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“Do you want me to come in or not?” she snapped. “These are my terms, and I’m pretty goddamn inflexible about them since my head nearly parted company with my shoulders hours ago.”
Don’s sigh filled the line. “If that’s what it takes to make you feel safe, then yes, I’ll have it done. Where is, ah…your companion from dinner?”
Cat stared at Bones as she said, “He went out. I don’t know where. I didn’t ask. I was more worried about my own ass.”
A pause, and then, “Hurry in, Cat. I’ll recall the teams, but if you’re not here in an hour, I’m sending them back out.”
“I’ll be there,” she said, and hung up. Then, she hurled Bones’s mobile at him.
“Happy now?” Anger vibrated from her voice, but her scent was putrid with fear, and her eyes glittered with unshed tears.
Bones kissed the scabbing trail the bullet had left in her temple. “Not yet, but I will be when this is done. Take my Ducati and go straight there. Don’t stop for anything.”
She pushed away and grabbed his keys. He was about to tell her he had one more thing when she stopped at the door.
“I’m so mad at you I can hardly think, but before we do this, I have to tell you something. You already know I still care about you, but it’s more than that. I-I’m still in love with you, Bones. I never stopped, no matter how hard I tried to over the years.” Her gaze dropped. “Of course, I don’t expect you to feel the same way, but I had to say it-”
She stopped as he caught her in his arms.
“I’ve never stopped loving you, either,” he said, staring into her eyes. “Not for an instant, Kitten. Even when I was so angry at you for leaving me, I still loved you, and I always will.”
She pulled his head down, moving her mouth almost desperately over his. It reminded him of the kiss she’d given him before leaving that fateful day, but this was different. Theywouldn’tbe parted this time. He’d show her that the worst Don could throw at him still wouldn’t be enough. So, he slowed the kiss, savoring her lips, her tongue, and the faint taste of salt from her tears.
All too soon, she pushed him away. “I’ll give you another kiss later, when this is done. Right now, I’m too terrified.”
Bones gave her bottom lip a light nip. “I’ll hold you to that. Now, there’s one more thing you must do. Take this and hide it in your clothes. Don’t open it until I tell you.”
She stared at the sealed envelope he’d retrieved while she was in the loo. “What’s this?”
“The information I’ve been waiting for, and swear to me that you won’t open it until I’m with you again. Oh, and when you see your boss, tell him he’s the key to finding the traitor, and look him in the eye when you say this name: Maximillian.”
Her brows went up. “Who’s that?”
“Just say it exactly like I told you, Kitten, and don’t open that envelope until I’m with you.”
She folded the enveloped into quarters and tucked it inside her bra. Good thing he’d arranged to have clothes, undergarments, and other amenities here in anticipation of her spending the night.
“Quit being melodramatic. Scout’s honor, okay?”
He smiled. “I love you, Kitten. Now, go.”
This time, her pause by the door was only for a moment, and instead of unshed tears, her gaze was harder than granite.
“Don’t get killed, Bones. No matter what.”
Her meaning was clear, and it must have cost her dearly because she considered many of these blokes to be her mates. It was as much a declaration of love as her words before it.
“It shouldn’t come to that, Kitten,” he said in a steady voice. “But if it does, I’ll try not to kill any of them.”
Her smile was a pained slash. “I doubt they’ll show you the same courtesy, and don’t underestimate them. I taught them everything you taught me, so expect no mercy.”
“I won’t,” he said while his ice crystallized within him. “That’s why this will work.”
* * *
Bones spentthe hour it took Cat to drive to the compound showering, changing clothes, giving Randy the passwords, and making other arrangements. Then, he pulled out his mobile and placed a single phone call.
“Hello?” a sleepy feminine voice answered.
