Page 63 of Covert Operation

My friend’s grin turns to a smirk. “Too bad you’re in Alaska or I could hook you up.”

I tap one finger against the counter, my mind running through plans I shouldn’t be making. Not after what just happened. “I might be leaving Alaska.” The words feel right as I say them. “Could be moving this way.”

Christian’s brows lift in surprise. “No shit?”

“The company I work for is looking to build another location. I’m thinking of telling the owner I want to be the one to run it.” Again, the words feel right. Like the pieces of my life are finally falling into place. “We were here looking for a location when shit got… interesting.”

“By interesting, you mean some asshole tried to blow you up,” Christian says dryly.

“Yeah.” I sigh. “I couldn’t get as much intel as I wanted because Savannah was with me, but whoever did it was organized, so I have to think it was a targeted attack.”

“Who in the hell would do something like that?” Christian voices one of my many questions.

“The list is real fucking long, but not many people knew we were here, so that should thin the herd some.” I shift in my seat, eyes darting to where I last saw Savannah. “I was here earlier this month. It could be connected to that, but I don’t know how.”

There’s a lot I don’t know right now. Too much.

“Sounds like a fucking mess.” Christian’s lips lift into a hint of a smile. “I’ve ended up in a few of those myself.”

“You won’t end up in this one.” I want to reassure him. Make sure he knows I would never put him or his wife or his brothers in danger. “We’re just here to lay low until my backup lands.”

“You know you’re welcome to stay as long as you want.” Christian’s expression turns serious. “And for the record, you don’t need to wait for someone to try to kill you to show up here. You could come by just for a visit.”

I’ve made a career of shutting people out of my life. It makes shit easier. Simpler. No worries about my life bleeding into theirs.

And no fears theirs would come into mine.

It was easy to pretend I liked my life the way it was. Easy to convince myself it was for the best.

But now…

“Holy cow, wait until you see their guest room.” Savannah’s eyes are shining as she enters the room and comes straight to my side. “It’s gorgeous.”

She’s never looked this way over the townhouse she lives in now. Not even close. “I can’t wait to see it.” I really mean it. Not because I give a shit what it looks like, but because she loves it.

And I want to know what she loves, because I’ve decided I’m going to give her every bit of it.

TWENTY-SEVEN

SAVANNAH

“THANK YOU SO much.” I take the pajamas Lydia’s lending me and tuck them against my chest. “I really am sorry for just showing up like this.”

The pretty blonde waves me off. “Don’t feel sorry. We actually have a decent number of guests who drop in on us.” There’s something odd in the way she says it, and it has me wondering what sort of guests they host.

“I’m not sure I’d love that.”

“I…” She clears her throat before continuing. “Christian helps women get out of bad situations. A lot of them stay with us for a few days while we help them get set up somewhere new.”

I’m a little stunned by the confession. Not only by what she and her husband are doing, but also by how similar it is to what my sister does. “That’s a really commendable thing to do.” I chew my lower lip before admitting, “My sister and her husband do kind of the same thing.”

Sadie’s changed many lives with what she does, including mine. I’m proud of her in spite of all the pain it’s caused me, andI would never want her to stop what she’s doing. Finding out Lydia and Christian are also helping women in desperate need makes me like them even more than I already do.

Which still isn’t as much as I like their house.

There isn’t a bit of it I don’t love. From the soaring ceilings of the masculine master suite, to the stone faced gas fireplace in the bedroom where Zeke and I will be staying, the place is stunning.

“How’s it going?” Christian appears in the doorway to their bedroom where I stand with his wife. He leans against the jam, eyes dragging over the woman beside me. The way he’s looking at her makes my stomach flip, so I can only imagine what it’s doing to Lydia. It’s for sure time for me to get the heck out and give them some privacy.