Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“Are you absolutely certain you’re comfortable doing this?” Jessica asked.
There was too much evil in the world, and she’d seen it in the courtroom when battling defendants on behalf of the government, but being on a mission to actually capture the bad guys . . . it took things to a whole new level.
“I want to help.” She leaned against the wall by the door in the bedroom she’d slept in. Well, more like attempted to sleep in.
“We could always have Liam bring A.J. as his date,” she said with a straight face.
“Uh, yeah, the cowboy and the Aussie? It might make for a great romance book, but it probably won’t work for an undercover op.”
“He could go alone and tell people his date got sick, I guess.”
“But you need as many eyes in there as possible,” Emily replied.
“Liam needs someone at his side to help distract from the whole special operator look he always has going on, even when he tries to play it down with board shorts and flip-flops”—thongs, he’d instructed Alexa to call them, which felt like decades ago and not just last Friday—“he still looks like a SEAL.”
Jessica smirked. “Yeah, the guys can’t seem to drop that cocksure attitude and bravado, no matter what they wear. Even when Liam is in full charming-guy mode.”
He was a charmer, sure, but he was a hell of a lot more than that.
“I can do this. I promise.” She lowered her eyes to her toenails, the pink paint starting to chip. She’d need to polish up her look before heading to some swanky event for the rich and famous tomorrow.
“Okay. Thank you.” Jessica crossed the room and braced a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll keep you safe. Don’t worry.”
“Can you fill me in on what you know, or is it classified?” The idea of going into a situation without preparation was a bit more than she could handle.
“I’ll tell you what I can,” she said, then proceeded to give her a quick rundown of the new intel—including the fact her brother’s security agency could get roped into all the craziness.
“You promise Jake won’t find out?” she asked after processing the information. “My brother would leave his honeymoon if he knew I was here and involved.”
“I know how brothers can be.”
Yeah, she remembered when Jessica had been in danger—that couldn’t have been easy for Luke.
“Jake won’t know you’re here. I promise.”
“Thank you.”
“Either Wyatt and Harper, or you and Liam, will talk to Hans tomorrow. You up for that?”
She drew up a clandestine mission checklist in her head, thinking back to shows or movies she’d watched over the years, mentally trying to prepare herself for every possible scenario. “Yeah.” Deep breaths. “I can do this.” She just needed another minute to process it all.
“See you down there when you’re ready,” Jessica said before heading out, giving her the time she somehow knew she needed.
After a few calming breaths, she finally got her feet to move and went back downstairs to the living room. She was surprised to see cartoons on the drop-down screen on the wall. Elaina sat next to Liam with his arm draped over her shoulder as they watched a show together.
The room had cleared out except for Liam, Elaina, and Jessica. Maybe now was the time to tell Elaina about her dad?
She sat on the other couch, catching Liam’s eyes across the room.
His eyes narrowed as he studied her as if memorizing what she looked like so he wouldn’t forget. With a memory about on point with Elaina’s, she doubted he would.
“I didn’t hear you leave your room,” she said to Elaina.
“I heard you talking to Miss Jessica, and I didn’t want to bother you.” She pointed a finger at the screen. “Liam put Teen Titans on again. They’re heroes like you guys! But they like to relax a bit more than you all probably do.”
“We’re not heroes.” Jessica sat at a table where four laptops were scattered off to the side of the room. “Just normal people.”
Yeah, okay.
“Sure,” Elaina voiced Emily’s thoughts, adding the perfect amount of sarcasm to her tone.
“Emily’s going with you tomorrow.” Jessica’s quick announcement took all the air from the room.
“She can go as your, um . . .” Jessica stumbled through her words, which didn’t seem like the norm.
“Your, uh, mistress,” she forced out as if hoping Elaina wouldn’t know the meaning of that last word, which was laughable given the kid’s intelligence.
“Are you kidding me?” Liam’s voice dropped so low you could freeze hell.
Emily’s stomach knotted, and her hand fell hard to her lap.
“Emily doesn’t look like your brother’s wife,” Jessica continued. “I checked Melissa’s Facebook profile. She just posted a selfie with her baby bump. Congrats on almost becoming an uncle, by the way. You didn’t tell me.”
