Chapter 6
The first thing I noticed was the ungodly, awful wave of fiery torridity that slapped my cheeks the second we left the airport. The heat made my hair frizz and puff up and it was impossible to maintain. I yanked the strands back and struggled to get a hair tie off my wrist as we stopped on the platform where lines of people awaited approaching cars. I could feel a thick, clinging layer of heat settle on my skin, clogging up my pores. I grimaced and Grayson shot me a look of amusement.
“Shut up,” I snapped, slapping his arm as I finished my task.
Putting his arms up defensively, he backed away still grinning. “I didn’t say anything,” he replied.
“You thought it,” I growled, “loudly.”
That made him laugh. “My goodness, you’re positively violent this morning,” he teased.
“I’m just tired,” I said. “It was a long flight.” It wasn’t a lie. The flight from Charleston, South Carolina to Sydney, Australia had been more than fifteen hours with a layover in Los Angeles. We hadn’t so much as switched plans as we had switched pilots and had to wait for the jet to be refueled before we could reboard and head on our way. And sleeping on a plane rocketing through the night sky was just a smidge difficult. Even with a little melatonin, I had barely gotten more than three hours of sleep.
“Holy balls,” Texas whined as he came through the sliding glass doors behind me. “This is worse than Charleston summers.”
“It’s called dry heat,” Marv commented lightly as Knix strode to the end of the platform and hailed a cab.
“I feel like a wrinkling prune,” Texas replied and I had to admit, I agreed. Not that I would admit it to Marv or especially Grayson.
“It’s actually the winter months for Australians,” Marv said lightly.
“Bullshit,” Texas snapped, his jaw gaping in shock.
Marv nodded, a smile fighting at his lips. “Seriously.”
Texas stared at him for a moment then turned to look at Grayson with a narrowed glare as if he was to blame for the weather before he finally gave in and turned away, muttering beneath his breath. “Fucking Australia,” I heard him mumble as he bypassed me, and I stifled a giggle.
Knix came back momentarily and lifted the bag that I’d dropped at my feet along with his own as he turned towards an approaching taxi van. “I got it,” I protested, reaching for the luggage—or at least my own. But in response, he turned and leaned down, silencing me with a kiss on my lips.
“Let me,” he insisted, kissing me once more. I sighed against his mouth, my thoughts escaping like bats out of hell from my brain. He could have asked me what my name was in that moment and I would’ve been hard pressed to know the answer.
“You’re horrible,” I complained without heat when he finally proceeded to pull away.
Knix shrugged, his big shoulders lifting in a negligent fashion as he flashed me a grin and went to the van idling on the curb to stow away our bags. The guys followed after him, doing the same with their own luggage and we settled in for the ride to the hotel.
Even as Texas continued to complain about the heat in the backseat, I settled comfortably against Bellamy and stared out the window. The city of Sydney was large and as the car sped through the streets, through tunnels and under overhangs, my eyes ate it up.
“Clarissa and Alex still haven’t heard from the girl, so when we get to the hotel,” Knix spoke up, causing me to look to the front of the van where he sat alongside the driver, “I want Texas to contact Bricker and Stein, the branch office here, and see if he can get into their email system. I want to see what correspondence Clarissa’s niece has had with the defendant.”
“I won’t need to contact them, I can get into it without their help,” Texas replied lightly.
Knix sent him a reproachful glance over my head. “I want everything aboveboard,” was all he said.
I peeked over my shoulder to see Texas’ response, and he turned his head and saw me. Winking, he responded, “Roger that, boss man. No illegal activities.” He paused before adding, “For now…”
Knix ignored that last comment, turning his head to focus on Marv and Grayson. “I suspect you two already have an idea of where you want to start looking?”
Marv nodded. “The firm owns a few apartments in the city for when they have high profile clients or when they have executives visiting. She was put up in one of those. We’ll take the taxi to the offices and get the key from her superiors before heading over and sussing it out.”
Knix tipped his chin. “I’ll come with you. I want to stay behind and go through her workspace to see if there is anything more we can figure out.”
“What do you want me to do?” I asked.
Knix’s blue eyes slid over me and a soft smile came to his lips. “Not sure yet, Little Bit. Just stay at the hotel with Bellamy and Tex and get settled. We’ll talk more after we get a bearing on what we’re dealing with.”
I frowned. “I can help, you know,” I said.
He shook his head. “I’m not doubting that,” he replied. “But at the moment, everything is taken care of.”
“I don’t have anything to do, Sweetheart,” Bellamy said, rubbing my thigh soothingly with one of his large palms. His rough, browned skin looked even darker against the pale flesh when I looked down at where his fingers trailed. “Keep me company,” he said. “Just for today.”
I sighed, giving in with an irritated harrumph. “You will let me know if there’s something I can do, though,” I replied. “Right?”
“We will, Sunshine,” Marv answered, leaning up from where we sat in the back with Texas and Grayson.
My lips pulled into a straight line and I knew I didn’t look convinced, but I also knew it was the best I would get from them. I forced myself to relax against Bellamy’s hold as the taxi made its way through the new and foreign city.