My eyes shot to the unfamiliar man in the room, out of place in his suit. “Ms. McAllister.” He nodded in my direction.
Sid moved in behind me, wrapping his arm around my chest. “Uh, hi.” I raised my hand in an awkward wave.
“The suit is Agent Richards,” Sid explained, his tone far from warm.
Ah, that explained it. Sort of.
“Thanks for the prize, Masters.” Richards nodded toward Sid. “Wasn’t Ivanov, but it was one of his right hands.”
“That fuck was threatening my girl. He’s not a prize. He’s a piece of shit,” Sid snarled.
Richards paled slightly at the tone of Sid’s voice and the death glare that, although I couldn’t see, I was sure was pointed in his direction.
“What do you want, Richards?” Travis sighed impatiently. I could tell my brother tolerated the man but only barely.
“We need to draw him out,” Richards explained. “We’ve got enough from our undercover operation to put him away for life. But as of two days ago, he’s in the wind. We can’t find the bastard.”
My mind immediately jumped to the idea I’d posed to the guys. As though Sid could read my mind, his lips touched my ear. “Don’t you dare.”
I made a grumbling noise but remained quiet.
“Obviously, we’ll do what we can. We don’t know where the motherfucker is either,” Travis responded.
Richards’s eyes narrowed. “Just like you don’t know where the diamond is.”
Travis stood straighter, his feet braced apart as he stared the other man down. “Yep. Just like that.”
Richards’s gaze cut to Sid and me. “We want to know where you two are staying so that we can aid with surveillance and provide any added cover you might need.”
Sid stiffened behind me as his grasp on me got that much tighter. “We’re good. But thanks.”
The agent’s expression grew tight as his eyes narrowed on Sid.
You could cut the tension with a knife as Sarah came breezing in. “Travis, you have a call. Theo, that shipment you ordered is here.”
She snuck a look over at me and winked.
I grinned back with appreciation. She’d just created a diversion, a very effective one, as the tense conversation broke apart.
She was even better than I’d given her credit for.
“I’ll be in touch,” Richards grumbled in parting.
“Fucker,” Declan muttered once the agent was out of earshot.
“Asshole,” Theo agreed as his eyes moved to Sarah, seeming to assess her. “You don’t have to do that, you know.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Do what?” she asked innocently.
He sighed. “Break up tension. We’re big boys. We can handle it.”
She laughed, the sound nearly musical. “Oh, I know you can, but I’d hate to see blood drawn. Mopping floors isn’t in my job description.” With that, she turned on a heel and headed back up to her desk.
I watched her go with a grin. I really liked that girl.
CHAPTER 13
We spent the rest of the day in bed. I’d taken a bath and despite the early hour had wanted to be buried under the covers.
We hadn’t moved much, except for me to answer what turned out to be a very awkward Skype conversation with Brad. I’d texted with him every day, letting him know how Trixie was doing; apparently that hadn’t been enough. Wanting to Skype with your dog took things to a whole new level. Sid had needed to leave the room because he was laughing so hard.
Now it was getting late, and we were curled up in the dark, though I was far from sleep. I had a lot on my mind.
“Why didn’t you want to tell Richards where we’re staying?” I asked quietly, my cheek pressed to Sid’s bare chest.
“The less people that know we’re here, the better.”
“You don’t trust him,” I deduced.
“No,” he answered, his voice a deep rumble inside his chest.
I lifted my head, my chin resting on his chest. I could just make out his bright blue eyes through the dim light. “Why?”
“Instinct.” He shrugged.
That was enough for me.
His fingers raked through my hair. “What’s on your mind? Whatever it is, that wasn’t it.”
Damn, he’d always been able to read me too well.
“Well?” he pressed, after I waited too long to answer him.
I pressed my cheek back against his chest, unable to look him in the eye. “I’m just wondering what happens next,” I admitted. “Talking to Brad earlier reminded me that he’ll be home soon.”
His fingers paused only a fraction of a second before continuing their journey through my wavy hair.