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“First, never doubt my hacking abilities. And second, hell yeah, I’m sure. Only problem is the file’s encrypted, so I’m going to need to work on it a little more.”
“We have our hit list, boys.” Saint tilted his neck and it cracked.
Pharaoh stood. “Banshee, you keep working on it. Bruja, stay with him. The rest of us will go check out that warehouse.”
???
It didn’t take long to reach the abandoned warehouse. The place was big and open with a lot of space, but filthy. It had obviously been empty for a while and the elements had taken over. It was remote, but not exactly move-in ready. Yes, they’d all—well almost all—been in worse places during their careers, but they would lose valuable time just making it usable.
While they surveyed the space, trying to decide where to start setting up and cleaning, Ryland placed his hands on his hips and frowned. “We can’t sleep here with the rats,” he stated, pulling out his phone to send his father a quickwhat-the-fuckmessage.
“You wanna go find us somewhere else?” Saint asked. “Because I’d rather go sleep on the beach with the sand fleas than spend the night in this shit hole. It’s worse than a Russian Gulag.”
“What would you know about a Russian prison?” Bruja asked.
“More than I’d like,” Saint mumbled.
Ryland slapped a hand on Saint’s back. “I’ll find us some better digs. Scrounge up some food, too. You guys start cleaning. Just in case.” It had been a long twenty-four hours and Ryland knew Harper must be exhausted. He and his team could go for a while and run on fumes, if necessary, but she was different. And he would make sure she was taken care of and not hungry, thirsty and forced to sleep in some rodent-infested pile of crap.
No. Not his Harper. She deserved better than that.
His Harper.
The possessive thought made him pause, but he couldn’t deny it. He wanted her, all of her, and after those scorching kisses they shared earlier, Ryland needed more. For the first time in his life, it was more than just a physical want, though. He enjoyed talking to her, listening to her and getting to know her better. Just looking into her aqua eyes did something funny to his insides.
Fuck.She gave him all the feels. And he liked it.
Ryland and Harper got in the Suburban and followed the road to the first of three addresses his father sent in reply to his message. Apparently, Cross owned three more bungalows that he claimed to rent out to tourists for extra cash.Nice of him to offer those up to begin with, Ryland thought, barely containing an eyeroll as they approached the location.
The bungalows were separated a decent distance apart so they had some privacy, but were also within a football’s throw of each other. They were a little dusty inside, but the pantries were stocked with dry foods and would serve well enough for tonight. Besides, it was getting late and it’s not like they could just order a pizza. They were in the middle of nowhere.
While Ryland called the others and told them about the setup, Harper found a box of macaroni and cheese. She boiled the noodles and was dumping the orange powder in the saucepan by the time Ryland disconnected his call to Pharaoh.
“They’re on their way,” Ryland said and sat down at the small kitchen table. “Pharaoh and Saint will be next door and Banshee and Bruja will be on the other side of them.”
“And I’ll be with you?” Harper asked, voice teasing as she set a bowl in front of Ryland.
“Damn straight,” Ryland answered and dug into the mac and cheese. He groaned, not realizing just how hungry he was, and the cheap crap really hit the spot. “I don’t think a ninety-nine cent box of powdered mac and cheese ever tasted so good.”
“I added some salt,” she said with a smile and took a bite.
For a long moment they ate in silence while Ryland contemplated their sleeping arrangements. There was nothing he wanted more than Harper in bed with him, but he knew his ass would be on the stiff rattan couch with an even stiffer dick. But he’d suffer in silence because jumping Harper was off the table.
Tonight, anyway.
Tomorrow was a whole new day with brand new opportunities. And if they were being hunted down, he wasn’t going to turn down the chance of being with Harper if the situation presented itself.
???
The idea that a group of people were currently hunting them down terrified Harper, and Ryland’s earlier kisses on the beach left her libido in a tizzy. Her mind was buzzing with so many unanswered questions. It was all coming together to create a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts and feelings.
What if Cross was right? What if her time on this Earth was coming to a close and there was nothing she could do about it? Normally, she was a pretty optimistic person and Savannah was the realist. But, in this case, she didn’t want to waste a moment of time.
Especially if it was running out.
And with Ryland so close to her…well, not taking advantage of that fact would be a straight up shame. She didn’t want to die with regrets and the former SEAL fascinated her.
After scarfing down the quick meal she’d made, Ryland told her to shower first. She’d dug her pajamas out of his go-to duffel bag he’d packed them in earlier and now she sat on the bed in the small one-bedroom bungalow, nervously worrying her lower lip and contemplating her next move. She was pretty sure Ryland wanted her the way she wanted him, but he definitely seemed to be holding back. Was it more gentlemanly behavior? And how could she convince him it was okay for him to let that all go?
