Chapter 22 #2
Logan swept his stare to Simone. “That what he’s doing? You agree with his words?”
Simone came toward Ryan. She perched on the edge of his chair. He tensed because he’d expected her to go and sit beside Logan. The fact that she seemed to be physically signaling that her allegiance was with Ryan…
Hell, yes.
“Why don’t you put down the gun and take my hand?” Simone whispered.
Ryan kept the gun. And took her fingers with his free hand.
Her soft laughter rolled over him. Then she told Logan, “He has managed to save my life…I believe on at least two separate occasions.”
“Do tell me more.” Logan kept leaning forward, his expression intent.
“Well, the first instance occurred when I was kidnapped. I did tell him to run but…”
Ryan turned his head and found her gaze on him.
“He didn’t,” she concluded. “He got taken with me. That would be when he got this lovely shiner, by the way. Trying to help me.” A soft sigh. “I may have gotten knocked out during an unfortunate van ride.”
There was no may about it.
“When I woke,” Simone continued her tale, “Ryan and I were both tied up, and we had a mercenary intent on torture parading around with his knife.” Her gaze darted toward Logan. “Spoiler, he wanted to slice off my fingers. You know how attached I am to my fingers.”
“Sticky fingers,” he groused, but his expression had sharpened with rage. “The mercenary is dead.” A promise.
Ryan nodded. “Yes. He is. I took care of the situation.”
He caught Logan’s flash of surprise.
“Then there was the waiter…” Simone picked up her story.
“You expect a delivery of a delectable chocolate mousse, and instead, you get a guy with a gun hidden underneath a shiny, silver dish. So disappointing.” Her head tilted as she seemed to consider the matter.
“Know what, though? I think I saved you then, Ryan. I’m the one who threw the lamp. ”
“A save for a save.” As if he’d ever forget her rushing in with that lamp.
She sent him one of her slow smiles.
“Fuck.” From Logan.
They both looked his way.
“I knew it would happen eventually,” Logan lamented.
“Not like guys could ever help themselves from falling at your feet. But to see you fall, Simone? And for a spy? What kind of life is that going to be for you? I wanted you to stop retrieving so you’d be safe.
I didn’t want you jumping right into the fire over and over again! ”
“I haven’t fallen anywhere.” She sniffed.
“Bullshit.” A hard return from Logan. “Tell me you don’t love him. Go on, do it. I dare you. Look me straight in the eyes and tell me that you have not given your heart to the spy right beside you.”
She tried to pull her hand away from Ryan’s hold.
He didn’t let go. Instead, his head turned right back to her. “Go ahead,” he forced out the words. “You can tell him. You can let him know that everything going on between us is just a cover.”
“A cover doesn’t involve you two actually getting naked together,” Logan pointed out. “And that is how I found you. Naked. Cuddled together. A vision that will scar me for life.”
Ryan ignored him and held Simone’s gaze. “Tell him,” he said. “Better yet, tell me. Tell me how you feel.” He held his breath.
Her stare seemed to search his.
Say something, Simone. Tell me—
She glanced back at Logan. “You can climb back through the air duct at any point. I’m not going with you.
I have a meeting to keep.” She pointed toward a metal grate near the ceiling.
“Has to be a tight fit. I am most impressed with your skills in shimmying in and out of tight situations. Personally, I’d be horrified to find myself stuffed in a place like that. Talk about a nightmare come true.”
Ryan took his gaze off her and discovered that Logan was watching her with the intensity of a snake ready to strike. “You actually love the damn spy, don’t you?” Logan asked.
Ryan was still holding his damn breath. Good thing he could hold his breath for an incredibly long time.
Simone let out a long suffering sigh. “I do.”
Fuck. Yes. Fuck.
A smile tugged at her lips as her focus shifted to Ryan. “I’m also pretty sure that I’ve slipped up and told you that I love you before so no need for you to look so incredibly shocked. Like, I literally slipped up and said it just a few minutes ago.”
His heart slammed into his chest. Hard. Then the drumming, too fast racing echoed in his ears. Ryan shook his head.
She pulled her hand from his.
But…
Then she was cupping his chin. Simone leaned in close to him.
“It’s actually quite a novel and invigorating experience, if you want the truth.
I wasn’t even sure I could fall in love with someone, not until you.
” Her thumb brushed across his jaw. “I know I can love, sure. I love Logan. I’ve loved him since we were kids.
” An easy, unhesitating statement. “But loving someone like family and falling in love are two different things, aren’t they?
Thank you for letting me experience that difference. ”
Shock held him immobile. Her hand slowly slid away from him. She rose, standing beside his chair.
“I appreciate you coming to check on me,” she said to Logan.
Uh, how had Logan even known where to come? He would ask that question. Once he stopped being deliriously thrilled. Simone loves me. She has fallen in love with me. Not a lie. Not a cover. The real deal.
“But I’m good, truly.” She pointed to the vent. “You can go on your way at any time.”
Yeah, um, about that. Ryan tried to shake himself from his stupor. “When Logan leaves, he’s taking you with him.” Ryan shot to his feet. He needed to say something about her confession. Something like…Holy hell, you have just made me the happiest bastard in the world.
“Uh, no, I’m not going with him. I don’t do tight spaces, remember? Consider elevators my limit from now on. Nothing beyond that.”
No way would he make her face a tight space nightmare. “Then he’ll just waltz with you right out of the hotel suite and down the corridor and to whatever ride he has waiting. You’re done.” He paced away from her. He had to get away from her. Because he wanted to pounce far too badly.
But she grabbed him. “Excuse me?” What could have been pain broke beneath her words. “I say that I love you and you say we are done? That is your response?”
