Under Pressure (Body Armor #1)(32)

Catalina bit her lip, then reluctantly agreed. “All right then. I’d actually love to.”

“Wonderful.” Enoch looked genuinely pleased. “Any questions, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

“I have a few.” Leese glanced at Cat. “Why don’t you get settled while Enoch and I talk? I’ll be back in a minute.”

“You’re leaving?”

The pitch of her voice gave her away—and broke his heart. To reassure her, he stared into her eyes. “Just going into the other room with Enoch.”

“Oh.” She let out a nervous breath and nodded. “Okay.”

“Cat? I won’t make any plans without telling you. If I do have to step out, it won’t be for long, and you’ll know beforehand.”

“Sounds good.” Trying to appear unconcerned, she smiled. “Thanks.”

Giving up, Leese stepped out and closed the door. Sooner or later she’d stop doubting him.

“Something private?” Enoch asked.

“A favor, really. Can you find out for me the nearest place to get a couple of burner phones?”

Enoch lifted his brows. “Your company phone isn’t working?”

“It is, but I’d like some prepaids,” Leese explained. “Disposable phones.”

With no further questions, Enoch explained, “Actually a phone store right across the street offers them. Would you like me to run the errand for you?”

He shook his head. Leese preferred to do some things himself. “I’ll take care of it, but could you come back in about an hour? Maybe keep Cat company while I’m gone?”

He flashed a grin. “You mean you want me to ensure she doesn’t budge?”

“That too.” If need be, Enoch could reinforce Cat’s cooperation by alerting the guards. Or calling Sahara.

Leese wanted to trust Cat, but she’d already made so many references to booking it, to thinking her best option was to run, that he—

Peering around the hall, Cat said, “I wouldn’t sneak off.”

After a roll of his eyes, Leese turned to fully face her. “Eavesdropping?”

“Yes.” She came out the rest of the way. “And good thing. Enoch doesn’t need more duties piled on him. Seems to me he already has a full plate.”

Protesting that, Enoch said, “Believe me, Sahara makes it more than worth my while.”

“I hope so. The scope of your job seems to cover...everything. I don’t want to add to it.”

“Sahara is the very best boss I’ve ever had. Always polite and caring. She gives me requests, but if I said no, she’d be okay with it. She wouldn’t fire me. So far, though, I’ve never even considered saying no to her. I love this job too much.”

With fresh curiosity, Leese asked, “Was her brother the same?” Of course he’d known about Scott Silver. The man wasn’t a secret. But Sahara had never really discussed him much.

“Scott was very similar. They were close and shared a lot of personality traits. Smart, motivated, considerate... Sahara, though, is far more driven, personally and in business. Around her, there’s never a dull moment.” He opened the main door, but hesitated. “She normally doesn’t talk about him at all. She keeps everything inside—she’s super private that way. If you don’t mind, it’d be better if you don’t ask her anything about him.”

Since Leese was the same, he understood. “Sure.”

“Thanks.” He stepped out. “I’ll be back in one hour.”

Soon as he left, Leese turned to Cat. She’d removed her sweater and now wore only jeans, socks and a pullover long-sleeved T-shirt that hugged her modest curves. Somehow, on her, at this particular moment, it looked like the sexiest outfit ever.

“You doing okay?”

She nodded, but it was a lie. He saw it on her face, in the darkness of her eyes and the pallor of her skin.

Taking both her hands in his, he pulled her closer. “Fibber.”

“I’m here,” she countered. “Safe. I’d call that okay.”

“You’re chilled.” Her fingers felt like ice. “Want me to adjust the temp?”

“Did you see that thermostat? It’d take a mathematical genius to figure it out.” She tipped her head back to look up at him. “Besides, my hands and feet are always cold this time of year.”

Damn, but it was tempting to kiss her, especially since she looked to be waiting on it. Instead he took a step back. “Since we’re going to be playing house, why don’t we go through the kitchen and see what groceries we’ll need? I’ll pick them up while I’m out getting us phones.”

In silent agreement, she headed that way. “Why do you need the phones? You don’t trust the landlines here?”

“They’re secure. Sahara would have seen to that.” But trust that no one in the building would listen in? There were a lot of people in an agency this size—too many to vet them all, too many that he didn’t know well. “But I’d still rather you not make any calls. If there’s anyone you want to talk to, let me know.”

As she stepped into the kitchen she trailed her fingers over the polished granite bar. “You called them burners.”

“Usually burners mean a phone you use once and toss. I won’t do that, but I will use different phones in different locations so I can mix it up, and once one runs out of minutes, I’ll be done with it. It’s just a way to up our chances of dodging them. That’s all.”