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“Then I would have missed out on the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“Damn it, you’re making resisting you hard. Literally.” Pierce grimaced as if he was trying to focus. “Why is Matt still in town? Did something happen?”
“No. He said he’s taking a vacation. The weather is supposedly better here.”
“No supposedly about it.”
“He might have mentioned his…um, nether regions appreciating a break from a Wyoming winter.”
“Only you would describe a man’s balls that way.” The smile that creased his face now, just like the first one he’d ever flashed her, transformed him. She’d forgotten how brutally masculinely beautiful he was.
“I’m polite.”
“To a fault,” he teased. “You’re adorable.”
She smiled. “I suspect Matt thought I was helpless, so he stayed around because you weren’t here.”
His smile widened. “That’s Matt. He’s a good son of a bitch.”
A gust of wind surged and blew. Despite Pierce’s big body, she found herself shivering in the December chill.
He wrapped his arms around her again. “Where’s your coat?”
“I don’t have one. It was warmer when I left my house this morning.” At Pierce’s frown of displeasure, she tsked. “Don’t pass judgment. Where’s yours?”
“I’m not cold. You heading home?”
“I was planning to.”
“Did Cutter tell you I was here? I followed him back from the party.”
“You went?”
“Thinking you’d be there, yeah.”
Now she regretted that she’d begged off. Then again, if she’d gone, she would have both blubbered all over Pierce and thrown herself at him in front of everyone. Still, she hated that she’d lost even a minute with him. “I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “I wanted to surprise you.”
“You did.” The tears that had teetered on her lashes fell as she cupped his cheek. She warmed when he kissed her palm. “Seeing you is the best surprise ever. Cutter didn’t say anything because he had an unexpected visitor waiting inside for him.” She dropped her voice. “Shealyn West.”
“Holy shit. Yeah?”
“I think she came to claim her man. So our ‘engagement’ is off.”
Pierce instantly looked as if he wanted to punch something, namely Cutter’s face. “Goddamn it!”
“Don’t say that. I’ll still be safe without the lie.” She sent him a disapproving scowl. “I let your F-bombs slide, but…”
“Fine. I’ll try to watch my tongue,” he groused. “Let’s get you home.”
He wrapped an arm around her and led her down the steps, toward the parking lot.
She frowned. “Daddy will be there.”
“Then that’s not going to work.”
“I know. It’s awkward you two haven’t met yet.”
“I’m not so worried about that.” Pierce scratched at his scruffy beard. “I’d be happy to rectify that after a shower.”
Did he imagine her father would be pleased to meet the man who’d gotten his daughter pregnant at something near midnight while danger all but dripped from him? Was he crazy? Yes…and that was part of his bad-boy appeal.
“Daddy is probably in bed, so I don’t think that’s an option. What are you worried about?”
“That he’ll hear you screaming and come busting down your bedroom door while I’ve got my head between your legs. That would be an awkward-as-fuck first meeting.”
She felt her cheeks heat. “You weren’t worried about the sounds I made before you left for Mexico.”
“Extenuating circumstances.”
Brea had to smile. “How about I come to your house?”
“Only if you leave your car here and let me drive.”
So that none of Montilla’s spies would see her car at his house, Brea supposed. “That’s fine.”
He led her down the stairs, pulling her with him into the shadows, then guiding her through the pitch-gray cold until they reached his Jeep. “Do you think someone has been following you? That they’re watching us now?”
“Not likely. But I’m not taking chances.”
He tucked her into the vehicle, then ran around and bounced into the driver’s seat, pulling out of the lot with a watchful scan of his surroundings.
Something had spooked him. And knowing Pierce, the minute they really got alone, he would start seducing her…and she wouldn’t be able to think enough to ask questions.
“What’s going on?”
He didn’t even try to put her off. “When I got to Mexico, it didn’t take long to track Montilla to a new compound. I observed him for about two weeks. I got a good handle on his schedule, his habits, the compound’s weaknesses. Then I found an insider willing to betray his boss for cash, so I paid the bastard for answers and access. I had a fucking plan ready to roll. But the stupid son of a bitch started throwing around his extra cash in town a few nights back. Questions flew. The next morning, Montilla put a gun to his head in front of everyone, demanding answers. I’m presuming he talked. I could tell he blubbered. Then Montilla blew his brains out and sent everyone in the compound searching for me.” He let out a shuddering breath. “I tried to get back to my rental car in town a few miles away, but they’d already found it and torched it. I spent eight days hiding in the desert before I sneaked into Mexico City, where I could disappear.”
