JAMES
FORTY-FIVE
I could pick her out in a room of a thousand people because she is the only one who matters to me.
She looks like a goddess. Pink silk swishes around her curves, and all I want to do is steal her away from all this bullshit. I’m regretting so many of my life choices and exposing her to this scum of the earth is in the top five. Everything I’ve done wrong with her is number one.
“Stop looking like someone kicked your puppy,” Stephanie murmurs in my ear as she fixes my tie.
I grip her waist and tug her close. She fits as if she were made for me and I for her. “I will do worse than kick if he lays a single hand on you.” It’s a promise. She’s going to have to get close on purpose, and that is the one part of the plan I’m struggling the most with.
“You’re going to have to let me go,” she says, and follows it up with a chaste kiss on my lips. “We can’t stay like this forever.”
I slide my hands up to her face and into her hair. “Follow the plan and don’t go anywhere alone.”
A knock sounds at the door, followed by Honor, Fox, and Agent Sinclair spilling inside.
Any hope I had of dragging this out is gone.
None of them are surprised when they see how close we are.
Seems like everyone knew before we did that we were inevitable.
Even if only for a short time, I’ve experienced more happiness in the last few weeks than in my entire life before.
“I have the trackers,” Camryn says as we break apart.
A small tremor runs through Stephanie before she dons a mask I’ve never seen her wear. She winks at me. “Stop panicking. Events like these consumed my entire upbringing, and I know how to handle them, for better or for worse.”
I fold my arms. “That doesn’t make it any less dangerous.”
“I’m not onboard either,” Fox says, which only makes Stephanie roll her eyes.
Honor huffs. “You don’t need to agree, only support.”
“Do the trackers work in water?” Stephanie asks, and a thrum runs down my spine.
“Yeah, they’re tiny and advanced. Long range, too,” Camryn tells her.
That’s an odd question, though. “Why do you ask?” I demand.
Stephanie’s startled eyes meet mine. “No reason. Just being technologically curious as I don my Ms. Bond persona.”
“You aren’t here to save people. Leave that to the experts.”
Stephanie huffs. “I’m so sorry. Please tell me how to behave and live my life.”
There’s going to be a spanking if she turns brat-like. Even if I know she has a point.
“Is it me, or does this room stink of toxic masculinity?” Camryn mutters.
“Good point,” Honor says and makes a shooing motion. “Everyone with a penis needs to leave.”
I scan Stephanie for any sign of talking her out of this crazy plan. “No chance,” her eyes communicate. I wrestle with my need to save her and instead nod at Fox to follow him out of the door.
Kieran Furness is hosting the gala, a trust fund baby who thinks the world owes him everything.
He’s a close contact of Christopher’s, someone who exists on the fringes of the organization and who is trying to worm his way in to explore his disgusting needs among other like-minded men who all need to be locked in a pit of vipers and set on fire.
But the reason Kieran has remained on the periphery is that he’s fucking sloppy. No one should be able to commandeer a room in his mansion without some oversight from his team.
Fox clasps my shoulder. “These women of ours have strong minds. I’ve found it works better to follow rather than attempt to lead them. That way, you know where they are at all times.”
“That’s deep,” I answer. “But true.” Stephanie is mine, if only for a short time, and for now I’ll follow her lead.
He sighs and leans against the wall, folding his arms. “We have this place secured. No one is taking her out of here.”
“You can’t control every variable. No one can.”
“I’m a retired bodyguard. I know how to control all the ones that matter to the safety of my watch.”
I already knew that about him. Now he guards Honor with his life, day in, day out, and he looks damn happy about it. I can only dream of such a simple world that revolves around one person. Not this messy, complex shitshow I find myself tangled in.
The door opens, and Honor and Stephanie pile out.
“Ready?” I check.
“As I’ll ever be.”
I catch her hand and drag her close. “Say the word, and I’ll have you out of here in sixty seconds flat.”
“Thirty,” Fox interjects.
