“Of my things or stuff from the company?”
“Your things,” he replied. “We sent one of the women on Kade’s team to do it.”
I relaxed slightly. At least it had been a woman. I hated to think of one of the big, muscled male bodyguards pawing through my underthings.
I was silent for the rest of the trip, while Zeke debriefed Kade on everything that had happened on board theClaudette. I held myself apart from them, warm enough that I didn’t need their body heat. Eventually, we pulled up outside a residential apartment building not too different from my own.
“You two head in,” Kade said. “I’ll go back to the office and update Ronan.”
“Thanks for the rescue,” I said, because however I might feel about being kept in the dark, I owed him that. If hehadn’t been so fast to scoop us out of the lake, I could have hypothermia now instead of being mildly pissed.
“No problem.” He gave me a tentative smile. “Stay safe, okay, Fi?”
“I’ll try.” I imagined that tonight was the most excitement I’d see in my life. I almost smiled. Who’d ever have expected no-nonsense Fiona to jump off the side of a French millionaire’s yacht at night? Not me, that’s for sure.
Zeke thanked Kade too, and we got out of the car. I pulled the blanket closer around myself, and he did the same with his towel. We both looked bedraggled, but fortunately, there wasn’t anyone around to stare. Zeke led me to an apartment on the ground floor and slotted a key into the lock. I hadn’t noticed Kade give it to him, but I’d also been preoccupied, so perhaps that wasn’t surprising.
As soon as we were inside, Zeke flicked the lock into place and pulled his wet top off over his head. I turned to face him and put my hand on my hip.
“Why couldn’t we have stayed on the yacht a few more minutes, just to try to set eyes onDaisies?”
ZEKE
Fiona looked like a water sprite.The water had darkened her hair to the color of blood, and her skin was pale except for the soft pinkness of her mouth and the freckles that stood out starkly across her nose. I’d never seen her more beautiful.
“What Bergen said about the police made me think he was up to something,” I said. It hadn’t only been that. I’d gotten a vibe from the guy that I couldn’t quite explain. “Whether it was getting the security footage to implicate you, or whether that was just a distraction while he told Laurent there were uninvited guests aboard his yacht, I’m not sure. I didn’t want to run the risk of giving him the time to make a move.”
I’d never have been able to live with myself if Fiona and I had been captured and she’d suffered as a result. Perhaps I’d been overly cautious, but I’d gambled with my safety in the past and lost. While I’d survived, it certainly hadn’t been without scars, and I wanted better for Fiona.
“I…” I trailed off and cupped her face in my palm. She looked up at me, her eyes luminous. “I couldn’t take the chance that anything might happen to you.”
I had no idea how she would react to my confession. I’d never been so vulnerable with her before. I didn’t expect her to grab my shoulders, pull me in, and kiss the crap out of me, but that’s exactly what she did. Without any warning, her lips were on mine. They were cool and yielded where our mouths met.
“You sweet, aggravating man,” she gasped as we separated. “You drive me insane, but then you go and say something like that.”
I gathered her into my arms, needing another taste of her. My tongue delved into her mouth, exploring her, and she pressed against the planes of my body, somehow both soft and strong at the same time.
“Thank you.” She pulled back and nuzzled the side of my neck. “I’m pissed that you didn’t tell me the whole plan, but thank you for having my back.”
My heart warmed. “If it helps, we didn’t tell Ronan either, so he has plausible deniability if we get into any trouble.”
She shook her head. “You’re a surprisingly decent man.”
“Surprisingly?” I arched a brow, my tone teasing. “Didn’t you always know I was wonderful?”
She rolled her eyes. “And so humble.”
“You know it.” Despite the flippant words, my heart was pounding wildly, and I had no doubt she could feel it through the thin blanket that separated us.
“I’m going to have a shower,” she said, drawing away.
I swallowed my disappointment. I’d thought something was happening between us, but perhaps not. “Sure. I’ll go after you.”
“Or,” she said pointedly, “you could join me.”
“Oh.” Yeah, that sounded much more like it. I grinned. “You have such good ideas.”
She grabbed my hand and dragged me to the two doors that came off the open-plan living area. Behind one was a bedroom with two full-size beds, and the other had a tiled floor and an open shower with a toilet hidden in the back corner.
