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Blimey.He sat up straighter on the cheap, hard cushioned sofa of the extended stay hotel room. The conversation had just taken a fascinating turn.
He turned up the volume. Listened. Went back. Listened again.
Nathalie and the British bodyguard had known each other in the past. Definitely former lovers. The toff had been on the losing end from the sound of it.
“Did the American girl dump you, mate? How tragic.”
That voice. Who was he?
Say his fucking name.
Chapter Six
Nathalieshoweredthenextmorning and dressed for work in an olive pantsuit and cream silk blouse before she summoned up the nerve to leave her bedroom. She’d barely slept and what little sleep she got was full of dreams of her and Ryder when they were at Oxford.
Although the Ryder in her dreams had been replaced by the former SAS soldier who was in her guest room down the hall.
That man was a stranger and not her biggest regret.
The smell of coffee hit her when she reached the bottom of the stairs.
Ryder waited in her kitchen, dressed in a charcoal suit with a sky-blue striped navy silk tie and an expression that told her nothing of what was going on inside his head. “We’ll take the Suburban. From now on, I drive you everywhere you need to go.” He handed her a silver travel mug.
She glanced at the dark brown liquid inside.
“I didn’t know if you still took it with cream and sugar,” he said.
“I cut out the sugar, but not the sweetness.” The carton of half-and-half sat on the counter, next to her automatic grind and brew coffee machine. She poured some cream into the mug and reached for a packet of stevia from the cabinet. “I’m sorry. I should have come downstairs earlier and prepared breakfast. You’re my guest.”
He took a sip from the mug in his hand. “I’m not a guest. I’m working. You aren’t required to feed me.”
Her stomach shriveled at his words. He was right. He was a security specialist, not her guest.
Her bodyguard.
She followed him silently downstairs to the garage. He’d moved the Suburban from the street to her driveway sometime this morning. She slid onto the front passenger seat as he moved to the driver’s side.
“I’ll need a list of all your employees.” He backed the vehicle into the street and headed for her office.
“Why?”
“So I can run background checks on them.”
“I assure you, my people are all loyal.” Williams was a small firm. Her father and Don had screened and run background checks on all employees before hiring them.
The patronizing look he gave her made her palm itch to wipe it off his face. “If someone wants to steal your technology, the first thing they will look for is an opportunity to exploit someone on the inside who they can either bribe or blackmail into helping them.”
Nathalie turned her head to stare out the passenger window. She knew from personal experience what it felt like to be exploited as a means to an end. To be backed into a corner and forced to choose between loyalty and necessity.
The kind of desperation that made it possible to accept a bribe.
To commit a heart-wrenching act of betrayal.
Karma.
“It’s also possible the threat is more personal.” Ryder’s voice cooled. “Do you have any former lovers, ex-friends, or anyone else that may harbor ill-feelings toward you?”
Besides you?