Page 43 of Taken With Trouble

“Dropped behind a tiny cutout perfectly fit for this?” I ask, slipping the key into my pocket.

“Maybe. I told you if there was treasure there, someone already found it and covered their tracks.”

“No.” I continue around the house. “I think I found the correct compartment and a piece of the puzzle, which means I won our earlier bet, and you cannot try to kill me for four hours.”

“Define try?”

I turn on her swiftly, dragging her up against the side of the house with me. “It means no more pushing me around like this,” I murmur, trapping her wrists against the cold stones. “No punching me, kicking me, or cursing me.” I slide my hand up her arm, over her shoulder, and tangle my fingers in her hair. I brush my lips over hers, across her cheek, and stop at her ear. I don’t miss the sharp intake of her breath as I go. I bring my other hand to her neck, my thumb pressing into her pulse point, and I smile in satisfaction. She claims to be so unaffected by me, but her heartbeat tells another story entirely. “You can pin me down if you’d like, though. Seems you enjoy it.”

“Really?” She turns so her cheek hits mine. And this time my heart’s racing. “Like this? Or…”

I blame my delayed response system on the feel of her velvety cheek against mine. One second, I’ve got her. The next, she’s got me.

In a headlock.

And she’s squeezing for dear life.

“You’re breaking…the…rules,” I grunt as her arm squeezes around my neck like a boa constrictor. I get an arm around her waist, then pick her up and toss her over my shoulder. I gulp in air as she squirms, hitting my back to get off.

“Put me down!”

“This is your fault. You couldn’t go two minutes without trying to kill me.”

“Someone is going to see up my dress!” she yells, getting a good pinch on my backside.

I pinch her completely covered backside in return, and she yelps.

“Don’t make me tie you up like a true captive.” I pat her bottom again.

An older man crosses the path in front of us and shoots us a worried look. I placate him with a smile. “She’s really into these games.”

“I hate you,” she mutters at my back.

So I’ve heard.

Chapter 17

Liam

The sun is fadingas we head toward town. Cruz has been exceptionally silent. She’s like a petulant child, arms crossed and pouting.

“Come on, I said I was sorry,” I say, playing with the radio dial. It’s not working. Another thing that’s off today and adding to my level of unease. It hasn’t gotten better since touring the Moore Estate. Only worse.

Serena turns her angry eyes on me. “You dropped me headfirst on the gravel.”

“Technically, I dropped us both. You’re heavier than you look.” She punches me, and I let her get away with it since I deserve it. It was terribly inconvenient and embarrassing to drop a woman like that.

“My back spasmed.”

“Your back spasmed?” She looks at me dubiously. “How old are you, grandpa?”

“You tell me. You’re the one with the dossier in your back pocket.”

“It’s a hit list.” She beams, turning so I get a good look at her face for the first time. There are tiny pieces of gravel embedded in her eyebrow, and now I feel worse.

“I’m sorry. I’ll help you get cleaned up when we get back.”

“I don’t need your help.”