Page 57 of Baby Take Me Home
“Do we have to say it out loud?” Jason asked. “I mean, we can stop if you tell us to, boss.”
“No,” TJ answered. “If we’re going rogue, we’ll go rogue all the way. Keep up the wiretaps on the senator and his staff, but cover your tracks.” He looked around the conference table. “Any ideas?”
“Two days,” I said before I had enough time to think about it and convince myself it was impossible, which it probably was. “There’s a way I can have the story written, edited, fact-checked, and posted online and out on the news wires by Monday afternoon.” I thought about this team pulling together in this dark hour, pooling their resources, sharing the burden of the task ahead of them. I’d had that once with Aiden and the small staff we often brought together to break big stories. I’d missed it. “I need a team of my own.”
Cynthia leaned forward. “Meaning?”
“Meaning I’ll need to ask my editor to call in the best writers, copy editors, and fact checkers we have, and to put the lawyers on standby.” I braced myself for the next request because I knew it would invite the most pushback. “And I’ll have to go there this afternoon, to The Sun offices, and stay there around the clock until we hit publish.”
TJ started to speak, but Martin cleared his throat, interrupting him. “Boss, if that’s what she needs, we can escort her there and watch her and the building for as long as it takes.”
“I’d be amenable to that,” TJ said.
“Not so fast,” I said, knowing I was making it harder for them to do their jobs, but Martin’s plan was a dealbreaker. “Watch the building, if you must. But me and my fellow journalists while we work? That’s a hard no. For the next fifty-plus hours, you’re still government employees. You can’t sit in our newsroom with weapons and surveillance equipment. That’s not how the fourth estate works.”
TJ held my gaze so long that I desperately wanted to look away, but I sensed that would be a concession I couldn’t afford to make. Seconds stretched into a minute while everyone remained silent, waiting for their leader to make the decision
“Fine,” he finally said so quietly, it was barely above a breath. “Crews, work on your detailed plans. Meet back here in one hour. Jensen, get a secure line set up with the editor. We’ll reach out to her in a few minutes.”
Everyone stood to leave except TJ and Jason, who picked up one of the cleared cell phones from a desk on one the side of the room.
“Do we have anything more secure?” TJ asked.
Jason grinned. “You know we do. You signed the requisition form for it two weeks ago. I’ll go get it.” He followed his colleagues out of the SCIF.
I stood to leave as well, but TJ laid his hand on mine.
“We need to talk,” he said. “Join me in my room.”
It was yet another of his commands I wouldn’t refuse.
* * *
We saton TJ’s sofa, side-by-side, and turned toward each other.
“I’m sorry. You have every right to be angry with me.”
“I do and I am,” he said in a calm, matter-of-fact tone that annoyed the hell out of me. “You could have gotten caught, then you might have been hurt, taken hostage, or both. It’s the only thing that could have made this shitshow worse.”
“But none of those things happened.” I leaned back, putting space between us. “And it might be nice if you remembered that I got the information HEAT didn’t, and my recording and my story are going to blow a hole in the Carbonados syndicate and—”
In one swift move, he pulled me against his chest and pressed his lips to mine, cutting off my words with a kiss. It was hard and hot and passionate. Despite wanting to argue with him, I couldn’t help kissing him back. Our desperate claiming of each other’s mouths gave way to slow, soft exploration. A minute later, he pulled away from me and I leaned forward, trying to reclaim the connection.
“I’m sorry we don’t have more time,” he said as he traced a fingertip down the side of my throat and rested it on my galloping pulse. “But you have to see Jensen about placing the call to your editor, and we need to have a discussion first.”
“I see your bossiness has returned,” I whispered in his ear, then nibbled his neck.
He groaned and placed his hands on my shoulders. He held me in place for a minute as I trailed kisses and bites up and down the side of his neck. Then he pushed me away slowly, his breath hitching.
“Talk,” he said. He released me and backed away a few inches. “There are three rules you will abide by during this operation. And yes, I know I’m being bossy and I do not need you to say it again in that sexy voice of yours.”
His hooded eyes dropped to my lips, and he frowned. It was obvious that he wanted to play as much as I did, but we both knew this wasn’t the time nor the place for it.
I sat up straight. “I’m listening.”
“Thank you. Rule one, you’ll give Jensen a list of everyone you and your editor need to bring in to help on the story. Before you argue with me, we’ll only run background checks to detect any suspicious financial activity or connections to Carbonados, the senator, or his staff.”
I sighed. It skated dangerously close to governmental interference, but I understood the importance of protecting the story and the team. “I can live with that.”