Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
There were lots of nice, soothing ways to wake up. You could wake up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee. You could wake up to the amazing sight of someone actually bringing you breakfast in bed. The soft, sweet sound of birds chirping could bring you to wakefulness.
Or you could open your eyes and find the two men that you cared about most in this world…aiming guns at each other. That was not a nice, soothing way to wake up, FYI. It was horrifying. Thus, her scream.
“Put the guns down!” Simone blasted as she clutched the sheet to her chest with both hands. “Now!”
They did not.
Ryan sat up in bed. Part of the comforter had pooled at his waist, so his dick was covered, a good thing. Meanwhile, Logan was dressed like a true cat burglar. All in black, from his head to his feet, and his intent gaze was locked on Ryan with icy determination. And more than a bit of rage.
There was also—as crazy as it seemed to her—what appeared to be recognition in Logan’s stare. Something that unsettled her far more than the rage ever could. “You two…” Her head turned between them. “Have you two met before?”
A jerky nod from Logan.
A slow, scary smile from Ryan. “Our paths have crossed.”
Oh, no. She jumped out of the bed, and Simone yanked the sheet with her.
She kept it wrapped around her body as she glared at Ryan.
“If you knew who he was all along, if you knew I was connected to him and if I find out that you were just stringing me along in some sort of elaborate manipulation scheme with your CIA buddies in order to trap or hurt Logan in some way…” Pain stabbed through her. “I will not forgive you!” Ever.
“What?” Ryan gaped at her. And, ignoring the gun that Logan had pointed at him, Ryan leapt from the bed.
“Hell, no, I didn’t know who he was all along.
You didn’t tell me who you were retrieving the broach and earrings for until about two hours ago!
You were protecting him as if your life depended on concealing his identity—”
“Aw, thanks, Simone, that’s touching,” Logan drawled.
“And you told me his identity only after I’d already viewed security footage from the lobby that showed me the guy’s image as he lurked about. One look, and I recognized him from a case in Vegas that exploded in my face.”
Security footage? A case in Vegas?
“You seemed to have healed nicely from that gunshot wound in Vegas,” Logan allowed. “Glad to see you up and about, but hey, how about you put some clothes on, asshole?”
Growling, Ryan slapped down his gun and hauled on a pair of sweatpants. Then he picked up the weapon again and aimed it at Logan.
But she stepped right between him and Logan. “You were shot in Vegas?” Simone asked Ryan. When she’d been, um, exploring and following his tats with her mouth, she had noticed a few scars. She just hadn’t realized that she was licking bullet wounds.
“Simone? I hate to point out the obvious, but the man was shot here in London, too,” Logan chimed in to say.
“I was watching the Arch drama from a distance. Plus, I can see the fresh bandage on his arm. He gets shot a lot. That would be a hazard in his line of work. Or, maybe he’s just careless, who knows?
And, damn, but that is one hell of a shiner near his eye.
The man obviously attracts far too many enemies. ”
Another growl came from Ryan.
“He has to be careless,” Logan decided, “considering that he’s allowed not one but two attacks on your life, and I was able to just sneak right inside the suite here. Hey, quick question…why the hell haven’t you taken Simone far away from here and put her in a new, safer location?”
“Because I’m bait.” Simone shifted from her left foot to her right.
Logan’s face darkened. “The fuck you are.”
“Because you’re taking her away,” Ryan fired back at the same moment. “That’s why I rolled out the welcome mat and was patiently waiting for you to arrive.”
“Rolled out the welcome mat?” Logan laughed. “Dumbass, I crawled through the air ducts and tight tunnels in this place for damn near an hour. I bypassed every bit of security you have and—”
Ryan laughed.
She was just thrilled they were having themselves a good time. Meanwhile, she’d gotten stuck on Ryan’s words. Because you are taking her away. What had that BS line from Ryan been about?
“You didn’t need to crawl through air ducts,” Ryan informed Logan.
“As soon as I realized who Simone’s friend was, I understood that you weren’t a threat.
The guards in the hallway were told to let you pass.
To put up a minimum amount of effort, of course, but you could have slipped in…
without crawling around the walls of the hotel. ”
“Oh, I will show you a threat.” Logan surged forward.
So did Ryan.
“Enough.” Simone slapped a hand on each of their chests.
And her sheet slithered to the floor.
“Do not look down,” Ryan ordered in a tone gone coldly lethal. “I will break every bone in your body if you look down right now, Logan.”
