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“We can do that,” he said.
Xander yawned and sat up in bed. His hair was wild around his handsome face, and it gave him a rakish, sleepy appearance that I found unexpectedly charming. “I can come.”
“Aiden needs your help,” Dominic said.
Xander clearly thought he was full of bullshit, and then he groaned and raked his fingers through his hair. “Oh, shit. Gavin’s project.”
“That’s the one,” Dominic said. “And you’re late, as usual.”
“I’m trying to make it perfect.”
“Some of us would prefer a ninety percent solution in ten percent of the time, instead of your endless finessing.”
“A ninety percent solution when there are explosives involved is a good way to end up with a body count on your own side.” Xander shook his head as he rolled out of bed, squinting as if the morning light hurt his eyes. “It’s too early to argue with you. Don’t forget to feed Selena.”
Dominic looked affronted. “Of course not.”
Xander paused as he neared me, looking down and smiling. “You tell me if Aiden or Dominic are mean to you today.”
“What are you going to do, blow us up?” Dominic demanded.
“It’s always on the table,” Xander said. Then he leaned in and gave me a quick peck on the lips.
I barely had time to respond before his soft lips left mine and he headed into the hall. I felt a little confused about what had just happened.
Dominic was regarding Xander’s back with his own curious expression, but then he turned to me and shrugged. “They’re weirdos, but I love them. Get dressed, let’s get going.”
A bit later, the two of us headed out to the car. True to his word, he stopped to pick up acai bowls and iced coffee—I was stunned such a tough guy even knew what an acai bowl was—and we headed the two hours’ drive to the nearest branch of the bank my parents had used.
The time passed quickly. Dominic and I didn’t talk of anything of great importance, but he was easy to talk to. The conversation flew along as we discussed bands we liked, favorite places we’d traveled, and food we thought was weird. We both agreed that boba tea was a strange obsession—we did not want to unexpectedly encounter something chewy in our drinks—and that Taylor Swift was overrated.
“So, how do you want to play it, boss?” Dominic drawled as we took the exit toward the bank. He held up the USB stick between his fingers. “Aiden wanted me to hold onto this for you until it was needed.”
“He’s very distrusting.” I plucked it from his fingers.
He gave me a sidelong look. “He’s very impressed.”
I shouldn’t have felt as pleased by that as I did.
Then he added, “We could ask about a mortgage. I can use my fake identity, which has pretty good cover. Pretty good credit.”
“Sure,” I said. “That should take a while and as long as we can get them out of the room…”
The two of us headed into the bank. He opened the door for me, and when we stepped into the lobby, every woman looked at him as if he’d stepped straight out of Hollywood. It was true he was movie-star good-looking, but more than that, it was the way he moved. He projected power, a ripple of energy through the air, and both men and women responded. Men sized him up and looked away, and women’s gazes lingered.
“I feel like I should lick you so they know you aren’t up for grabs,” I murmured.
He grinned in response and put his hand in the small of my back, ushering me up to the counter at the front of the bank.
When the banker asked how he could help us, Dominic said loudly, “My wife and I came to see about a mortgage.”
The room had gone silent. Jealous stares crawled down my back.
I reached out and took his big hand. We were committed now.
Dominic squeezed my hand in his as we were directed to one of the small offices alongside the main lobby of the bank.
The bank teller was a middle-aged man with a balding head and a potbelly. He looked us up and down, his eyes lingering on my curves before finally settling on Dominic’s hand that still held mine.
