And then, even quieter, her head lowered, she said, “I won’t tell her. I’m not here to help her. Honest to God, I’m not.”

  I ground out, “I don’t like you anymore.”

  Her head lifted. Her face was pinched in. “I am not what you’re thinking. I swear it. There are things you both don’t know about, reasons … just … things you don’t know. It’s why I’m here. I have to be here. I have to play nice for my sister right now. Just right now, and then—” She cut herself off, swallowing. She looked in pain, her eyes closing slowly. “Please let me walk in there alone. Please let me see this through. You can wait for me. I’ll ride back with you guys to the house. I’ll tell you everything she says.” Her eyes got big. “Wait! Look.” She dug into her purse and pulled out a recorder. “I was going to use this tonight on her. I’ll play it for you in the car.”

  Matt and I shared a look.

  Should we? But then the elevator suddenly stopped. The doors opened, and it wasn’t the right floor, but Fitz and Scott were both there. Both were glaring. Both stepped inside. The doors closed again, and yeah.

  We were in trouble.

  TWENTY-NINE

  Kash

  “They’re there right now?”

  Scott was giving me the latest report on Team Batt. It wasn’t good.

  He sounded frustrated. “I’m sorry. This is not professional of me, but Bailey and Matt are insane. They’re out of control. We have no idea how they got their hands on it, but they got Quinn’s phone and Bailey hacked it. Somehow that led them to this hotel, and we’re sitting there, assuming they’re doing the same thing they did at Octavo—letting loose in an establishment you don’t own—until Quinn’s sister swoops in. Matt takes off after her. Bailey darts after them, stops, and Matt yells at her. She jumps in the elevator with them and up they zoom. We’re currently holed up in a hallway below where Quinn’s sister was going to meet Quinn, and Bailey and Matt are huddling over some listening device. Every time we step close, they move away. We can’t force them anywhere, but they’re not letting us get close enough to overhear. I repeat,” he said, extremely frustrated, “Bailey and her brother are out of control.” He took a breath. “What’s next? Getting arrested so we can protect them inside jail? I would not be surprised if somehow Quinn gets word what they did and sends patrol units to the Chesapeake.”

  I needed a minute to process all of that.

  Processing done. I’d be shooting Matt in the ass at some point in the future.

  “I’m coming back. Again.”

  Josh whirled back to me. He’d been stretching. “What?”

  Scott got quiet on his end.

  “I’ll return with Drake. The rest will stay”—I was half speaking to Josh now—“and will take the meet with Harden, because he finally reached out.”

  Josh cursed, shaking his head. “He’s going to be pissed you aren’t there.”

  “Tough.”

  “Huh?” Scott asked.

  “Not you. I’ll do an international flight to the States. Get one of the jets up and going. Have it meet me in San Antonio.”

  “The last I heard, you were in North Carolina.”

  “That was two days ago. We’re in Colombia now.”

  Scott fell silent again.

  “You can coordinate from there,” I commanded, before I hung up and put the phone in my pocket.

  “We just landed. Ten minutes ago,” Josh said.

  “Drake!” I motioned to him. “Grab your bag.”

  He bent, grabbing his duffel. I was going through my own, because flying on normal planes meant stricter rules.

  “Boss.” Josh stepped to me, his boots on the ground next to my bag. “Kash.”

  I looked up, my hand going into my duffel. “What?”

  “Harden specifically asked for an in-person meet. This has to do with your grandfather. If he is isolated, you can just finish him tonight. We can have this all done tonight. We can all be flying back. Give it twenty-four hours.”

  I shook my head. “You heard Scott. I’ve given you guys strict orders not to force any of your charges to do something against their will. I am firm on that line, so that means someone has to talk sense into both of them. We’re not just dealing with Bailey here. This is Matt. I love the guy, but Scott’s not wrong. Matt will get her arrested if they’re as out of control as he’s saying. I don’t want my woman behind bars.”

