Owen tilted his head. “So, Nouri not feeling well is a poor decision.” He locked on to the guy, recalling Leighton’s strained words about it all being a plan to hurt her somehow. “Noted. I’ll be sure she’s aware.” He closed the door quickly—and maybe a little harder than needed. With smug satisfaction, he flipped the bolt.
Leighton sat up in the bed. “He sounded annoyed,” she whispered.
“He’ll get over it.”
“And you sounded a little too pleased to annoy him.”
Owen hid his smile as he went to the credenza and retrieved the menu. “What do you want for dinner? I’m probably going to go old school with a burger and fries, since I won’t get it again for a while.”
“Oh, that sounds perfect.”
Grinning at her, he lifted the phone and ordered. Forty minutes later, armed with burgers and fries, they sat on the couch, chowing down. “What’re your thoughts on safari-ing again tomorrow?”
Leighton chewed, covering her mouth as she finished the bite, then took a swallow of her water. “Okay, don’t hate me…”
“Why would I hate you?”
“After your very heroic stand against Prince Rayan”—she scrunched her face—“I kinda want to go tomorrow.”
“Heroic, huh?” Buying himself time to think before answering, he took a big bite and chewed. Considering Leighton’s misgivings and his tactical experience, he knew this was a great spot to have an unfortunate accident. “I just want you safe.”
“This trip is once-in-a-lifetime. I doubt I’ll ever get a chance to see these animals or have this experience again.” Leighton munched a fry. “And to be here, on an all-expenses-paid trip…” She shrugged. “I mean, I really don’t want to sit in here hiding when there’s amazing wildlife out there to be appreciated.”
Made sense. But did she realize…that thing she said—once-in-a-lifetime—showed him where her mind was. So, while she might be a willing sacrificial lamb for her biological mother, there was a part of her—subconsciously—that did not think she’d spend her whole life at Jeddah as a princess. That, he could dig. “I hear you.”
She lazily ate her fries, ignoring the other half of her burger on the plate. “Besides, I have you watching my back.”
And every other part of her. For more reasons than one. “Glad to hear you say that.” He wolfed his down.
“I guess you like the burger,” she said with a laugh.
“It was one of the best I’ve tasted in…six days,” he teased around the last bite.
“Pretty sure it’s hyena meat,” she said. “I mean, they don’t exactly have cows here…”
Owen faltered.
Mischievous gleam in her eyes, Leighton started laughing.
“Not funny. I about tossed my cookies.”
“It was worth it to see you finally uncertain for two-point-five seconds.” Slumped back against the couch, she drew her legs up and sat cross-legged.
He couldn’t help the smile, watching as she settled in, relaxing with a soft sigh. Definitely something he could get used to.
Her gaze came to his, and a rosy flush filled her cheeks. “What?”
Aware of the grave mistake it’d be to push too early into that sliver of a space with her smile and teasing, Owen warned himself to go easy. Leighton was still in a crisis, a place where she’d had to fight for every ounce of freedom. Yet…a little more trust like this, and maybe she’d agree to leave of her own volition. Pushing too hard too fast would destroy not only any chance to get her away from these psycho royals but any shot he might have at winning her heart.
Holy what? What are you even thinking?
Leighton wiped her mouth and stood. “I’m going to shower now so I don’t have to worry about it in the morning.”
Watching her cross the room made him realize how short that distance was. How short their time was. As soon as the bathroom door closed, Owen snagged the short-range comms he’d retrieved from Crow and tucked it in his ear. Heard a tone signal its activation. Anticipated the room might be bugged. “Go ahead,” he subvocalized, shifting so he had eyes on the doors to the room and the bathroom.
“Welcome back, Apollo,” comm’d Dade. “Chief’s getting deets sorted on the plan to exfil your girl. We’ll update you when there’s more info.”
Owen gritted his teeth and covered his mouth. “Can’t wear the earpiece. Too many eyes. I’ll check in each night.”
