Page 52 of Healing Conviction
“Um, right. Shanna.” She cleared her throat and tried to do the same with her mind. “Shanna said her mother somehow received an invite, suddenly got all mother-daughter with her, then dropped her off and literally never looked back. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what happened since they popped up in a nice little mini-mansion afterward.Plus, when Shanna tried to go back home, her mom gave her money to disappear.”
Draco muttered a curse under his breath, only low enough for Nora to hear. Now that the conversation had continued, his entire body was tense again.
“What do you think about the ‘CT’ container?” Nora asked, hoping to move the conversation along so she could talk to Drake alone and get him to relax again.
“I’m really fucking pissed at myself for this one. I don’t know if you remember, Nora, but the information we were given when we went to save Ellie that night—”
And me.
“And Nora,” Drake growled her thought out loud. Her eyes snapped to his furrowed brow before his knuckles popping drew her attention away. His hands were so tight on the steering wheel, it looked like either they or the wheel were about to snap.
He was mad… wait, no. He wasfurious. For her. When was the last time someone had stuck up for her the way he consistently did?
No, don’t go down that road. Thinking like that will only lead to heartbreak.
The pause over the phone dragged on until Snake finally spoke again. “Uh, I’m sorry, Draco, I don’t know if I heard you correctly.”
“You said you went to go save Ellie. You went to go save Nora that night, too.”
“Oh… right, yeah.” Snake’s dismissive laugh on the other side made her grimace. “Sorry, of course. Sorry, Nora, I forget sometimes.”
“I forget sometimes.”
She was used to them talking aboutEllie’skidnapping, andElliebeing the one they searched for, andElliebeing the one they’d saved. But Draco was right, she’d been there too in the end. The fact that someone remembered—the fact thatheremembered—gave her apangin her chest, and her stomach fluttered again.
She fought the instinct to wrap Drake up in an embrace and cleared her throat instead. “It’s alright, Snake—”
“The fuck it is, Pix.” His stormy ocean eyes bore into her. “You were kidnappedrightin front of me.” He faced the dashboard again and shouted at Snake. “Every time I hear about that night, Nora’s never mentioned. What the fuck is up with that?”
Her heart swelled with emotion—
Nope. Shut it down. Think about anything else, stupid heart.
As if her brain wanted to rebel, too, a vision flashed across her mind of his strong protector’s hands gripping her hips hard enough to leave fingerprints.
“Shit… you’re right, I’m so sorry, Nora. That was insensitive of me. It’s just, you were the one who helped cause a distraction that night and rescuing Ellie was already our objective, so I forget about you—”
“Goddamnit, Snake—”
Nora reached across the center console and gently squeezed his forearm, trying to calm his anger. His tense muscles relaxed under her touch and she began to stroke up and down the coarse blond hair. He shivered and focused on her again. That desire was definitely back for both of them—not that it’d ever left for her—and her body wasn’t going to let her ignore her needs this time.
“I know, I know, guys. I’m sorry. That sounds shitty… but it’s really a compliment. I mean, you were so capable that it’s hard to remember that you even needed saving.”
Complimentary or not, Snake’s sentiment made her smile crack in half. But Drake’s undivided attention pieced her back together. Aside from driving, he was fixated solely on her.
The way his hungry eyes watched her every movement as she tried to calm him down gave her a wicked idea. She’d have to play it just right.
“Let’s move on,” she suggested, now massaging his bicep. “What were you saying about the container, Snake?”
“Oh, right. Okay, so the address we were given was actually for the location of a certain container. The first three letters in the code are C-T-I. We thought originally that it’d been a meeting spot, but Hawk says he thinks he remembers one of the guys talking about them.”
“What’s that mean?” Nora asked as she leaned over the center console. Drake’s eyes flared with interest as she rubbed her hand up his thigh.
“Those codes on the container are apparently serial numbers. The first three letters signify who owns the container. Give you a guess on who owns the one with C-T-I emblazoned on it. I don’t know why I didn’t fucking think of it before.”
“Me either,” Drake grumbled under his breath, as he gently pushed her shoulder back and pointed to the center console before pressing a small button. The entire console flattened, effectively transforming the front bucket seats into a bench seat, making it easier for her to kneel right beside him.
“We’ve had alotgoing on, to be fair,” Nora reasoned, giving Drake a mocking frown. “And none of us are experts in container codes.”