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So be present. Be here.
With two men who’ve saved my life and given me support in my toughest hours.
We share laughs and finish our meal. And it soothes my heart. After long hugs in the cold air outside the restaurant, I say goodbye to Josef. “I’ll call soon.”
“Do. I will keep researching for your next trip.”
“I can’t thank you enough. For everything.”
He ruffles my hair. “It’s my pleasure. As it always has been.”
I turn for the car and Josef calls Scotch back. Josef purposefully turns his back toward me. The sneaky devil. Of course he would make it so I can’t see their faces. He knows I can read lips.
After a couple of minutes, they shake hands. Scotch ambles in his long-legged stride to the car, his expression surprisingly neutral.
The instant he’s in the car, I’m drilling him. “What did he say?”
That wicked grin of his finally shows up. “Man talk.”
I slip my hand under his coat and pinch the skin over his ribs as he backs out of the parking spot.
“Ouch.”
“Seriously, I’d love to know what he said.”
Scotch reaches for my hand. “He told me to keep a careful eye on you, that you’re an expert at getting away from people. And… that he’s counting on me to keep you close.”
I grit my teeth. “He didn’t.”
He chuckles and looks at me for a second before he turns back to the road. “He did. And I told him he’s right. And that I won’t be making that mistake again.”
I sag into the seat. “Great. Just what I need. Two of you ganging up on me.”
“Three. Don’t forget Andre.”
I smack my forehead. “Crap.”
“And Marshall. Cole. Mako. Sierra. Roark.”
“I’m doomed. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I signed on with Agile.”
He laughs. Lifts my hand to his lips and brushes a kiss across my knuckles. “Neither did I. But as far as I’m concerned, I won the prize.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
The night is almost as black as my short-bobbed wig. It’s a perfect evening for a visit to Doctor Wilhelm Ostep’s home.
The lights in his study glow warm, casting rectangles on the lawn outside of his house. Carefully, I maneuver around rose bushes that have been cut low for winter and peer in the window. He’s sound asleep. Book on his lap, cat curled by his side on the loveseat.
It takes less than four seconds to pick the pathetic lock on his front door. Carefully, I close and lock it behind myself.
Ten minutes later, when Ostep wakes up, he blinks and sucks in a sharp breath.
“I’m not here to hurt you,” I tell him in Czech.
He smooths his sweater and lifts the cat onto his lap. “Rather unusual way to call upon someone.”
I adjust the fake glasses on my nose. “I’m a rather unusual guest.”