Page 52 of Impossible Thrills

“Do you have sheets for the couch?” he asked, pulling back. “I bet there’s a sleeping bag out in the Range Rover.”

“I’ve got sheets.” She let him go and found some sheets and a pillow and made him a bed on the most comfortable couch in the front parlor.

Nick walked her up to her room, savoring one last kiss goodnight.

She hugged him tight. “Thank you for being here. It means the world to me. Seeing you with Samuel and the other children…” She put a hand to her heart, and her blue eyes lit up. “Thank you.”

“I’m happy to be here.” That much, at least, was true.

Grinning, she slid into her room.

Nick looked at the closed door for a long moment, wishing he could tell her everything. He trusted her—it wasn’t about that—but the information was classified and could endanger her. What if she was in more danger not knowing? She’d been in danger the past eight years, being around Trattori and the guy still keeping his ‘guards’ around her.

Nick was here now, and he’d keep her safe.

He walked soundlessly down the hallway, the stairs, and through the hallway and the kitchen. Typing in the security code, he slid out the back door, then entered the code again. Sadly, the biggest risk to Darcy and her children was the supposed guards who probably had the code.

Nonchalantly walking to the Range Rover, he noticed a guard leaning against the front gate, smoking. He raised a hand as if he were simply the uninformed American boyfriend showing up with Darcy and coming out to grab his overnight bag. He wondered if they’d reported him to Trattori already. Most likely. He’d love it if the guy would personally show up. A stray bullet and all their troubles would be over. Nick had always instinctively loathed drug dealers because of his past, but he had a special loathing for Trattori and the way he’d hurt Darcy.

Walking around to the back of the Range Rover, he clicked open the rear door, and it rose slowly. The interior lights came on, but the darkened windows would make it impossible for the guard to see anything. He was blocked from the view of the guard by the vehicle.

“Guard fifty feet from the driver’s side door, at my three o’clock,” he told Paul quietly, lifting the cover off and smiling at his friend.

“About time,” Paul groaned, rolling up to a seated position.

“You’ve been dead asleep this whole time, old man,” Nick teased in a whisper. Paul was all of thirty-five.

“I wish. I’m too old for this.”

Nick smiled and lifted out a duffel bag he knew would be loaded with an M27, two 1911s, extra loaded magazines for each of the guns, knives, surveillance equipment, and even some grenades. There would be a change of clothes and toiletries in there as well. He’d have to go purchase more clothing if he stayed very long.

Paul slid out of the vehicle, handing over a pair of infrared/night vision goggles and an earpiece. He put his own goggles on his forehead, the earpiece in his ear, and slung his duffel over his shoulder. “What do you need, friend?”

“I suspect Trattori is using the basement for a transfer point. As close as we are to the border, there might even be a tunnel down there. Identify any other threats, but don’t incapacitate yet. I’ll head for the basement. Follow me when you can without raising suspicion.”

“Got it.” Paul eased around the opposite side of the car, out of sight of the guard.

Nick held onto the goggles, slung the bag over his shoulder, and shut the rear hatch, easing around to the side of the vehicle. The man up front hadn’t moved. He raised a hand again.

Was it Sean or were there two of them now? He hadn’t seen anyone but Sean wandering around outside the windows, but somebody could have spelled Sean off while Nick was distracted putting little ones to bed or kissing Darcy.

Maybe he shouldn’t risk going into the basement tonight, but Paul was here to back him up. He needed answers before he called in the troops to start monitoring and decided if he needed to relocate an entire children’s home. His gut tightened at that thought. He’d keep Darcy and her children safe.

He turned on his earpiece. “You good?” he asked Paul.

“Yes, sir.”

He sauntered toward the back door, but as soon as he was hidden from the man’s view by the house, he put the goggles on and turned them on. Doing a slow scan, he couldn’t see anything moving or any heat signatures besides Paul and the guard. That was good.

He slid around to the back of the house where he’d seen the basement entrance. He’d checked, but there was no basement access from the inside. They must’ve sealed it off during the remodel. That was good news for the children, if what he suspected was in this basement was actually here. He paused and scanned the backyard. Nothing. He turned and scanned for cameras … there.

Casually walking past the door and the camera, he slid a clip onto the camera so it would keep recording but wouldn’t rotate and wouldn’t pick him up. The exterior basement door was likely armed, and there was no way to know what he would be walking into, so he slid along the house until he reached a basement window. He crouched beside the window and eased over just enough to search inside. No heat signatures. All quiet. Could be good or bad. The angle didn’t let him get a clear picture of the layout of the room or its contents.

“I’m going through the back window. Avoid the camera by coming around the other side of the house,” he said quietly.

“Put the guard to sleep?” Paul whispered.

“Sure.”