The island of Vieques came into view early the next morning. Sutton could barely make out his home in the distance, surrounded by rain forest. Seeing the beaches empty, due to a lack of tourism after the destructive hurricane, was heartbreaking to Sutton. He knew it would hurt the locals’ ability to provide for themselves. However, looking on the bright side, fewer people on the island meant fewer eyes and a safer hideout.

The captain dropped anchors into the crystal blue water, and then everyone aboard, Sutton and his men included, started off-loading into the smaller boats. It was a slow process unloading all the food, supplies, and gear into the smaller boats, getting it to the dock, and loading the trucks and vans to take everything to his property.

Luckily, Sutton was busy enough to avoid staring at Liz too much as she worked alongside Agatha. I really wish you would love me. Those words had been on repeat through his brain the past twelve hours. She had to know how much he loved her. That was the reason he was doing all of this. Yes, he wanted revenge on the duke, but he really wanted Liz. Free of any possible backlash from Gunthry and able to choose him like he wished she would’ve done all those years ago.

Many of the local security and workers who had been hired to help were gaping at Liz. Sutton wanted to smack some heads together. He restrained himself, barely. He could understand their awe. Few people saw such beauty as Liz’s in the flesh, but Liz wasn’t simply some model to be ogled. She was strong, brave, and sassy—the true love of his life.

Agatha and Liz climbed in to the second row of a passenger van. Sutton shook his head and focused on what José, the man who managed his property here, was telling him as they climbed in to the next vehicle.

“We have been able to fix most of the damage from the hurricane, Señor. You will find the property in prime condition. Lovely, very lovely.”

“Gracias, José, but you say none of the restaurants are open? No Lazy Jack’s pizza?”

José laughed. “Not open to the public, but I’m sure I could get him to cook and deliver some to you, Señor.”

“Ah, José, this is why you’re my man.”

José beamed. Sutton knew he paid him and the other people he employed ten times what they could make even if they lived on the mainland. He was happy to do it. They took fabulous care of his property and were loyal to him. Loyal. Someone on his staff wasn’t loyal, and though he tried not to focus on that, it was like a fingernail file rubbing down his spine. He had to content himself with knowing that Zane and Cannon were doing everything in their power to find the man who dared betray him.

They arrived at the property twenty minutes later. His estate was located at the top of a bluff, with views of the tropical forest and the Caribbean Ocean. It was a sprawling two-story home with a retractable glass ceiling and walls and open balconies running the lengths of both levels, overlooking the Olympic-sized swimming pool and attached decks. The property was full of fruit trees, and he was grateful that the hurricane damage had been minimal to those trees. Agatha loved the fresh fruit.

The entire property had held up well. Probably a combination of its distance from the ocean and Sutton’s foresight in constructing it to be hurricane-resistant. It also had its own water tank and automatic generator so they could be self-sufficient when disaster struck.

José directed the unloading of everything that Agatha had brought, teasing her that she didn’t trust him to get the supplies she needed.

“A girl has to be prepared.” Agatha shot back, making José laugh loudly.

A young maid approached and bowed slightly to Liz. “Can I show you to your room, Señorita?”

“I’m more Señora,” Liz said, smiling at her.

“You are muy bella,” the young girl said softly.

“Gracias.” Liz held herself like a queen. It was little wonder with the status she’d had to maintain throughout her life, but Sutton understood a little of what she’d been subjected to thanks to his friendship with Lord Kingsley. Kingsley’s wife, Angela, was the only one who had been close to Liz. How Liz stayed so brave, straight, and strong was beyond him. He knew many men would’ve broken under the pressure and abuse. His fists tightened. He would give Gunthry what he was due or die trying. He understood what Liz was trying to tell him. He very well might die trying, and this might be the only time they had together, but hopefully, she would listen to his reasoning. He couldn’t allow himself to be consumed by her or he would be distracted, make a mistake, and risk more than just himself. His men were putting their lives on the line here too.

