I convinced my boss that Hugh is the guy to help us. I think he is. But it’s possible… I just want to see him again.
—Dr. Eleanor Smithers, Brigade Notes
Hugh Johnson knew within a second of entering his bungalow that somebody else was inside. First, his hound dog didn’t bother to meet him at the door. Second, a vaguely familiar scent of wild bluebells wafted in the air.
He tossed his keys near the bowl sitting on an entryway table his mama had insisted he own and kept walking down the hallway, striding into his comfortable living room with its floor-to-ceiling windows that showcased trees and a bubbling brook outside. There he stopped cold. “Ellie,” he murmured, his normally relaxed body going on full alert as he took in the small woman lounging on his worn couch with the dog’s head in her lap.
She smiled pretty pink lips, her blue eyes sparkling behind wire-rimmed glasses as she stroked the dog’s head. “Your door was unlocked.”
Heisenberg groaned happily beneath her palm, keeping his eyes closed in pure bliss.
Hugh had the oddest desire to change places with the dog. “Not much crime out here in eastern Kentucky,” he murmured, studying the woman he hadn’t seen in…what? Ten years? “You’re all grown up, Eleanor.”
“I should hope so.” Even though she was wearing a black pencil skirt and fancy silk shirt, she’d kicked her shoes off and had her legs, her long and bare legs, on the hunting and fishing magazines scattered across his coffee table. She’d shoved a tattered and well-read Steve Berry thriller to the side.
Her ankles were crossed, and her toenails were painted with purple sparkles. Her blonde hair reached her shoulders in the wild mass he remembered. “You’re looking…good,” she murmured, a slight pink filling her cheeks.
He’d always liked how easily she blushed. Then he glanced down at his ripped jeans and threadbare Metallica T-shirt. “I’m on vacation.”
“It’s over,” she said softly, her gaze sobering.
His heartrate ticked slightly. Not much, but some. He scratched behind his ear and then stuck his thumbs in his jeans pockets. “It’s great to see you and all, but what are you doing here?” He hadn’t seen her since they’d both graduated with their bachelor degrees in chemistry from Kentucky.
“That’s it?” She tilted her head to the side in a way he remembered as being cute. Now, on her all grown up, it was sexy. Very. “No Southern hospitality? No…have a beer?”
All right. He’d never been much of a game player, but he was on vacation from his job after a pain-in-the-ass month, and a beer sounded fucking fantastic. Not much threw him off balance, and right now, he wasn’t liking the feeling in his gut. So he moved for the kitchen, leaned down to open the short and round fridge, and drew out two bottles. A quick flip of the tops, and he strode for her, handing over the ultra-cold brew. “If I remember right, you don’t like beer,” he murmured before lifting his bottle and taking a big swig.
She eyed him over hers and took a delicate drink. “I’m surprised you remember me at all.”
His eyebrows lifted of their own accord. “You were my lab partner for two years. We were friends. Why wouldn’t I remember you?” Not once had he ever truly understood what was in the woman’s head.
She lifted a small shoulder, her gaze even and veiled. Interesting. That was a skill she’d acquired after college, apparently. “You were always surrounded by girls. Figured I was one of many.”
He sat in the chair adjacent to the couch and kicked a pair of boots out of his way. “I was the quarterback on the football team.” Which had led to a bunch of dates. “Until I wasn’t.” The day he’d blown his knee out in his senior year had changed the life he had planned. One hit and it was over. Completely. He grinned. “We never slept together, Ell. That made you one of…one.” It was true, and they both knew it.
She snorted, her nose pert and scattered with freckles. “You were definitely a man-whore.”
He thoughtfully took another drink. She was pretty. Very. Small hips, little waist, high breasts. His body came alive in a way it hadn’t in a surprisingly long time. “Come here to scratch an itch that never quite went away?”
Her jaw dropped and then snapped shut. “Of course not, you egomaniac.” More pink in her cheeks.
“Sorry.” The words came out before he could think. “There was a time, after my injury, when I’m pretty sure I was a complete ass.” The three months after, when the football scouts stopped calling were a blur, but he could remember her bringing him…what? Cookies? And his homework. Yeah. That, he remembered. “If I did anything that irritated you, I’m very sorry, Eleanor.” He meant every damn word. Without her, he probably wouldn’t have graduated.
She took another drink. “You were cranky. Like a bear with a thorn in its paw. But you weren’t mean, Hugh.” She sighed. “I don’t think you have that in you.”
The woman was wrong. Everybody had that in them. Now more than ever. Memories started flooding back. Working with Ellie. Her smile and her sense of humor…and her way of carefully thinking everything through before saying anything. Oh, she’d get to her reason for being in his place, but she’d do it in her time. He could live with that. “Where have you been, anyway?”
She glanced down at the dog, who was almost purring in her lap. “Here and there. Graduate school. Chemistry and computer science,” she answered before he could ask.
He grinned. “Dr. Smithers. It fits you.” Then he paused, surprised by how unsettling his next thought was. “If that’s still your name. Did you get married?” Why did the thought feel like a punch to the nards? He hadn’t seen her in eons.
“No.” She wetted her lips.
His pants tightened. “Me either.”
“I know,” she said softly, meeting his gaze again. “I have a dossier on you.”
A dossier? What the fuck? “All right.” He set his beer on the table and leaned forward. “Enough easing in, Ellie. What the hell are you doing here?”
She sighed and dropped her feet to the shag carpet, careful not to dislodge the dog. Her shoulders straightened and she lowered her chin in a stubborn motion that wasn’t familiar. “Congratulations. You’ve been transferred from the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, Hugh.”
Transferred? He straightened. “Sorry, but I like my job and my life.” It was quiet, methodical, and routine.
