“They were back up before security could even alert us,” he says. “And nothing appears out of line.”
Translation: We know my brother has invited a drug cartel into our operation and we still have no clue how they’re operating. “I’ll talk to you when I get downstairs.” I end the call and look up to find Emily standing by the door, her back to me, at the same moment as she pulls off my T-shirt, leaving me a view of her gorgeous naked skin, that has me thinking of her breasts. Inhaling, I remind myself I have problems to solve that won’t happen in this room with Emily naked. But I will have her naked again tonight.
Standing, I shove my phone into my pocket. Emily whirls around to face me and tosses me my shirt. I catch it and put it on, the naturally sweet scent of her clinging to the cotton the way it does to my bed, which is now her bed. She is sweet, and yet somehow still tough as nails. It’s a combination that works for me, but as I watch her shove that velvet box in her pocket, afraid to even embrace a tiny piece of her past, I am struck by a hard reality. She’s escaping from one corrupt family to hide inside another. Mine.
EMILY
This time when Shane and I walk to the elevator, it’s hand in hand, but he doesn’t speak and I know him well enough to know he’s troubled and I don’t think it’s about me. We enter the elevator and he punches the lobby level and then he’s leaning against the wall and pulling me to him, and he is a hard body in all of the places I am soft. Strong in ways that are not just sexy, but I admire that trait in him. And suddenly, I’m not thinking about my brother, or my name, or law school, but him. This man. His battles to save a company from a father who cannot be saved, and how I can help him survive and thrive.
“I have to take care of some business when we get to the apartment,” he says. “But I’m thinking pizza, then a hot shower and a warm bed, both with you in them.”
“You’ll get no objection from me, but is there any chance we could swing by my apartment so I can grab a few things?”
“You and that empty apartment are done,” he says. “Your stuff is in the car and a shopping trip is in your future. And”—he reaches into his pocket and hands me my cell phone—“I’m guessing you didn’t accidentally leave that in your coat.”
“No,” I admit. “I was trying to throw you off.”
“Coming to my apartment took balls.”
“My secret weapon,” I say. “I have a set of my own.”
“I like that about you, except when it works against me.” He molds me close. “Don’t do that again.”
“I won’t,” I promise.
“Maybe I’ll just tie you to the bed to be sure.”
“Will you be in bed with me?”
His lips curve. “That’s the only way it makes sense.”
The elevator dings and he takes my hand, leading me into the garage. We round the corner to find Seth a few feet away, wearing a trench coat and leaning against a black Mercedes. And while he normally has that lethal, hard air about him, which you’d expect from ex-CIA, tonight he’s reading more like the Mafia, with me on the hit list.
“Can we hurry up and convince him I’m not the enemy before he shoots me or something?”
Shane laughs. “Look on the bright side. He’ll shoot your enemies once he knows they exist too.”
“No. He’ll shoot your enemies.”
“Your enemies are my enemies,” he says, and fortunately Seth doesn’t look at me as we reach the car. Or maybe it’s unfortunately. I kind of get the impression he’s calculating ways to tie me up and he’s the wrong man for that job.
Shane opens the back door for me. “Give us just a minute,” he says, and I gladly nod and slide into the car, the warm air surrounding me, exhaustion seeming to hit me like a blow. I slide low into the seat and close my eyes, heaviness overcoming me.
Shane and Seth’s voices hum outside the car, random words reaching my ears. Brother. Stepfather. Texas. Law school. Law school. If I stay Emily, I’ve lost my credits, and I can’t go back without risking discovery. God, that hurts, but I know it’s true. I’m lingering on that painful thought when the word “Gemini” rumbles off the glass, spoken by Seth in just the right tone, at just the right spot outside, for me to hear him clearly now.
“I worked a case involving the Geminis,” Seth goes on to say. “If they are after her, she’s in trouble. And so are we if they find her.”
I wonder if this is the moment when Shane regrets coming after me.
CHAPTER SEVEN
EMILY
I hold my breath, waiting on Shane’s reply, which comes without hesitation. “Can you keep her off their radar?”
“I have questions I need answered before I can give you a conclusive reply.”
They move toward the driver’s door, and I frustratingly can’t hear the rest of what they say. I’m about to just get out and ask when the doors open, and Shane slides in beside me, while Seth claims the driver’s seat.
“What questions do you need answered?” I blurt out.
Seth eyes me in the rearview mirror and then he and Shane exchange a look, before Seth puts us in drive. Shane turns to me and takes my hand. “Obviously you heard that conversation.”
“Enough to know the Geminis are as dangerous as I suspected and I need to disappear completely and I can’t stay here and expose you.”
“Does your brother know where you live or work?” Seth asks.
“No,” I say. “He only knows I’m in Denver because he bought my airline ticket. That and five thousand dollars and I was on my own.”
“How long ago was that?” Seth asks.
“Two months ago,” I reply.
Shane gives me a disbelieving look. “And he hasn’t even asked how you’re surviving?”
“He didn’t ask,” I confirm. “Our conversations were short and I didn’t tell him I had a job because I was afraid he wouldn’t send me my money.”
“That certainly makes things less complicated,” Seth says, and already we’ve traveled the short three blocks to the Four Seasons and are at the door.
“Seth is going to park and come upstairs,” Shane says when the doorman opens the door.
Eager to get upstairs and get a plan together, I exit the car, and for once I’m thankful our favorite doorman Tai isn’t around, because I really can’t make small talk right now. Shane steps to my side, palming the man who’d gotten my door a bill, and then drapes his arm over my shoulder. “Deep breath, sweetheart. Things happen for a reason and that reason was to get our shields up and impermeable.”
“Do you really think that’s possible?”