She made a face of confusion, and I understood.
“The agent who helped Jason and L,” I continued. “He said his name is Ethan.”
She visibly struggled to process the information. “Jason and Laurel?—”
“He took her to a safe house he owns outside of Munich.”
That was technically a lie because I owned the house. My brother was stubborn and proud, usually refusing any financial help I offered, but not if it benefited his wife. He let me pay for L’s around-the-clock security detail, which I was happy to do.
I’d do anything for family, and I liked my sister-in-law very much.
“When was the fire?”
I took a breath. “Two weeks ago.”
Now she understood why the workplace incident had put all of us on high alert.
“Two weeks?”Her face hardened. “They should have told me.”
“I agree. That’s why I’m telling you now.” I hadn’t gotten authorization on that, but my younger brother would need to get over it. Jason had made it clear what he wanted. I was supposed to keep my hands to myself during this trip.
My gaze dropped to her blanketed lap, where her hand was encased in mine.
“They didn’t want you to worry,” I said. “Hopefully, all this caution is for nothing.” Then I made the mistake of brushing my thumb over the back of her hand, alerting her to my presence.
She drew away, forcing me to do the same, and concern filled her elegant features.
“I’m sure you’re safe,” I added. Even in the scary event that Juric was loose, the likelihood of him coming after her was next to nothing. His obsession was the younger of the Hayward sisters.
“I’m not worried about me,” she said, frowning. “I’m worried for them.”
“Of course, but I’ll escort you home and wait with you until your security team arrives.”
She tensed. “What security team?”
“The one I’ll put in place until we know Juric’s dead or in custody.”
Her anxiety ticked up another notch. “No, no. I can’t accept that.”
“Because of the cost?” I waved a hand because this wasn’t a big deal. “Please, don’t worry about it. I just want to keep you safe.”
“No, Shawn. I can’t accept this because it’s another thing for you to hold over me. You say you want to keep me safe, but I think what you really want is to keep tabs.”
“No, of course not.” I frowned. “Like I have some sinister plan for you?”
“Don’t you?”
There was a challenge in her eyes, and I couldn’t help myself. I found it undeniably sexy. “Yes, I have plans for you, but ‘sinister’ is not the word I’d use to describe them.” I lowered my voice so it was barely audible over the engines. “I promise, you’ll enjoy my plans very much.”
The atmosphere between us thickened, and I watched her throat bob with a hard swallow.
But then she lifted her chin and pretended my words had no effect. “I highly doubt it.”
A wicked smile tugged at my lips, and I leaned in, dipped a hand beneath the blanket, and placed it suggestively on her thigh. The muscle in her leg tensed, but I kept going, wanting to prove my point, and slid my hand between her legs.
Her eyes went enormously wide and the fork in her hand clattered to the tray table so she could grip my wrist.
“What are you doing?” she hissed.
