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Sarah:Yeeeeehawww!
ChapterSeven
Declan stepped out of the hot shower and grabbed a thick towel off the heated bar. Hell, he couldn’t even touch a towel without thinking of Belle. He didn’t know a lot about her, but he thought she’d appreciate the luxuries this cabin had to offer.
Belle was like a secret gift. He’d met plenty of women, but most of them could be sorted into a simple box within the first few minutes of meeting them. Many lacked the substance he desired to spend more time with them.
From what he saw from the group attending this shindig, the people were typical upper-class. They had money to flaunt and the exclusive weekend would give them all something to brag about for months to come.
He didn’t know Belle’s background or family ties, but he’d heard her tell the group in her introduction that her friend booked the ticket for her. He could hazard a guess as to her station in life, but in the end, it didn’t matter anyway—he wanted to keep her safe and comfortable even with a rotten ex skulking around.
Sharing the same level of lust for each other was one hell of a bonus. Trouble was, if he was on duty and she gave him that little come-hither dip of her lashes, he’d have no choice but to find a way to deny her in that moment.
Then the second he was free, he’d be grabbing those luscious hips and bearing her down on the closest flat surface.
After toweling off, he strutted into the bedroom to locate his suit for the charity auction. He’d worked in this business before taking the position with WEST, but never had he needed to change clothes so much.
When given the list of activities, he was told to dress to fit in. The only suit he owned was worn to funerals and weddings alike. And tonight, he’d sport the black tailored suit at the auction.
At least the garments had enough room to move if danger presented itself. He could run, fight and shoot in this thing.
When he finished dressing, his phone buzzed with an incoming text from Corrine.
Pre-gala meeting in the office. 10 minutes.
He slipped on his black cowboy boots and glanced in the mirror before heading out of the cabin, confident that Belle would be satisfied with her fake date.
The distance from the cabin to the office wasn’t far even on foot, but between the mud and snow on the ground, he chose his personal truck instead. This time at least he arrived before most of the team. With any luck, the meeting would get underway before anybody brought up how a rookie pulled off a big op like that.
Corrine sat at her desk, a program running on her computer. She let out a whistle as he entered. “You sure clean up well, Declan.”
“Thanks.” He looked over her jeans, plaid shirt and boots. “You’re not attending the auction?”
“Oh, I am. I had a few of the guests interested in my horses. Then Jaren Abel needed some security checks so I came straight from the barn. When it’s through, I’ll head home and get dressed.”
“Gotcha.”
“Were you wearing that suit when you—”
He internally winced at whatever she was about to say, but luckily the door opened and several guys entered the office dressed in formal attire like him.
Boone positioned himself in front of the door. “We’re all here, so I’ll get down to it. You all know your roles tonight. Some of you will be in the crowd. Keep watch for anything out of the ordinary. We don’t expect trouble, but alcohol will be flowing freely to help open up people’s wallets.”
“If all we have to deal with is a drunk guest or two, it’s going to be an easy night,” one of the guys said.
Declan could guess which guest would become belligerent if he had a little too much to drink. Now Declan had even more reason to keep his focus on Ethan tonight. His woman too, for that matter—he was going to make damn sure that Belle didn’t get trapped in the restroom with her again.
“Any questions?” Boone cast a look around the group. When nobody responded, he nodded. “I’ll assign you your posts then. Silas, you take the east entrance. Casey and McCoy, you’ve got the garden.”
Declan wouldn’t be taking Belle outside for any trysts if those two guys would be on patrol. Too bad—he’d miss those snowflakes clinging to her long, dark lashes.
“Declan, you’re inside working the crowd. Keep your ears open and be ready to step in if needed.”
“Got it. Is there any information on these guests that I can look at before I go in there? Did they fill out any forms to attend the event?” he asked.
Corrine swiveled her seat to face the group. “No. We didn’t feel that they needed vetted. I can look up any one of them in seconds. The only crime any of them are linked to would be possible tax evasion and a DUI that’s been covered up.”
Several guys chuckled.
