Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Finn hopped out of the helo alongside Asher and Roman, careful of the blades chopping the air, and watched as both men rushed to the women waiting for them.
Julia remained rooted in place, her back glued to the building exterior, and stared at him as if she were uncertain he was real.
He wanted to run to her and lift her into the air the way Asher had with Jessica and Roman with Harper, but instead, he was suffering from another two-second delay.
He felt like everything was happening in slow motion.
A new day had dawned while they were on the ship, and from the looks of it, the sand had given up its tantrum in the desert. If it weren’t for Julia standing there, and he was fairly certain she wasn’t a mirage, Finn might have thought last night was just another nightmare.
He desperately wanted to run to her but instead forced himself to walk across the courtyard to where she stood.
Sunglasses shielded her eyes, and with each step closer, his heart pounded a little harder because he knew .
. . he knew she was terrified. Or, at least, she’d been scared last night.
And he didn’t blame her. But the terror still clung to her like a second skin, and he felt it strike him in the chest like a tidal wave.
“Hi,” she whispered once he was within kissing distance. Finn lowered his gaze to her mouth as she worried her lower lip between her teeth.
He’d made sure to wipe any blood from his skin before he departed the ship, not wanting to freak her out the way he had after he’d pummeled her abductor in the desert a few days ago.
“Hi back.” His voice was rough, his throat raw from the wind and sand. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Asher and the others going inside, and Finn assumed Carter and his men were in the building as well.
“I’m going to kiss you now.” The words tumbled out of his mouth as he reached to caress her cheek, unable to stop himself.
She lifted her chin, offering him her mouth, and that invitation was all he needed.
He framed her face with both hands and set his lips to hers. A soft kiss at first before he grew more ravenous and parted her lips with his tongue.
Could she taste his fear? The worry that he was going to lose her now that she’d had a front-row seat to the type of danger the teams encountered each time they spun up? Did she know how fast his heart was racing beneath his gear as the sun beat down on his back?
“I’m sorry if we scared you last night,” he said against her mouth after breaking their kiss a moment or two later.
“I’m so glad everyone is okay.” She set her hands on top of his as he kept hold of her face, and he wished he could see her eyes. But based on the wobble of her lip and break in her voice, tears were building up and threatening to spill.
“I can’t lose another brother,” he confessed.
She lightly nodded. “And I can’t lose you.”
But what did that mean? He hoped it meant that she wanted to go all-in with him. That she felt the same about him as he felt about her. But he needed to hear her say the words, needed to know that she could look at him and love him for who he was and without reservation.
“Hey, we’ve gotta get out of here in five.” Carter poked his head out the door and motioned for them to get a move on.
Every time they were on the verge of sharing their feelings, they were interrupted. But for some reason, he found himself wanting to thank Carter this time because his gut was telling him that Julia was about to walk away from him. And the idea of that had his pulse beating out a panicky staccato.
“What about Oliver?” Finn asked Carter, knowing the question had to be on Julia’s mind.
“I’m heading back to Dubai to meet with Kaira and Tariq. Would you two like to join me?” Carter asked.
Finn released his hold of Julia’s cheeks, but he already knew the answer. “Of course.”
Julia nodded, and Carter disappeared back inside.
“Let’s go get your man back.” Why the hell did I say that? I’m her . . .
Julia tipped her head to the side, removed her sunglasses, and the heartbreaking look in her blue eyes about did him in. “Finn,” she whispered, but he held up a hand.
“Not now,” he pleaded. “Tell me after.” Break my heart after.
DUBAI – THIRTY-SIX HOURS LATER
Finn wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to watch ’80s-era movies again.
Not even Empire Strikes Back. And he sure as hell wouldn’t be watching The Mummy.
But damn, the ’80s would forever remind Finn of the woman he fell for and .
. . lost. He was jumping the gun on the “lost” part, but Julia had barely spoken a word to him since they’d left Egypt. Of course, I told her not to, didn’t I?
They hadn’t slept in the same bed last night, either.
When he offered her the second bedroom in their suite at the hotel, she’d simply nodded.
But the sadness in her big blue eyes, and the reluctant way she’d agreed, gutted him.
And as he’d watched her disappear into her own room and shut the door, it’d felt like the answer to his question.
“Thank you again for helping Kaira.” Jack shook Finn’s hand after he’d said his thanks to Carter, and it felt a bit weird to be accepting a thief’s thank you.
“If you’re ever in New York,” Julia said with an easy smile, “don’t steal my Warhol.”
The confirmation that her friend was on his way to see her had lifted a few layers of worry, and she was glowing. Thank God Finn had managed to keep that promise to bring her friend home.
“Ah, what the hell”—Julia waved her hand through the air—“you can have it.”
“What?” Jack frowned, which wasn’t the reaction Finn expected. Did Jack want the challenge?
“Or not.” Julia winked, probably confusing the hell out of the poor guy. “But you managed to convince Kaira to help get my friend out of jail, so I’ll happily donate whatever artwork you’d like in the future.”
“Ah, I’d say your friends pushed the police into making the right decision. Not so sure if they would have listened to Kaira had Jessica not provided the evidence she did,” Carter pointed out, and he was most likely spot on.
Oliver was en route to Kaira’s house at the moment, being escorted by Carter’s men.
Carter had suggested Julia stay behind when they presented the new evidence to the police and asked that all charges against Oliver be dropped and that he be released immediately.
The authorities were extremely cooperative and all too happy to oblige, most likely worried that word would get out that the famous tough-on-crime city had gotten it wrong.
