Delaney’s hands twisted in front of her.
“A Fed you know. Grayson Stone. Seeing as how he’s tight with your brother, I thought he’d be good to step in since Ryan has been temporarily sidelined.”
Grayson Stone. The name meant nothing to Delaney, but she saw Nash’s shoulders relax so she took that as an extremely good sign.
But Nash said, “You’re territorial, Jez. Why are you just inviting a Fed to step into your case?”
“Because I’m not sure who I can trust in my own ranks,” she retorted, voice lowering. “And I need to know that you have someone good at your back.”
Okay, so, this Grayson Stone was someone good. Someone Nash trusted. Two points for him.
“He’ll stay in the shadows,” Jezebel assured Nash. “You won’t see him, but just know he’s there in a pinch.”
“Does Gray understand that Delaney’s safety is priority?”
“He understands that Kurt Wellington has to be taken down. That we are gathering enough evidence to put Wellington away forever.”
With those words from Jezebel, Nash’s shoulders were back to being just as tense. “He needs to understand that Delaney’s safety is priority.” His stare burned into Delaney’s. “Make that clear, Jez. She. Is. Priority.”
“I don’t believe you are supposed to be giving me orders,” Jezebel murmured.
Delaney took a hesitant step toward Nash.
“I can make her vanish,” he said, never taking his eyes off Delaney.
Her heart raced.
“I can take Delaney, and I can make her disappear in less than ten minutes.” His stare pierced straight to Delaney’s soul as he promised Jezebel, “You won’t find her. The CIA won’t find her. You can be left to deal with Wellington on your own.”
“You’re bluffing,” Jezebel charged.
“No. I’ll do it. I will take her far away from here if I think that you are risking her life for this case.” With every word, his penetrating stare didn’t leave Delaney. He didn’t so much as blink.
Delaney believed what he was saying. And she thought that Jezebel did, too.
Jezebel cleared her throat. “Ahem. Fine. Fine. I’ll make sure Grayson understands that, should anything happen to you, Delaney is to be protected.”
“Nothing should happen to Nash,” Delaney blurted. “That’s part of the deal, too.”
“Or what?” Jezebel threw at her. “You’ll make him vanish?” Doubt layered the words.
“I’d vanish with her in a heartbeat if that was what Delaney wanted,” Nash stated, voice flat.
Her own heartbeat sped to a double-time rate. He means it.
“Let’s all take some deep breaths, shall we?” Jezebel’s tone had turned soothing. “You’re both going to be just fine. You’ll survive this mission, and the bad guy will be locked away.”
“Nash needs to be protected, too.” Delaney was adamant.
“That’s why I have Grayson rushing in. To make sure everyone involved will be protected.” A brief pause. “Don’t worry so much about Nash,” Jezebel assured her. “I’m starting to think he can survive practically anything.” A sigh. “Now get your asses out of that honeymoon suite.” No longer soothing. More like a barked order. “I need evidence. I need Wellington brought into the open, and I need that done now.”
But Nash didn’t move. “Pretty sure honeymooners are supposed to want to stay behind closed doors and fuck like crazy.”
Delaney blushed. An automatic reaction to fuck like crazy. They, um, had been. In the shower. She could feel the heat staining her cheeks.
“This is not a real honeymoon,” Jezebel snapped back. “But her ex is a real killer so…get the hell out there. Get him focused on you.” Jezebel hung up.
Nash tossed the phone onto the bed. “Judging from the gunshots earlier, I thought he was focused on me.”
