Emily finally understood why he no longer thought of England as his home. He’d riskedeverything for his country, had nearly given his life, and when he’d needed her protection and support the most, Mother England had—
Bam! Bam! Bam!A loud fist landed on the door. The woman in the yellow pantsuit yelled, “Corporal Watson! Why did you open fire at the roadblock that day?”
“We need to get out of here, and fast,” Ace muttered, glancing around the modest living area. Likeany good English cottage, the place was a study in whimsy, decorated with antiques and plush, well-lived-in upholstered furniture. There was even the requisite painting of a partridge over the fireplace. “We can’t afford to have our faces splashed all over the BBC.”
“LikeIcan?” Christian thundered. “I’m a covert operator too, in case you’ve forgotten. Not to mention that my identity andinvolvement in Kirkuk were meant to be top secret.”
“Well, I hate to break it to you, bro.” Ace placed a sympathetic hand on Christian’s shoulder. “But the secret’s out.”
“Now we concentrate on protecting our covers,” Angel said.
Emily’s eyes widened. “You have a plan to do that?”
Angel pointed toward the ceiling. “Create a distraction.”
She glanced up, expecting to be enlightened.She wasn’t. There was nothing up there but off-white paint, a silver light fixture, and a dusty cobweb in the corner.
“By doing what?” she asked. “Setting the roof on fire?”
Angel smiled. Or, at the very least, one corner of his mouth twitched. Which was as close to smiling as Angel ever came. “Be ready to run when the time is right.”
Without any further discussion, he headed for thestairs. She watched him go with equal parts curiosity and incredulity.
“Am I the only one who feels like her ass is hanging in the breeze here?” she asked. “When will the time be right? How will we know?”
Christian grabbed her arm and gave it a squeeze. Okay,what? Henevertouched her. Not voluntarily anyway.
“Don’t worry.” He ducked his dimpled chin until they were eye to eye. Hereally did have the prettiest eyes, like molten glass, so bright and hot. “It’ll be fine. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
Oh-kay. Well, that was just… It was just…
She was so off-balance that someone could have knocked her over with a feather. In fact, she staggered when Christian released her and jogged toward the stairs, taking them two at a time.
Oh, and on the topic ofthings that were pretty…
Get a load of dat ass!It was all tight and firm and covered in jeans that probably cost more than she made in a week.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but he lookedgoodin those jeans. They fit him like a glove in the backandthe front.
Before she could stop the thought in its tracks, she found herself wondering if he was a lefty or a righty when it cameto what he was packing. A quick glance before he disappeared onto the second-floor landing confirmed he was a righty, and whoa, momma, what a righty he was.
How the hell had she missed that?
Oh yeah. Because she’d studiouslyavoidedlooking. Because once bitten, twice shy, baby. Because she didn’t mix business with pleasure. Shedidn’t!
“That’s a good way to catch flies.” Ace closedher gaping mouth by pressing a finger beneath her chin.
