Chapter One
I knew we were in Europe, but I wasn’t entirely certain where. When we left Greece, we turned around and headed north again. Europe was distinctly different than America because it was significantly smaller. The combination of all the countries together still didn’t compare to the entire United States.
After an hour of flying, we touched down at a beautiful place full of thick trees, grass, and ancient castles that rose against the decay of time. A stone wall as far as the eye could see stretched around one castle in particular.
My face was pressed to the window while Daniel slept in my arms. After a long session of tears, he grew tired and fell asleep. His dirty blond hair stretched to his eyes, and he had a small hole in the sleeve of his t-shirt.
Wilder slowly lowered the plane for landing, descending on the sea of green. We didn’t seem to be anywhere appropriate for landing, but I was certain Wilder knew what he was doing. He showed me more than once during our time together.
Wilder turned to the right then approached the cement runway that had been hidden by trees a moment ago. We seemed to be in the countryside, mixed with the other small towns that surrounded the historic castle that loomed over everything else. “We’re in Carcassonne, France.”
“France?” I blurted, feeling the excitement run through my veins. “I’ve never been.”
“It’s a beautiful place.”
“I can tell. Is this where RB12 is located?”
“Yep.” Wilder straightened out for the runway then slowly brought the plane to the landing strip. The wheels touched down, and we had a smooth landing, still moving at a remarkable speed. Wilder applied the brakes and slowly brought the plane to a steady speed. He drove it off the runway and to the parking area designated for planes and helicopters. I was surprised to see a few other planes, helicopters, and even a fighter jet.
“Where did you get these?” I asked.
“I bought them.”
“They let you do that?” I doubted the US government willingly parted with such pieces of machinery.
“For the right price.” He parked in an invisible parking spot then killed the engine. The loud hum of the engine died away, and I could finally talk without having to scream. We exited the plane, Daniel in my arms because he was still asleep.
“I got him.” Wilder took him from my arms and walked to the large building that was a mile away from the runway. Designed in the same fashion as the castle in the center of Carcassonne, it looked like a French estate rather than the headquarters for RB12.
“This place looks awesome.”
“Thanks,” Wilder said. “You’ll feel at home here. We didn’t want to do a bunker style headquarters. Rather hide in plain sight.”
“I feel like I’m on vacation.”
He chuckled. “It definitely won’t feel like a vacation soon enough.”
After a long walk, we approached the back entrance to the estate, but with the massive rounded doors, it could easily be the grand entrance. A disguised keypad was attached to the side, and he quickly punched in a number.
“Security clearance?”
“Sort of. We each have a code that tells everyone inside who we are. The door isn’t locked, so it’s not really a key. So if someone wants to catch us off guard, they’ll use equipment to figure out the true code to get inside…but there isn’t one. It basically announces their presence to everyone inside. A nice trick.”
“That is interesting.”
Wilder stepped inside with Daniel still in his arms. “But they already know we’re here. They spotted us on the runway.”
The instant we walked inside, I was immersed in classic French architecture. Instead of feeling like I was on a military base, I felt like French Royalty. Subtle colors of gray, black, and white marked the walls and decor, making it distinctly elegant. I expected a king to cross our path at any moment, a crown upon his head.
Wilder moved through the large living room, a remarkable kitchen, and extra rooms that didn’t seem to serve any purpose other than appearance. He moved to a painting on the wall to reveal a keypad. He punched in another code, and from the floor to reveal a stairway that opened from the floor where the tile had been. “Follow me.”
“This place is so cool.”
He chuckled. “I know it is.” He took the lead down the stairs, walking for minutes before we finally reached an underground bunker. It was dark inside with the exception of the fluorescent lights and muted TV screens that showed maps and the news. “We do most of our operations down here. It goes pretty far underground.”
“That’s amazing.”
He stepped into the elevator then adjusted Daniel in his arms.
I stood beside him and looked down at the peaceful boy who was anxious to be reunited with his father.
Wilder hit the button, and we descended deep into the earth.
“How are we going to return him to his father?”
“We won’t be returning him anytime soon,” Wilder said. “We’ve got to free his father first, which I suspect won’t be easy.”
The elevator ride was smooth to the bottom, just like an elevator in a luxury resort. Wilder didn’t falter as he held the small child. When I looked at him, I pictured him with his own son, a family. I wasn’t the mother in the scenario, but I did picture happiness in his future. I hoped I wasn’t wrong. “Anything I should know before we walk in there?”