  Drake was looking between us.

  I motioned to him. “We’re flying back commercial.”

  “Commercial?”

  I nodded. He knew what that meant, and right then and there, both of us pulled out our guns, our knives, and any other weapons we had. All were handed over to Josh, who was glaring at first. A second later, he relented with a grumble. “This is stupid.” But he took the weapons, finding room in his duffel for each one.

  We handed the chambers over next.

  Same thing. They were put inside his duffel bag, too.

  Drake and I went through our bags one more time to ensure we wouldn’t get pulled over or questioned in customs.

  I looked over. “Passport?”

  Drake froze, then expelled a deep pocket of air. He patted his top breast pocket. “I almost thought I hadn’t brought it.” He pulled it out. “All good to go.”

  Mine was in my inside pocket.

  “Okay.” I nodded to Josh. “You’re in charge. Keep in contact. I want to know what’s happening on this end.”

  Drake lifted two fingers in a salute.

  Josh flicked his middle finger at us. “I hate this.”

  “Boss, what about Victoria?” Josh asked.

  “Her deprogramming?”

  “They said it’s as good as they’ll get her. We do more and we run the risk of that gray area.”

  I didn’t feel right holding anyone captive, unless they shared my blood.

  I made my decision, knowing I’d probably regret it. “Let her go.”

  THIRTY

  Bailey

  Despite the glaring, Fitz and Scott didn’t say a word. Scott had to walk away for a bit, and during that time, we concocted a plan. It was more like blackmail, but the ends justified the means. We had Payton make a video in which she confessed to everything she’d told us in the elevator. The deal was simple. She went in that hotel room, taped her conversation while also having Matt’s phone open in her pocket. It was put on silent so anything incoming wouldn’t make a noise.

  We listened to everything from my phone a floor below, and when Payton came back, the video was deleted.

  It was easy-peasy.

  Until we got home. Because once we got home, Peter was waiting for us.

  Somehow Kash was told where we were.

  Kash told Peter.

  And Peter started laying into us.

  All three of us got an earful, and after we got the basic general lecture, Peter called us all into his office for our own individualized and customized lecture. I knew this because each of us had to wait. It went Matt first, then me. Payton was last, and she looked more terrified than I imagined Seraphina would’ve been if she was waiting to be called into the principal’s office. In Payton’s defense, the meeting with Quinn had been exactly what she said—which was not told to Peter. We let him believe what Payton thought we believed, about how Quinn had called her. We knew it was only a brief text exchange, and that it seemed like it had happened before.

  We were hoping it would happen again, or I was.

  Matt and I whispered about it in the hallway, but Scott and Fitz kept trying to get closer so we had to stop talking. And if I were asked why we were keeping it a secret, I wouldn’t have an answer. If we found something vital, we’d share. We’d have to. But so far we hadn’t gotten anything vital from Quinn and I hadn’t had time to go through her phone data. Which is what I had planned to do for the rest of the night.

  Matt was waiting for me in a chair outside my bedroom window. There was another one set up, so instead of going into the room, I sank down and kicked up a foot on the windowsill. This corner window looked out over the back end of the golf course on the estates. Right now, it was all snow.

  “How was he with you?”

  I shrugged. “Not that hard. I got the Chrissy factor working for me still.”

  He grunted, running a hand over his face. “He lectured me on influencing you, and if it’s the right thing to do, me spending so much time with you.”

  “What?” My stomach rolled over on that one. I didn’t like it. A flare of panic started in me. “We’ve been fine.”

  We barely did anything slightly illegal.

  He kicked up his feet, too, sliding down in his chair. “I should go to my room. I’m exhausted.”

  “Me, too.” I slid down, mirroring him.

  “Yeah. Your room is right there.”

  He closed his eyes.

  “Yeah.”

  I closed my eyes.

  Next thing I knew, sleep.

  Kash

  Peter was waiting for me when I got to the Chesapeake.