“So, you want to suggest I’m cheating on my pregnant wife, is that it?” he asked under his breath, his eyes on the floor.
“It wouldn’t be the first time someone cheated on their wife,” Jessica said flippantly. “And I checked, no one at the event tomorrow has any connection to your family’s business or your brother. And I’ll have Emily listed as a plus one only. No name.”
He grimaced but muttered, “Fine,” and she knew it’d taken a lot for him to give in, even to his boss.
“What about Brandon? What if he posts something online that proves he’s not really in London?” Emily asked.
“My brother hasn’t gone on Facebook since college. I doubt he’ll start now.”
“But she raises a good point.” Jessica tipped her head in thanks.
“I’ll set up a program to flag Brandon’s online presence from now until the end of the event in case I need to delete it from cyberspace.
” She grabbed her dark-rimmed frames from the table and slipped them on.
“I worked some magic before you got up this morning, and I got your names on a flight manifest out of Sydney. The plane lands at Heathrow at two, so I’ve scheduled a limo to pick you up from there and take you to the hotel where the gala’s being held. ”
“You were confident I’d say yes to this, huh?” Liam removed his arm from Elaina’s shoulder and stood.
“Of course.” Jessica flashed him a knowing smile.
“Can we have a Teen Titans marathon when we get back to the U.S.?” Elaina’s out-of-nowhere question had Emily blinking.
“Sure, sweetie,” Jessica answered but shot Liam a nervous look.
Emily wasn’t so sure if lying to Elaina was the best option because, in truth, she had no idea if they’d all even go back to the U.S. together.
“I couldn’t get you guys a seat with Hans, but I did get you a spot at Jeremiah’s table.” At the mention of Hans’s name, Elaina’s gaze dropped.
She knew. She had to.
“I’ll put together a bag of everything you’ll need since you won’t be able to come back here before the event,” Jessica continued, unaware of Elaina’s sudden mood change.
“Will you have our outfits for the gala in there, too?” Emily asked with a small smile.
“It’s a black-tie event, so you’ll need a suit and a fancy dress.
The color scheme is black and white. I’ll make sure you have enough cash to go shopping,” she replied.
“I need Harper’s help for a bit longer, and then I’ll have her and Wyatt check into the hotel later this evening.
We’ll discuss strategy tomorrow when we have more to go on. ”
“Yeah, okay.” Liam looked back at Elaina. “We have to go, but you’re going to be safe with Jessica.”
“I know. And I think Hans—my, uh, dad—will probably believe you when you talk to him because he won’t want to help the bad people.”
And a ton of holy shits batted through her mind at Elaina’s words, at her admission.
Heat flooded Emily’s cheeks as she peered at Liam, the same look of shock, or maybe concern, sweeping across his face.
When Elaina stood and threw her arms around Liam, hugging him tightly, Emily had to press a hand to her mouth to hide the quiver in her lip.
Liam was going to break two hearts, wasn’t he?
Liam hadn’t spoken to her on the ride to the airport, or while they waited for their limo driver at Heathrow. And he’d chosen to sit in the front as if he needed as much space away from Emily as possible.
So, when he stopped walking and turned to look at her in the lobby of the hotel event center, she’d almost been surprised the man had remembered she was even there.
“Tell them the airline lost your bags,” he rushed out. “My brother’s mistress wouldn’t travel empty-handed.”
“Yeah, okay.” She glanced at the concierge off to their right, but at the feel of his warm hand curving around her bicep, her eyes went to his extended arm, the muscle popping as he held her even though he barely squeezed.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this? It’s not too late to back out.”
She forced her focus away from the arm porn and to his stunning eyes. The blue ring around the green darkening as he pinned her with his gaze.
She mustered out a quick lie, “I’m fine.”
He leaned in and whispered in her ear, “What do you want your name to be?”
Her eyes fell shut at the proximity of his mouth to the shell of her ear, his warm breath there causing an abrupt and inappropriate arousal of her nipples.
“Better to stick with your first name and change only your last. Less confusing,” he added, and she forced a nod, then he let go of her.
“Valenca. It’s my great-grandfather’s last name from my mom’s side,” she answered in a low voice before heading to the front desk.