“No. They know who you are.”
“They?”
“Ben will be there.”
“Anyone else?”
“Shane is in charge of intel.”
“What’s he like?” I asked.
“Shane is a woman,” he said. “And she’s pretty cool. Quiet and keeps to herself. She’s very devoted to her job, and it’s difficult to pull her away from it sometimes.”
“Cool.”
“Maxine is one of our stronger agents. She just finished a mission about a week ago, so she’s recuperating.”
“Anyone else?”
“Most of the agents are in different locations. Seth should be there too. He’s a good man. Very stubborn and doesn’t listen most of the time—like you. But he’s good at what he does.”
“I’m excited to be part of the team.”
The elevator reached the bottom, and the doors opened. The underground bunker looked exactly as I imagined. Everything was gray and made of steel or stone. A curved countertop faced the entrance to the elevators, and a man a few years older than Wilder sat there eating a power bar. “Welcome back, Boss.” His eyes didn’t leave the screen he was looking at. He took another bite and chewed while working the mouse with his other hand.
“Any news?” Wilder carried the small boy to the front of the desk.
“No, unfortunately.” With thick glasses and a black beard, he looked too muscular to be the nerdy type. He finally flicked his eyes up and looked at me. “Hey, Gray. I’m Kyle. Welcome to the team.”
“Thanks.”
He returned to eating his protein bar.
Wilder and I walked farther inside until we reached a large room with screens on every wall, showing the news stations of different countries around the world. People were seated at their computers, their fingers typing away. “These are our sniper techs. They monitor everything going on in the world, recognizing a threat before it reaches its full potential.”
“Wow…”
Wilder walked down the hallway until he reached another section, a small pod of computers. A man sat at one of the computers with a baseball in his hand. He tossed it in the air and caught it without taking his eyes off the screen. “Ben, we’re back.”
Ben just tossed the ball up again, and a woman sitting beside him caught it. “Glad to see everything went well.” Shane felt the stitching along the side with her thumb. Her black hair was pulled in a ponytail, and she wore black jeans with a black t-shirt. She exuded power like she was a tough chick no one should mess with. “Man, that kid is knocked out.”
“He’s had a long day,” Wilder explained.
Ben’s eyes fell on me, and he let out a low whistle. “Day-yum.” He ran his hand through his hair to fix it then jumped out of the chair. “I knew you sounded sexy on the phone.” Ben wasn’t what I was expecting. He was over six feet and muscular like a Navy Seal. He had short brown hair that was just long enough to run his fingers through. With a dimple on each cheek when he smiled, he was seriously hot.
Wow.
“Let me introduce myself more properly.” Ben extended his hand, looking down at me with sexy green eyes. “I’m Ben. I’m utterly delighted to make your acquaintance.”
I shook his hand and felt the heat grow in my stomach. “Thanks for making me feel welcome.”
“Oh, I’ll definitely make you feel welcome. I’ll take you out to a nice French restaurant. You like cheese and wine, right?”
“Could you not ask out the new girl the second she walks through the door?” Wilder snapped. He had a short temper sometimes, but I’d never heard him come off that harsh, not even to me when I deserved it.
“What?” Ben asked. “You told me you weren’t into her, so she’s fair game.”
Ouch. I wanted to pretend that didn’t hurt, but it did.
“That’s not what I said,” Wilder countered. “She’s your colleague. Treat her like a human and not a piece of ass.” Wilder adjusted Daniel in his arms and laid him on the leather sofa.
Ben stayed by my side and rolled his eyes. “He’s always bitchy like that. But I’m sure you already knew that.”
“Not my first rodeo.”
He chuckled. “So, how about that wine and cheese?”
“Well, I do love cheese. If you ever hear someone say otherwise, they aren’t human.”
“True,” Ben said. “That was actually a test to see if you’re a robot.”
“Definitely not a robot.”
“So, is that a yes?”
I’d never had a guy ask me out the second he laid eyes on me. We usually had a few drinks and a decent conversation. I was flattered because he was a very handsome man. He had a nice smile, kind eyes, and a smokin’ body. “I—”
“No bullet wounds. No scars.” A tall woman with killer arms emerged from the hallway, decked out in all black with a gun in her holster. Her long brown hair stretched down her chest, and she wore smoky eye makeup that made her look like an actress more than an agent. “I’m impressed.” She moved to Wilder and hugged him, something I didn’t see him do with anyone else.
