Raider sighed heavily, released her hand, and slid his phone from his pocket. Scrolling through, he found a picture and set the device down on the table, twirling it to face Eddie. “That’s your wife through the scope of a sniper rifle.” He leaned over and swiped left. “That’s your mistress—different rifle actually.” His voice calm, almost bored, he swiped again. “Your other mistress.” Raider looked up at Eddie. “She’s a little young for you.”
“She’s twenty,” Eddie returned, his eyes hardening.
Raider swiped again. “Jonny P in a scope, Joshua in a scope here.”
Eddie winced, while Josh straightened behind him, looking deadly. “The last guy who used Josh’s full name is blind from a broken eye socket that was truly gross,” Eddie said.
“My apologies,” Raider said smoothly, swiping one more time. “You in a scope, Eddie. You ever see the damage a Knight’s Armament SR-25 can do to the human skull? It’s fucking impressive, man.”
How had they had time to get these photographs? Brigid kept her expression clear. Angus Force must’ve been working background on this mission longer than any of them had realized. “I’ve never seen that, but sniper rifles scare the heck out of me.” She shivered, playing along. “To think you were in a scope and didn’t feel it, Eddie. That’s terrifying.”
“So.” Raider stood and tugged Brigid to her feet. He wiped the blood off his mouth. “We’ll be going now but will call tomorrow.”
Eddie also stood, his face a hard mask. “Actually, you’ll be staying the night. You have until nine tomorrow morning for your men to deliver the journal and any accompanying evidence.” His smile revealed unusually long canines. “Or I shoot you both, and I’m taking my time with the pretty redhead.”
Chapter Sixteen
After a truly late and uncomfortable dinner with Eddie in his palatial dining room, Brigid paced the lovely guest room with a view of the ocean. While Raider had kept his cover perfectly in place during the meal, his eyes blazed with a light she’d never seen before. It had to be terrible to sit across from the man who’d killed Raider’s friend and partner. “We have to get out of here,” she said, rubbing her hands down her chilled arms.
Raider shook his head, looked around the room, and headed for a corner, scouting clockwise.
What was he doing? Brigid studied the area. The bed was covered in purple silk and faced a quaint fireplace flanked by a wide reading bench beneath a window with a view of the ocean. The furniture was high-end wicker, and the lights inset in the ceiling. Paintings of sailboats adorned the walls.
He removed a knickknack from the mantel and tugged out a camera, which he dropped to the wooden floor and ground beneath his boot. “I missed you.” Finally, he turned his full attention on her. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
She gestured around. Were there more cameras or bugs?
He shrugged and moved to her, taking her hand. “You look cold still. Let’s get you warmed up.” The New York accent remained in place, and the gritty tone helped warm her, anyway.
Numbly, she followed him into the luxurious guest bath and waited until he’d turned on the shower. He smoothly toed off his boots, revealing a small burner phone hidden beneath his left foot. Smart. She grinned.
He leaned in. “Honey, you need to get into the shower and warm up.” He reached for the hem of her dirty top.
She slapped his hands. “What are you doing?”
He leaned in. “Can’t be sure they didn’t plant anything on you. Take off your clothes.”
She shivered, and it wasn’t all from shock. He had a point. This whole espionage thing was new to her. “Turn around,” she mouthed.
“Can’t.” His mouth was so close to her ear that heat slid down her neck. Beneath her skin. “We had a scuffle, and I was out for a bit. I could be tagged, too.” In one smooth motion, he whipped off his shirt.
She took a step back. Holy cow, Batman. Smooth, hard muscle with his darker skin tone was beyond sexy. The bruises along his rib cage only made him look more dangerous. She gingerly ran her fingers over the welts. “Are you okay?”
He nodded, his gaze intense. “Bruised and not broken. Take off your clothes, Brigid.”
She so wasn’t made for undercover work. Not this kind. She twirled her finger for him to turn around. With an exasperated eye roll, he did so, dropping his jeans as he moved. Steam started to fill the room.
She knew not to look. Honest. But when faced with one of the tightest butts in history, how could she not? She shook her head. This was a job. A game, even. And it wasn’t like she was overly shy. But this was also Raider. Biting her lip again, she quickly tossed her clothes to the floor and walked into the stone-tiled shower, letting the steam cover her as much as possible.
Raider followed her and shut the door, keeping his gaze on her face.
But just how good was his peripheral vision? It took every ounce of stubbornness she had to keep from covering herself with her hands like some old-fashioned virgin in a classic movie.
He leaned toward her, not touching. “They can’t hear us now. Seriously. How are you?”
Shockingly aroused all of a sudden. No. None of that. He was talking about the case. She could do that, too. “Freaking out,” she hissed, her mouth close to his ear. If they were close, he couldn’t see her bare boobs. “The guy wanted to cut off my earlobe. He’s nuts.”
Raider smoothed both hands down her arms. “He might’ve just been trying to scare you, but either way, he’s definitely off. As soon as Force gets his hands on the journal, we’ll get you out of here. I’ll continue the op on my own and work with Eddie after this.”
