addresses and probably spoof a phone number, but what would that matter? The man had nothing he could use to threaten David anymore; otherwise, he would have pulled it out on the phone call.

He was safe.

David set the flash drive on the desk, mentally tallying when he could leave the office to destroy the damned thing in peace. Once it was gone, everything would be perfectly safe again, and he could live peacefully. One day, he might even look back and laugh a little.

In the meantime, he had a new problem. The image of Christian rose in his mind, and David smiled. As much as their flirtation probably crossed a line or three, David was willing to push that aside for the moment. He owed Christian a great deal and needed to think of a perfect repayment.