Chapter 52
Scout gives his head a shake. “Anyway, we have another piece of intel.”
I drop my elbows to my knees and lean forward. “Evan messaged me about this a bit ago. He reminded me that when we interrogated that guy, he was babbling like a brook in springtime. None of it made sense, until now.”
Camile sits forward. “What?”
Scout, tapping on his computer keys, looks up at her. “Camile, he was rambling on and on about real estate.”
She looks between us with a crease between her brows. “What does that mean to the case?”
“Think about it, sweetheart… the kind of money that went missing could easily be used to buy real estate in a country like Vandemora.”
It’s easy to see numbers running through her head. “For what purpose?”
Scout sits back in his chair. “They’re probably buying up land and making small improvements, or false improvements. Dividing the land and reselling it. Marketing it to Americans as vacation property or for investments. I’ve seen it happen before. There’s big money in it.”
Pieces are falling into place inside my head at the same time they are for Camile.
She speaks softly. “Real estate. I never imagined anything like that. Did he say anything else?”
“He was babbling about someone named Grobin.”
She jolts, and her mouth slowly drops open. “Wow. Okay now. This is good. That’s the last name of the guy who had my position before me. Did he say where he was now?”
“Just that he had to go to a meeting with him. He couldn’t stick around talking to us anymore. Like he had a choice, but this guy was almost sweating about the meeting more than having the two of us threatening to break his arms.”
Camile scrambles for her own laptop. There’s excitement in her voice. “They’re both here. It’s all here in Vandemora.”
We’re soon looking at the tracking icon on Scout’s computer.
There’s a blinking icon on the screen surrounded by a maze of streets. “This dot is his truck. All day today it’s been at this building. I did some digging and found a YouTube drive through video of Carollia. I got lucky and they went right by this place. I did a screen grab and got the name on the sign. This afternoon, I’m going to dig into the court records to find out if this is a legitimate business.”
Camile leans in closer to the screen as the video plays. “Impressive. That’s really resourceful.”
When she leans back, I grab her hand, lacing our fingers together. “We’re going in tonight and digging through their office.”
Camile’s brows draw together more. “Who’s we?”
“You and me, babe. You’ll wanna bring that fancy little camera.”
Scout deadpans as he closes his computer. “This should be fun.”
She whips her head toward him. “Are you going too?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Someone’s gotta be there to keep you two from killing each other.”
She glances at me, before she looks at him again, wearing an unreadable expression. “You think we can’t get along?”
“I think he’s going to be a protective bear, and you’re gonna get pissed.”
Camile pinches her lips together. “He does have a way of running all over me.”
I grab her around the waist and drag her out of her chair, onto my lap. “You know you love it.”
“That’s my cue to get out of here. See you at dinner.” Scout takes off.
Given how she’s acting this morning, I half expect Camile to wiggle off my lap, but she doesn’t. She does sit stiffly, though.
I glide my hand up her back, massaging her shoulder. “You’re pretty bound up here.”
A rough sigh follows. “That knot has your name on it.”
She moans a little, and some of the tension eases out of me.
After a quiet beat, she asks, “So, what are we going to do tonight?”
I dig my thumb into her trapezius, working the knot. Firm, but not too hard. “We’ll scope the place out, pick the lock, slide in, have a look around. Grab some documents or you can get some images. All depends on what we find.”
She shivers in my hold. “You make that sound so easy. I’ve been trained for this kind of thing but have never actually done it. I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that. But then I realize there’s no room for hiding now. Things could get dangerous fast. You need to know my limitations.”
“That’s right. That’s part of being a team.”
“Aren’t you the least bit nervous?” She pauses. “Wait, why would you be nervous—you slid down a rope from a helicopter into the middle of a possible gunfight, stole a motorcycle, and after driving like a stunt driver, you rendezvoused for an extraction. This is nothing.”
I brush my mouth against her ear. “Cake. Speaking of, we have some time to ourselves. I’d love another taste of your sweet little body.”
Her reaction is immediate. A stiffening. A withdrawal. Her energy goes chaotic.
“What’s wrong, babe?”
She pulls out of my arms. “I need to keep my focus on work. Now, if you’d give me some time to do that alone, I’d appreciate it.”
Never being one to back down when things are tense, I follow her across the room. When she stops at the small kitchen sink, I frame her in with my body. Dropping my hands on either side of hers.
Her fingers cleave onto the countertop.
I snake one arm around her middle and brush a kiss over her temple. “If you tell me what I did to upset you, I can make sure not to do it again.”
She hangs her head and lets out a slow, rumbled sigh.
When I graze my hand over her breast, she murmurs my name.
I don’t stop there. I slide my hand up until I wrap my fingers around her jaw and turn her face so I can kiss her.
She softens against me as she growls in her throat. But she opens for me.
I need her kiss. Need to know she’s not shutting down on me.
Her hand clutches my arm as she accepts the glide of my tongue and even returns it with her own.
Her body shudders.
I deepen the kiss, breathing her deep into my lungs.
God. I can’t get enough of this woman.
When I turn her into my arms, I don’t break the kiss.
Not even when I lift her and carry her to the bed.
Our mouths are still feasting when I stretch her out on the small mattress below me.
Her hands are trembling as she frames my face, skims my neck, glides her hands down to wrap around my shoulders.
I slip my hand into her hair, tilting her head back so I can explore the sexy lines of her neck. “Love seeing my mark on you, beautiful. I want everyone to know you’re mine.”
She shifts below me, closing her eyes. But not before I catch the sheen riding on her lashes.
“Oh, Lucas…”
There’s so much wrapped up in those two words. More than I can decipher.
I don’t have the skills yet, but I will. I never fail at something I want to do.
And now, after these last twenty-four hours with Camile, I know I want something more. Something real with someone that sees me for who I am.
Her breath stutters as I graze my teeth along her neck. “Fuck, I just want to eat you.”
I lower my mouth to her neck, gliding my tongue and lips over her skin as I slide my hand down her body, cupping her ass, lifting her to me.
When I grind her against my thickening erection, her fingers dig into my shoulders.
She’s watching me when I pull back. Her gaze follows my hands as I pull my shirt off over my head.
A tear slides down her cheek as I undress her.
“You good?”
“I will be…”
I kiss her again. “Talk to me, baby.”
“Just take me, Lucas. I need you one more time.”