“That’s too bad. Because now you work for the Brigade.” She smiled while her eyes remained deadly serious. “Welcome to the first line of defense against any current pandemic Scorpius-induced threats.”
* * * *
Ellie let her words sink in and tried not to stare at the man who still ran through her dreams periodically. It wasn’t fair. It really wasn’t.
Couldn’t he have a slight paunch? Or a receding hairline? Or adult acne?
No. Hugh Johnson had gone from an adorable college kid to a ripped and sexy man. The guy looked like a dark Thor with his thick brown hair and angled jaw, obvious even when covered with a two-day scruff. His eyes, those deep ocean-blue eyes, were still sharp and sexy. Oh, he moved like a good old Southern boy, slow and graceful, but anybody with eyes could see the intelligence in his. Most people didn’t bother to look.
She always had.
When she hadn’t been dreaming of him sweeping her up and declaring undying love. Man, she’d been a moron.
“I’m not leaving my job, Ellie,” he said, his voice a deep rumble with a gentle tone.
That voice. Man, she remembered it. Her abdomen clenched, and tingles danced down her spine. “They sent me in to ease your way,” she explained, only lying a little bit. Okay. She might have volunteered, but still. The plan was good. “The DNDO is part of Homeland Security, which means you can be transferred. You have been. Get on board.”
One of his dark eyebrows rose. “You’ve gotten a bit bossy, sweetheart.”
He had no idea. She breathed out. “Listen, Hugh. The pandemic is killing people left and right.” The Scorpius bacteria had already killed a hundred thousand people, and it showed no chance of slowing down. “The world is dying, and we’re under a threat.”
“I’m not a biologist, and you know it. The CDC will find a cure,” he countered, not sounding sure.
“I hope so.” She glanced at the full trees outside. “But that’s their job. Ours is to protect the country in the meantime.”
He frowned. “I’m not agreeing, but what’s the Brigade?”
She straightened. “It’s a small force appointed by the president to counter the difficulties we’re about to have, and we need your help. Your expertise as the assistant director of assessments for DNDO.”
He leaned back. “I’m third in line, Ellie. I like it that way. You need the director or the deputy director.”
Actually, the man was twice as smart as the other two. “We want you.”
The words hung in the air. He studied her, looking suddenly…hungry.
She swallowed, her lungs compressing. “We can guarantee the safety of your family. There are places being set up—places the Scorpius bacterium shouldn’t touch.”
He shook his head, the movement measured. “Scorpius is going to touch everywhere, and you should know that.” He finished his beer, his tough-guy neck moving as he swallowed. Then he set the bottle down. “My family has all headed for the hills. We have cabins around Blue Lake, and my folks and brothers are hunkering down.”
She tilted her head. “Yet you stayed here.” Ah. The man wasn’t as oblivious as he appeared. “You knew you’d be needed.”
His chin lowered. “I’ve made assessments regarding nuclear threats for the last five years. Yeah, baby. I knew I’d be needed.”
Tingles exploded along her skin. It was nice when he dropped the good-ole-boy act. Even though it was only partly an act. “Did your dad fight you on closing the tire stores?” She remembered his family had owned several tire stores throughout the South and both of his brothers had gone to work there. Not him. He’d wanted something different. Money be damned.
“No.”
Good. His family had seemed like nice people. “I’m glad,” she murmured.
“What about your mom? How is she?” Hugh asked.
So he remembered a little about her. Even so, her smile felt sad. “She died a few years back. Breast cancer.” Ellie’s only family.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Me too.” She cleared her throat and gently moved the snoring mutt off her lap, slipping her feet into her pumps. “I assume you have a go-bag ready?”
“No.” He glared at the dog. “Get off the couch, Heisenberg.”
Ellie stood, hiding a smile when the pooch totally ignored his master. “Cute name.” She looked around. “You’re also welcome to bring a significant other with you. If you have one.”
He stood and towered over her so suddenly she stopped breathing. “Are you asking me if I’m available, Ellie Mae?”
Warmth from his body, his very close body, washed over her. She tilted her head back to meet his eyes. “Don’t call me that.” It was his little nickname for her in college, and her heart used to stutter every time he used it. Something special just between the two of them.
“Why not?” He stepped in until their feet touched.
She blinked. Sparks flew between her nerves. “Wh-what are you doing?”
“Exploring.” His gaze ran over her face, curiosity clearly gleaming in those deep eyes. “I liked you. Back then. Big eyes, sweet smile, huge brain.” He reached out and brushed a curl away from her cheek, his touch warm.
Her throat closed. Heat flashed from his touch, down her torso, to zing along her erogenous zones. “Yet the one time I made a move, you rejected me.” It still hurt. When he was down and out—injured and in pain—she’d tried to give comfort.
“I wasn’t lookin’ for forever, and you’re a forever type of gal,” he murmured, standing way too close. “That offer you made nearly killed me sayin’ no. But even though I was hurtin’ and wanted to stop the pain, I couldn’t hurt you. Ever.” As if he couldn’t help himself, he brushed his knuckles along her jawline. “But I wanted you, Ell. Just knew you’d be a mistake I’d never recover from.”
Her lungs released quickly, and she took a step sideways along the coffee table. “Agreed.”
Amusement tilted his lips. “I ain’t a college kid no more, Ellie.”
“I’m well aware of that.” She needed to go by him to get to the door, and he wasn’t moving out of the way. How in the world did he still affect her like this? It had been years, for goodness’ sake. “We’re both eons out of college.”
“I’m no longer hurtin’ or whorin’ around,” he continued, looking big and broad in the small room.
“Your point?” she snapped, trying to get her libido under some semblance of control. Why did his country-boy act turn her on? She needed a shrink. Bad.
“My point? Well now.” His smile was more wolf than sheepdog. “This time, when you make the offer? I’m gonna say yes.”