Everyone got settled, and Sutton set to work in his office off the main entryway. With Zane distracted by the investigations, Sutton had even more to prepare than he’d planned. Hours later, needing a break, he walked through the open-air hallways and upstairs to the master suite. He put on his swimsuit and was grateful he didn’t encounter anyone as he strode to the pool. He loved swimming in this pool that overlooked the Caribbean ocean. As he walked onto the tiled pool deck, he stopped and stared.

Liz glided through the water. Her lithe form was encased in a one-piece floral swimsuit. She cut through the water as gracefully as a ballerina. She hadn’t noticed him yet, so he stood still and savored the view for as long as he possibly could. He’d known many a beautiful woman, but nobody was as exquisitely formed as Liz. Her hair looked darker, almost a honey color as it streamed behind her in the water, tied back from her face. The bone structure of her face was delicate and finely-formed. Her lips were thicker and more luscious than many of the top models, but it was her blue-blue eyes that always drew him in.

He couldn’t see those eyes right now with her goggles on but he watched her and daydreamed about how she’d stared into his eyes last night at the gym then said she just wanted him to love her. Was that really all she wanted? Could it possibly match so perfectly what Sutton wanted? Maybe she was right and they should live in the present. Together. He could still come off the victor with the duke. Why couldn’t he enjoy each moment he had alone with the woman of his dreams?

Liz stopped suddenly and surfaced, treading water. She pulled her goggles off and stared at him with those wide, blue eyes. “What are you doing?”

“Watching a mermaid in action.”

She rolled her eyes and swam to the shallow end. Throwing her goggles onto the pool deck, she stood in chest-deep water and faced him. That didn’t help calm his pulse at all as he could see the sleek muscles of her shoulders and arms. The suit wasn’t revealing, but it showed enough to send his heart rate soaring.

Her eyes flickered over him. “Are you going to swim or just gawk all day?”

Sutton allowed a smile to cross his face. “I’m enjoying gawking actually.”

“You would.” She didn’t reach for her goggles as she plunged under water and fell back into a freestyle stroke.

Sutton crossed to the edge of the pool and dove in. He didn’t have goggles, but he didn’t need them. He did the breast-stroke under water until he intercepted her. Then he swam up and scooped her into his arms.

“Sutton.” She shrieked, grabbing on to his shoulders as he treaded water with his legs. “Stop it!”

Sutton grinned. He felt like a teenager again as he held her in his arms, kicking hard to keep them both afloat.

“I can swim on my own, thank you very much,” she said.

“I noticed that. A very lovely stroke you have too.”

Liz pushed at his shoulders. “Let me go. It can’t be easy for you to tread water holding me.”

“I was born to be in the water.”

“I remember that.”

Time seemed to pause as they focused on each other. Sutton angled toward the shallow end, and when he could touch, he simply enjoyed holding her against his chest. Liz’s gaze dipped to his chest. Then she gently traced the contours of his muscles with her fingertips. “So all this was built swimming and lifting weights?”

He shrugged, though his body was tingling from having her near and her boldness at touching him. “I’m just naturally well-built.”

“Ha! You were a scrawny youth.”

“That hurts deeply. Take it back.” He hid a smile because it had been true. When he enrolled in the Queen’s Navy he’d weighed a whopping one hundred and fifty pounds and had been almost six-two. He’d been teased until he gained muscle by working harder than anyone else and eating everything he could find. He slowly put on weight and had maintained his build throughout the years.

“No.” She shook her head. “It’s the truth.”

The caress of her fingers against his skin made his stomach smolder with heat. All his talk of focusing on the mission was somewhere back in his office. He’d deal with it tonight. He had good men behind him. Everything would go off without a hitch.

“Take it back,” he said. “Or I’ll dunk you.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. Sutton threw back his head and laughed. He never teased anyone. Agatha teased him, and he gave her small quips, but to outright flirt and laugh with Liz was fun, liberating, and exhilarating. It was perfect.

