“Yeah, butIsure as fuck want to.” The man glared. “So don’t test me. In fact…”
He slapped a restraint on Cash’s wrist before he even saw it coming, then yanked it behind his back and cinched the other side. “Hey!”
“Was that really necessary?” the woman asked with a long-suffering look at the man.
“Yeah. Your pet is still dangerous.” The man practically vibrated as he said it. He waspissedno matter how well he contained it. That sort of quiet rage was far more terrifying than overblown anger. It motivated Cash to do as he said.
Not like he had a choice.
He entered the plane, ducking through the rounded cutout in its body before glancing around. There was nowhere for him to sit without soaking the cream leather with his soggy suit. Hell, his socks squelched with every step on the plush white carpet.
A strawberry-blond woman with a fair complexion and freckles darted from the cockpit and chucked a box of garbage bags at the man who’d climbed up behind Cash. He caught it with one hand, then laid plastic on the seats for Cash and his partner.
As soon as the woman who’d abducted him entered, the blonde slammed the door closed and returned to the cockpit, locking herself in. The engine started a few moments later. They weren’t wasting any time.
“Who are you?” Cash tried again. “What the hell do you want with me?”
“I admit, he’s convincing.” The man turned to the woman then back to Cash. He reached over and buckled Cash in to the sofa. He smelled good. Like dirt and salt spray. Up close Cash could see the cords of his neck and the definition in his chest. Damn, when was the last time he’d had a man like that in his bed? Probably never.
His father had never accepted that he was bisexual. The time he’d caught Cash making out with the landscaper’s son when they were teenagers had been the first real rift in their relationship. And though the women Cash had also openly dated afterward had appeased him some, he wasn’t a fool. He had to know Cash had continued to fuck men in the shadows.
At least until he’d left his father’s house for his yacht, and never come back.
He cleared his throat and shook his head as if to rid his brain of the memories.
The pilot’s voice came over the sound system. “The boss needs to speak with you. We’re leaving. Now.”
“Jordan’s going to fucking fire your ass. And I don’t blame him.” The man rounded on the woman, who was slumped, arms crossed over her chest, probably to hide rock-hard nipples now that the plane’s air-conditioning was hitting their saturated skin. He shivered too.
“Don’t you trust me?” She grimaced as the TV screen on the front bulkhead flashed to life revealing a man in a suit that Cash instantly knew was the person in charge along with a few supporting staff in the background—a woman with unnaturally red hair and a toned yet thin man wearing a rainbow-striped T-shirt and tight jeans with neon yellow sneakers.
“He does. He’s scared. That was dangerous shit. Even for us,” the colorful guy intervened.
“Let’s keep this brief until we know more.” The boss was curt but calm. Again, much more terrifying than Cash’s father when having a temper tantrum. “Cash, my name is Jordan. I own a security services firm called Shields. You’ve met Sola and Aarav already.”
Sola? Aarav? They suited and were as unusual and alluring names as the people who owned them. “Security services? Is that code for hitmen?”
“He’s as smart as he is pretty.” The woman with the bright hair flashed a wry grin. “I’m Ruby and Rainbow Brite over there is our office manager, James.”
The guy flashed him a finger wave.
What the fuck had he gotten himself into? “Who wants me dead? Unless it’s my father, I can’t think of anyone who’d give enough of a fuck to hire you.”
“Okay. I’m starting to see what you mean, Sola.” Jordan squinted as if he was cataloging every detail about Cash. It made him want to squirm. “I’m going to use your flight time to figure out what the fuck is going on. Bring him home and we’ll sort through this fucking mess.”
“When you say that…you don’t mean to the basement, do you?” Sola asked, her teeth scraping over the chapped and bleeding portion of her lower lip. When had she done that?
Whatever it was they kept in the lower level of their headquarters, Cash was certain he did not want to find out firsthand. It might also be the reason they weren’t hiding their identities from him. If he turned out to be the enemy they’d obviously considered him, he wouldn’t be leaving their facility alive.
“Damn it, Sola.” Aarav flung his hands out. “Why are you so protective of him?”
“I have to have faith in my intuition instead of letting you and everyone else around here fuck with me. Something isn’t adding up. And I won’t let any of you, my family, do something you will regret.” She sat up straighter then, even if the crinkle of wet plastic took away a smidgeon of her clout.
“Damn straight. What have I been telling you for months?” James was grinning while everyone else was dour. “This has been a breakthrough trip, hasn’t it?”
He peered between Sola and Aarav, measuring them. Cash knew what he was thinking because he was wondering the same thing. Aarav’s possessiveness was dialed up to eleven. There was no way they were simply co-workers, or even friends.
They must be lovers.