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“Too bad your father doesn’t feel the same way,” Kyle said.
Refusing to be intimidated, Toni squared her shoulders and held her head high. “Considering you’ve never spoken to my father, that’s an awfully big assumption to make. You havesuspicionsabout what you think he might have done, but I haven’t heard a single thing that implies you have hard evidence. So unless you’ve got a smoking gun to show me, you’re going to have to forgive me if I decline to condemn my father on nothing more than your word.”
Kyle held her gaze for a long moment, then nodded. “You’re right,” he said, his voice a bit softer than it had been before. “I shouldn’t condemn you for being loyal to your father. But where does that leave us? Are you willing to help us try to find him?”
“I am,” she said, biting back a smile at the way the men all startled, as if that wasn’t the answer they’d expected. “The truth is, you’re not the only one who thinks my father had something to do with the attack. Miles said the same thing. He wanted to know where my father was so he could exact revenge. I’m inclined to help you because I believe you can keep my father safe—make sure he doesn’t fall into Arrieta’s hands. But first…” She tapped her toe on the floor and mimicked Kyle’s crossed arms and defensive stance. “I want your assurance you won’t hurt my father.”
A spark of respect flitted through Kyle’s hazel eyes. “I understand your position. But you should know that I vowed, the day my brother died, to avenge his death, and I intend to keep that promise. I won’t condemn your father without proof, but I’m going to keep looking for that proof until I find the person at the other end. Our objective has been and will always be the truth, Ms. Williams.”
“Toni.”
Kyle looked at her a long moment, the hint of a smile fracturing his stoic facade. “Toni.”
She nodded. “Okay, then. When I was growing up, my father had this set of rare first editions. He collected them for years, stored them in hermetically sealed vaults. I could have them overnighted here.”
“I don’t understand,” Kyle said, frowning.
“After his country and his precious values and principles, the things my father loves most are those books. If we can’t use his patriotism to get him to reveal himself, then we need the next best thing to draw him out. We’ve added an auction to tomorrow’s event, with the proceeds benefiting the village attack relief fund. I’d say we could still use a star donation, don’t you?”
Kyle slowly smiled. “Right. Coran sees his precious books are about to be sold, and he’ll feel compelled to come in person to save them.”
“Yep.” She stood and pulled her phone from her pocket to make the call to her father’s housekeeper back in the States. Before she finished dialing, however, Spencer was at her side.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, his tone low.
“We all need answers, Spencer,” she said. “This is the only way I can think of to get them quickly.”
“What about Arrieta?”
“What about him?”
He took her arm and led her a few steps away from the other guys. “He’s still out there. What if he shows up and threatens you again?”
Toni placed her hand on his chest and gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “That’s what I have you for, right?”
* * *
Later that night, after they’d all had dinner and the guys had returned to their budget hotel, Spencer sat alone in a small alcove off the main living room. Through a small window beside him, the lights of the city glittered like scattered jewels. Everything seemed peaceful and calm. It was hard to believe they were expecting chaos in a few hours.
Arrieta.That guy had a death wish a mile wide where his team was concerned, and he seemed to be baiting them these days. He wondered if it was Arrieta who’d hired the two snipers who’d shot at him and Toni. Kyle and the team were checking into that, but when you were tracking pay-for-play killers, things tended to get murky quickly. A pro could be working for anyone.
He exhaled and leaned farther back into the shadows, squinting at the rooftop of the luxury hotel across the way. Well, whoever had hired them, those shooters had terrible aim. Spencer could’ve made that kill from a mile away with a blindfold on. As a precaution, though, he’d asked Scotty to keep an eye on the neighboring buildings to make sure there wouldn’t be any more issues.
“Want some company?” Toni asked from behind him. Her soft tone sent ripples of need through his system.
Words couldn’t express how much Spencer wanted her company right now, but keeping his distance was for the best. Kyle had pulled him aside after dinner and questioned his ability to stay focused and on target in regard to her. Spencer had always put the team’s interests before his own, but this encounter had knocked him back a step or two.
Yeah, he and Toni had slept together, and yeah, it had been the hottest damned encounter in his whole life, but he wasn’t going to allow himself to be emotionally invested. Hell, he didn’t know her favorite color or her favorite song or even whether she preferred the Yankees or the Red Sox—which was crucial information for any relationship.
Still, it was a lovely evening, and it seemed a shame to waste it all alone. “Sure.”
She walked into the darkened alcove, two bottles of pale ale in her hands. She gave him one, then stretched out on the bench seat beside him and stared out into the distance. The city lights below them nearly blotted out the twinkling stars above, so beautiful yet so cold. On clear nights back in Afghanistan, Spencer had loved to imagine those stars were, in fact, entrances to heaven. And that maybe, just maybe, his grandparents were looking down on him and were proud of who he’d become.
His chest pinched at the memories of their nearly sixty-year marriage. Toni came closer to his ideal for someone he could commit to than any woman had in years. She was funny and smart, and she challenged him to see the world differently—no easy feat when it came to a guy who specialized in knowing all his angles and the precise placement of every shot within a five-hundred-foot radius. And, God, her beauty took his breath away.
“The calm before the storm, huh?” A sliver of moonlight shone through the window, and a slight breeze sent the gauzy curtains billowing. Sitting so close to the outdoors probably wasn’t the wisest choice after all that had occurred the past couple of days, but they were hidden in the shadows. Plus, his team was on patrol as well, so Spencer felt fairly safe…from everythingexceptthe woman lying so close to him he could feel her heat through his thin cotton T-shirt. He suppressed a shudder of pleasure.
“Tomorrow should be interesting,” she said.
