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“You think she’ll just hand over that information because I asked nicely?”
“You’re the one who said she was into you.”
“I didn’t use those words.”
“You slept together. Safe to say there’s something there.”
He glared at Nolan. “Nothing happened last night. Jewel got scared so I slept next to her. That’s it.”
“Mm-hm.” Nolan arched an eyebrow, his thick lips inching upward. “I know you, Finn. It takes a lot to get you to open up to someone. Look at how you and Tiff—”
“This has nothing to do with Tiff.”
Nolan rolled his brown eyes. “Either way, I’m against this plan. I say you shut your mouth and maintain your cover until we’ve got Kross. Then you can confess your undying love or whatever.”
“You should have stayed home,” Finn mumbled.
“I heard that.” Nolan followed him to the bed. “You ungrateful bastard. Who was it that tracked Kross all these years? I risked my life and freedom to hack into international police databases just so we could find a lead.”
Finn swiveled on his heels and slapped Nolan on the back. “My hero.”
“Shut up.” He brushed Finn off. “What is it about this girl that has you wavering? You never considered risking an operation before.”
“I don’t know.” Finn firmed his jaw.
“She’s only nineteen. What would you two even have in common? Not to mention she’s probably a wreck thanks to all the crap she’s been through—”
“Jewel isn’t a wreck,” Finn snapped.
“She dresses in sweatshirts and turtlenecks to hide her body, breaks down when a guy simply says hello to her and has panic attacks when she’s accidentally touched. What do you call that?”
Finn curled his fingers into fists. “Shut up.”
Nolan spotted his fists and reddened. “What? You gonna hit me?” He slapped his chest. “Me? The only one who’s stood by your side the past seven years?”
Finn ran a hand through his short hair and took a calming breath before snapping, “Let’s go before I change my mind.”
“I’m coming, but first…” Nolan grabbed his duffel, unzipped it and tossed something at Finn’s chest.
Finn caught it with one hand. “A jewelry box?”
“You’re such a dirtbag I don’t even feel like handing that over,” Nolan said through gritted teeth. “But there you go.”
“What is it?” Finn cracked the box open and saw a sparkling golden necklace with a green pendant.
Nolan took the necklace from him. “It’s a state-of-the-art tracker. I may or may not have stolen the blueprints from the Russian Security Research Team. Do you know how unreliable online translations can be? I spent five days just trying to interpret—”
“Nolan!”
His eyes still narrowed with annoyance, Nolan handed the necklace back. “It’s for Jewel. I figured you’d be freaking out over her safety all the time.” He pointed to the pendant. “The tracker will be undetectable to all wire and electronic scans. All she has to do is press here and we’ll know where she is.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“That’s a first.” Nolan snorted. “The tracker was just lying around on my worktable. I’m glad it can get some use.”
Finn offered his fist for Nolan to bump. “Thanks, man.”
“It’s nothing.” He chucked his chin toward the door. “Didn’t you say Jewel has to leave early to get everything set up at the bakery? We should head out now if we’re meeting her there.”