“My friend and I would like to check in to our room, please.” She pivoted to look Liam’s way and held out her open palm. “You have the credit card, honey?” No way was she going to call him Brandon.
“It’s already on file.”
Right, Jessica wouldn’t be able to create the copy of a credit card that fast, she supposed.
Liam looped his arm around her back, his palm going to her hip. “My friend and I,” he began, speaking to the man behind the desk, “would prefer no disturbances while we’re here. No calls. No room service.” He slid a hundred pounds across the desk. “Are we clear?”
The man’s dark brown eyes shifted to Emily before he took the money and tucked it discreetly into his pocket. “Understood.”
“The airline lost my luggage. Armani.” Emily pouted. “Could you be a doll and send a car in about thirty to take us somewhere so I can buy some new things? I can’t exactly go to the gala tomorrow night in jeans, now can I?” She exaggerated her Southern accent, playing her role.
“Of course.”
“Two beds or one?” she asked once inside the elevator, keeping her eyes steady on the floor and away from the mirrored doors as they ascended, not wanting to look at him right now. Role-playing would only get her so far—she wouldn’t be able to pretend away her feelings for this man.
“A king,” he answered. “It’d look kind of strange if I asked for two beds.”
“Yeah, right,” she said as the doors parted.
“I’ll stay on the couch, don’t worry,” he said once they were in their room.
The suite was mostly gray, black, and white. Perfect for her current mood.
He dropped his bag by the door and went to the windows, the clouds hovered above the hotel across the street, threatening rain.
The back of his gray tee creased at the center as his shoulder blades pinched tight. Tension locked and loaded. The man was on the verge of exploding.
“You want to shower before we head out?”
“What?” she whispered, thoughts of their night in Santiago now clinging to her mind.
He drew the black floor-to-ceiling curtains together and faced her. “Shower? The car will be here soon, so you’d have to make it quick.”
“I took one earlier.”
“Right.” He shook his head as if rattled a detail had slipped by him.
“Here’s what our suspects look like.” He crossed the room and handed her his phone.
She carefully swiped through the images of the people Jessica had told her about.
“I doubt Vanessa or her husband will show up, but if you see anyone let me know. The boys will be positioned around the—”
“I’m sure you’ll spot them before I do.” Even though she’d learned years ago how to bury her frustration when talking in a courtroom—today wasn’t one of those days, and this man wasn’t a perjuring trial witness.
“Not if you’re distracting me I won’t.” That sexy husky tone that most likely helped him earn his ladies-man nickname sent a shiver through her and touched her in places it was best not to think about. When he grimaced, she was certain he was kicking his ass for his slip-up.
“I’ll do my best not to.” Spying the two courtesy water bottles on the desk next to the mini-fridge, she sidestepped him, needing to cool off, but he wrapped a hand around her arm, halting her.
“You being here,” he began in a gruff tone, “is all it takes to distract me.”
“Sorry.” She pivoted to face him again. “Is that why you’re so angry with me?”
“You think I’m mad at you?” His brows snapped together as he quickly released her arm.
“Angry I’m a distraction, maybe. That I’m going to the gala tomorrow.” She shrugged, trying to come off as casual. Not possible. “Angry you have to impersonate Brandon. I don’t know. Just angry, period.”
He turned away, his triceps flexing as he raked his hands over his head before cradling the back of his neck.
“I’m sorry you have to pretend to be your brother,” she said when he remained quiet. “It can’t be easy after how he hurt you.”
A solid minute of silence dragged by before he looked at her, his arms falling to his sides.
“My shit mood doesn’t have anything to do with him.” His chest lifted and fell with a heavy breath. “Emily, I, uh.”
When he said her name, the comforting sensation she usually felt was missing. Instead, that one word was delivered like a blow to the head. A hit of reality that could cause her to lose consciousness. Maybe forever.
“Spending more time with you is going to be hard for me, and—”
She held a palm in the air, hoping he’d stop talking, and she was grateful when he followed her silent plea. She couldn’t handle excuses as to why he needed to break her heart.
“Finish the mission,” she said, fighting to maintain her resolve. “Take down the bad guys. Keep Elaina safe.” She bit the words out like a string of commands. “But when this is over, I’m not sure we can be friends.”