at a rapid-fire pace. He didn’t like the admiration glinting in his friend’s eyes.
He knew Roni wasn’t his—far from it—but shit, she wasn’t Ant’s either. He knew he had nothing to worry about from Ant, but he didn’t like how she smiled at the cowboy. More precisely how she smiled at Ant but frowned at him whenever he stopped in to check on them. If she was to be chummy with anyone, it should be with him.
Steele came by the conference room around noon and suggested in a far-too-casual tone that Roni might want to take a break. Maybe get something to eat from the kitchen. His smile was toothy, harsh.
She glanced at Sterling with a question in her eyes, and he nodded. As soon as she left the room, he turned to his boss. “What is it?” he gritted out. Because damn it, he knew Steele. He knew that look. He knew it was something. Something shitty.
“HQ wants us in.”
Sterling frowned. “What do you mean?”
“He wants us to have an in with Morrow. He wants to be able to watch what he’s doing.” His eyes narrowed. “Do you think she’s up for playing double agent?”
His gut heaved. Fuck! “That’s dangerous.”
“Not if she’s smart. And I think she is. It could be very useful having someone close to him.” Fuck. “HQ also thinks it might prove beneficial to have a way to feed the Snoop stories.”
“Disinformation?” Ant’s lips quirked.
“Something like that.”
It took everything in Sterling not to clench his fists. He might have clenched them a little. “You’re asking a lot of her. She hates that guy.”
Steele’s jaw bunched. “We’re offering a lot.”
Sterling frowned. “What?”
“Let’s just say HQ has an attorney who specializes in custody cases on retainer. And, ahem, his offers are never refused.”
“So she gets her sister back but still has to work for Morrow? We’re not taking him down?”
“Not while he’s useful to us. And with her help, he is. The information we can glean could be game changing.” He turned to Ant. “Is there a way to tap into Morrow’s computer, in real time, without him knowing?”
“We could install a clone.”
“What’s that?”
“Like a mirror. Reflecting everything he does.”
Steele nodded. “Can we do it remotely?”
“Sure. With a virus. But it could be detected, even with his shit-for-nothing firewall. A better option would be to install something in the hardware. That’s tougher to spot.”
“With her feeding him information and him feeding us information, it’s a complete loop. Let’s strategize how we can accomplish infiltrating his hardware.”
Ant nodded. “Computer repairman?”
“Too suspect. We could send her in with it.”
Sterling bristled at Steele’s suggestion. “No fucking way. You’re not sending her into a hot situation. She has no training.”
Steele glared at him but didn’t respond. Although he could have. Sterling’s outburst was downright insubordination. He didn’t care.
Ant grunted. “She doesn’t have the computer skills anyway. This is more than just the click and run she’s been doing. It’d have to be me going in.”
Much better idea.
Roni could stay here. With him. Where it was safe.
“I could go in with her.”
Oh, Ant needed to shut up. Just shut up.
Steele mulled over the options for a moment and then nodded. “I think that would work. Sketch out the details and I’ll run it by the boss.” Sterling opened his mouth to protest, but before he could, Steele pinned him with a dark look. “Can I talk to you? In private?”
Oh shit.
Sterling nodded and stood. Ant sent him a sympathetic glance.
Yeah. They both knew what was coming.
Once they were in the hall, Steele rounded on him. “What the fuck is going on?” he asked.
Sterling swallowed. “I think you know.”
“So you fucked her. So it was phenomenal. You need to get back on your game.”
“I am on my game.”
“Bullshit. You’re acting like a horny hound, distracted by a bitch in heat.”
Sterling bristled. His hands closed into fists. CO or not, Steele was about to get decked. And then Steele said something that made his brain stutter to a stop.
“You’re acting like a guy in love.”
The words hit him like a punch to the gut. It wasn’t love. It couldn’t be. He wasn’t capable. Not anymore.
But it was something.
When he didn’t respond, Steele leaned in and hissed, “Have you lost your edge? Because I swear to God, Sterling, if you have, I’ll kick your ass myself.”
“I just want to keep her safe. That’s all.”
“We are, none of us, safe.”
“Right. But we are trained. She’s not.”
“We’ll get her training. You know the boss. He wouldn’t use her