Willow
Sleep eluded me for hours. I should have crashed the second my head hit the pillow, but I couldn’t turn off my hyperactive mind. Instead, I lay in the luxurious bed and wondered how I’d come full circle to being infatuated with Ronan again. Somehow, he’d become my safety blanket. I curled up, cuddling my knees close. I’d felt so protected when he’d held me earlier. Now that I was alone again, all of my worries came crawling back.
Where was Tom and why hadn’t he reached out?
What did the men who’d attacked me this morning want with me?
Was I intended to be a hostage or a message?
A muffled thud made me flinch, and my pulse soared before I realized it was Ronan next door. He must have been awake, too. Either that or he was a restless sleeper. I ached to comfort him. My heart hurt from what he’d told me earlier, and I hated that Tom and I had brought this trouble to him.
I slipped out of bed and tentatively headed to the hall, where I knocked softly on his bedroom door. He murmured in response, and I edged the door open and padded inside.
“Ronan?”
A shadowy figure sat up. “Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing like that.” I bit my lip, wondering if it had been a mistake to leave my bed. But no, I needed company, and so did he. “I’ve been lying awake, staring at the ceiling. I can’t shut my brain off. I know this is presumptuous, but can I join you?” It was just as well he couldn’t see my flaming cheeks in the dark. “I feel safer when you’re near.” Realizing he might mistake my meaning, I hurried to add, “This isn’t me making a move on you.”
“Too bad.” The soft words curled in the space between us like smoke. They tempted me. Made me wonder if he felt the same intense level of attraction between us that I did.
He shuffled over and drew the covers back. “Come here.”
I climbed in beside him.
He immediately pulled my body against the curve of his and rested his arm over my waist. “Is this okay?”
I went limp with relief. It felt good to have him close. “Yes. Thank you.”
His breath ticked my ear. “I’m glad you came. I like having you here.” He kissed the back of my neck. A zing of pleasure raced through me. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
That was the last thing I heard before I fell asleep.
Ronan
I woke with my arms full of woman and wished the moment could last forever. Unfortunately, I hadn’t woken by coincidence.
Someone was in the house.
I edged from the bed, yanked a T-shirt over my head to accompany my boxers, and crept out of the room. I tiptoed down the hall, but once I reached the kitchen, I rolled my eyes and stepped out of hiding.
“How’d you get in?”
Zeke looked up from the stove, where he was scrambling eggs. “Good morning to you too.”
“I never gave you a key.”
I trusted Zeke on a professional front, but when it came to personal matters, the guy was a shameless snoop.
He winked, and a dimple popped up in his cheek. “I have my ways. Just so you know, the guards have changed shift.”
“Good.” I hoped Sean was getting a decent sleep after standing watch all night.
“So.” Zeke returned his attention to the eggs, turning them over and then removing them from the pan. “How did the night go?”
His tone told me he was asking about more than how I’d slept.
“Uneventful.” There was no reason for him to know we’d shared a bed. No reason for anyone to know. It was between us.
He laughed. “Whatever you say.”
“Ronan?” The soft voice carried down the hall, and Zeke smirked.
“In here,” I called.
A moment later, Willow appeared in the doorway, wearing a tiny pair of pajama shorts and a thin cotton tank top with no bra underneath.
My mouth went dry. Damn, she was the hottest thing I’d ever seen.
I might have been pressed up against her all night, but seeing her state of attire was different from feeling it. Especially since I’d tried to keep my hands on strictly PG regions of her body.
Her eyes widened, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “Zeke. I didn’t realize you were here.”
He laughed, and luckily for him, didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to check her out. If he had, I might have needed to cut his eyes from his face. “Nor did Ronan.”
“Why don’t you go get changed,” I suggested, my voice tight. “I will too. Zeke can finish cooking breakfast.” I met his gaze. “I assume you’re making enough for all of us?”
“Of course.”
I placed my palm on the small of her back and guided her out of my business partner’s sight. “Sorry about that. He tends to show up uninvited.” That was, in fact, how he’d begun working with me in the first place. I stopped at her door. “I’ll make sure Kade is on his way here. Then we can debrief while we eat.”
She nodded, still blushing furiously. “Thanks. See you soon.”
With that, she vanished into her room.
Willow
Just my luck that I’d wander out in lightweight pajamas when Zeke was around. He probably thought I’d slept with Ronan in a less-than-innocent way. He might have even believed I was taking advantage of his friend’s generosity. I didn’t think Zeke trusted me. I sighed as I went into the bathroom. I’d just have to take him as he came and show by my actions that I wasn’t a bad person.