Sutton considered throwing her into the deep end, but he didn’t want her out of his arms. He would hold her until he turned pruney and still want to hold her longer. But he had to follow through with his threat.

Cradling her in his arms, he plunged under the water, dunking both of them. She clung to his shoulders, but kicked her legs in protest. As they resurfaced, her laughter lit up the day better than the bright Caribbean sunshine.

“You always were such a tease.”

Sutton grew serious as he stared at her. Water streamed down her face, and he wanted to kiss her so badly. “No, I’m really not.”

She pulled the side of her lip between her teeth. “Life can get blooming serious sometimes.”

“Yeah.”

The moment was lost, and he released his grip on her. She floated away from him, and he wished he would’ve kept her close. They’d both been through too much life and seriousness. He’d never thought of himself as idealistic but maybe he was with Liz. He had these visions of him standing over the Duke of Gunthry, broken in body and soul, and Liz running to him with adoration in her eyes.

Lifting himself out of the pool, he sat on the edge and splashed some water on his face. Liz had called him gormless. Maybe she was right. Two people who had been through what he and Liz had didn’t really have some happily ever after waiting for them. They weren’t River and Ally—young, innocent, and happy. Okay, neither River nor Ally were immune from pain and hard things, but they were still happy and had their entire lives before them.

“Race you.” Liz called out to him.

Sutton started out of his reverie, and Liz was already several lengths in front of him. He grinned as he executed a shallow dive and took up pursuit. His arms and legs sliced through the water with precision, but Liz stayed at least a body length in front of him as she swam to the deep end of the pool, did a flawless kick turn and started back to the other end.

Sutton upped his speed and was within half a body length when they reached the shallow end. She clapped her hand on the side of the pool, sprang up and yelled, “Winner!”

Sutton wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up out of the water. “Our champion,” he proclaimed.

Liz threw her head back, laughing. Sutton spun a circle in the water, staring up at her and chuckling. She rested her hands on his shoulders and looked down. “You’re supposed to claim it wasn’t fair because I got a head start.”

“Naw. All’s fair in love and war.”

Liz’s eyes widened. Sutton lowered her back down into the water, keeping her close and enjoying every second. “You’re really an impressive swimmer.”

“As are you.” Liz bowed her head to him and gave him the cutest giggle.

The cloud surrounding Sutton’s existence since he’d lost Doug seemed to part, and rays of sun shone through. Maybe he was acting like a gormless teenager, but maybe, there was hope for happiness for him and Liz.

He pulled her in flush to his body, and she slid her hands up around his neck. Sutton slowly dipped his head, anticipation and heat surging through him. Her wide blue eyes stared up at him with hope and desire. Blast the mission. All that mattered was Liz in his arms.

A throat cleared from the pool deck. “Sir.”

Sutton released Liz and whirled to face Blayze. “Yes?”

“Zane’s been trying to reach you, sir.”

“I’ll be right out.”

Blayze inclined his chin and pivoted, striding back toward the house. Sutton turned back to Liz. Dare he hope her face looked as disappointed as he felt?

She pushed the hair back from her face. “Summoned by the blasted mission.”

He smiled. “Duty calls.”

“Well, 008, go save the world.”

His smile grew. Blayze had killed their moment. How could Sutton recreate it again? “I’ll see you later?”

“It would be jammy for you if you did.”

“Yes, very lucky.” It took extreme effort to swim to the edge of the pool and lift himself out. “Cheers,” he said to Liz as he grabbed a towel from the poolside container and dried himself off.

“Cheers.”

He waved one final time and loved that when he looked over his shoulder, she was still watching him.

He rushed to his room, showered off quickly, and dressed in a button-down short-sleeve white shirt and tan pants before calling Zane on his secure line. “Yes?” he asked.

“Sir. I hate to bother you, but I’m afraid we’ve all been a bit too innocent about something with the bombing.”

“Such as?”

