Page 41 of Wrecked With You

“And yet here you are.”

I nod. “Do you know Anderson Seagrave? He’s a colonel in the SOC.”

He shakes his head. “Should I?”

“He knows Stark. I thought maybe your paths had crossed. He was a newbie, then. This was almost twenty years ago. He’s my guardian angel. He and his boss pulled me out, and Seagrave became my handler. My record was wiped clean by the government.”

“And in exchange, you became theirs. Covert ops.”

“Got it in one.” I draw a breath. “But it worked for me. I had a solid salary, and for the first time Eliza and I had a clean place to live with food always in the fridge. I got a cover job as a private investigator with an ex-cop who’d helped me and Eliza out here and there after he found us sleeping in a car. Lorenzo. It was part cover, part real. And after I left intelligence, I worked as a PI for real. I just sold him my half of the business. Figured I couldn’t really hang on to it once I joined Stark Security.”

He looks at me with something like respect, and I melt under his gaze. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. But it all molded you into an incredible woman.”

His eyes are on mine, and for a moment, it feels like time has stopped. Then he reaches up and trails his fingers through my hair. Something has shifted. The heavy, dark reality of my story replaced by something equally intense but tinged with heat and longing. Even respect.

I see his lips part. And though I don’t know what he’s about to say, I know that I want to hear it, even though that intense fire in his eyes scares me.

“Emma, when we wrap this up—I mean, when we find The Asst—do you think—Oh, holy fuck.”

He stands as says the last words, and the action sends me toppling into the water. I gasp, and he reaches a hand down to help me. But he doesn’t look apologetic. Instead, he looks euphoric. “We’re idiots,” he tells me, and in a heartbeat the mood shifts from something heavy and personal to the calculating reality of our work.

“Tell me,” I demand.

“Thea,” he says. “It’s so fucking obvious.”

I shake my head, clueless, then freeze as the light dawns. “Holy shit, you’re right. The-A.”

He nods. “Thea. The Asst.”

I twine my fingers in his hair, then pull him closer for a long, slow kiss. When we break apart, we’re both breathing hard. “Rain check,” I say. “Now let’s go find your contact.”

Chapter Fourteen

When Tony called Thea’s room, the resort operator put him through, but after five rings, it flipped back to the operator who refused to give him her room number.

“I understand you think that she wants to see you, sir,” she’d said. “But our obligation is to all of our guests, and since we have no way to confirm, we simply can’t release the number.”

As far as dead ends went, that was pretty rock solid. Which explained why he and Emma were now heading toward the resort’s main building. “The odds of her being with someone right now are slim,” Emma said. “After all, she’s here to find you. Although it’s a bit odd that she didn’t call our room.”

“She only arrived today,” he said, keeping his voice low in case anyone was nearby. “Probably wants to scope out the situation first. And she’s not actually expecting me until tomorrow.”

Emma nodded. “So we ask Mindy for an intro, and if that doesn’t pan out, we look for someone alone in the bar or restaurant.”

“And if that yields nothing,” he added, tugging her to a stop beside him, “we go back to our room and go off the clock until sun-up.”

She didn’t respond at first, and he almost regretted the words. He knew damn well neither one of them were ready for anything more than an island fling, and yet at the same time he could feel himself opening up, letting hope warm him to all the delicious possibilities once The Serpent was dead and this vendetta no longer ruled his life.

Not that he was ready to play house, but he couldn’t deny how much he liked having Emma at his side.

The thoughts raced by in an instant, and he almost recalled the words, wanting to give her an out if he was pushing too hard or moving too fast. Apparently she didn’t think he was, because she fisted her hand in the collar of his T-shirt, using it as a lever to pull him toward her. She kissed him fast and hard, then pushed him back with a grin.

“I admire a man who’s always ready with an alternative plan. Especially one I agree with wholeheartedly.” Her eyes danced with mischief. “After all, all work and no play…”

He stroked her cheek. “How would either of us know? As far as I can tell, we’ve spent our lives doing nothing but working.”

“Can’t argue with that.”

The sun had dipped behind the foliage, leaving the path bathed in deep orange that made the palm fronds and tropical flowers glow with a vibrancy that resembled flames. He took her hand, and they continued on the path, at least until he paused at their path’s intersection with two others, one leading to another cluster of cabanas and the other to the main building.