I tried not to be jealous because I had no right to be jealous.
He returned her embrace before he pulled away. “I got shot one time. Give me more credit than that.”
“How many times have I been shot?” She rested her hand on her hip, giving him an attitude that was naturally sexy.
Wilder rolled his eyes and seemed amused at the same time. “Don’t jinx it.”
“How many?” she pressed.
“None,” he finally answered.
She poked him in the chest playfully, touching him again when no one else seemed to have that right. “Exactly.”
Ben placed his arm around my shoulders. “Maxine, we’ve got a new kid.”
“Kid?” I asked.
“Everyone is a kid when they’re new.” He kept his arm around my shoulders as he looked down at me, those dimples showing.
“Nice to meet you.” Maxine walked toward me with her long legs then shook my hand. “If you have any questions, let me know. I’m more than happy to help.”
“Thanks.” It annoyed me that she seemed like a genuinely nice person. I didn’t have a valid reason to dislike her, other than my misplaced jealousy.
Maxine returned to Wilder and exchanged a look with him, having a silent conversation no one else could hear.
I didn’t need to question Wilder about the exchange to know what happened between them. It was as obvious as text written in a book. I knew they weren’t together, but they definitely had a physical relationship behind the curtain.
I shouldn’t care.
I had no right to.
So I wouldn’t.
***
Daniel walked into his new bedroom at the chateau then sat on the solid ground. He took a look at the twin sized bed then the toy box against the opposite wall. He yanked the lid off and immediately started examining the contents.
“Do you mind taking him under your wing?” Wilder asked as he stood beside me in the hallway.
“Babysitting, you mean?”
“If that’s what you want to call it.”
I didn’t come here to babysit, but I was worried about Daniel. He was in a new place with strangers. Most kids wouldn’t have been as brave as him. “Yeah, sure.”
Wilder obviously expected me to object. His look softened once I gave my answer. “Your room is across the hall. That way you guys can be close to one another.”
I eyed the open doorway that led to a bedroom twice the size of Daniel’s. “That’s great. Wouldn’t mind a shower.” I was doing my best to forget about Maxine and her obvious claim on Wilder. She probably gave him exactly what he wanted, regular physical intimacy without the commitment. She was an agent too and probably shared the same philosophy.
“I need to take care of some paperwork and what not. I haven’t been back in a while. But call me if you need anything.” He began to walk away, his two guns sitting in the gun holster with the straps that wrapped around his shoulders. In the black t-shirt he wore, his body screamed with strength.
“Wilder?”
“What’s up?” He turned back around and looked at me with those pretty blue eyes.
“Are we going to have a plan soon to get Daniel’s father back?” It seemed like Daniel’s mother was no longer in the picture. If we didn’t get his father back, he wouldn’t have anyone. We obviously had bigger problems to worry about, like the pulse that could be turned into a deadly weapon, but I’d always had a soft spot for kids.
“We’ll figure that out soon. Now that we’ve taken Daniel they’ll be on their guard.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Let me know if you need anything.”
“I will.”
Wilder turned around and walked away. When he turned the corner, he was no longer visible in my line of sight. Once he was gone, I thought about the reality of my situation. I’d fallen for a guy who was the biggest manwhore I’d ever met. He wouldn’t change—especially for me. It was time I started to look at him as a friend—and only a friend.
I stepped inside Daniel’s bedroom and watched him play with the Lego’s he found. “I’m gonna take a shower, Daniel. I’ll be right across the hall if you need me.”
He didn’t take his eyes off his hands. “Okay.”
***
I kept my bedroom door opened and sat by the window as I searched the web on my computer. Now that I was no longer a prisoner, I had the privilege of using the Internet once again. There had been several articles mentioned about my disappearance. There was still an active investigation into my whereabouts. It said my father had gone missing as well, so police assumed the two of us were together.
Knuckles rapped against my open doorway. “Hey, Cutie.”
I looked up to see Ben standing in my doorway. “Hey, Dimples.”
“Dimples, huh?” He grinned. “You like my smile?”
“Best smile I’ve ever seen.”
“Yeah, I get that a lot.” He brushed off his shoulder then stepped inside. “So you wanna have that date?”
“Right now?” I hadn’t even been there for an afternoon.
“Girl’s gotta eat, right?”
My stomach automatically rumbled in response. “I am hungry. But honestly, I don’t have any money. I’ve kinda been Wilder’s prisoner for the past few months.”
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t let my dates pay for their dinner anyway. Let’s go.”
