Page 113 of Kept in the Dark

“It’s not—” Wesley cuts himself off with a frustrated noise. “It’s not called a falcon. It’sourfalcon. As inThe Maltese Falcon?”

I do not have to be looking at James to know that we are wearing twin expressions of blank confusion. Wesley has also lost me with this reference.

“The extremely famous film noir?The Maltese Falcon?” He throws his hands up. “Fine, we havethe thing everyone wants.”

“Why didn’t you just say that?” James asks.

“Didn’t think I needed to explain. Uncultured swine,” he grumbles, cracking the top of one of his disgusting, fruity cans of energy drink. By now, I can control my facial expressions, but they smell so bad to me.

“Hey, let us know how Nicole’s doing after you talk to her, okay, D?” James asks, switching topics and assuming a more somber tone.

My brow quirks. “Why?”

He cuts me a look. “I dunno. Maybe because I’m a decent person, and she seemed upset. Made me feel like a deer in headlights, like seeing one of my sisters crying.” He shivers.

“I second that. Feels like she’s part of our dysfunctional little family.”

It pleases me to hear them say that. So much so that I confess, “I plan to ask her to move in.”

Wesley grins as James leaps up and claps me on the shoulder. “Hey, congrats, man!”

“What happened to ‘women are a distraction’?” Wesley jokes.

“They are,” I sigh, though even as I say it, I know the word falls short of describing Nicole. Calling her a distraction is putting it lightly, and the implication that it is an unwelcome one is incorrect. “But perhaps some distractions are worth the problems they create.”

“The most romantic guy in the world, over here. Women: a worthwhile problem,” James chuckles, throwing an arm over my shoulders and waving his free hand through the air like he is reading from a sign.

I do not turn to him because I know it would put our faces closer together than I would prefer them to be, but he gets the message of my displeasure as I cross my arms. “Get your head back in the job—this is not over yet, but I would like to finish it as soon as possible. We rarely have the luxury of control over the environment and plenty of time to prepare.”

“Agreed,” Wesley chimes in. “Best take full advantage. If we can get everything in order tomorrow, we should be able to finish this tomorrow evening.”

James releases my shoulders, turning the move into one that stretches his back, which makes a cracking noise as he does it. “Sounds like we’ve got an early start, then. I’m turning in. See you both at 0500?”

Though James is the one to end the meeting, I am first out the door. Planning sessions take hours, and we had much to discuss, so it is fairly late. Still, I need to speak more with Nicole, so I am pleased to see the lights still on in the pool house.

She is standing by the edge of our bed, wrapped in a large robe that splits around her propped-up leg. As she rubs something into the soft skin of her muscular legs, it leaves a sheen that smells warm and floral. My cock stirs at the sight, hungry still from this morning. She seems lost in the motion, not looking over as the door closes.

I step behind her and curl my arm around her waist, blindly searching for the tie. The warmth that radiates from her body is slightly damp, creating a friction against my touch. As I undo the tie and the robe falls apart, she shudders against me.

“What are you thinking about?” I murmur as I press a kiss against her neck.

She grabs my wrist as my hand reaches up towards one of her full breasts, and I smile against her skin. But there is a sharp tug and, in an instant, I realize that she is not holding on; she is stopping me. So, I still.

When she pulls away, there is not much room between where we stand and the edge of the bed, so she steps to the side. I watch, perplexed, as she reties her robe.

She is… refusing me? Not in the mood? Still upset?

“I was thinking about the end,” she says softly, eyes downcast.

“The end?” I repeat, heart thudding. “Of… the threat to your life?”

She nods, and some of the weight is lifted from my chest. “On how it ends, I suppose. I knew I’d have to eventually, and I think I put it off because…” I watch her throat work on a swallow. “This was so nice, despite how it began. I wanted to live in these moments with you.”

A spark of hope ignites, tempered by confusion. Her words do not match her tone or her careful physical distance. “We can live in these moments,” I promise.

Her smile is soft and odd, like this information brings more than just happiness. “Did you guys decide what you were going to do with the money?”

I nod. After her reaction to the contents of the drive, we agreed I should not give her all the details. Still, it is her life, and she deserves to know about what will happen next. I sit on the bed, resting my elbows on my thighs. “We will transfer it to a secure new location so it can no longer be accessed with the information on the USB. Same money with a different lock and a different key that only we will know. Then we are going to use the tracking feature built into the drive to draw anyone who wants it out to a place of our choosing.”