“Thank you,” he said, voice gruff, arm tightening around his little girl. There was no way to fully express his gratitude and how much he respected the hell out of them all.
“No need to thank us,” Brand grunted. “You know we’ve got your six. You and Emma.”
“Hell yeah, we do,” Chaz added. “You helped me get Lottie back from these fuckers. It was the least I could do.”
“And Ellie,” Wes said, referring to when his wife had been kidnapped by pirates.
“And Sera,” Corey added.
“Julia, too,” Brand said.
“It’s just what we do.” Chaz reiterated, then focused on Emma. “How’re you doing, Emmie G?”
She laughed at the nickname, and Jayson was glad to hear the joyous sound. “I’m good now. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you guys cuss so much.”
“Pretend you didn’t.” Jayson grimaced, knowing she got an earful. Might’ve even learned a new phrase or two because they could be damn creative. Her attention slid to Sabrina, and he could see the curiosity written all over Emma’s face.
“Emma, this is Sabrina Ross, my neighbor and…an FBI agent,” he introduced. “Sabrina, my daughter, Emma.”
Emma’s green eyes grew bigger when she heard the woman’s title, her attention dropping to the tactical vest and then moving to the gun in Sabrina’s hand. “Wow,” Emma murmured, clearly impressed, “you’re like a female version of these guys.”
Sabrina holstered her weapon, lips twitching in amusement. “I don’t know about that, but I did my best to keep up.”
“She’s being modest.” Jayson’s gaze met Sabrina’s electric eyes. “Very, very modest.” They shared a smile.
Suddenly, the air in the cab seemed to shift between them and, unfortunately, they had a rapt, extremely nosy audience who watched closely. Clearing his throat, Jayson tore his attention off Sabrina’s mouth and forced himself to ignore the knowing looks and smirks from his team and daughter. The moment the elevator door opened, he couldn’t get out fast enough.
“See you soon,” Brand said as he, Wes and Chaz headed for their vehicle. As they walked away, Wes flashed him an enthusiastic thumbs-up and Chaz waggled his brows.
Idiots.
Slightly ahead of him, Sabrina easily took charge, ushering Emma toward the Range Rover, and Jayson hoped the women had missed Wes and Chaz’s blatant shenanigans. He glanced over at Corey. Amusement flashed in the other man’s arctic-blue eyes and he slapped Jayson on the back. In the distance, sirens blared. Time to jet.
“Another win for the Motley Crew,” Corey said. Then, under his breath, he added, “I like her.”
Yeah, so did he. More than he should considering her original purpose for moving in next door. But she’d told him the truth and helped rescue his daughter. And Lottie had explained to her what had happened with Donato. None of them would be going down for murdering a mafia heavy hitter. It was self-defense, protecting the people they loved from pure evil.
Corey got behind the wheel again and Jayson opened the back door for the women. “We can talk once I get you safely back home, okay?”
Emma gave him another hug. “I’m good, Dad. No one hurt me.”
Thank God. He let her go and she climbed in behind Sabrina. Once they were inside, he carefully closed the door and settled himself in the front passenger seat. He wasn’t surprised when Emma started chatting it up with Sabrina. His little girl’sresilience made him damn proud. She must’ve inherited that strength from him, and it made him smile.
Leaning back against the seat and listening, he thought of how hard he’d worked to give his daughter everything she needed since the day she was born. But the one thing he hadn’t been able to provide for her was a mother.
Maybe it wasn’t too late,a little voice whispered.
If he was going to start dating again, he planned to shoot his shot with Sabrina. No doubt about it—the gorgeous woman made his palms sweat and his pulse thunder. Not to mention the wicked things that were happening below his belt.
Raking a hand through his hair, he decided to do it.Stop overthinking shit and just do the damn thing.He was going to pursue Sabrina and see where things went.
But,fuck. Now that the Motley Crew had been cleared, she probably wouldn’t be in Cielo Springs much longer.
Better move fast, old man.
The flight back to Cielo Springs went fast. Sabrina spent the entire time talking to Jayson and Emma over the clatter of theSpitfire’sengine. Emma gave them a rundown of what had happened from the moment she was kidnapped. She was a tough cookie and Sabrina admired how easily she rebounded. Clearly, she took after her father.
Sabrina enjoyed getting to know father and daughter better. They shared a close relationship filled with easy conversationand lots of smiles. Nearby, the rest of the men talked among themselves a bit, but they mostly seemed to be watching her interaction with Jayson and his daughter. As though they were deciding whether or not to give their stamp of approval.