Jessica had worked her magic once again and had managed to recover the original surveillance footage from the day Oliver had supposedly pushed Ario to his death.
Footage that proved Amin was, in fact, the murderer.
Between that, Kaira’s statement, and the police then realizing that the timeline of events leading up to Ario’s death was different than originally believed, they didn’t have much choice but to let Oliver go.
Plus, it was all a bit messy with Amin getting killed inside a compound in Sudan that had traces of drugs—the Saudis wanted the entire incident swept under a rug.
And it’d take an awfully big rug to hide that mess.
In the end, though, the bad guys were taken out, and the drugs wouldn’t flood the streets, so Finn had to accept the politics of it all and take it as a win.
“I’m so sorry again,” Kaira apologized to . . . well, everyone in the room from the looks of it.
“What about Tariq? What happens to him?” Julia asked. The man had killed Giorgio and Lorenzo, but Finn wasn’t sure what to make of him at this point. For years, he’d assumed it’d been Tariq funding terrorists.
Clearly, each family has its own issues, not just mine. He thought about his parents, knowing his dad didn’t seem to hold a grudge against him, but his mom was a different story.
“I supplied Tariq with enough money to go off the grid and spend an indefinite amount of time alone.” Kaira gave Finn a look as if he might challenge her decision to let her brother escape.
But now that Oliver was free and all of his teammates had survived the mission, he was pretty sure he’d never think about Tariq again as long as the man stayed on the right side of the law.
Carter checked his watch a beat later. “My men should be rolling up now with Oliver.”
Julia peered at Finn, and her relaxed look seemed to fade, which didn’t make that much sense considering the good news.
Oh, she’s thinking about me, isn’t she? About what happens next. And that narrowed blue gaze had him clearing his throat and taking a step backward.
Finn walked past Julia to look out at the view of the Persian Gulf from Kaira’s mansion. “Will the rest of your family leave you alone?”
Kaira joined him by the glass doors that led to the terrace. “I hope so. If not, I guess I know who to call.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “Just kidding. Don’t worry, I’ll leave you all alone.”
Finn peeked at her and smiled. “Appreciate that. I try to stay out of family feuds.”
“They’re here,” Carter announced, and Finn slowly turned toward the large, two-story living room to put eyes on the hall.
The moment Oliver stepped into the room alongside Carter’s men, Julia rushed to him, and he lifted her into his arms. Finn’s eyes stung for a second, and what the hell was that about .
. . this wasn’t about him. Although, to be honest, he was more than a little jealous at the sight of another man holding her, but he also felt a sense of relief because she finally had her best friend back, and she wasn’t hurting anymore.
Finn took a moment to study Oliver, hating that jealousy lingered in the pit of his stomach. Oliver would be in Julia’s life forever as her friend. But Finn doubted he could handle a “friends only” relationship with Julia. It’d hurt too damn much.
Oliver was about the same height as Finn.
Similar build. Some ink on his arms beneath the short sleeves of his white tee.
His brown hair was probably longer than normal and a little tousled as if he’d been clawing at it all morning while waiting for his freedom.
But Finn definitely got the “good guy” vibe from him.
“I’m so sorry, Oliver.” Kaira approached him once he’d let go of Julia, only to hook his arm around Julia’s waist and pull her to his side, and ohhh, that was a damn knife to the chest.
They’re just friends. Close friends, he told himself so he wouldn’t go deck the guy.
Julia’s attention shifted to Finn as Oliver and Kaira exchanged a few awkward words. She stepped out of Oliver’s hold and started across the room to Finn. His breath froze in his lungs as he anticipated what she might say.
Crisp white pants hid her long legs, and she had on a silky, gold blouse with her hair in a braid hanging off to one side. Barely any makeup. So beautiful.
Mine. He wanted her to be his. Not Oliver’s. And not any other man’s. How did he convince her to want that, too? I can’t. She has to . . . want me, too.
“Thank you,” she said while pulling Finn in for an unexpected hug. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and embraced her, setting his hands on her back and pinning her tight against his body.
When his eyes opened, they were met with Oliver’s, and a big smile broke out on the man’s face. Not a hint of jealousy there, only happiness for Julia. Okay, so I don’t need to hit you after I helped save you.
“Finn helped bring you home,” Julia informed Oliver once she’d released her hold of Finn and turned back to the room.
“It was all Julia,” Finn said, not wanting the guy to feel as if he owed Finn anything.
Oliver left Kaira’s side and made his way across the room, ignoring Joan and Jack as if they weren’t there.
“From what I heard on the way here, you had yourself quite the adventure.” Oliver’s eyes swept from Julia’s over to Finn’s as he reached for Finn’s hand.
“Thank you for keeping her out of too much trouble. The woman can be stubborn when she’s trying to get her way. ”
Finn couldn’t hold back the laugh that escaped. “That’s for damn sure.”
“Hey now.” The smile parked on Julia’s lips was priceless. “Can we have a second?” she asked Oliver. “Something I want to give you.”
At those words, Finn’s stomach dropped. Ah, hell.
“Here.” Kaira quickly cut across the room and opened the glass doors, motioning for Julia and Oliver to go out onto the terrace.
Finn looked away and dragged a hand through his own hair to muss it up.
Carter came up to Finn. “You good?”
“Uh, yeah.” Finn faked a smile, knowing the former CIA officer and Delta guy wouldn’t buy into his BS. Probably shouldn’t have mumbled uh, you idiot.
“You look tense, pal. I think I know what you need. Give me an hour, and I can help you out before you catch that flight home.” Carter’s smirk gave Finn pause, but what the hell? What was one more adventure in Dubai?