She nuzzled his neck. “When can we do this again?”
He chuckled and slid his hand down her side, cupping her bottom. As soon as possible he wanted to say, but he needed to think about what he was getting into with her. Then there was the conversation he needed to have with her brother, hopefully without any fists involved. He wouldn’t sneak behind Kincaid’s back to see the man’s sister.
Jake gave her one last long kiss. “Up, Chiquita. We need to get you home.”
Her eyes searched his. “Damn you, you’re already sorry.”
She pushed hard on his chest and swung her legs over the edge of the mattress. He grabbed her hand. “You’re wrong. I’m far from sorry, but I have to put all my focus on the operation. You’re a distraction I can’t afford right now.”
“Whatever.” She pulled away and headed for the bathroom.
“I hate that word,” he muttered.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Maria grabbed an orange soda from the fridge.
“Where the hell have you been all night?”
She squeaked and spun, banging her hand on the refrigerator door. “Ouch! Crap, Logan, you scared me.” Reaching over to the light switch, she flipped it on. Her brother sat at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in front of him. “I thought you were spending the night at the hospital.”
“I did. Came home to shower and change. Answer my question.”
“None of your business.” She plopped down at the table. “I’m twenty-four years old. I don’t need your permission to spend the night away from home.”
His lips thinned. “He’s no good for you.”
“You’re probably right, but then again, he might surprise us both.” She traced a finger through the condensation the soda bottle had made on the table. “I want him, have for a long time. The only way you’re gonna stop me from going after him is to lock me in my room. Even if you dared to, I’d find a way out and head straight for Jake.”
“Then understand this. The day he hurts you, and that day will come, I’ll fire him. After I kill him, that is.”
She reached over and grasped his hand. “No, you won’t. If he screws up on the job, then fire him, by all means. But I’m going into this with my eyes open, and you can’t get rid of him if it doesn’t work out for us, no matter the reason. That just isn’t fair to Jake.”
One of the best scowlers in the world scowled. “You really piss me off sometimes, you know that? First you won’t listen or take my advice, then you tie my hands so I can’t beat the shit out of him when the time comes.” His eyes softened. “I just don’t want to see you hurt, brat. Is that so wrong?”
God, she loved her brother, her protector. She stood and walked behind him, wrapped her arms around his chest and kissed his cheek. “No, and I love you for it. I need to change and get over to K2. Jake will be there all weekend planning his mission, and I intend to help. I want everything to go as safely as possible for him and his team.” She also wanted to make sure he didn’t end up back at one of his hangouts later. No more cheap perfume on Jake if she had anything to say about it. Logan’s grunt said he’d give her the necessary rope to hang herself.
He pushed away from the table. “I’m headed back to the hospital, but I’ll stop by later.”
After changing into jeans and a sleeveless top, her hair pulled up in a ponytail, Maria backed Sally out of the garage and drove to K2. She wished Logan hadn’t assigned this mission to Jake—she didn’t have a good feeling about it—but it was what Jake did for a living, and she wasn’t about to complain.
As it was Saturday, the front door of K2 was locked. Maria pushed the code on the inner door, and walked into the main room. Jake stood over a table with maps spread out in front of him as his two team members, Rick Bayne and Brad Stewart, looked on.
“Hi,” she said.
Rick and Brad gave her big smiles, but Jake’s expression remained blank. He wasn’t happy to see her. Too bad. “I’m here to help. Give me something to do.”
“There’s really nothing I can think of,” Jake said.
She met his gaze, let him see the determination in her eyes. “Then think harder.”
“What about letting her confirm our in-country contact’s able to fulfill our list of requirements?” Rick suggested.
“After that, she could do the background on our target,” Brad added. “Both those chores together would save one of us three or four hours computer time.”