A light knock sounded at the hotel room door. Jacqueline didn’t even remember Remy closing the door. She’d been so distracted by his plan to confront Prestonon his own.
“That will be Constantine.” Remy strolled toward the door, paused to peer through the peephole, then swung open the door. “Right on time.”
Constantine shrugged. “You know it’s my thing. Always punctual.”
“Keep an eye on Jacqueline for me, will you? I’m off for a chat with Preston.”
“Sure.” An easy reply. Like this wasnormal.“See you soon.”
And Remy walked out the door.
“No!”Jacqueline yelled. Yes, she yelled in the swankiest room she’d even stepped foot inside.
Remy glanced back. “Problem?”
A major one. “You can’t do this! If he hurts you, what will I do? We were supposed to come up with a real plan, together. You aren’t supposed to go off on some suicide mission.”
“No trust.” A shake of his head. “It’s easy to say the words, isn’t it? But when the time comes, few can actually give the trust that’s needed.”
Was he serious? She stalked toward him. “I happen to have grown exceedingly fond of you, very, very quickly. So excuse the hell out of me if I don’t want to see you getting that perfect face of yours wrecked. My bad, butyoumatter to me a whole lot more than my bookstore or my apartment. You matter more than—” Jacqueline broke off, right in the nick of time. Just before she’d said something she shouldn’t. Something along the lines of…
You matter more than anything else.
Because that should be impossible. They’d just met. But…
There it is.
“Fond of me, huh?” His nostrils flared as he fully faced her. “I suppose that’s a start.”
“What?”
“This isn’t the big attack scene, if that is what has you so worried. As I told you, Preston is in a very public place. No one will get murdered today.”
God, she hoped not.
“Super public,” Constantine chimed in. “The mayor is there. So are three city council members, according to my sources. It’s some charity brunch. Not like the guy will throw down there.”
“He won’t,” Remy agreed. “I will.”
He wasn’t listening to her. At all. Her hands fisted on her hips. “You can be quite infuriating.”
Constantine laughed. Hard. “You notice it too, right? It’s that thing where he thinks he knows best. Super annoying.”
Remy’s gaze whipped to Constantine. “Are you helping?”
“I think I am. Doesn’t it seem like I am?” He scratched his chin. “My bad.”
So Remy and Constantine both had a tendency to be a little insane. She actually thought their insanity might fuel each other. And maybe their unique brand of craziness was catching because she opened her mouth and flatly stated, “You are not going anywhere without me.”
Some of the faint amusement left Remy’s face. “Didn’t we talk about this beingmyarea of expertise? I’m the one used to handling the bad guys. You’re the one who only recently picked up a gun for the first time.”
Fair enough. “You’re the one who just said Preston wouldn’t pull anything in a public place. If that’s really the case, then I’ll be perfectly safe.”
“Oh.She has a point. You did say that.” Constantine sounded impressed. “Is this like one of those checkmate situations?”
“Nothelping,” Remy growled.
“Probably because I happen to think she’s right. Why go in alone? She can be at your side. I can be watching from a safe distance. This way, we’re all working together, and no one say…goes offaloneto potentially lose control and do something he shouldn’t.”