We were in the south of France, and I was so eager to enjoy it. I never thought I would travel to such a romantic country. “Absolutely. But I’m in charge of Daniel…” He was only eight years old, so I couldn’t leave him alone.
“Shane is down the hall. I’ll ask her to keep an eye on him for a few hours.”
“Great.” I set my laptop on the bed and walked out with him, excited for a dozen reasons. He handed Daniel off to Shane, and we walked into the garage and got inside a black two-seater car. The engine roared to life the second it was on, and we headed onto the main road surrounded by trees and deep green grass.
I stared out the window and enjoyed the view, the hills with European houses sprinkled along the scenery. The sky was the same sky I’d stared at my whole life, but it looked so different in a new place. It was much brighter than I’d ever seen it.
After a short drive, Ben pulled into a small village sitting inside a valley. He parked on the cobbled street, and we walked together along the small shops. Couples of different ages were out, holding hands and smiling as they enjoyed their evening. I could smell cheese and fine foods in the air.
My stomach rumbled again. “This town is so cute.”
“Everything in France is cute.” Ben walked into a tiny restaurant and requested a table. We were led to a small table in the corner, a white tablecloth on top with a low-burning candle on the surface. Menus were passed to us before the waitress disappeared.
I looked at the menu but didn’t understand anything. “Do you see anything on here that has a lot of cheese?”
Ben chuckled. “I’ll order you something good. Don’t worry about it.” He ordered a bottle of wine for the table and poured two glasses. It was a white wine from a local vineyard. As soon as I tasted it, I realized it was much better than anything I’d ever had at home.
“Thanks for taking me out. I haven’t done anything fun since…I can’t even remember.”
“It’s my pleasure. Wilder was a huge bore the whole time, huh?”
“I wouldn’t say he’s boring. Just a little guarded.”
“Yeah, he’s a drama queen.” Ben dipped his bread in olive oil before he popped the piece into his mouth. He had a nice jaw, strong and defined. “That guy is my brother, but he can be a real pain in the ass.”
Wilder was constantly intense and distant, but I’d gotten used to it over the past few months. “How long have you been with RB12?”
“Six years. I joined after I left the French army. Wilder recruited me.”
“How did you meet him?”
“Funny story.” He looked even more handsome every time he smiled. “I came home from work, and he was sitting in my living room. The damn stalker…”
“That’s not creepy,” I said with a laugh.
“He’s always been a creepy guy. But he offered me a great opportunity that included great pay and benefits, not to mention meaningful work. I took his offer immediately and have been grateful ever since.”
“That’s cool.”
“The rest of the team is great too. I’m happy here, and I think you’ll be happy too.”
“I’m sure I will.” I was in a new place, but I didn’t miss home. I didn’t miss going to class and being accused of plagiarizing. Despite knowing the truth about my father, I still wondered about him. Were all our family pictures still sitting in the house exactly where we left them? Or did he clean the place out before he took off?
“Wilder said you’ve got a lot of potential.”
“That was nice of him.” He was usually too busy insulting me to say anything nice.
“And you’re a great shot. Like, sniper status.”
“I’m not bad,” I admitted. “My dad taught me a lot of things as I was growing up.” I didn’t even feel comfortable referring to him as my father anymore. I was tempted to call him by his first name. If he really killed my mother, I had no allegiance to him whatsoever.
“No wonder why you’re good. That guy is ruthless.”
It was strange to talk about my father so nonchalantly. Ben seemed to know everything about me without asking any questions, so Wilder did more than just mention me. He had a whole profile on me. “So I hear.”
“When we took a vote to recruit you, it was unanimous. We all wanted you on the team.”
“A vote?” I asked.
“Yeah. Since you have a special circumstance, it had to be decided as a group,” he explained. “But everyone liked what you brought to the table, especially your intel on your father.”
Unfortunately, I really didn’t know much. “I didn’t realize that’s how it happened.”
“Yeah. Wilder gave a quick presentation of your skills and capabilities before he brought you here.”
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. Wilder did a lot of things without my knowledge. “I’m glad I’ve been welcomed with open arms.”
“We’re good to each other,” he said. “We always have each other’s backs. That’s just how we roll.”
“Nice camaraderie.”
He nodded then took a drink of his wine. The waiter approached our table, and Ben ordered our food in French.
“Are you fluent?”
“Yep. I’ve lived here most of my life.”
“That’s cool. Do you speak anything else?”