“She’s like my sister. Relax, man. Relax. I’m not looking down.”
She grabbed the sheet and yanked it around her body. “You two are idiots, and I have no idea why I love you both.” Oh, wait, no. She had not just said those words. They had not come out of her mouth.
“Simone?” Ryan pounced. “Simone, did you just say what I think you said?”
“I do not function well when I am woken up after so little actual sleep time!” A huff. “Dammit, Logan, you were not supposed to break in! I planned on meeting up with you, after the mission is complete.”
“What mission?” Low. Hard. Demanding.
Typical Logan.
She turned her head toward him. The fireworks were about to start, she could feel them igniting. “The one where I’m bait, and I pull in an international killer.”
“Fuck, no.” He dodged around her and flew at Ryan.
Sighing, Simone hooked her ankle under his leg and sent him tumbling to the floor.
“Marry me,” Ryan urged her. “Really, let’s do it. Marry. Me.”
Ignoring the pain in her heart, she glared at him.
“Oh, fine, now, you make the proposal.” With a shake of her head, she focused on Logan.
It was easier to focus on him than to look at Ryan.
“I appreciate you rushing to the rescue for me and all, but I’m afraid I must insist you climb back into the air ducts and get the hell out of here. ”
Still holding his gun, Logan hoisted himself up. “Not happening.”
She smiled at him. “We’ll see about that.”
“Fate’s funny, isn’t she?” Logan Sterling asked as he sprawled in the suite’s sitting room. “By the way, this is too freaking much blue décor. You will never find this much in one of my hotels.”
“Your hotels are in Vegas. Reno. Monte Carlo. And I’ve noticed that you tend to focus on a whole lot of red in them.” Ryan sat in the blue chair. Logan was on the blue sofa. They both still had their guns.
Simone was dressing. Ryan had already changed into fresh clothing, and he was currently being on his best behavior and not attacking the only family that Simone had in the world. Her family…Logan. Logan’s grandmother.
Though, that really wasn’t the case, was it? They weren’t her only family. Because…
She feels like family to me.
She felt like the woman he wanted to marry. She felt like…everything. He’d been dead serious when he asked her to marry him.
Or maybe he’d told her to marry him. Mentally, he winced. That had not been his best moment. He’d have to ask. Do an elaborate proposal.
After they locked up all the bad guys.
“Blue colors are supposed to make people feel calm. Peaceful.” Logan’s lips twisted. “I’m not exactly going for peaceful in my places. I want people on the edge of their seats.”
“You want them gambling their asses off in your casinos.”
A soft chuckle from Logan. “That, too.” He rolled back his shoulders. “Red makes you feel alive. It increases your excitement level. Makes your heart race.”
“What are you?” Ryan asked as he surveyed the man who could either be an ally or an enemy. “A color expert?”
“Simone is. She’s the one who helped me decorate most of my properties.”
Why had he tensed when Logan mentioned Simone’s name? There was nothing romantic happening between Simone and Logan. Simone had told Ryan that fact. He trusted her. He…
I don’t trust Logan.
The CIA had been watching Logan Sterling since he’d leapt onto their radar in a very big way in a recent case.
Logan had actually assisted the CIA at the time.
A shock, considering some of his darker ties.
The CIA had dug into Logan’s past. Had found out that he was an only child, that he’d been raised by his maternal grandmother after his parents had been killed.
The CIA background check had clearly been missing a few pertinent details. Like the fact that he’d done a stint in foster care before his grandmother had taken custody of him. And, of course, there was Simone.
The CIA was just looking for blood kin. A mistake. Some ties went way deeper than blood.
“I didn’t send Simone after the broach and earrings,” Logan suddenly announced.
“I’ve been trying to get her to give up her retrieval business for years.
” The fingers of his left hand tapped against his thigh.
“I would never willingly send her into danger.” A subtle emphasis on willingly even as his gaze sure seemed to say… Unlike you, prick.
Ryan forced his jaw to relax. “Things are not as they seem.”
“No?” Logan leaned forward. “You are not keeping my Simone captive in this fancy suite? Stopping her from fleeing—as she clearly wanted to do at the Arch? You are not using her to lure in some, ah, how did she term it?”
“International killer,” Simone supplied as she entered the sitting room. She’d changed into a blue dress that matched her eyes. Black sandals that tied around her ankles and had small, dainty heels. “Using me as a lure for an international killer.”
Ryan inhaled. “I am protecting her from killers.”