“Fine.” She scrambled out of bed and handed Adam her empty cup as she sashayed her naked curves on by. “More coffee too. Please.”
“Who’s being bossy now, Ms. Sassy Pants?”
She looked at him over her shoulder, her hair cascading in a wild mess of waves down her back. “You love my sass, Adam. Don’t even try to pretend otherwise.”
Her sass. Her ass. Her. She was the full meal deal. And he was hungry as fuck. “Sweetheart, you have no idea.”
If anything could takethe edge off Mexican authorities wanting Eve for questioning in a double homicide, Adam’s pancakes filled the bill. She chewed her last fluffy bite while her fork hovered in the air, dripping butter-laced syrup onto her plate.
Her headshot reappeared on the TV screen, and she grimaced. Not because it was a bad picture. It wasn’t. Taken from her clinic’s website, the photograph made her look professional, confident, competent. The photographer had charged her a small fortune for the sitting fee, but it had paid off, garnering her a significant number of new clients.
Nope. It wasn’t the photograph ruining her career. The bold typeface hovering over her head, the wordsperson of interest, did that just fine all on its own. To add insult to injury, the CNN correspondent’s “grave concern” as she gave an update on what she knew about the murders of Carlos and Yolande, destroyed any residual hope Eve might have had of keeping her clients and getting her life back.
Every word was a lie. A fabrication by the people who wanted her dead. The real killers meant to flush her out of hiding. What better way to do it then have the entire population of North America on the lookout for her?
She’d known this was coming. Adam had warned her last night. She’d read the police report from Mexico listing her as the primary suspect. She also reviewed the transcripts of fake nine-one-one calls to her Claremont apartment to “deal with a person exhibiting significant mental health issues.”
Jay had found the previously nonexistent incident files in minutes.
But the typed statement signed by the judge describing her as an unstable and dangerous individual who should be involuntarily committed to a treatment facility? That had hurt—more than it should have under the circumstances.
“Don’t worry about it, Eve. We’ll make it right.” In response to Adam’s proximity, a full-body tingle gave her fair warning the fork was about to be plucked from her hand, and she relinquished her hold without a fight even though the platter next to her still held a stack of flapjacks.
She looked over her shoulder at him as he took her plate. “Thanks for breakfast. It was fantastic.” God. She’d eaten so much, her stomach might explode. Good thing she’d worn Adam’s running pants with the elastic waist or she would have busted a seam.
He leaned over and kissed her hard and fast. On the mouth. In front of—she glanced around—four members of his team. Adam had cooked breakfast for everyone, and the satisfied smiles around the table proved she wasn’t the only one who appreciated his skills in the kitchen.
Heat crept up from her chest, and she felt her cheeks flush with pleasure.
“Go ahead, kid. Get it into you.” Sitting on one butt cheek, Cody pushed the platter with the last four slices of bacon toward Davis who’d just speared his fifth and sixth pancake.
Davis shook his head. “Jay hasn’t had any.”
“He’s full up on cereal.” Helping to clear the dishes, Doc grabbed the bacon and tipped the plate over Davis’s pancakes. “Go for it.”
No further encouragement needed, the teenager dug in as if this was his first helping and not his third. Eve had no idea where he put all the food in his skinny body.
“Anyone know if Jay got any sleep last night?” Grant asked, reaching for a container of orange juice, and grimacing as though his ribs hurt.
Heads around the table shook.
“I hope he finds Tak soon,” Davis said, right before his eyes shot wide and he froze. His fork midway to his mouth, the look of sheer panic on his face gave Eve’s heart a nudge. On the floor beside Davis’s chair, Jeff popped up and laid his nose in the boy’s lap.
“Tak is a member of our team,” Adam said, coming to Davis’s rescue and laying a hand on his shoulder. “Our last mission went a little sideways, and he’s missing.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” Eve didn’t ask any further questions. Davis clearly thought he’d made an error in mentioning Tak in front of her, and she didn’t want to add to his embarrassment.
“We’ll find him,” Adam replied.
“Got that right.” Cody shifted in his chair, his physical discomfort obvious to anyone with eyes.
“In the meantime, you’ll help us with Eve’s case, right?” Adam gave the teenager’s neck a light squeeze, and Eve’s heart grew a foot wider as Davis grew a foot taller right in front of her.
His enthusiastic, “Yes, sir,” elicited a collective groan from the men around him, but the variety of grins passing around the table suggested any one of these men would do anything to make him feel wanted and safe.
Davis belonged with these people, and for the briefest of flashes, she suffered a hit of jealousy. What she wouldn’t give to have a family like his.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE
