‘This breaks about a dozen regulations,’she’d said that evening.
‘Tell me to go,’I’d said.
‘I don’t want you to.’
Something flickered in her eyes—recognition, remembrance, perhaps the same memory that had me rooted to the spot. Her lips parted slightly.
Just like they had that night in Afghanistan.
It would have been so easy to pull her closer instead of letting go. But I wasn’t that man anymore. I’d made my choice, no matter how much I could still taste her lips.
Her hands rose to push gently against my chest. Her voice was so quiet, I barely heard it. “Excuse me.”
I released her immediately, stepping aside. “My fault.”
She didn’t respond, just continued down the hallway toward the stairs, not looking back.Please look back. My heart raced with embarrassing speed, but she kept going, vanishing downstairs for the kitchen tour.
I stared after her. I needed distance. Space. Something that wasn’t Brooke McAllister. But my feet didn’t listen.
Until the distinctive clack of Scarlett’s stilettos snapped me out of whatever was jostling around in my head. I turned to find Scarlett and Malcolm emerging from the room she would be sharing with Brooke.
Before I thought better of it, I said, “This place has good cover, but we’ll need to establish regular patrols. I want you to stay close when we’re outside the villa.”
Scarlett stopped, one eyebrow raising slightly. “Noah’s not coming to steal me away.”
“How do you know?” I countered, lowering my voice. “I don’t want to take chances.”
Malcolm’s arm slid around Scarlett’s waist. “You still think it’s a trap?”
“It’s Noah,” I snapped. How could they question it?
Malcolm had been taken at gunpoint in New York, the same as Emmett. He’d backed up my decision to keep Scarlett home when the team went to Monaco in August. But now she was in the same city as the man who wanted her to become his right hand, and Malcolm wouldn’t support me?
“Fine,” I replied too quickly. “I’m just trying to establish protocols.”
“Rav,” she said, her tone gentle. “Malcolm’s got me. Don’t worry.”
No. Malcolm was a private investigator. He didn’t know personal protection as well as I did.
“Did Will put the tracker in your earring?” I asked.
Scarlett gave me a polite smile. If I’d looked down, no doubt I would have seen her scrunching her toes in her shoes to release her irritation. Not that I needed to see it to know her reaction.
So why couldn’t I stop myself?
“You’re deflecting,” she said, and continued past me to the stairs.
Malcolm patted me on the shoulder and made his way after Scarlett, wise enough to keep any retort to himself.
“I am not,” I muttered to no one before following my team downstairs.
Chapter 10
Rav
By evening,we’d established our base of operations in the study. Drew had established our secure communications with Halifax. Zac and Emmett were on the roof terrace, watching for approaching traffic, and the rest of the team had gathered for an initial briefing.
Brooke took a seat by the window, looking out at the lights of the city.