I showered, dressed in a skirt that fell to my ankles, and applied a coat of lip gloss. I took a deep breath and returned to the kitchen, where I found Ronan, Zeke, and Kade seated around a table with plates of scrambled eggs. A spare plate sat at the empty side of the table. Assuming it was for me, I slid onto the chair and inhaled the scent of coffee.
“That smells amazing.”
“Of course it does,” Zeke said. “I made it.”
I pressed my lips together to mask a smile. I hadn’t quite figured out the dynamic between these men yet, but it had taken all of twenty seconds to realize Zeke had an ego the size of Jupiter.
“How did the trip go?” I asked Kade. “Is Sage with her grandparents?”
He stopped wolfing down his eggs and nodded. “Safe and sound. She actually followed through on her threat and made me listen to nature sounds too.” His expression said exactly how distasteful he found her choice of music. “For hours.”
This time, I couldn’t hide my smile. “Did you feel calm by the time you arrived?”
He rolled his massive shoulders. “No, I felt like ripping the stereo out. There’s only so many waterfall tracks a man can be expected to listen to. But does she see that? Oh, no. She advised me in no uncertain terms that the soundtrack would be good for my blood pressure.”
I privately agreed. But for all of his complaints, there was a certain fondness in his tone. Perhaps Sage had grown on him.
Zeke laughed. “She’s a cheeky one.”
“She’s an eccentric,” Kade said.
“There’s nothing wrong with that.” I silently dared him to disagree.
He dipped his chin. “The most interesting people are eccentric. I didn’t mean it as an insult. She’s an unusual little thing, that’s all.”
“Well, okay then.” I dropped the topic. Sage wouldn’t disagree with his assessment, and unless he was badmouthing her, I had no problem either. I picked up my cutlery and tasted the egg. “Mm, this is good.”
Zeke shrugged with false modesty, as if to say I should have expected that.
“Do we have any updates?” Ronan asked. He’d finished his breakfast and pushed his plate aside. He leaned onto his forearms.
“Tom is in the wind,” Zeke said. “We’ll find him, but he’s making it difficult. We’ve managed to track down Mark Orlov, the guy who left his fingerprints on those photos.”
“Good,” Ronan grunted.
“One of my men is shadowing him,” Kade added. “We won’t lose him.”
Ronan nodded. “Zeke, what say you and I have a conversation with Orlov?”
“Me?” Zeke’s eyes widened. “Wouldn’t you rather have The Incredible Hulk by your side in case the conversation isn’t friendly?”
Ronan’s gaze settled on me and warmed a fraction. Something tickled at my insides. “I’d rather Kade stay with Willow. If someone was to find her, I’d prefer they have to go through him than you.”
Zeke’s eyes flashed with humor. “Right. Got it.”
“I’ll keep her safe, King.” Kade’s lips curved in what might have been a smile. “We can practice some self-defense moves.” He turned to me. “I’d rather you didn’t need them, but it’s better to know them and not need them than to need them and not know them.”
“I’d like that.” I was sick of being on the back foot. That stopped now.
His teeth flashed. “We’ll start as soon as they go.”
To my surprise, Ronan got to his feet immediately. “No point in delaying.”
Zeke frowned and gestured at the remainder of his meal.
“The sooner the better,” Ronan added.
Kade nodded. “Agreed.”
With a last longing look at his eggs, Zeke got to his feet. Ronan rounded the table and stopped in front of me. I stood, unsure what he wanted, but then he kissed my forehead. Heat licked up my cheeks. I darted a look at Kade and Zeke, but Ronan didn’t seem to care if they’d witnessed our private moment.
“I’ll be back soon,” Ronan murmured. “You’re safe here.”
“But will you be safe out there?” I countered. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Zeke snorted. “King can take care of himself.”
“And Zeke used to work for a government organization that he’s not legally allowed to tell you about,” Ronan added, caressing my cheek with the pad of his thumb. “We’ll ask some questions and be back to you in no time, okay?”
I narrowed my eyes. “You’d better.”
“I promise I’ll get your lover home in one piece,” Zeke said.
My eyes shot to him. Lover?
Neither of us had said anything about that.
Ronan rolled his eyes. “Don’t mind him. He’s digging for dirt. It’s what he’s best at.” He bent and brushed his lips over mine, then he straightened, all business. “Zeke, we’ll go to the office first to gear up, then you can tell me where to next.”
His friend saluted irreverently. Despite myself, I laughed. He might have been a bit of an ass, but he was a funny one.
“Bye,” I whispered as they gathered their things and headed for the exit. “Be safe.”
When the door closed behind them, Kade slid the lock into place. “Finish your breakfast and change into activewear if you have some. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
I gulped, wondering what I’d gotten myself into. “Okay.”