She was restless.
He was too.
Their last night together, there was nowhere he’d rather be than in bed—with her. Her warm body snugged tight to his. Her scent filling his nose and soothing his mind. Her slow breathing and steady heartbeat regulating with his until they were both pulled under, and peace blanketed them.
Peace.
Not a customary feeling, but one he’d keep close if he could.
Not possible. Eve had a life she needed to get back to, her friends, her clinic, her physical therapy patients. Adam had nothing to offer her that came close. Besides, he’d already lost too much time in the search for Tak, and Chase and Gray were due back on Saturday.
If his sister didn’t get them both killed first.
Always punctual, the second the clock on the computer read eleven thirty, Chase’s secure call came in from Mallorca. Adam answered, and greeted by a shirtless former marine, he got straight down to business.
“Where’s Gray?” he asked, his headache spurring his directness. At seven thirty in the morning their time, he wouldn’t be surprised if his sister had blown off their call in favor of a few extra minutes of sleep.
“I’m right here,” she said, throwing herself into Chase’s lap so Adam could see them both on camera. “Don’t get your cock in a knot, big brother. It’s not good for your reproductive health.”
She grinned, and the sight of her looking tanned, healthy, and happy in the arms of a man Adam not only respected, but also trusted to keep her safe, eased his stress by a degree. “Tell me about Miami,” he said, his arguments against the stopover dissolving. A military-trained tactical planning expert, if Chase didn’t think he could get Gray in and out safely, she wouldn’t be going.
Was there a significant amount of risk involved? Yes.
Did he believe Chase would die before he let anything happen to Gray? Yes.
And if that wasn’t enough—the matching gold bands they wore was all the reassurance he needed.
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
At ten past midnight,Eve lay alone in the big bed. Agitated, her mind refused to settle. Adam’s call had ended eleven minutes earlier. She knew because she’d looked at the clock when she heard him say a muffled goodbye.
His sister was coming home. Eve would be gone before she got here. Adam would too. This was it. Their last night together. After he handed her the key to Carlos’s truck, she would never see Adam again.
Panic set in.
Oh God! Deep breaths. In for three. Hold. Out for three. Repeat. In for—
A hint of his masculine scent caused her to lose focus, and frustrated by her inability to self-soothe, she gave up trying to meditate and switched her pillow for his. She hugged it close, closed her eyes, and inhaled him deep.The smell of sandalwood and man enveloped her, filling her with a longing strong enough to make her heart thump against her rib cage.
Forget lust. She wanted him to come to bed so she could sleep. With his strong body next to hers, and his guns on the table beside him, he exuded comfort and safety in a hard-muscled package.
In three short days, she’d come to rely on him, and thanks to his care and attention, she was healing quickly. Her muscles recovering, her bruises fading, her knife wound on the mend. For a dominant alpha male, he seemed to know exactly what she needed, and he gave it to her.
No questions. No demands. No expectations. From sleeping with the light on, to cooking her favorite foods, to the luxurious shoulder rubs, he never complained, and he never asked her for anything in return.
He also hadn’t given her an option when it came to her departure in the morning.
No—not true. He’d given her two options. Both sucked.
Stay at the lodge under the protection of his entire security team, or leave, and have Grant follow her. Either way, Adam intended to confront the Matthews, whether she liked it or not.
She’d argued against his interfering. Her points weakened by the fact she held back. He didn’t know the truth of what happened. Didn’t know the depth of the horror she faced.
After her escape, the judge had to be a desperate man. The situation made him dangerous. She was a threat to everything he loved, his son, his career, his reputation. She already knew the lengths to which he’d go to protect Bryan, and with his own life on the line, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill Adam if he got the chance.
Not that he’d get the chance. Her money lay square on the militant meddler. A problem in and of itself. Without Eve, there’d be no justice for the murdered women. They’d remain lost, their bones buried in unmarked graves, their souls left to wander.
She couldn’t allow that to happen. As much as Adam wanted to ensure she stayed safe, free to live her life, she’d have no life worth living until she did the right thing. The price of her survival, her freedom, her future happiness was bringing those women home to their families.
