Sweet Seduction Shield(74)

"Apparently so," I murmured, moving towards the door to the rest of the house. "And apparently we're going on a camping trip to the back of beyond."

"Oh," Gen remarked, not sounding the least bit surprised. "I went on a camping trip once," she added, but I didn't hear the rest of her story as I'd walked too far away. There was more, I was sure of it. Once Gen got started talking she rarely stopped.

Daisy was curled in a little adorable ball under the covers of her bed breathing deeply. I stood there for too long looking down at her peaceful face and wondering just what the hell I was getting my daughter into.

Well, Marie. You started this, it was all of your doing. My shoulders slumped and I turned to pack her clothes ready for our 'trip' to the other side of Auckland. No one disturbed me, and by the time I had my clothes packed as well, I'd still not been bothered. Whatever was happening in the rest of the house was keeping everyone occupied. I walked back into Daisy's room and sat down in the chair beside her bed, and waited.

Half an hour later Ryan walked in.

He glanced down at the packed bags and then flicked concerned eyes over Daisy's sleeping form.

"We've got to go," he whispered. "Do you want to wake her and I'll carry her out to the car."

"Is your car back here?" I asked, aware he'd met us at the Birdcage and then travelled back here in Nick's SUV.

"Got a loaner from Nick, GPS enabled should we need him to find us, but for now its cut off from ASI control."

I sat stunned, playing those words over inside my head.

"What do you think is going to happen?" I had to ask, a heavy pressure inside my chest and throat.

Ryan took the two steps necessary to bring him beside my chair and then crouched down, reaching out to hold both my hands in his larger ones. His thumbs started rubbing soothing semi-circles across the back of them.

"I read the ledger," he whispered and my hands jerked in his. He held them tighter making escape impossible.

"That's what you've been doing all this time," I murmured, looking across the room and anywhere but at him. I didn't want to see what expression of abhorrence graced his face. I wasn't ready for him to be so disgusted he turned away.

"Marie," he said, voice louder than before. "Look at me."

My eyes reluctantly came back to his, my breath stalled somewhere inside my chest. My throat was dry and remarkably I felt the stirrings of ice encase me. He came up on to his knees and before I could react brushed his lips across mine, melting everything.

"You are not him," he whispered, hot breath against my mouth. "We're going to make this all better. I'm going to protect you and Daisy, but you need to be prepared." His beard tickled against my upper lip, he was still so close when he spoke. "There will be fallout when those outlined in the book along with him become aware of the ticking time bomb McLaren held. When they realise the Police now hold it. This is big," he said, pulling back to look in my eyes. "You understand, babe? This is going to change the face of organised crime in New Zealand, tear it asunder. And all because of you."

"Do you see why I couldn't hand it over before?" I asked, my world, once again, imploding all around me.

"Yeah, but you didn't have me in your corner then. Now you do."

I searched his face for a reason to believe, for a glimpse of the promise I'd seen in him the first day I met him in my office at work. It wasn't hard to see. It was written all over his handsome façade. He'd lay down his life for me and Daisy, he'd throw away his world as he knew it to keep us safe. He meant every word. He would do everything in his power to keep us alive and well. I just had to believe that it would be enough.

"OK," I whispered back, receiving the barest hint of a smile at the edges of those kissable lips. My eyes darted down, taking in the curve of his fuller lower lip, the dense goatee that framed them. The sensation of it tickling my skin when he kissed me made me wonder what those whiskers felt like on other parts of my body.

A smile curved my lips at the thought.

"There she is," Ryan murmured. "My strong, brave tiger."

My gaze lifted to his eyes, seeing the spark of desire glinting in amongst the golden brown hue.

"Come on, wake up our girl, we've really got to go," he instructed, making my heart swell with the pronoun choice he'd used to describe Daisy.

She barely woke when I roused her, only enough to know 'deetetiv Pierce' was carrying her out of the room. In the kitchen we met Abi and Ben, leaning against the bench, Ben's arm draped over the petite woman's shoulder, waiting no doubt for us to arrive.

"You're all set," Ben announced, voice gruff but pitched low so as not to disturb Daisy. "Food, clothes and untraceable cellphone in the car. Nick said you only need to call and we'll be there."