Page 125 of To Catch a Sub

Colette leaned in, voice taunting. “That noise was because your thigh is hard, and my butt is sore.”

Landon leaning in a little too, lowering his voice and matching her attitude. “Good.”

Heat flared in her eyes, her gaze dropping to his lips.

Hope, that maybe he hadn’t completely broken this thing they had, blossomed.

“How did you get away?” Rolf asked.

Landon glared at the other man. Couldn’t he see they were having a fucking moment?

Colette leaned back against his chest as she turned to face Rolf. Landon draped his arms loosely around her, one hand splayed on her thigh. This felt right, having her here on his lap, his hands on her bare skin.

“I was able to use the cuff key as a lock pick to open the padlock on the ankle chain. I stole some clothes?—”

Fuck, had she been naked that whole time? When she said Damien liked to show her off, he’d assumed she meant her skills as an art expert.

How fucking naive could he be?

“—money, and a motorcycle. No one saw me on the way out, and there were no guards at the garage. There were cameras, so they have a recording of what I did, but that night no one saw me, and no one stopped me. I drove all the way to Riga. Stopped once in Pskov, then once more for petrol.”

“How did you cross the Russian border into Latvia?” Andrei asked.

“I crossed two borders. E77 cuts across the bottom tip of Estonia before hitting Latvia. When I stopped in Pskov, I picked up supplies. Things I’d stashed there before I took the job.”

“Things like an ID and money?” Andrei asked.

Colette smiled. “Hypothetically.”

Andrei huffed out a small laugh.

“From Riga I flew to Prague and started working my way towards England.” Her tone changed. “I knew Damien wouldn’t simply let me walk away. I assumed he’d look for me because of his wounded pride, or the damage to his reputation my escape might have caused. I didn’t think he’d call me his wife.”

“The wife element may be a cover,” Andrei said. “Looking for a runaway woman is much less damaging to a reputation than hunting down someone who bested you.”

“You assume logical motives.” Rolf rubbed his chin. “From what she’s said, logic may not be a part of this.”

“True,” Andrei acknowledged.

Colette was pressing hard against Landon, so he tightened his hold, letting her feel the pressure of his arms. She sighed, relaxing a little.

“Your plan was always to approach Interpol?” Rolf was back to methodical questioning.

She nodded.

“And you decided to come to London because you knew Agent Malik from a previous interaction?”

Colette hesitated, her palms rubbing in nervous circles on Landon’s forearms. “My plan was always to come to Interpol because Landon was there.”

“So it’s Landon you were running to,” Andrei said.

Colette turned to look at the other man. “Do you disapprove? After all, I barely know him.”

Landon frowned at the back of her head.

Andrei raised one hand, palm up. “Someone once told me time doesn’t dictate the depth of the connection.”

“How long did you spend cuddling with that fucker?” Landon rumbled, irritated by their byplay which was clearly based on a previous conversation.