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Freya and Morgan were diving deep in that area. Chris’s one job was to protect Diana.
She looked beautiful and tired as she limped into the house. He wanted nothing more than to carry her upstairs and tuck her into bed. Not because he wanted to have sex—although he definitely wanted that—but he couldn’t do that because they had too much to do, between uploading the video of the explosion and Diana going over the provenance Freya had managed to get copies of today.
Earlier today, he’d stopped at an electronics store and picked up a bundle of goodies that had been ordered online by a Raptor subsidiary. They had a computer, a new hotspot with a virtual private network, new cell phones, and a new tablet. Chris grabbed the bags of electronics from the back of the SUV and followed her into the house.
“There’s a study next to the kitchen. May as well set up the laptop in there while I figure out dinner.” The groceries he’d gotten this morning remained in his SUV which was currently parked in long-term parking at BWI. Good thing he didn’t buy shrimp or fish. It would be bad enough when the milk went sour.
He’d been given a credit card to use for food delivery. After the attempt on Diana’s life when he’d gone out for groceries, he wasn’t leaving this house again. He placed an order with a grocery app for some basics and, after asking Diana her preferences, ordered dinner from an Italian restaurant. He went all in on appetizers, dessert, and wine. They couldn’t go out, but he could still make this a date.
He headed into the study, where Diana was seated at the desk with her cell phone plugged in to the computer. He kissed her neck, then dropped into the chair beside her. “Food is ordered. Both will be delivered in an hour. Maybe longer.”
She nodded. “The video’s almost done uploading to Raptor’s network.” She turned to face him. “It feels weird, handing this over to Raptor and not Freya.”
“They have better tech and a lot more resources.”
“It was one thing to trust Ian, but can we really trust everyone? It’s a huge company.”
“Every company that size is going to have bad apples, but my understanding is they have layers of internal security, and there’s a tight lid on our particular situation. Just Ian, the CEO—who’s a former SEAL—and one or two others.”
She gave him a crooked smile. “You trust all SEALs, former or otherwise?”
“Oh, hell no. One—a guy I considered a friend—fucked my wife. Others have been arrested for all sorts of crimes. No one gets a pass. Not even the guys on my current team, to be honest.”
“You’re not thinking Rand, are you?”
“No. I wouldn’t have texted him from my new number if he wasn’t safe. No way would Freya have sent him to the auction house if he wasn’t trusted.”
“Then who? And why?”
“I didn’t mean I’m suspicious of anyone in particular, so much as there’s just a handful of people I do trust at this point. Morgan, Freya, Ian, Rand, and you.”
She smiled and leaned toward him. The look in her eyes caused a stirring in his chest. “I trust you too, Chris. Even more than I do the others.”
He stroked her cheek and brushed his lips over hers.
The upload bar on the computer screen flashed, then a dialogue box popped up that indicated the upload was complete. “You done here, or did you download documents to review?”
“I’m done for now.” She leaned back against the plush office chair. “Wanna sit with me in front of the fire?” She gave him a saucy grin. “I wanted to do that that with you at the rental last night, but you were off hitting on some other woman.”
He’d been moving in to kiss her neck again, but he nipped the soft skin instead. “I’m going to be defending myself for that for the rest of my life, aren’t I?”
“Depends on how long we’re together, really.”
He raised his head and met her gaze, feeling a deep sense of sureness in his gut that didn’t entirely make sense, but he trusted it anyway. “Forever, then.”
Diana couldn’t believe the words that slipped out of her mouth. It was an outrageous thing to toss out, and his response even more stunning.
Before she could say anything, he took her hand and said, “C’mon. Let’s sit in front of the fire.”
He led her into the living room and flicked the switch for the gas fireplace. The rental that had been destroyed had had a real woodstove, which would have been lovely, but fake logs and gas still offered heat and ambiance.
They sat on the sofa, watching the flickering flames in silence. If she could forget the explosion, this moment would be perfect.
But she would never forget the explosion with the waves of throat-burning smoke, and the feel of the heat wave that had washed over her when the ceiling collapsed.
Her throat clogged. “I thought you were inside the house when it collapsed, and I couldn’t breathe. It was so shocking and terrifying. I think it hurt more than even the moment Harun slapped me and made my abduction real. Because when that happened, I had a tiny amount of control in the situation. How I reacted would shape what happened next. But this morning…I had no control. Just…devastation.” So much like the car accident that had changed everything.
He pulled her onto his lap, his thick arms encircling her. “I thought you were inside when the bomb went off and felt the same helpless horror.” He stroked her cheek, tucking her hair behind an ear. “But now we’re here. And I’m not going to waste this chance.”
