“Same, baby, same.” His body was rock hard as she hung on for dear life. “You know who I am,” Ryan snarled at the other agent. “Holster your weapon and go get backup! Now!”
“But—” the man began, eyes wide.
“Backup isn’t really going to help.” Yes, she was still on Ryan’s back and holding him for all she was worth. “Konstantin was outside, waiting down the road, but I’m afraid if he saw you enter the building, Ryan, then he’s already long gone.” Her throat threatened to close. “He had Logan with him. Konstantin told me that if I didn’t bring back the egg and the chip, Logan would be dead.” Not just Logan, though, as she’d learned in the back of that stupid Bentley…Logan and Nana.
“Get. Out.” Ryan’s arctic order to the blond agent. “Stand guard beside the door.”
“You’re really giving some conflicting orders here, mate,” the man snapped.
“Out. Stand guard at the door.”
Jaw locking, the MI6 agent went out. She assumed he was heading to stand guard at the door.
She should let go of Ryan. Stop clinging to his back. But everything was about to get horrible because, if Konstantin had seen Ryan come in…
Logan…oh, God, Logan…
Her legs unhooked from Ryan. Her arms. She slid down his body. Her knees felt incredibly weak, and Simone was sure she could fall to the floor in a puddle.
But Ryan whirled and caught her. His hands locked around her waist. “Baby.” His gaze swept over her. “You are soaked in sweat. What in the hell happened to you?”
“A whole lot of fear.” He was alive. “Had to crawl through some seriously tight places.” She shuddered even as she pointed back toward the open air vent.
His gaze darted to the vent. His curse was extremely inventive.
“I am so happy that you’re alive,” Simone told him, and she meant those words. “But if you’re here, and Konstantin saw you, then that means…it means Logan is dead. Konstantin was going to kill Logan if anything went wrong on this retrieval mission.”
“No one outside the building saw me enter. I came in via the secret corridor.”
“Secret corridor?” And this is why schematics and blueprints are so important when doing a job.
“It starts at an old museum four buildings over. Snakes under the street. Comes out in the basement.”
Her breath shuddered. “Would have been great if I knew that beforehand. Wasn’t exactly given adequate time to prepare for this mission.”
His hand slid under her chin. He tilted her head toward the light. “Why the fuck is your cheek so red?”
“Because a fist hit it? A fist belonging to Konstantin.”
“He’s dead.”
“He needs to be,” she agreed. “But it’s rather tricky because he has his goons holding Logan’s grandmother, and they are going to kill her and—do not smile at me when I tell you that people are threatening Nana! I happen to love that woman!”
He leaned forward. His lips brushed hers. “I’ve got her.”
“You do not have her. You have me. You are holding me.” So much panic and fear filled her. “I have to get the egg and that damn chip and get back to him. You have to help me, Ryan, please. Please help me.”
Another careful kiss. “There is nothing in this world I will not do for you.”
“I am so glad that you are alive.” Had she told him that already? “I was scared to death. When Hugo said that ‘mission accomplished’ crap, I could feel something breaking inside of me. I do not ever want to feel that way again. I get that you’re a spy and you’re all about danger but, Ryan, it gutted me.”
“I’m not all about danger. I’m all about you. I want a life with you. Any kind of life that you want to live.”
She wanted that, so badly. But…
International criminal.
Logan’s life on the line.
