Ryan didn’t even appear mildly intimidated. His brother simply quirked a brow. “Oh, come on. Don’t deny the obvious. Her mouth was swollen and red when she came out of that bedroom, and her cheeks were flushed bright pink. She had the look of a woman who had just been thoroughly kissed while you looked like all you wanted to do was lock out the rest of the world and screw her senseless.”
“Watch it,” he warned.
“Why? I know you have never gotten over your obsession with Delaney. I know that you still sneak off to check up on her. I know that you even followed her to Milan a while back because you were worried about her meeting her grandfather.”
Because he’d known exactly who—and what—her grandfather was.
Nash had met Delaney’s grandfather years ago. When Carmello Ricci had come to the US. When he’d broken into Nash’s apartment…and told me to stay the hell away from Delaney.
Delaney…
“Let me take care of her,” Ryan said.
Uh, the fuck, no. “You’ll keep your hands off Delaney.”
“I did not say let me fuck her. Did you hear those words come out of my mouth? No, no, you did not. I said, ahem, take care of her. As in, I’ll keep her alive. Count on me. I’ll do whatever stupid cover Jez thinks we need on this mission. I’ll be the big, bold, dangling bait that lures in our prey. You get your ass out of here. You get your ass out of the country. You just go.”
His feet were rooted to the spot. “I’m not leaving her.”
“Why the hell not?” Ryan demanded. “You did it before.”
He caught himself just before he took a swing at his brother.
Ryan grinned at him. Smug. Annoying. As only a brother could be. “Ah, still a sore spot, isn’t it? What have you been doing, bro? Living with regret all these years? Has it just been eating away at your soul? Do you wish with that hard, hard heart of yours that you could go back and change things?”
You have no idea.
“You never explained why you broke things off with her.” Ryan rocked onto the balls of his feet. “Why you were hot and heavy one moment and leaving her the next, but I saw your pain. I know you hurt so I know she must have hurt you. Why the hell are you willing to risk so much for a woman who broke your heart?”
“You don’t understand.” Because he hadn’t told his brother the truth. He hadn’t told anyone.
Well, Jezebel knew. And I think that’s why she’s doing this damn, crazy cover. Jezebel Jenkins was cold, she was calculating, and she was also the best CIA training officer in the whole world. She’d helped Nash. Guided him after he’d talked to her years ago about Delaney’s grandfather. Jez knew what a monster the man truly was.
Before Carmello Ricci died, Jez was working to bring him down.
Nash had been doing the same thing. Trying to rip apart the man’s world. Not something that would ever be easy to admit to Delaney.
Hey, sweetheart, so I worked tirelessly to destroy the only family you had left in the world. I tried to send your grandfather to prison. I tried to annihilate his empire. I tried to leave you with nothing.
Also, by the way, the reason we broke up so long ago was because I traded you…I traded us…and I missed you every single day.
“Make me understand,” Ryan demanded.
Nash opened his mouth.
A loud, blasting beat of music cut through the room.
“Dammit.” Ryan yanked out his phone. “Agnes has programmed in more of her music.” He shoved the phone to his ear. “This is not a good time.”
Nash tried to suck in some calming breaths. No good. The breaths did not calm him. His gaze cut to the closed door on the right.
Jezebel is trying to help me. Trying to give me time with Delaney. Sure, sure, his boss was also trying to bring down Kurt Wellington because the man needed to be locked away in some dank, dark prison for the rest of his life but…
We don’t have to fake some wedding. There are a hundred other scenarios that could work.
But only one that gave Nash back what he wanted most—Delaney.
“Delaney is alive. Delaney is being protected. And, no, I can’t tell you more than that, sis, because this is a classified operation. When the dust settles, I’m sure Delaney will call you and update you on everything. Or, know what? Maybe she can come down and see you on that little slice of heaven you call home on the bay. But for now, I love you, sis, but bye.” Ryan hung up the phone and shoved it back into his pocket.
