Chapter Twelve #5
of her life,” Vivian explained. “But we’re making progress. She’s starting to
open up to me, and not in a sarcastic way. She’s comfortable enough that she’s
talking about things she wouldn’t have before. It’s why I agreed she’s ready
for this mission.”
Up until now, Sosa had only tried to ID the people who had
tortured her by looking through MI6’s wanted files. And Interpol’s. And DGSE’s.
French intelligence was also interested in identifying members of The Chateau.
Sosa had not been happy sitting in a room looking at mug
shots.
“Come with me, Oliver,” Charlotte said. “Let’s go and help
your father get you out of this mess. You can make my husband crazy.”
“I knew you liked me,” Oliver said with a wink.
“I like how good the sex is after my husband gets annoyed
with you,” Charlotte admitted.
Oliver frowned. “But I did order a limo to come pick us up.
I thought after the day we had, we deserved some luxury.”
Mal took her hand. “I’ll send it back for you. I’m sure your
father will be thrilled.”
“We’ll go say good-bye to Ian,” her dad said, resting his
hand on the small of her mother’s back like he always did. “And then perhaps we
can talk. Vivi, I’m sorry if I’ve ever made you feel like you were less
important than your brothers.”
“You didn’t. You made me feel like I was made of glass and
about half cracked,” she corrected.
Her father’s lips kicked up. “Well, I’m sorry for that, too.
We’ll be right back.”
The minute her parents were gone, Mal leaned over and picked
her up, hauling her against his chest.
Vivian gasped. “Mal, what are you doing?”
“Stealing a limo,” he replied as he walked out the doors and
into the London evening. “What I’m about to do to you doesn’t require your
parents’ participation.”
“Mal, your leg,” she said.
“Is aching terribly, and I expect you to baby me for days.
Samantha.” He greeted the woman in the uniform, her blonde curls peeking from
her cap.
Sami Knight stood by the sleek limo, a frown on her pretty
face. “Oliver told me I had to get here with the limo or ruin his mission. He
said if Edward and Tatiana didn’t see him leave in a limo, they would know
something was up.”
Oliver was going to get his ass kicked twice today. Once by
a large handbag and second by his petite badass of a younger sister. “From what
I understand, the engaged couple is being interviewed by police in the comfort
of their own home.”
“Oliver wanted to show off for Charlotte Taggart,” Mal
replied, still holding her tight.
Sami’s eyes rolled, and she opened the back door. “Well, he
can get a cab. Should I take the long way, Sir?”
Vivian wasn’t certain if Sami meant that Sir as the polite
thing to say to a client so she could keep up her cover, or if she knew a D/s
scene was about to go down in the back of a limo.
“You should give us at least an hour, if you don’t mind,” he
replied and looked at Sami with a faint smile. “I’ll do your paperwork from our
last mission.”
“Done,” she replied and smiled back at him. “And Vivi, I
heard you did great out there. Don’t let the overprotective men take that from
you.”
“She was great, but her Dom needs to get over the near heart
attack she gave him,” Mal replied as he eased into the limo.
She was somehow on his lap as Sami closed the door.
She grinned up at him. “Guess you’re not trying to get in
good with my dad.”
He sobered slightly and then a smile came on his face. Not a
bright one. His forced smile. The one he gave to be polite. “I think your
father already hates me, and there’s not a lot to do about that. If I told him
we’re just playing, I don’t know if it would help or hurt.”
Her heart threatened to break. They had only been together
for a few weeks. He was new to the whole talking thing. Would she push him
further away if she told him she was falling in love with him? He’d told her he
would know she was serious if she kissed him. Did he want her to kiss him?
“It would hurt,” she said quietly. “If you told him we were
just playing, it would hurt.”
“I don’t know about that. We came to a fairly reasonable agreement,
but I think he would prefer someone younger for you.” His face was still that
careful blank she hated. The expression he’d had when they’d first met. The one
she always wanted to break through to see the real man.
She put a hand on his cheek and looked into his eyes as the
limo started to move. It didn’t matter that he might reject her. He had once
before and she’d survived it. She might not this time, but what mattered was
the fact that when she’d thought he might die, she’d thrown herself in front of
him. He might never love her. The damage done by another woman might always
keep them apart, but she’d learned something from her family. Her love
mattered. It should be honored with bravery.
“If you tell my father we’re just playing around, it will
hurt me.”
His whole expression changed. That mask dropped the instant
the words were said, and what was left was infinitely softer, far more hopeful.
“Vivian?”
And then she shifted up slightly and put her lips on his.