  The interior of the house had the usual low lights they kept on during night hours, but none of the staff was around. Just Peter, and he had a coffee cup in hand. I raised an eyebrow. “You brewed that yourself?”

  “It’s four in the morning. Don’t be a jerkface.” He grinned. “Cyclone is teaching me the current insults. Dickface. Assface. I used the tamest one of those three.”

  I grinned back.

  It was good to be home. “She’s in bed?”

  His grin got bigger, but the bags under his eyes told me he’d been waiting up the whole time. “You can see for yourself.” He took a sip. “Do we need to have a debriefing before you go and do that?”

  I frowned, lowering my duffel bag. “Not unless some form of emergency has come up I should hear about now.”

  He didn’t say a word. I knew what that meant.

  “Okay.” I gestured ahead. “Your office, I’m assuming?”

  “My office.”

  Peter filled me in on everything.

  Bailey

  I was dreaming about Kash, and it was a delicious dream.

  I could smell him. I could hear him. I was feeling him.

  He was carrying me. We were moving. Then there was warmth, more warmth, and I was in bed.

  He wasn’t there, though. I didn’t like that, and I reached for him.

  I was searching. The bed was empty. The bed shouldn’t have been empty. And then he was back.

  The mattress depressed under his weight, and his arms were around me.

  I was being pulled back into his chest.

  His legs were around me.

  He was folding me into him, and his lips skimmed my shoulder.

  He ran a hand down my face, his lips brushing my cheek, my lips.

  A whisper from him. “Sleep. We’ll talk later.”

  So, I slept again.

  Best dream in a long time, but that night, it was my best dream ever.

  Wait a second …

  My eyes snapped open.

  My entire body froze before I flipped over in bed.

  Two very angry eyes were glaring right back at me. A very large and very rigid body was lying next to me, arms and legs wrapped around me.

  Not a dream at all.

  Kash was back.

  Kash

  She looked so goddamn good.

  She smelled good.

  She felt good.

  Jesus Christ, she even sounded good.

  I moved before I could stop myself.

  I wanted to talk to her, question her, lecture her, but my mouth was on hers.

  Lecturing would wait.

  MULTIPLE WITNESSES FOR THE PROSECUTION MISSING

  On Monday, the prosecution against Quinn Callas found themselves shorthanded when multiple witnesses did not show up for their testimony. The district attorney says investigations have been opened as to the whereabouts of each witness.

  A GoFundMe page has been established to help support Quinn Callas’s defense team. Sources say she “didn’t fight her divorce to Peter Francis, leaving her with almost nothing.”

  —Inside Daily Press

  THIRTY-ONE

  Bailey

  “We need to talk,” he said as he came out of the bathroom.

  God.

  He was wearing track pants that fell low on his hips, and the rest of him was shirtless and barefoot. That body, those muscles. I could glide my hand over every dip and valley of his body and I’d never get enough. He had the V leading under his pants, and when he turned around, which he was doing as he was reaching for a shirt, I saw the back dimples, too.

  Back dimples.

  Time apart had made me an obsessed woman.

  His words came to me, and I lay back down, closing my eyes. “I don’t want to talk.”

  We had gone on a normal date, or normal for us, the last time I saw him.

  I missed that. Making out in a movie theater. I wanted to do that again.

  “Do you know anyone who had a normal childhood?” I sat up and scooted back to rest against the headboard.

  Kash threw me a small frown. Henley in place, he was putting on socks and shoes. “Normal? Define ‘normal.’”

  “Two parents. Middle class. A home.”

  “That’s your problem. I don’t think we have normalcy anymore. I don’t know anyone who had that and only that. Why are you asking?” He stood, coming to stand beside me. I expected him to sit on the bed, but he didn’t. He remained standing, his head tilted to the side, and those eyes studying every angle of me.

  I didn’t know how to say it so I just waved my hand at him.

  He frowned. “What?”

