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He threw me a look and shifted gears. “Enough.”

“Let me guess, ten million dollars.” I laughed because I honestly was curious.

“I’m not a money grubber, Juliette. Just enough to make it worth my time.”

“Whatever it is, it’s not enough.”

He half laughed since I was repeating his words. “Yeah, it is. More than enough.”

I glanced over at him, hating the fact he was so damn attractive. No man should be allowed to have the kind of features and body he did. It wasn’t fair to any woman.

Certainly not to me.

Maybe I should grab onto the annoyance I’d felt earlier. Maybe it would bud into hate and that would make things easier. Yet even now as we faced God knows how many armed men trying to kill us, butterflies were swarming my stomach. We could be facing a gun battle or death as he’d just reminded me and I’d been contemplating wearing a dress.

Maybe it would have been appropriate for my funeral.

He certainly wouldn’t have been impressed or even noticed.

I was also frustrated over wearing no makeup. No eyeliner. No blush. No lip gloss. I closed my eyes, hissing at myself. I was so fucking stupid. But the truth was that his sudden shutdown, the cold fish routine hurt. It hurt like hell.

But I had to shake the feeling. Kage Rollins wasn’t the kind of man who cared.

He was my protector and I was his… hostage extraction. Oh, what a sexy word.

“Here we go,” he whispered, slowing down as soon as he made a turn.

The airport was surrounded by gates and as soon as he pulled in, I sensed additional tension.

“Are they here?” I asked.

“They’re here. I don’t see them yet, but I feel them.”

I glanced into the side mirror, noticing nothing out of the ordinary, but he was the expert. Not me.

“So what do we do?”

“We act like we’re supposed to be here.”

He really did make it sound so easy. I’d wanted to ask Kage about other missions he’d been on, but I had a feeling he wouldn’t tell me a damn thing.

“Easy for you to say.”

“Just act natural. Sit up in your seat,” he directed.

“Don’t be so controlling.” Nervousness had taken over, my throat suddenly clenched. I did as he asked, trying to plant asmile on my face. That was something I was good at. Or at least I used to be.

He found a parking space among the other hundreds of vehicles and I slowly opened the door. Tank immediately jumped out, the sappy expression on his face suddenly turning playful. As soon as he jumped on me, I stiffened, trying to take deep and even breaths.

While Kage grabbed our things, I scanned the area. Seeing no one who looked suspicious, some tension eased. When he took me by the arm, Tank immediately whined.

“Come on, buddy. We need to go,” Kage said and guided me toward the main doors.

“Who is this friend of yours?” I asked. The smile was still there although my heart was racing.

“A buddy from the Navy.”

“A killer just like you?”