She shivered. For years, she’d worked for government agencies. Now she was hiding from them.
* * *
Right after a dinner of fast-food sandwiches, Angus knocked on the metal door of the loft, smiling when Jethro opened it.
“Ah, shite,” the Brit said as Roscoe pushed past him to start scouting. He sighed. He was dressed in black sweats with a green shirt, and his usual glasses were perched on his straight nose, his brown eyes more resigned than irritated. “Come on in.”
“Thanks.” Angus gestured Nari ahead of him and then followed, one large duffel over his shoulder and the other in his hand. “Sorry to intrude, but we really didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
Nari kept moving into the industrial-style loft, walking to the floor-to-ceiling windows gridded with metal. “This place is amazing,” she said, turning around and viewing the open design. There was a massive gas fireplace flanked on one side by the living room and on the other by a rec room with a pool table and a bar.
Angus looked to the left, where the cement-block kitchen lay. “You don’t—shit.”
Roscoe jumped onto the metal dining table, captured a bottle of red wine, and quickly tipped it back. He finished the last gulp and tossed the empty bottle with a shake of his head.
Angus dropped the duffel and snagged the bottle out of the air before it could crash into a wall.
“Nice catch,” Jethro said, glaring at the dog. “Get your ass off my table.”
Roscoe licked red wine from the fur around his mouth and gracefully jumped down. He did a happy dance and then continued scouting.
“Sorry about that,” Angus said, sighing. “I’ll pay you back.”
Jethro put his hands on his hips, his eyes sparking. “That was a 2014 Opus One Cabernet Sauvignon.”
Angus picked up his duffel and carried them both to the sofa. “I’ll buy you a six-pack.”
Nari turned, looking small and delicious against the tail end of an orange sunset outside the industrial windows. “You were drinking a 2014 Opus One Cab by yourself?” She looked around. “What’s going on, Jethro?”
“Nothing.” Jethro walked toward the lone set of dishes on the table and carried them to the sink, limping a little.
Guilt swamped Angus. Last time he’d called Jethro in on a job, the man had almost died. “I’m sorry about this. We’ll just stay one night and then get out of your hair.”
Jethro pointed to an office alcove beyond the pool table and a monstrous television. “I’ve been working on the note left for you beneath the bridge, as well as the markings below it.”
Angus stiffened. “Tell me.”
“No,” Jethro said, limping to a silver cabinet at the far end of the kitchen and taking out another bottle of wine. “How does a 2016 Chateau Lafite Rothschild sound?” He deftly opened the bottle.
Nari gasped. “Seriously? That sounds delicious. I had no idea you were a wine connoisseur.”
“I’ll show you the wine cellar later.” Jethro poured three glasses. “We should let her breathe, but what the hell.” He handed the glass to Nari.
Angus’s gaze narrowed. What the hell? It was red wine. Crushed grapes and sunshine. He accepted the proffered glass and sniffed. Smelled like wine. The red kind.
Nari swirled hers around, sniffed it, and then took a small drink. Her moan went right to Angus’s cock, and the pink sliding across her face was the same color she turned while orgasming. Angus took a drink. Yep. Red wine. He walked around the leather sofa and dropped into a guest chair. “Well? If you two are done bonding over crushed grapes, can we get to business?”
Nari frowned and Jethro, the ass, looked amused.
Angus shoved down impatience along with a bunch of other emotions. He was not jealous and he wasn’t playing this game.
Nari gave him a look, one he didn’t much like, and then skirted his chair to sit on the sofa.
Jethro loped around the other side and sat in a chair much like Angus’s, setting the bottle high on a shelf next to the fireplace.
Roscoe whined, his tail wagging on the concrete floor. Then he leaned against the chair, looking up. The furniture was leather and expensive and perfect for the industrial-style apartment. “How about you tell me why you’re at my flat after dinner with a duffel full of weapons?” Jethro asked.
Nari started. “Full of weapons? You said one gun and a bunch of file folders.” She took another sip of the wine, as if she couldn’t help herself.