No, his response was…Marry me. Spend forever with me. Let’s make fantasies and dreams come true.
“How is that an even exchange?” Simone exclaimed. “That is a sucky exchange!”
“It does suck, man,” Logan told him. “You need to tell me to fuck off. You need to beat the hell out of me and whisk Simone away. Seriously, do it.”
But Ryan ignored him and went toe to toe with Simone. “What do you want me to say? That you just made me the fucking happiest man in the world?”
“That would be a start.”
“That I can’t breathe because I’m so damn thrilled that you love me?”
“Yes, that is better.”
“That I want you to marry me, and I’m standing here, trying to figure out how the hell to propose to you in the right way, but I can’t do that yet because we have freaking asshole criminals to stop?”
She wet her lips. “All of that…that is a way better exchange.”
He could not look away. “I love you so fucking much.”
“Yo. Other people are in the room.” Logan’s annoyed voice. “I would be the other. How about we save this love chat for later? Got more pressing priorities, you know?”
Fine. Dammit. Ryan glanced his way. He pointed at Logan. “How did you know she was here? Did she call you? Signal you in some way?”
“I did not,” Simone fired.
“I knew she was here because there is a bounty on her head. One that was doubled recently.”
It had been doubled?
“Let’s just say that I keep my ear to the ground about details that concern her. When her pic popped up on some sites that I might, shall we say, frequent—”
“Dark web hit sites?” Ryan wasn’t going to dance around. Time to get straight to the real deal.
Logan nodded. “When I saw her pic, I knew that I needed to step in. I was already in London, dealing with other business, so it was easy to reach this hotel. Before making my appearance tonight, I let it be known that anyone touching her would meet with a swift and brutal end.” Logan smiled.
The smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m protective like that. ”
“Great. Then when you take her out of here, you can keep right on protecting her.” Because Ryan would not be there to do it. “She needs to be long gone before—”
“Stop!” Simone erupted. “I am not leaving you. You need me!”
In so many ways. For so many things. But mostly…
He needed her alive.
The plan to use her as bait had seemed fine before two different hitmen had come for her. The waiter and the prick at the Arch. Ryan wasn’t about to let jerk number three close in for the kill. “The CIA can handle this without you, Simone.”
“But I’m the one who ties Konstantin to Frederick!”
No. “Frederick is the tie. He’ll roll at our meeting.” A meeting that was fast approaching. “I can count on him to serve the Russian up to me.” An inhale. “Your services are no longer needed.”
“What?” She gaped at him.
“You were going to run away at the Arch.”
“I was…” Her words trailed away.
His head cocked. “When did you realize that Logan was here?” He replayed things in his mind. “You had the broach and earrings on you right before we went out for that walk to the Arch.”
She wet her lips. “When we first walked out of the hotel suite, I didn’t know Logan was here. I took the broach and earrings because if the chance to disappear presented itself, I-I wanted to be ready to take it.”
He nodded even as his heart squeezed. “And you couldn’t disappear without your prizes.”
“I spotted Logan when we were downstairs. I knew he’d recognize the broach and the earrings.
I decided to make a quick drop of the jewels as we left the hotel.
Logan knows me. He would be watching carefully, and he’d collect the items as soon as I left them behind.
” She swallowed. “You did collect them, right, Logan?”
“I’ve got them,” he replied, voice hard. “After I secured them, I tailed Simone to the Arch. When I heard the gunfire, I was going to step in, and then all the spies started swarming. I realized then that getting to Simone was going to be tricky.”
So the guy had climbed through the ducts.
“And here we all are…” Logan drawled.
Here they were. But they were about to go in different directions.
“I didn’t want to leave you,” Simone suddenly said. “Not at the Arch. And I don’t want to leave you now. I don’t have to be bad luck. We can be good together, I know it.”
He shook his head. “Not good. Great.” Life with her would be great. She’d be everything he wanted. A lifetime of her smiles…I want a life with Simone.
But first, he had a case to close, and he would not risk her.
There were too many uncertainties. Her safety was the priority.
So he had to say, “I want you to go, Simone.” He’d been trying to figure out how to protect her, and then Logan had slid into place perfectly.
Someone Simone trusted. Someone who would keep her safe.
“What does your boss Jezebel want?” Simone snapped out. “Is this cool with her? Because I’m pretty sure she said I would only stay out of prison if I cooperated with your team.”
“Oh, that’s some bullshit.” Now Logan was on his feet, too. Though he’d put down his gun. “You blackmailed Simone into helping you? Threatened her with jail? That totally deserves a punch in the face.”
Ryan put down his gun, too. “I can handle Jezebel.” And, no, Jez did not know that he was removing Simone from the equation.
Because maybe Ryan had learned a valuable lesson on his last mission in Vegas.
Maybe he’d realized that you couldn’t always trust everyone on your team.
He trusted Jez, but the others around her? No. No, he couldn’t risk betrayal.
Two hitmen have gained access to Simone while she should have been protected by CIA operatives and MI6 agents. Two…
Bullshit that he didn’t like. So he needed to remove her from the grip of the CIA and of MI6. Logan Sterling had no allegiance to either organization. As far as Ryan could tell, Logan’s only allegiance was to Simone. So Logan was her pass to freedom.
Ryan’s lips curled in a sad smile as he studied Simone.
“You are the love of my life,” he told her, and he meant those words.
He’d gone years drifting from mission to mission.
Then he’d found her. No, she’d found him.
That was her thing, wasn’t it? She found what was lost. “That’s why I am telling you this with absolute conviction… ”
“Ryan?” Her eyes were very, very wide.
“I want you to get the hell away from me.”