Magic Resistant by Veronica Del Rosa Page A

Sam?” She wrote back. Being stupid
was a trait she actively avoided. If it wasn’t Nathan then she
would disconnect instantly.
    “ This line is secure, Jewelry.” She
had complained to him how much she hated the name Jules after a
superior persistently called her it. Tongue-in-cheek, Nathan
decided to call her Jewelry instead. He said it was more classy and
expensive sounding. Soon it became an affectionate nickname she
stopped resisting, at least mentally. On principle, she punched his
arm whenever he said it.
    “ I can’t tell you where I am and please
don’t trace me. I need to stay in hiding.” She sent back to
him, wishing she could see her old friend in person. She missed his
teasing, laid-back attitude. And he had at his desk the best
stockpile of junk food a girl could ask for.
    “ Is there anything I can do to help? I’m
worried sick about you.”
    “ No, I’m good. Send your wife my
love.” And with that she signed off and shutdown the system.
She didn’t want to take the chance of someone tracing her.
    Talking to Nathan had been an unexpected
bonus. Quite intelligent, he loved unraveling mysteries. He
wouldn’t be head of his department if he wasn’t smart. His wife,
Mary, good-naturedly complained he either had his nose stuck in a
murder mystery book or stared at the computer screen.
    Her last words to him a prearranged code. On
impulse, she had decided to send Nathan a copy of all the files
along with a detailed explanation of the situation. She’d spent
many untold hours on previous cases picking his brain.
    The words “Send your wife my love” told him
to check their locker in Union Station in three hours. They had
worked out beforehand a way to slip each other sensitive
information as they logged and recorded anything and everything
transmitted over the network. Nathan could delete the trail, but it
was impossible to get everything as there were backups of the
backups.
    Since he was just a human with no
special training, they banned Nathan from taking part in any
Enforcer investigations. She snorted at that thought. He may not
have any supernatural abilities but he wasn’t useless. His vastly
different experiences from the Enforcers helped him view difficult
cases from different angles.
    Plus, the thought of giving copies to someone
else calmed the stampeding elephants in her stomach. Sure, Jackson
said he had friends with copies, but she wanted her own insurance.
Too many strange things didn’t add up.
    A click of the bathroom door drew her
attention upwards. Steam wafted from the opening, the scent of wood
smoke and Irish Springs body wash drifted over her. Jackson
wandered out with a towel slung around his hips. He used another
towel to scrub the water from his hair and Julia’s train of thought
derailed, crashed and burned as she watched his chest muscles
ripple. She still hadn’t decided if their enforced intimacy and
comfort level was a blessing or a curse.
    “ Please fall…” The wayward thought
skittered across her mind before she shoved it away. These weeks
together had increased her attraction to him. Seeing him half-naked
did nothing to lessen the lust from frequently rearing its head.
She drew her eyes from his sexy, lean hips and made eye contact.
She told herself that she didn’t want the towel to fall, truly she
didn’t.
    Liar.
    Thankfully she had enough self-control to
keep her face from reddening as she met his knowing gaze. Some
days, she swore he did this on purpose. He’d shower after their
sparring then wander out with just a towel on, the end goal his
duffle bag. His excuse, he didn’t want his clothes damp from the
steam. A weak reason and yet she never called him on it. A small,
tiny part of her enjoyed watching him.
    She almost laughed. Who was she kidding? The
part wasn’t small or tiny. She loved this time of day.
    Coughing to clear her throat and gain his
attention as he walked past her to the bed, she kept her eyes glued
firm to a spot past his