  “I don’t know.” I lied. I did know, so I started to scramble off the bed.

  He caught my hand as I did and pulled me back to him. “Hey.”

  God. I closed my eyes. He said that word so soft and quiet. It felt like a whole other caress from him, and he doubled down. His hand came up and he trailed a finger down the side of my face, lingering over my mouth, and then falling to my throat.

  He murmured, so soft again. “What is it?”

  I shook my head, coming out of my lusty daze. “You see everything.” I looked away, feeling exposed once again, but this time I was doing it. I was explaining myself. I was exposing myself. “I—you see all of me, and sometimes I don’t want to feel all of me. And I’m just having a moment, but it’ll pass, and right after, I’ll be flooded with appreciation because I know how amazing you are. I know how supportive, loving, caring, and I’m totally and completely aware of how utterly blessed I am to have you in it. But right now, I’m just having a moment.”

  I looked away.

  And waited.

  And waited more.

  He was silent, and then a soft sigh came from him. His hand touched my arm and he tugged me to him. Drawing me into him, he looked down at me, and yes, into me. “If I’m looking at you in a way that you don’t want to feel, then I get it, but I love you. I can’t stop that. It’s me trying to figure out what’s bothering you and if I can do anything to help eliminate it. And for everything you just said, it goes both ways you know. You see me, too.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his hand cupping and resting on the side of my face. “I’ll never stop seeing you.”

  I moved into him, our bodies flush against each other.

  My head went to his chest and I melted. I let go of tension that I hadn’t even known was there. His hand came up, rubbing the back of my neck, then my shoulder blades, and he moved further down on my back. Oh yeah. That was the spot. I was almost crooning and swooning here. Then his hand moved to my ass, and he grabbed a handful of one cheek.

  My eyes darted up and he was watching me back, but his eyes were dark and lusty, too.

  That was enough for me.

  * * *

  A few hours later, I got a whole lecture about being smart, and safe, but it was later.

  Matt was called in, and he got the lecture, too.

  Kash asked to see Matt alone afterward, and I’m pretty sure he got another lecture. I asked him at one point how bad it had been and Matt just grunted. “Let’s just say I’m not taking my ass for granted right now.”

  I couldn’t stop hearing what Kash said, though.

  “I’ll never stop seeing you.”

  I smiled.

  THIRTY-TWO

  Kash

  Bailey was half back to herself, but not all the way back.

  Watching her now, as she was working on some project with Cyclone, I saw the vulnerability. It was on her, just under the surface, and it was thin. She was still struggling, but damn, she was getting stronger. Better.

  “You here to stay now?”

  Matt brought over a beer for me, taking the bar stool next to me. We were in the basement, with the wall section open between the bowling lanes and the bar area. Seraphina, Peter, and Payton were playing a game of pool. Theresa was up in the kitchen and Marie was in her office. I knew this because both came and checked in with me, hugging me, glad I was back.

  Was I here to stay?

  I had to be honest. “If I have to go, I’ll go. But I’m back mostly because I’m scared what else you and Bailey are going to do.” I gave him a pointed look.

  He grinned, then shrugged. “Stay and love your woman or leave and kill your grandfather. What a choice to make.” He gave me some side-eye. “But you’re not infringing on Team Batt. We can do Team Katt or you can do Team Kailey. There’s no Team Bakatt.”

  Okay. My turn now.

  I leaned toward him, getting in his space and not giving a damn who noted it. “What the fuck were you thinking? There was one time her phone could’ve been lifted. Who did it? My guys said Tony was there. I know he’s got a juvie record. And then the hotel stakeout?”

  Bailey’s head lifted and turned our way.

  I kept going at him. “If Quinn gets proof about who stole her phone? Who hacked it? If Payton tells her? She could fuck with Bailey’s life, and you know it. She already has.”

  “Payton won’t tell.”

  I grunted, easing back a bit. “You don’t have a clue what Payton will do or not do.”