“Italian, Latin, Mandarin, German…am I forgetting any?” He rubbed his chin as he continued to search his brain. “Oh yeah, and Russian.”
“You speak that many languages?” I asked incredulously.
“Yeah, but keep in mind that Germany and Italy are so close together that I’ve always been exposed to those languages.”
“Russia is a bit away.”
“Well, that took some time to learn,” he said with a chuckle. “But it’s pretty essential to have in my arsenal. You know what they say. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”
I wondered about all the things Ben had seen, all the missions he’d completed. I wanted to ask, but I suspected that was too personal of a question when I didn’t know him very well.
“So you were in college when you took off with Wilder?”
“Yeah, but school wasn’t for me.”
“Then why were you there?”
“I didn’t know what else to do with my time,” I said honestly. “My friends went to college, so I did the same thing. And if I didn’t, I wouldn’t know how to begin a career. I’ve never been interested in opening a business or anything more ambitious.”
“It looks like you found your calling in the end. Or better yet, it found you.”
“It seems that way.”
He swirled his wine before he sipped it. His broad shoulders looked nice in his t-shirt, and his sexiness was heightened by his kindness. He was so opposite from Wilder it was difficult to believe they had the same job.
“So…Maxine is interesting.” I wanted to know more about her and Wilder, but I didn’t want to come out and ask.
“What do you mean?”
“She seems confident. Is she one of the people in charge?”
“Not really. Wilder is officially the lead, but he doesn’t really tell us what to do. We all work together with complete autonomy. But she’s a really strong agent. She’s done a lot of good around here.”
“She seems pretty capable.” I was hoping to learn more about Maxine and Wilder, but it didn’t seem like I was closer to discovering my answers. Ben didn’t know anything about it, or he didn’t know that’s where my questions were going. “She and Wilder seem close.”
He cocked his head to the side, his eyes narrowing. “Is this thing you have for Wilder serious?”
Perhaps he was more observant than I gave him credit for. I didn’t want to beat around the bush. Honesty seemed to be the best policy, especially with an agent with phenomenal skills. “I’ve developed feelings from staying with Wilder over the past few months. But it’s become obvious that he and I will never be anything. I thought I saw something between him and Maxine. If my suspicion was correct, I thought it would help me forget about him. If he’s got women all over the place, there’s no way he’ll ever be interested in me monogamously.” That’s probably not what Ben wanted to hear, but he had a right to know the truth.
He didn’t seem disappointed with my answer. “Wilder is a player. Has been and always will be.”
I thought those words would hurt, but they didn’t. Now that I’d heard the whole truth, I could probably move on and focus on the more important things in life. I thought my attraction to Wilder was more than physical, but maybe it wasn’t. “I kinda picked up on that.” I grabbed a piece of bread and took a bite.
“You don’t want to be one of many, huh?”
“I guess not. Relationships don’t need to end with a happily ever after. But I don’t want to be involved with someone if I know it’ll never go anywhere. I need some kind of connection, some meaning to really invest my time. I know that’s probably cliché—”
“No, I get it.” He wasn’t nearly as harsh as Wilder. He had a smile when Wilder had a frown. And he was far more understanding even though he seemed just as manly. “I’m with you. I like to be with a woman for a while, even if it doesn’t last forever. I think it makes the sex better. One day, you go your separate ways, but at least you enjoyed one another while you were together.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly how I feel.”
“Wilder is dead inside,” he said with a laugh. “Everything is business with him—even his personal life.”
“Why is he like that?” Wilder never really opened up to me. Sometimes he was more vulnerable than he was at other times, but he was still calloused like a construction worker’s hands.
His eyes narrowed in suspicion. “If you don’t know, he must not want you to know.”
Maybe Wilder would tell me someday, but I obviously wasn’t going to learn his secret today. “He doesn’t share a lot with me.”
“He’s lost a lot of people. All he cares about at this point is revenge, which isn’t too different than the rest of us.”
I slowly nodded, wondering if Ben felt that way himself. Had he lost someone he cared about? Perhaps Wilder is too far gone for something meaningful. He did warn me of that in the beginning. I should have taken him more seriously. “Wilder says my father is a traitor, a murderer, and a criminal…it’s been hard.”
“I can’t even imagine,” he said sympathetically. “You think you know someone, and then everything changes.”
“I know Wilder isn’t lying, but it’s so difficult to believe it. My father has always been there for me… He called me unicorn.”
