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She slid her hand higher and he sucked in a breath as her fingers grazed his cock. “I know, but I don’t actually have one yet.”
He groaned, both from her confession and from her ‘evil feminine wiles.’ “What if this guyisthe man behind all of this? What if he uses some trigger word and causes you to go off the deep end again?”
Her fingers gripped him through his pants. “That’s why I brought you. You’re going to protect me, in case he tries anything.”
His words came out strangled. “Now the truth comes out.”
She chuckled, releasing him before she pinched his leg. “You big, bad SEALs are good for something.”
“FormerSEAL.”
An assessing pause. “Are you sorry you left the brotherhood?”
Was he? Some days, if he were being honest, yes. He missed the hell out of it. Others, not so much. “I do, but SFI has filled that hole for me. Sort of.” He glanced over at her. “If we work this out, I’m happy to leave them, though.”
She nodded. “I get it. Maybe you won’t have to. The group—family—has grown on me. It wouldn’t hurt us to stay for a while.”
The navigation instructed him to take the next drive. “Are you sure he still lives here?”
“The estate has been in his family since the Civil War. Plus, Rory just texted me his address.” She gave a rueful chuckle. “He’s still here.”
“Told you that you didn’t fool anyone, but damn, I disabled every tracking device this vehicle has, plus our phones. I thought for sure I’d gotten us out without that bastard knowing.”
“He’s as good as he claims.”
He drove past the mansion looming on their right. “So are you.” He pulled to the curb a block down, near a fenced pasture. “Since you don’t have a plan, I do.”
“Care to share?”
Slipping the SUV into park, he cut the lights and shifted to face her. “First, it involves you staying put until I secure the premises. He may be under watch by our government friends, or have significant security in place. I don’t want to tip any of them off that we’re here.”
Her head was outlined by a flash of lightning in the distance. “Logical. Then what?”
He grabbed the bag of weapons he’d stolen from SFI and handed her a stun baton. “I promise to come back for you. After all, you’re the one who’s wired and knows the right questions to ask.” He’d made sure they could record the doctor’s confession, or whatever information he might volunteer. Next, he handed her a comm unit and walked her through syncing it with his and demonstrating how to use it. “I want your word that you’ll let me motivate him if he needs it. My, shall we say, incentives, may not be to your liking, but we don’t have time to string this out. We need facts, evidence, a confession,somethingto resolve this as quickly as possible.”
She gave a heavy sigh, not liking what he was suggesting. He knew it took all her faith in him to say the next words. “You’re the expert.”
A huge step for her, giving her consent to harm someone. He didn’t care for the idea either, but at times, it was called for. “I won’t kill him, even if I pretend otherwise. We need him alive.”
This seemed to relieve her mind and she gave him a grateful half smile. “Roger that.”
He made her test the earbud again, hoping to reassure her that he was in reach, even if he wasn’t physically close. “Keep the doors locked and stay out of sight until I’m back. Do not engage with anyone who isn’t me.”
He started to bail, the bag of goodies in tow, when she grabbed his arm and yanked him back. “You’re the one who needs to stay alive, you hear me? Be safe.”
He dropped another quick kiss on her lips. “Always. I’ll be back.”
“Maybe I should have given you a different codename. Terminator,” she called after him with a laugh.
He shut the door, shook his head, and slunk off for the mansion.
Twenty
Vivi worried her bottom lip and then glanced at her cell. Where was he? How long did it take to check for Big Brother?
Fiddling with the stun baton, she started to raise him on the comm, needing to hear his voice, but stopped herself. Fear was driving her again and she wouldn’t let it.Courage.
Ian knew what he was doing. He was methodical and an expert at stealth. If anything bad had happened, she would know, thanks to the earbud.
