Page 17 of Code Name: Harbor

Connie points her finger at me. “You should have left her in the water.”

I’ve had enough and this shit’s going to stop right now. “Apparently I have a different moral compass than you, Connie.” My tone is dry, sardonic and pointed before it hardens. “I couldn’t let an innocent person die and if that brings shit down on us, so be it. But more importantly, I’m your boss and you don’t get to lecture me on decisions that affect this business.”

She holds my eyes for a long moment, and I can see she doesn’t want to let this go. But then she leans down, picks up my scotch and downs the rest of it.

It’s a message. A way for her to be defiant and intimate at the same time.

I swallow down the anger and decide to let it go. “How about we get down to business, then you two get the hell out of here so I can take a short nap before my midnight run?”

“Works for me,” Marcus says, clearly glad to have the tension defused.

The security system chimes, followed by the doorbell ringing, just as Connie lowers herself back down into the chair.

Marcus and I exchange a look. Who the hell could that be?

I don’t have friends and Marcus and Connie are the only two members of my crew who’ve ever been invited here.

Delivery?

I pull up my security app, tap on the front door camera intent to tell them to leave the package, and I’m stunned by what I see.

Josie McAdams on my front porch.

There’s no denying that my first reaction is an undeniable flash of pleasure that she sought me out, which pretty much ensures that I’m going to pursue something with her. I push away the small measure of restraint, knowing that this woman could mean trouble for me.

“Who is it?” Connie asks.

I rise from my chair. “Stay here.”

I cross the patio, through the sliding glass door into the great room, through the entry hall, toward the front double doors, which are wooden with large panes of clear glass so I can see Josie clearly.

She’s half turned, surveying the neighborhood. The other multimillion-dollar homes. I can see her face in profile, and this is my first clear image of what she looks like without wet hair plastered to her pale face.

And frankly… she’s gorgeous. Sun-kissed skin, high cheekbones, light, arched eyebrows. She’s tall with just a hint of buxom curves. I know she’s strong because she took down Mikhail and managed not to drown in dark waters, but standing on my doorstep, she looks delicate.

It’s not lost on me that Marcus and Connie are forty feet away on the patio, and Connie has just said we should have left her to die, and oh, let’s not forget I have a smuggled Pieter de Hooch in my study.

I open the door and she spins to face me.

And she checks me out.

Straight up runs her eyes down the length of me and back up again. It’s fast but obvious.

“Like what you see?” I ask, and fuck… the way she blushes makes her a million times prettier.

But she’s not discombobulated at all. She lifts her chin. “Can we talk?”

“Yeah,” I say and step back, motioning her in. “Sure.”

Josie enters and I turn to close the door. By the time I turn back around, Josie is standing almost face-to-face with Connie who came in the house. Marcus is right behind her.

Josie turns back to me. “I’m sorry. You have company. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She takes a step toward the door, but I move into her path, cutting her off.

A hand to her shoulder, I turn her back around to face my other guests. “You’re not interrupting and they were just leaving.”

I stare pointedly at Marcus who gets the hint and takes Connie by the hand. “Right. We are indeed leaving.”

“But we didn’t—” Connie starts to say.