Ben reached across the table and patted my hand. “It’ll get easier in time. Usually does.”
His hand was warm to the touch and felt comfortable on mine. I’d just met Ben that afternoon, and I already felt close to him. He was naturally kind and had a good heart. I could tell from our first interaction. “Thanks. I’m sure you’re right.”
When he let his hand linger too long, he pulled it away. “So, does that mean I have to compete with Wilder for your attention.”
“You don’t need to compete with anyone for attention,” I blurted. “I mean, look at you.”
He grinned from ear to ear, his ego inflated. “Why, thank you.”
“I just mean, you could have anyone you wanted. Why would you want to work to get my attention when you can have anyone else’s?”
He considered my question before he spoke. “I’m not sure. I just know I like you.”
“I’m not that interesting.”
“I doubt that. Wilder spoke really highly of you.”
“Well, Wilder was just being nice.”
He shook his head as he smiled. “Wilder is never nice. If he gives you a compliment, it’s not a compliment. It’s just a fact.”
I already knew that was true. Wilder always got right to the point.
“So, can I get to know you better? See if you’re more interesting than you let on?”
He was so charming I could hardly believe it. “Sure, as long I can get to know you too.”
“Sounds perfect to me. I just hope I’m interesting enough to get a kiss at the end of this date.”
With his innate charm, he’d already earned it. “Your chances are pretty good.”
“Awesome,” he said. “So, you like to cook?”
Cooking wasn’t my weakest trait, but he was bound to find out anyway. “Well, I’m more of a frozen cheese stick and burrito kind of gal.”
“Really?” he asked with a chuckle. “All of that is gonna change really quick.”
“You think so?”
“Trust me. When you’re in a beautiful place like this, the center of the culinary arts, you finally learn what amazing food really tastes like. And you’re gonna find out what real men taste like too.”
***
When he pulled into the garage and closed the door behind him, he stayed put. As the door closed, less light crept inside the car. Once it was shut, he hit the button next to the steering wheel and turned off the engine. “I’m gonna kiss you here.” He announced his decision like I didn’t have a say in the matter. “Don’t want an audience for my performance.” He unbuckled his safety belt then turned to me in the car, that handsome smile gone from his face. He leaned toward me then slid his hand to my cheek, cupping my face with a fluid motion. Then his lips landed on mine, warm and soft.
He was a great kisser.
My fingers wrapped around his wrist, and I felt more heat than I expected to. Like when I kissed Wilder, I felt something for this man I’d just met. My mouth moved with his, and his affection was satisfying. The kiss started off innocent but quickly developed into something more. Once he felt my arousal developing, he moved his tongue against mine and inserted his fingers into my hair.
It was nice.
His hand trailed down my body and to my thigh. He held it tightly as he gripped me harder, breathing into my mouth with the same excitement I felt.
My hand moved of its own accord and slid up his chest to his shoulder. His muscles were hard and defined underneath his t-shirt. It’d been a long time since I’d been with a man, and now I was trying to find a reason why I’d deprived myself of such a luxury for so long.
Ben was the first one to pull away, his eyes greedy for more of me. “I should stop…before I get carried away.”
Good thing he did because the idea of pulling away didn’t cross my mind. It wasn’t exactly a professional way to start a relationship with a colleague. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
“But trust me.” He squeezed my thigh. “I didn’t want to stop.”
“Me neither,” I whispered.
His eyes grew dark with intensity, similar to the way Wilder’s did. “You’re driving me crazy, woman.”
We got out of the car and walked into the beautiful chateau that seemed too perfect to be real. It didn’t exactly seem like the headquarters to an underground rogue operation. We walked up the stairs to the level with the bedrooms. Daniel was exactly where I left him with Shane working on her laptop at the table in the corner.
“Thanks for keeping an eye on him.” I ran my fingers through Daniel’s soft hair. The distraction wasn’t enough to pull him away from the Lego set he was creating.
“Sure,” Shane said as she kept typing. “What were you two doing?”
“Making out in the car,” Ben blurted.
I shot him a glare.
Ben shrugged with a fake look of guilt on his face.
Shane stopped typing and looked up, not the least bit amused. “That’s an interesting first day…”
“Don’t be jealous, sweetheart.” He squeezed her shoulder. “You’re still my number one girl.”
Shane couldn’t hide the smile that formed on her lips.
“No one gets me out of tough situations better than you do.” He patted her shoulder before he walked out. “I’m gonna take a shower—a cold one.”