Stephanie searches my face before giving me a soul-searing kiss that has me growling into her mouth and pushing her against a wall.
“Save that for later,” Honor grumbles.
I pull away when Camryn appears in the open doorway and tilts her head. Honor clasps Stephanie’s hand and starts to pull her away. I entwine my fingers in her free hand and smile at her. “I’ll be watching.”
“I know. You owe me a date with three types of ice cream and a romcom marathon.”
I fight a grin. “I agreed to no such thing.”
“Don’t worry. I promise you’ll enjoy my version of it.”
Her hand falls out of mine, and she disappears down the hallway with Honor. Fox stalks behind them, watchful, attentive, and dangerous. I know a capable man when I see one.
“In here,” Camryn commands, gesturing for me to go back into the room with her. I follow after, my skin tight and itchy.
Once inside, Camryn closes the door and locks it before going over to the small table and taking a seat in the armchair beside it. She has a laptop set up and a slew of tech necessary for the job. I sit in the opposite chair, waiting for her to begin.
“Alright.” Camryn pulls up an app on her computer, and I watch the three little dots that move within a blueprint layout of the building. “Stephanie has three trackers to plant on Christopher. You can see them right here. It’s live, of course, so we’ll be able to see them wherever they go.”
I bob my head, but my jaw is still tight. I don’t relax into the chair at all either, my eyes narrowed on the screen.
“Hey, you were the one who suggested this.” Camryn raises her brows at me, putting her elbows on her knees.
“I know. But I can still be upset that we couldn’t think of anything better.”
“Fair enough.” The detective’s eyes go distant for a moment, and when they snap back to me, all I see is fury. “But I’ve learned that he’s got three other girls, James, not just one. I’ve got to hand it to Stephanie—she wants to protect them, and hell, I do too.”
“Three?” I cock a brow, leaning forward to mirror her posture. “How’d you discover that?”
Camryn tenses and shakes her head. “Don’t ask. All you need to know is that the information is good.”
I don’t push it. I’m not about to make a stink over something small like that right now. There’s too much going on, and I just want to take the bastard down. Christopher is a smug prick, and if this can finally take him off the map, I’ll be thrilled.
“Fine. Any word on the leak?”
Camryn sighs, leaning back in her chair. “Yeah, we’ve made some progress, and I think I’ve landed an AD who isn’t a greedy son of a bitch. We’ll run everything through him now.”
“Name?”
“Alex Prince. But at this rate, you can never be too careful, so why don’t you do what you do and get every bit of information you can on the guy.”
“Done,” I reply, committing the name to memory. “I’ll check him out.”
“Good.” Camryn turns back to the screen, pointing at the dots that have reached the main floor.
“I gave Stephanie three trackers in the hopes that she can put them in different places on his person. If he takes off his jacket before he goes to where he’s keeping the girls, we’ll need another tracker somewhere else.
I briefed Stephanie on the best places to put them and reminded her not to be too obvious.
The last thing we need is Christopher figuring us out, but we have men in the room in case that happens. ”
All I can think of now is something going wrong. I can picture Christopher snatching Stephanie and dragging her out some unknown back door, taking her to some horrible hole in the wall to be his personal plaything. My stomach roils, and I squeeze my hands into fits.
“We’ll do everything we can to keep her safe, James.”
I flick my eyes up to Camryn, who has clearly picked up on my mood. “We better.”
“Here.” Camryn takes an earpiece from the table and hands it to me. “Stephanie, Fox, and I all have receivers as well, so you can listen to what’s going on.”
I slip it in pace, taking a modicum of comfort in being able to hear Stephanie’s clear voice in the crowded ballroom. At least now I won’t lose my mind.
Camryn stands, and I follow her to the door, which she pulls open as soon as I’m beside her. “And because I’m not a moron, I know you need to be out there and can do it without being seen. Go protect our girl.”
She shoves me out the door, but I don’t care. She’s right—I know how to be unseen, and I have to be out there. I need my eyes on Stephanie. I need to keep her safe.
And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.