Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“You always shoot to let off steam?”
“I’m getting the feeling you were going to hustle me at darts the other night.” He smiled as he examined the target. “No way are you that precise of a shot but can’t hit a round board with a dart.”
“I guess you’ll have to rechallenge me someday and find out.” She removed her protective eyewear. “I’m not sure why I was surprised you had a shooting range here.” She turned toward him. “Then again, I also assumed you no longer needed the practice.”
“Yeah, well, we can’t afford to get rusty now, can we?” He slipped his hands into his pockets. He’d changed into faded jeans, and by the looks of it, they were nearly as old as Elaina.
His hair was slightly mussy and a little wet. He must’ve hopped into the shower before finding her. She could probably use another one herself to try and calm her nerves.
She was doing her best to wear a brave face and act like she belonged with a team of covert operatives.
“You get Elaina to sleep?”
“She asked me to sing to her.”
“So, you sing, too?” She cracked a smile.
“Not well, apparently,” he said with a laugh. “She told me as much, at least.”
She was the one chuckling now, which was surprising given they were in some sort of underground bunker trying to find so many targets her head felt like it was on a swivel. “Did she really?”
“She’s honest like someone else I know.” The rich tenor of his voice dropped lower, and it was as if he’d reached out and touched her using only his words.
“I like her even more.” She looked back at the target, contemplating whether she wanted to reload and take a few more shots to relieve some of the tension that didn’t want to relent from thumping up her spine, scattering into her back, her chest—hell, everywhere.
The tension was even in her mouth, which had her biting down on her teeth.
But given the situation, and her lack of emergency wine and cookies, what could she expect?
“She almost looks like a mini-you.” He lifted his hands from his pockets and began kneading the flesh at the back of his neck with both hands.
Her knot of tension doubled at his words, but she realized he was possibly suffering from the same problem. “You hold all of your stress back there?”
“Yeah.” He closed his eyes and kept rubbing, and so, she circled him and pushed his hands out of the way.
“Let me.”
“No, that’s . . .” His head rolled forward, and he softly groaned as she began massaging.
“You’re tall. Mind sitting?”
“You don’t need to do this.” He reached back and grabbed hold of her hand. “Echo is closing in on D.C., and hopefully we’ll know Becky’s location soon.”
She pulled her hand free of his. “Then we can spare a few minutes to relieve some of your stress. You’re hard as a rock.”
“Normally around you I am, but—”
“Liam!” she rasped as he faced her.
His mouth tightened, and his shoulders trembled as if fighting a laugh.
“Just sit. Take your shirt off, too.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He peeled off his tee, then sat in the only chair in the room, draping the fabric over his thighs. The seat was only a little bigger than the kind you might find in a high school, definitely not big enough for his frame, but it’d have to work.
She eyed his golden skin—his back as hard and firm as his chest. She tried to ditch her desire so she could focus, but the second her fingertips touched his muscles, she was a goner. She bit the inside of her cheek, resisting the urge to close her eyes and relish in how he felt beneath her palms.
Her hands slid over the blades of muscles and to the sides of his arms, and she squeezed his biceps. “You’re so tense.”
“Having your hands on me doesn’t help if I’m being honest.”
Her eyes widened. “Want me to stop?” she asked, her voice soft.
“Fuck no,” he said without pause.
She sucked in a deep breath and worked the knots beneath his flesh. The lilac-scented soap floated off his skin and met her nose. “No cologne tonight?”
“I was worried you might jump me.”
She playfully smacked the back of his head. “So, your cologne is why women are so drawn to you?”
“Yup. My secret weapon. Don’t tell, though, okay?” He twisted around to look at her, but she pointed toward the wall. He grinned but did as he was told.
“When Owen and Sam get back from Charleston, are you going to tell them what’s going on? Well, Owen, I mean.” Emily clenched her hand into a fist and used her knuckles to grind at his muscles. He really was hard. Her hands were going to give out fast, but she was enjoying this far too much to stop.
“It’s going to be difficult keeping this from him. Luke’s gonna kick our asses as well for not bringing him back from his honeymoon.”
“Would someone go after Sam to try and get to me?” Her hands came to an abrupt halt. “Or my family?”
“I considered that.” He stood and circled the chair.
“We put the word out there you don’t know anything.
” He reached for her shoulder. “And we’ll nail this son of a bitch who has Becky tonight so he won’t be a threat to anyone else.
” He gently squeezed. “But maybe we’ll have Owen keep Sam out of D.C. until this blows over.”
“And my parents?” Her brother was in Australia, but if she let him know what was going on, he’d come back immediately. The last thing she wanted was to ruin his honeymoon.
“I’ll assign some guys from the company to establish a perimeter around your parents’ home and keep an eye on them just in case.”
“Could you do it without them knowing so they don’t get worried?”
He nodded. “What about your brother?”
“I think he’s safe in Melbourne, but if he comes back before this ends, we can fill him in.”
He let go of her shoulder. “You should know I might be going to Chile tomorrow.”
“Just you? Why?”
“I want to talk to the woman who has been taking care of Elaina and see if she knows anything.”
“Will you tell her Elaina’s okay?” She crossed her arms, a chill moving through her.
“As much as I’d like for Maria to know Elaina’s safe, we can’t take the risk.”
She took a moment to process his words, and the fact he could be leaving her tomorrow.
“If we can’t get anything out of the person on the task force—whoever it is—or out of the guy who has Becky . . . I’ll visit Maria.”
“How big of an ‘if’ are we talking? You think your people can find both the leak and Becky tonight?” Is it even possible?
Of course, she was used to dealing with the slow-turning wheels of politics and procedure. Liam and his team had the luxury of bypassing rules and red tape.
“If we don’t get to Becky soon, she won’t survive. We don’t have a choice but to move fast.” His words were so matter-of-fact. Like he’d done this a million times before and knew all the potential outcomes. And she supposed he probably had.
“Was this your job in the Navy? I thought you followed orders from the Department of Defense, or whoever . . . and prepped for ops. But it seems like you’re also an FBI or CIA agent now.”
“We weren’t just picked because of our muscles,” he said with a smile.
“Your brains, too, huh? Smart and sexy. A dangerous combination.” She uncrossed her arms, her shoulders wilting in the process. “Do you have to go alone tomorrow? If you go, I mean.”
“It’s the best idea. I’d prefer not to draw attention.” He pressed a palm to her cheek. “My team won’t let anything happen to you or Elaina.”
She turned away from his touch, her gaze dropping to the floor. “Did you come here to ask me to sign the annulment papers before you leave?”
Was he worried there was a chance he’d make her a widow?
“Er, no, but do you want to?” His hand went right back to his neck, and she wished she could relieve more of his stress. The man put his life on the line daily, and he was carrying too much weight.
“No,” she rasped, almost too quickly. “And nothing will happen to you.”
He reached into his pocket and produced a coin. “I got this back, so yeah, I’ll be good. No worries, love.” He tucked it back into his pocket.
He was trying to act casual, and maybe it was a regular day for him—but not for her, not even close.
“Crazy how our worlds suddenly overlapped in so many ways in the last week, huh?”
“Emily.” His voice was gruff. And yet, that one word coming from his mouth was as if she’d been wrapped in a soft, silky embrace.
She turned away, worried he’d witness the effect he had on her. Of course, he already knew. Surely her feelings were written into every line on her face, in every movement of her body.
His hand curved around to her abdomen, and he pinned her back against his chest. It was a place she wished she could stay forever.
Safe and protected. And if she closed her eyes and pretended for a minute . . . maybe even loved.