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Wolf and Simona suddenly talk over one another.
“Go ahead,” Wolf grins, motioning toward Simona with his chopsticks.
Simona is practically bouncing in her seat. “I know why! Diversity. He wanted us to have diverse experiences.”
Mako casually says, “Sounds like he’s building some kind of team.”
“Exactly!” Simona chirps.
With a hard expression, Wolf glances at me. I know what he’s thinking. I just say it out loud. “This can’t be for anything good. It’s all too dark and scheming.”
Wolf says, “I think it’s time for Mako here to claim the money and take me in for the exchange.”
Simona’s eyes narrow. “You’re going to go as the decoy?”
He leans back in his chair and raises a brow. “I think this would work. And you’re sure as hell not going.”
The line of her mouth presses flat before she takes a defensive tone. “I didn’t necessarily say I was.”
He chuckles softly, “But you thought it, didn’t you?”
Her frustration makes the color on her cheeks turn pinker. “Why would you say that?”
“Because I know what you think already.”
Simona smacks her forehead. “Heaven help me. Not someone else telling me what I’m thinking or what to do. I don’t know if I can take it.”
Wolf and I share a glance. He grins when I say, “Thank you, maybe the two of us can make her understand that putting herself in danger isn’t going to fly.”
Now, if only I could figure out how to keep her away while the rest of this damned situation is figured out and taken care of once and for all.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
The bathroom tile is cold beneath my bare feet as I brush my teeth. Scotch steps into the small room behind me. His eyes hold mine in the mirror. I rinse and dab my mouth with the hand towel. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ll be glad when all this shit is done.”
“Me too…”
He wraps his arms around me from behind. His palm spreads over my stomach. “Are you feeling any effects?”
“A little tired, maybe. My nipples were more tender today.”
“I’ve got to study up on all of this.”
I grimace. “Please don’t talk about what’s to come. I think I might freak out. Okay?”
He nods solemnly. “Promise me something.”
Uh oh.
“What’s that?”
“You won’t put yourself in harm as we take this S.O.B. down. I want to send you away and lock you up somewhere, but I know you will only hate me for it. And I already have three strikes against me. Actually, maybe four.”
I reach behind me and press my palm to his hard jaw. “Yeah, four strikes, huh?”
“Being a doctor. Being a man. Chasing you when you ran, twice.”