He hadn’t realized how anxious he’d been until she nodded and relief flooded through him.
He waited a long moment.
“Yes, Sir,” she finally said, her voice shaking slightly. “I’ll accept it gladly.”
“Lean forward.”
He did up the clasp, letting it fall around her neck to nestle in the dip made by the swell of her collar bones. Then he tipped her chin up, laying a soft kiss on her lips.
“Inside the locket is a tracking device,” Eli explained. “As long as you’re wearing it we can keep track of your location.”
She nodded and leaned her head against his thigh. Eli grabbed his computer and pulled it out of its bag, setting it up on the coffee table.
“I’ve arranged it so you can meet the others involved in this operation,” Eli explained. “We didn’t think it was a good idea to meet in person. There’s a reason Kellan and I might come here to visit our brother, but if he’s watching you he’d grow suspicious of a group of strangers coming in and out.”
Duncan nodded. “Turn around, baby.” He didn’t want her to move far, he enjoyed having her close.
He helped her swivel around. She leaned against his leg once more and he was hard-pressed to hide his satisfaction. He couldn’t believe how relaxed she was with him.
Eli brought up Skype and his call was answered quickly, a gorgeous dark-haired woman appearing in the screen.
“About time, Eli,” she told him with a slight frown.
“You can’t rush a good meal, Tarin,” Eli replied with a grin. “Roast beef, mashed potatoes then apple crumble for dessert.”
The woman glared at him through the computer screen. “Asshole, bet you didn’t once think of us. Marc brought dinner tonight. Pizza, again. That makes five nights this week.”
“Hey, I never got the same flavor twice,” a large man protested as he sat beside the woman.
The woman elbowed the man in the side. “Move over, you great lump.”
“Are you two arguing again? You’re driving me to drink,” another voice complained from somewhere else in the room.
“Let me do introductions,” Eli said. “Meet Tarin and Marc, they’ll be inside the club. Marc is going to introduce himself around as an old friend of Jake’s. They were at Saxon’s last weekend, scoping things out.”
Duncan nodded at the two, not moving his hand from where he was massaging Laken’s neck.
“Turn the computer screen around,” Eli ordered. The screen was turned in a blur, settling down on another man sitting in a chair in the corner.
“Hello, Travis,” Duncan said, having met his brothers’ boss a few times before. The huge man nodded, his golden surfer looks at odds with the deep frown on his face.
“Duncan,” he replied with a nod. His gaze dropped to Laken. “Hello, Laken. I’m Travis Downs, I own Raptor Inc., and I’m the boss of this lot, God help me.”
“Hey, we’re a fantastic crew,” Eli protested. “Secretly he loves us.” He winked over at Laken.
“There are two others who are on our team. Ian, who has been watching you during the day and Sawyer who has been taking the night shift,” Travis explained. “Ian’s sleeping at the moment.”
“Tomorrow night, Kellan and I will be watching from outside the club,” Eli explained. “Ian and Sawyer will be watching as well. Travis will be running things from the hotel. Inside the club will be Tarin and Marc. They’ve both been in the scene for ages. If you need to go to the bathroom or for some reason Duncan has to leave you, they will stick close by. But remember you’re not supposed to have met them before.”
Laken nodded as Duncan dropped his hand to her shoulder, lending her his strength.
“Thank you for doing this, Laken,” Travis said seriously when Eli finished going over all the preparations. “I understand how incredibly difficult this must be. I want to promise that your safety is of utmost importance to us. We want to catch this asshole, but we won’t do it at your expense.”
Duncan felt her relax at Travis’s sincere words.
Laken stayed where she was until his brothers left later, her forehead resting on his knee as he continued to touch her.
He placed his hand on her head, feeling her presence soothe the worry and anger roiling inside him. He really didn’t know how he was going to do this and remain calm.