“No.”
Her eyes blinked. “No, what?”
“I’m not calling him first.” Her surprised expression said he’d guessed right. “I’ll listen to what you tell him so I don’t say anything I shouldn’t, but I won’t lie to him so give him the truth.”
“I don’t know where my phone is.”
Little liar. “No problem.” He slid his cell across the table.
She stared at it for a few seconds, then chuckled. “It was worth a try. You know this is going to result in me being locked up for the rest of my life and you being killed for aiding and abetting me.”
“I know.” And even knowing it, he would do it all over again if she asked.
Her hair fell over her face as she lowered her head and punched in her brother’s number. As he listened to her talk, Jake studied the woman who’d fascinated him for so long and tried to understand what it was about her that called to him so deeply.
Maybe it was just lust for a woman who was off-limits. It was the forbidden-fruit theory. That had to be it. If he could make love to her, he would get over it. Yeah, that was the problem, and one easily solved if she was agreeable, and he thought she was.
The big question, however, was whether he was willing to face the consequences. Kincaid really would kill him, at the very least fire him. It just might be worth it. Yet, this was Maria. He would be the lowest of men if he took her to bed. She deserved better than to be one of Romeo’s numerous conquests.
Jake stared at the phone Maria held out to him.
“Logan wants to talk to you,” she said, concern in her voice.
He thought he might rather handle a rattlesnake. Thankfully, she’d told Kincaid the truth about why she was at Fortunada’s. Jake took the phone and steeled himself, inhaling a big breath.
“Yo, boss.”
“Give me one good reason, Buchanan, why you didn’t tell me the something you had to take care of was my sister.”
So much for pleasantries. Not that Jake expected any, but the calmness in Kincaid’s voice was deceiving. That was the thing about the boss, why they’d nicknamed him “Iceman” when he was their SEAL commander. The calmer the man got, the deadlier he got, and right now Jake was lined up in the Iceman’s sights. Not a place anyone in their right mind wanted to be.
Jake glanced at Maria. She stared back with sympathy. Kincaid wasn’t going to like his answer, but it was the truth. “Because she wouldn’t tell me where she was unless I promised not to tell you, and she wouldn’t tell me what was going on until I got here. Would you have preferred I refused to help her, left her to handle this on her own?”
There was a long pause. “My preference, Romeo, would be for you to be nowhere near Maria, but what’s done is done. Put her in the car and bring her home. Now. Tonight.”
Christ, he was really starting to hate his SEAL nickname. He held out his cell. “He wants you to come home.”
She took the phone. “I’m not coming home, Logan. I have to deal with the classes I missed today, find someone who has notes I can borrow, and I have exams tomorrow I can’t miss. Then there’s—”
When she held the phone away from her ear, Jake could hear the heat in Kincaid’s voice. Apparently, where his sister was concerned, the Iceman wasn’t so calm.
“Are you finished with your tirade?” she asked, putting the cell back to her ear. “Guess not.” She listened some more. “I’m not leaving school and that’s final. Look, I know you’re worried, but I’m at your safe house. Which you neglected to tell me about, but I’ll grill you about that another time. If you want Jake to go back, fine, but he’s doing a great job of protecting me, so I’m asking you to let him stay. Please, Logan. Wouldn’t you feel better knowing I had a bodyguard?”
She winked at Jake. She’d always been able to wrap her brother around her little finger. Too bad he didn’t have that ability with Kincaid. Jake’s gaze skimmed over Maria, over the black hair curling around her face and falling halfway down her back, the exotic eyes as dark as rich coffee, and the full lips he’d kissed for the first time.
Had that been only a few hours ago? He wanted to kiss her again. Longer, slower, taking his time to taste her sweet spiciness. He would wrap her hair around his fist and hold her close. He would . . .
Hell. He was becoming aroused again just thinking about kissing her. And other things. Living in her pocket and keeping his hands off her was going to be the very devil. He shifted on the hard kitchen chair and subtly reached down to adjust his jeans.