“Double,” Kayden repeats.
“I don’t want your money,” he says. “I know you operate on paydays, but I’m about what’s right.”
“What’s right,” I say, “is protecting them. Don’t let Sara get hurt because of me.”
He studies me for several beats. “All right. I’ll go take care of her. But I do not look forward to the moment I tell Chris Merit what’s going on. He’s intense about protecting Sara.”
“Good,” I say. “If he wasn’t, I’d be concerned.”
“She’s in good hands with Chris,” he says, narrowing his stare on me. “She was never going to give up on you. She loves you.”
“She probably won’t after she finds out that everything about me is a lie.”
“Your friendship is not a lie. I see that clearly. She will, too.” He looks at Kayden. “What about The Jackals? How worried do I need to be about them?”
“If they show up, I wouldn’t hold my gunfire,” he says.
Blake gives him a long, hard stare. “Holy fuck. I hired them.” He scrubs his jaw. “How do I get that ride to Paris?”
Kayden pulls his phone from his pocket and makes a couple of calls. Five minutes later we walk Blake to the garage, where Adriel waits by his Mercedes. Blake walks to the passenger door, but before he gets inside, he turns to me. “My father always told me, kill or be killed. Don’t get killed, Ella.” He disappears into the car, and Kayden and I watch them depart.
“What distraction is planned for Sunday?” I ask, facing Kayden.
“Saturday night, we’ll make sure Alessandro gets a lead on the necklace being in Paris,” he says. “He’ll get on a plane and go there. Sunday morning, we’ll make sure Neuville not only finds out Alessandro stole from him, but that he’s in Paris and he has the necklace. I’ll also be in Paris.”
“So Sunday is the day this all ends?”
“Yes. The minute I know Sara and Chris are gone, I’m ending this. Sunday is the day.”
“I want to go with you.”
“No. End of subject.”
“Kayden, damn it—”
His hands come down on my shoulders and he pulls me to him. “I’m ending this, Ella. And then we’re getting married.” And any objection I might voice is lost as he kisses me soundly.
fifteen
Hours after Blake’s departure, Kayden and I are both in sweatpants and tees, sitting on the bed with several MacBooks in front of us as we take on the tedious process of looking for a security breach. Regardless of the work underway, Kayden and I are together, in our room, in our private space, and it’s cozy, warm, and right. There are brushes of our hands and legs, kisses and laughter as we watch Marabella fret over the messes we’ve made. And neither of us says it, but there is a heaviness in the air, a fear that this weekend will not end well.
Finally, after several hours, all but done with our review with nothing to show for it, our laughter turns into his hand on my face and a shared, lingering kiss that does me in. I capture his hand. “Let me go with you. No one will have your back like I will. I’m trained. I’m lethal. Test me—”
“Ella,” he breathes out, a gravelly quality to his voice.
“Kayden, please.”
He turns us so that we’re facing each other and holds my hand. “I know how skilled you are. Blake Walker is a skilled ATF agent and far from a rookie, yet you made him look like one.”
“Then take me with you.”
“If you go with me, all I’ll be thinking about is your safety.”
“But you just said you know I have skills,” I argue.
“This is a man who raped you, Ella. As it is, I’m personally involved. I want to make him suffer. I want to bring someone to his house and watch him get raped. But I won’t. This isn’t about me shutting you out of any operation that ever requires a fight. This is about this fight. I need to know you’re safe. And while I told you I’m going to need some time to get over being protective, this particular case doesn’t even count in the mix of things. It’s a whole different beast. So I’m asking you to please listen to me on this, and not see it as me suffocating you, or having no faith in you, or—”
I press my lips to his, lingering there a moment as so many emotions expand between us. “I understand,” I whisper, easing back to look at him. “It’s going to be torture to wait for you, but I’ll do it.” My lashes lower and my throat thickens before I look at him again. “I’ll do it.”