“Well, the studio said I could always back out if I didn’t fall in love with the service,” Amy said. She was warming right up now. Or at least acting like it.
“You’re right about that,” Mr. P said. “Well, I promise to treat you very, very well. Trust me, you’ll definitely want to come back.”
Jace gritted his teeth. The nerve of this guy. “We’ll see about that.”
“Oh, ha ho,” Mr. P bellowed. “Sounds like we have a doubting Thomas on our hands. What do you think of that, Ms. Amy?”
“There always has to be a skeptic, I guess.” Amy’s voice quivered.
His pulse sped.C’mon, Amy, relax. Just a little bit more and we can take these guys down.
Mr. P seemed to pick up on it too. He didn’t reply, only tipped his chin up, eyes narrowing as he scrutinized her. His gaze flickered to Jace next, probing almost. Mr. P had sounded very confident, while talking to Maddox on the phone, that Jace wasn’t aware of him just yet. But as he held Jace’s gaze, he seemed to be rethinking the notion.
“Well now,” he finally said. “What’s your name again, young man?”
“My name’s Jace,” he said.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your last name.”
This guy was really fueling the flame for Jace. He was gritting fists as well as his teeth now. “Burns,” he mumbled.
“Ah. Jace Burns. So are you and Amyserious?”
“Yes,” Amy spat. But just as she and Mr. P had spoken in unison, Amy and Jace did the same.
“Very,” Jace had nearly hissed the word.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Mr. P said. “Sounds like I never had a chance.”
The room went silent as Jace seethed, gritting to the point his jaw ached. He recalled something Mr. P had said about Jace only pretending to be her boyfriend. He was probably being more convincing than he needed to be. If Mr. P had any clue how much Jace really cared for Amy, he’d know just what kind of leverage he had in a takedown.
And hadn’t Amy just expressed a desire to help fight against trafficking? It was one thing for her to walk into the lion’s den with Jace and his men. It was another thing to do something foolish. Especially if she felt it was to protect Jace.
It was often he and his men got into sticky situations. Spots where—to an outsider—the entire team might appear to be doomed. In reality, each man was biding their time. Waiting for a nod or a look to tip the other off, and suddenly the SEALs would break into action and turn the tables.
But Amy wouldn’t know that. Why had he gone and told her he loved her before this mission? In retrospect, it was a mistake. One that might cause Amy to foolishly put herself at risk.
“Well now,” Mr. P said. “I have one other gentleman I’d like you to meet. He’s a close business associate of mine, and he’s interested in doing an endorsement as well. He’s asked to be introduced to you, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind at all,” Amy said.
Perfect.Let’s get this show on the road. The building flow of adrenaline caught fire now; the match had been dropped, and the flames raced through his blood.
Mr. P stood. “Follow me.”
Hopefully, Creed would be next to Maddox and not in some other part of the building. He was the guy Sutton assigned to stay by Amy. Better that it wasn’t Jace, since he was the main target. It was another reason Creed wore the tap. If they got separated or put in danger, Logan would be able to track them.
An idea came to mind at the thought. Jacecouldhave Creed plant a seed of doubt in Amy’s head. Make her think that Jace was, in fact, only pretending to be her boyfriend. That he was heading right back to California once this was through. It was a cruel thing, but if he wanted to prevent the chance of Amy taking some unnecessary risk, it might have to be done.
The idea gained momentum in his mind, enough that Jace retrieved his phone and tapped out a text to Creed. They needed to minimize the possibility that she’d put them at risk by going rogue. And this was the best way he could think to do that.
Jace hit send, shoved the small phone back into his pocket, and gulped. Hopefully Amy would forgive him.