“The duchess, sir. She’s the only one who walked outside before the bomb went off. Except for the men who were stationed outside and weren’t at dinner, every single one of us would’ve been taken out when that bomb went off. You don’t set a bomb then wait to die.”

Sutton gripped the phone tightly, sinking onto a wingback chair. “No.” He shook his head. “No. Not Liz.”

“We have to question the possibility that Gunthry sent her willingly. Maybe Ally tipped her off that you all wanted to take Gunthry down, and he sent her to be his counter-attack.”

“No.” Sutton repeated it more forcefully. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t, believe any of this. “Ally was forcefully taken from River in Kauai, and she had no communication with him until the night of Kingsley’s ball when I took Liz from Gunthry. When would Liz have gotten a bomb? She didn’t bring anything with her.” Yet if any of this was true, she could’ve coordinated with someone in America. No, it wasn’t true! He pushed a hand through his hair. “If you could simply look into Liz’s eyes, son. She’s been through too much with that scum.”

“But sir, we all know how some abused women love their men desperately. Blayze mentioned Stockholm Syndrome. It’s when a victim of kidnapping or abuse falls in love—”

“I know what Stockholm Syndrome is,” Sutton snapped. Love? Sutton wanted to gag on the very thought of Liz having any kind of affection for Gunthry.

Zane wasn’t giving up. “She and Gunthry could’ve set it all up with one of the cleaning crew. True, she couldn’t have brought the bomb, but she was in the pantry right before the meal. So either she started the timer, or at the very least, she knew when to leave.”

Sutton started to protest, but Zane talked over him. “She made us all awkward with her compliments so she had an excuse to walk out, right? How did she act when you followed her outside a few minutes before the bomb went off?”

Sutton’s mind replayed every second, every look, every word, every touch. If Liz had worked with Gunthry to knowingly come to America with Sutton and set that bomb, she would’ve done it to kill him, not his men. He couldn’t believe that he was questioning her even for a second. As he replayed that night in his mind, everything that had passed between them screamed to him that she was as innocent as he knew she had to be.

“Sir?”

“She said something about how impressive all of us were and how she’d never accomplished anything with her life. She didn’t want us to risk so much for her.” He didn’t need to tell Zane anything, but especially not that he’d kissed Liz right before the explosion. “But it wasn’t just what she said. It was the way she looked, the humility, the pain she’s been through. If she would’ve helped set the bomb, she would’ve done it to kill me, not all of you. It just doesn’t fit. I know this woman, all right? She’s innocent and beautiful, and she doesn’t deserve to be accused of something like this.”

There was silence on the line. Finally, Zane said, “At the risk of sounding insubordinate, sir, I have to say that I’m concerned you’re too emotionally invested.”

Fire raced through his veins. “Of course, I’m emotionally invested!” he said thunderously.

“If the situation was reversed—”

Sutton interrupted again, unable to take any more. “The situation is not reversed! You do not know what I’ve suffered. Gunthry took everything from me, every chance I had of happiness, the love of my life.” He forced himself to lower his voice. “I will take him out, and we will find the traitor, but that traitor is not Liz.” He put the note of finality in his voice that should’ve told Zane if he dared voice another question, he would be finding a new career. At the moment, Sutton didn’t care how much he trusted, respected, and even loved this young man. “Do you have anything else to report?”

“No, sir.”

“Then get back to work. Pull apart every one of my staff, my security guys. Find that traitor.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Heart of a warrior,” Sutton said.

“Heart of a warrior,” Zane muttered back.

Sutton dropped the phone on a side table and paced his huge master suite. Not Liz. She would never betray him, but a small voice in the back of his head wondered if that was why she was trying so hard to get him to fall for her, to seize the moment. Could it all be a ploy to protect the duke? Liz and Gunthry were working together and had allowed Ally’s marriage to River for the financial gain and the opportunity to take Sutton out? His stomach churned, and his head hurt from even allowing his mind to go to this dark place.

No. He balled up both fists. No. Not his Liz.