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“They are. If there’s a leak, it won’t be from us.” Carter sat up, always pursuing an agenda. And even though I was sure he wanted to make sure everything was okay, he also still had to figure out where the guy was who was trying to hurt Thea. We had a name and now also a face, but the asshole was still missing. “Is there anything else you remember that could help us find your business partner?”
I was sure Carter would have already hacked William’s computer and pulled most of the information he needed, but things were still not adding up.
“I’ve cut all contact and business dealings with Mikhail like you told me to the day after the incident on the boat. There’ve been a few attempts to contact me, but there were no threats. I don’t understand why they went after Thea again.”
“We have reason to believe that the Russians you were working with are the same guys who killed a member of our team. Did you hear anything about Locked Security while you were working with them?”
William frowned at the papers stacked on the side of his desk. “It wasn’t like I ever hung out with them. And whenever I talked to them it was about business.”
Carter put his phone down. “We already knew the Russians were behind the attacks on Thea, but now we have a face. Hopefully, that’ll get us closer to finding the guy. I’ll grab my laptop, and we can go through the security footage when Thea was attacked.”
Carter left to retrieve his computer, leaving me with William, who studied me unabashedly.
“I guess she told you about our arrangement?”
I leaned forward, studying his expressionless face. “What gave it away?”
“You’re an honorable man. And you truly care for her. You wouldn’t accept her being with someone else.”
He was perceptive; I had to give him that. “You’re right. I would never be okay sharing her. And I’m trying to come to terms with the marriage, but I’m not going to lie, it’s not easy.”
William nodded. “She needs someone to put her first for once. She’s special. But then I have a feeling you already knew that.”
I didn’t have time to answer because Carter came back inside. “Am I interrupting something?”
Meeting his stare head-on, I leaned back in my seat. “Not at all.”
Carter spent the next hour going over the video footage and pulled every last piece of information out of William he could.
When Carter was satisfied that he’d extracted as much as possible, he closed his laptop. “That’s all for now. I’ll get settled in, and then I’ll pick up where Archer left off. He’s one of our best, and I suspect it’ll be a seamless transition.”
The compliment blindsided me. Carter was easy-going, but didn’t give out compliments lightly. But the sincerity in his voice was unmistakable.
The walk back to the pool house was silent, and I hoped Carter was tired enough to not insist on another meeting. But since it was only eight, he’d probably be working for a few more hours. I just hoped he wasn’t expecting me to do the same.
He set his laptop on the kitchen table, then made another cup of coffee. I’d never seen anyone drink as much coffee as Carter did. He could have a pot right before bed and still be able to go to sleep.
“Get out of here.” He shooed me toward the door. “This girl must be something special for you to act like such a lovesick fool.”
Trying to play it cool, I didn’t move. “I’m okay to help if you need anything else.”
Carter laughed, then turned his attention back to making his coffee. “You were checking the time every five seconds, and you basically ran back to the pool house. Get out of here. Just make sure you don’t miss your flight tomorrow.”
The door closing cut the last word off as I sprinted out. Carter’s laugh was the last thing I heard before I rushed across the lawn, copying Sofie when she was speed-walking around the pool. But I didn’t care who saw me. The longer it took me to get to her, the less time we’d have together.
I checked the kitchen first, since she spent a lot of time there. But it was empty, only a small lamp lighting up the cavernous space. When she wasn’t in the theater room or gym either, I made my way up to her room.
Her door was closed, but light was shining through the bottom. Knocking, I shifted from foot to foot, my clothes suddenly feeling too tight.
“Come in.” As soon as I heard her voice, I pushed down the handle and stepped inside.
She was lying on her belly on her canopy bed, wearing a white silk cami and shorts, looking like a goddess.
She’d been drawing in a book but closed it as I walked up to her.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I trailed a finger over her leg. “What are you drawing?”
“I’m practicing flowers. I want to try my hand at sketching the rosebush in front of the pergola.”
