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“I know.” Hailey put a hand over her aching heart.
“You had no way of knowing your kidnappers were going to plant that bomb on your car.” He shoved her wineglass toward her, and the golden liquid inside sloshed and sparkled.
Curling two fingers around the stem of the glass, she said, “It’s still hard not to feel responsible. We brought that death and destruction into the camp.”
“I’m sorry. It’s nasty business out there.”
Joe placed two fingers on the base of her glass, brushing her hand and causing butterflies to flutter in her stomach.
Must be the emotions of the day that had her so susceptible to this Delta Force soldier on a mission. It couldn’t be his dark russet hair and rough-around-the-edges manner. That type hadn’t appealed to her since her teen years, when she’d been trying to get her father’s attention. It hadn’t worked anyway, and the guys ended up being as untrustworthy as the rich boys—just in a different way.
She blinked. “Thanks. I don’t think Naraj betrayed us, though.”
“Are you safe in this house?” Joe downed the rest of his water and screwed the lid back on the bottle.
He was leaving her.
“Yes, of course. In addition to the security cameras, there’s an alarm system.”
“I didn’t see you set one.”
“I didn’t. I don’t always arm it.”
“Why not?” He pushed off the stool and, spreading his arms, did a slow turn around the room. “There’s some artwork on that wall over there that could feed a family of five for life.”
Heat surged into her cheeks. So he’d only pretended not to notice the luxury of the house. “This is my father’s house.”
“And you don’t care if your father loses his assets?” His brows shot up to his hairline.
“Considering how he amassed his fortune?” She tossed her head, sweeping her hair from her shoulder. “Not really.”
“He’s a real-estate mogul, not a drug dealer, right?”
“Forget it.” She didn’t want to go into a petulant first-world rant about her father’s wealth in front of Joe. “I will definitely set the alarm system tonight.”
“Good, because you’re the most valuable thing in this whole house.”
And just like that, her heart flip-flopped, but not from fear.
“Do you think I might actually be in danger?” She took a swig of her wine.
“I think you’ll be fine if you stick to your original story and don’t make waves about Marten.”
“That seems—” she swirled the last of the liquid in her glass “—wrong.”
“You can’t do anything for Marten now, Hailey. Stay on script. Any chance your father is coming home anytime soon?”
“He’s in New York with his wife. She prefers it there.”
“And your brother?”
Hailey swallowed. Joe really knew her entire family history. “My brother, Win, will be wherever our father is, playing lapdog.”
“Speaking of dogs, you don’t have a German shepherd hiding out somewhere, do you?” Joe leaned forward as if to peek under the sofa in the next room.
“Mel, my stepmother, can’t stand animals. As soon as my cat died, she declared a moratorium on pets in this house.”
“Don’t you have a house of your own?”
“No. I gave up my apartment near the Haight when I went to Syria. When I came back home, my father asked me to live in and watch his place.”
“You could do a lot worse.” He crushed the water bottle with one hand. “As long as you’re here and as long as there’s an alarm system, use it.”
“I will now.” She held up her phone. “Do you want me to call you a car? Where are you staying, anyway?”
“Hotel back by Fisherman’s Wharf.” He pulled a wallet out of his pocket. “I’ll pay you back for the car.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’ll only be a few bucks.” At least Joe didn’t assume Miss Moneybags would be picking up the tab for everything.
He waved a twenty in the air before slipping it beneath her wineglass. “Take it for the transportation and the dinner.”
