Instead, he took off his sunglasses. He needed her to see the sincerity in his eyes. And he prayed she didn't see any of the other feelings he was tamping down.
"Emil is dangerous. I'm going to keep you safe. I'm going to find Cassidy. Trust me. Give me two more days. Okay?"
Waiting for her response, he realized he was holding his breath.
Her lips rolled into her mouth. She blinked moisture from her eyes with a quick nod. "Two more days. Okay. But . . ." The fight in her tone dissipated. Her next somber words barely rose above a whisper. "I do have to go with you to the party. You won't be able to talk Cassidy into leaving on your own. She won't listen to you. I'm not even sure she'll listen to me, but I have to try."
He hated to admit that made sense. If Cassidy was half as stubborn as Lena, he'd probably have to incapacitate her to remove her from Emil's yacht. And that wasn't a good plan. Possible, but far from ideal.
He sifted through the pros and cons of Lena attending the party. Short list.
"Okay," he said. "You have a point. You can come with me to the party, but you need to stay with me the entire time. No snooping around on your own."
She grabbed his arm and squeezed. "Thank you."
Nutmeg did his part to ease the tension in the SUV for the rest of the ride to the ferry. He hopped around Lena's lap with so much excitement that she couldn't help but smile.
Even though her smile was for the hyper furball, seeing Lena happy lit something inside Nash—something he shouldn't act on, but it provided him even more motivation to keep Lena Ashworth safe.
Which might be difficult at Emil's party.
He prayed he hadn't made a mistake in promising she could go.
If Lena were a trained intelligence agent or had any experience undercover whatsoever prior to the past twenty-four hours, this party would be an ideal plan.
He wouldn't have to sneak aboard. Emil hadinvitedthem. Unbelievable. Maybe too unbelievable.
Something felt off about the invitation, though—besides Emil's inappropriate attraction to Lena.
Nash doubted Emil Van Horn invited his employees to parties often. If he'd only invited Lena, that would make enough sense, given his obvious interest in her. But to invite him as well?
If he wanted them both at the party, it could mean he was onto them, or that he wanted to ensure no one would be at the house that evening. With Lena and himself both at the yacht, the estate would be empty, except for the guards, Frank and Manny.
Maybe he just wanted to keep an eye on them. Frank and Manny may have told Emil that Lena was peeking in windows. And he and Lena were both very new employees—employees he may not completely trust yet. The more he thought about it, that made the most sense.
Either way, attending the party could be extremely helpful. He could learn a lot from Emil's yacht in a couple of hours.
But Lena wasn't an agent. She wasn’t trained. She could blow their covers if she wasn't careful. Or worse, she could get hurt.
Emil was dangerous on several levels—and his physical attraction to Lena gave Nash even more to worry about.He knew in his bones that Lena wouldn't be safe alone with Emil—he'd never let that happen.
Maybe he shouldn’t let her go to the party at all. She'd complain, but he'd rather her be mad at him than live with regrets.
Like the kind that scalded his insides every time he thought about Heather.Why hadn't she listened? Why hadn't she trusted him to protect her?
He had a little over forty-eight hours to decide if taking Lena was worth the risks. He'd table it for now. No point in arguing about it for the next two days.
He was glad for the excuse to drive to Morghana City. He wanted to keep Lena out of the house for most of the day since he no longer trusted Delphine. And the SUV was low on oil and legitimately needed to be serviced.
The ferry wasn't crowded. He was thankful for that, and the clear weather. At least the ocean was calm today. Unlike the worries battling in his mind. He found a parking spot near the front of the ferry and cut the engine.
Lena hadn't spoken in fifteen minutes. He hoped she wasn't frustrated with him. “You’ve been quiet."
“Sorry. Just thinking."
He could relate.
She clipped Nutmeg's leash onto his collar. “I feel like we’ve argued a lot in the last twenty-four hours. I’m sorry. I know you’re trying to do your job and you didn’t count on me showing up. But I’m not sorry I came to find Cassidy, and I'm not sorry I went to the marina today.”
