It was reassuring that Blaze thought there would be sexytimes after the meeting, so he must think they were going to leave Bell’s office alive.
She hadn’t been confident about that.
The slacks and ridiculously fluffy blouse were tight around her bottom and loose in the top, and one side seam under her left arm felt stiff.
Whatever. It wasclean.Farm girls couldn’t be overly prissy when working with manure and dirt, but she was used to showers and clean clothes.
When she’d finished changing, she ducked back beside the bed to fetch her gun.
From the chair, Blaze said, “No, I’ll carry. Not you.”
She whipped her head around to glare at him. “Blaze, I amgoodwith a gun.”
His voice was low and tight. “I am not disputing your marksmanship. If the operation goes south, I want you to have plausible deniability. I’ll tell them you had nothing to do with it, and you’re no threat to anyone going forward. She’ll let you go.”
“She’s not going tobelievethat. Your whole plan hinges on my aunt suddenly becoming an idiot.”
“I don’t think she’s an idiot for even a minute.”
“You, Twist, and Micah are going to waltz in there, pull guns on her, andconvinceher to leave us alone? She’ll either have us all shot dead immediately, or else she’ll lie and have us shot deadlater.”
“That’s not the plan.”
Sarah pointed to the bathroom, indicating the hot, damp conference with Twist and Micah. “That’s what you told those guys.”
“And nevertheless, I’ll tell your aunt you had nothing to do with it.”
Sarah flopped her hands, exasperated that he was being so dense. “She willneverbelieve it.”
“I’llmakeher believe it.” Blaze tossed a black credit card onto the bed in front of her. “Use that to get a plane ticket to Iowa and then puteverythingyou buy on it. Twist said he returned my money, and it should take at least six months until my estate is settled. Take it.Use it.Buy a new truck or an adjoining parcel of land to enlarge your farm.Anything.”
Chills ran through her, though the steel bones of the corset kept her from slouching. “You’re scaring me.”
“Just if anything goes wrong,” he said, his voice dropping to indicate the end of the conversation. “Just in case.”
“But you’re notplanningon anything going wrong,” she said, heaviness filling her heart. She touched her stomach, patting the reassuring solidity of the sexy red corset. “You’re planning onbothof us walking out of there.”
“Yeah,” Blaze said, texting on his phone. “Of course I am.”
He wasn’t looking at her.
The heaviness in her chest coalesced into dread. “You can’t be thinking about giving them the weapons she wants. Youknowwhat they’re going to do with them.”
Blaze looked up at her, his blue eyes like Arctic ice. “If it will save you, I will give them the fucking weapons. I don’t care what they do with them as long as you are safe back in Iowa.”
“But they’re going to try to take over the government.”
“I will burn down the world to save you.”
“I’m not worth it.”
“You are.I have done terrible things in my life, killed innocent civilians who were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and led operators who trusted me into battle when I knew there would be fifty percent casualties or more. I led them in when I knew thatalmost all of uswould die, and I led them in anyway.”
His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.
Blue ink threaded through the skin on his forearms below the fabric folds.
Sarah’s voice shook as much as the ground she was treading. “Is that what your tattoos mean?”
