And there was Cody himself. More than anything, she yearned for his respect. Oh, yes, she wanted his love, needed his love. And now that she’d slept with him, she wanted that, too, wanted those incredibly passionate feelings only he could arouse in her body—and only he could assuage. But if she had to choose one thing, she would choose his respect and sacrifice the rest.
Could she make him understand?
Moran straightened just then, and Keira looked up. Cody and a watchful Sabbatino were walking toward her car. Cody didn’t say anything to her when he got in and buckled his seat belt, just told Sabbatino, “Thanks. We’ll see you at the agency.”
Keira started the engine and waited for the other two agents to get into their car, then signaled and pulled out into traffic, Sabbatino and Moran right behind her. They drove in silence for a few minutes before curiosity got the better of her. “Did Sabbatino say anything to you?”
Cody glanced at her. “Yeah. He said, ‘Nice view.’ My apartment’s on the top floor and faces the Rockies.”
Keira knew she shouldn’t ask, but she couldn’t help it. “He didn’t say anything else? Anything about...us...being together last night?”
He gave her a level look. “Nope. All he said was, ‘Nice view.’ Why? Did Moran say something to you?”
She shook her head. “Not a single word the whole time.” But she wouldn’t look at Cody, just focused on the traffic.
“So, why do you ask?” he said softly. “Whatever they’re thinking, why do you care?”
“Because...” She didn’t have an answer for him, not one she could put into words.
“You told me last night you weren’t ashamed of loving me.”
She darted a glance at him. “I’m not.”
“Sure seems like you are.” There was an edge to his voice.
“It’s not that,” she said quickly, and when she stole a peek at him, she saw his jaw was set and there was an expression on his face that gave her a pang to see. Almost as if she’d hurt him if she admitted...
“Then what is it?”
“I don’t want them to lose respect for me,” she said in a low tone.
He was silent for a moment. “Is that what this is all about? Respect?”
Keira nodded. “It’s different for men. A man doesn’t lose respect for another man because he sleeps with a woman. But a woman...especially an agent...” She couldn’t finish, but she didn’t have to.
“In other words, the double standard is alive and well...in your mind.”
“Not just in my mind,” she defended hotly. “It’s still the way things are, even after all these years—don’t deny it.”
Cody didn’t say anything, and Keira knew he was considering her statement. After a while he sighed and said, “Maybe you’re right. I don’t like admitting it, but...”
Keira saw the agency’s fenced parking lot ahead of her and signaled a turn. Then she fished in her purse for her ID badge and saw Cody take his out of his pocket and clip it to his jacket’s lapel. They both flashed their badges to the guard on the gate, who waved them on through and wished them a nice day. The car containing Sabbatino and Moran was right behind them.
All four of them badged into the building, one after another—“tailgating” wasn’t allowed. Not only did the agency want to restrict access to those who had the electronic ID badges, they also kept track electronically of who was in the building when, so employees had to badge out to exit, as well as badge in to enter.
“Might as well go right up,” Cody said, once all four of them had passed muster with the security guards in the lobby. Sabbatino and Moran rode up with them, then delivered them to D’Arcy’s outer office.
Baker Street’s executive assistant told Cody and Keira, “He’s waiting for you.”
Sabbatino and Moran took seats, prepared to wait as long as it took. Cody knocked once, then opened the door to the inner office and ushered Keira through.
“Walker. Jones. Good to see both of you...alive,” D’Arcy said. He was sitting at his desk, and he waved them over. “I just finished reading the explosives team’s report on your truck,” he told Cody. “Nothing new there beyond what you told me on the phone last night. But there’s been another development.” There was a grim set to his mouth as he handed copies of another report to both of them.