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“I… I don’t know. I might have been imagining it. Although I’m going to be super paranoid, now. Kaylee, too. Poor thing, she’s too young to witness something like that…”
“Kaylee is stronger than any eight-year-old should be,” Harrison snapped. “We ought to evacuate the entire country. Go home right fucking now.”
“Go home? What about the mission?”
“Fuck the mission!” he snapped. “Kaylee’s life was just put in danger. So was yours. We should never have done this.” He was shaking his head, now. “I don’t know why I let Jordy talk me into this. Archer is a fucking pushover sometimes, but I ought to know better. I—”
He cut off as I kissed him.
I didn’t plan on it. It wasn’t premeditated. But I saw how distraught he was, and I was thinking about how he had saved me from the mugging, or worse, and at that moment I couldn’tnotkiss him.
With all our other kisses, I felt his lips come to life against mine. They came alive now, more than ever. But it only lasted an instant, a lightning flash of pleasure. Then he pushed me away with a forceful palm.
“No,” he snapped. “Distractions are the reason we’re in this mess.”
“I know you’ve been thinking about it,” I whispered.
“Of course I have. That’s the fucking problem!”
Harrison loomed over me, full of rage and lust and fear. I could practically feel the heat radiating off his body. He was alive with emotion, more than I had ever seen. It took my breath away in a way I couldn’t understand.
I’m glad this man is on my side.
“I need to make some calls,” Harrison said, then disappeared into his room.
I felt dirty, so I took a shower. The hot water helped, but only marginally. I had lost something that couldn’t be replaced. My innocence.
I wish I were back in North Carolina. Suddenly the world didn’t seem like such an exciting place.
I also felt incredibly guilty for kissing Harrison. Kaylee’s life had been in danger, and my reaction was to think aboutromance?It showed that my priorities were all out of whack. Harrison was right: I was a distraction.
Jordy and Archer came home that evening. It was immediately clear they didn’t know what had happened. That changed when Kaylee hugged them and started babbling.
“We went to the market, and Trish wanted to buy some souvenirs, but then a man grabbed her and took her money, but daddy tackled him and saved the day.”
Harrison came out and explained the situation in more detail. Jordy cursed. Archer shook his head, then pulled his phone out and answered a call.
“Are you okay?” Jordy asked me.
I nodded. “I think so. A little shaken up. It could have been worse.”
He sat on the couch and wrapped me in a hug. Within seconds, all of my anxiety and fear melted away. In his arms, I felt safe. I didn’t want him to let me go.
“I abandoned my post to save them,” Harrison said. “Dropped the camera. I made some calls, but nobody has found it. Probably picked up by a kid or something.”
“We’ll buy another camera.” Jordy rubbed my leg reassuringly. “The only important thing is that everyone is okay.”
“No, that’s not the only important thing,” Harrison argued. “There are photos of Kadyrovic on that camera. If someone sees them, our cover is blown. Hell, it mightalreadybe blown.”
“Daddy, language!” Kaylee said.
Harrison’s chest filled as he took a deep breath. “Heck. I saidheck.” He turned back to Jordy. “I don’t think it was a random mugging. I think it was someone trying to get a keycard to our room. I had the manager disable that card’s ID number. It’s probably best if we swap all of them out.”
“Who would want to get into our room?” Jordy asked.
“Kadyrovic,” Harrison said as if he were an idiot. “We’ve probably been made.”
“What else makes you think that?” Jordy said.
