Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 71034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“Me break his heart? No, I…He’s not….”
“Open your eyes, Laurie. Be sure you really do know what he’s feeling before you decide to walk away.”
27
WORTH
Inoticed Miles had taken Laurie into the kitchen. What the hell was Miles saying to him? If he scared Laurie away, I’d kill him. I forced myself to take a deep breath. Miles had been all for the relationship when we’d talked on the phone, and surely he’d been with Ben long enough to have learned how to be gentle with someone. Right?
“Worth?” Carter asked. “Are you listening?”
“Yes. I have to do exactly what you say. I can’t ever be in the lead. I will stay back unless it’s absolutely necessary, blah blah blah. I’ll follow your rules, but I’m going to be part of this.”
Carter raised his brows. “Have you suddenly developed weaponry skills I don’t know about?”
“A little. I’ve been going to the shooting range.”
Carter’s eyes widened. “On your own? I would’ve taken you.”
I shrugged. Why I’d been shy to ask my very close friend, who was a former Navy SEAL, for shooting lessons I couldn’t explain. But it was something I had wanted to do alone.
“Do you want to tell me what’s going on here?” Carter tilted his head toward the kitchen.
Matteo grinned. “Yeah. I’m really interested in that, too.”
Before I had a chance to say anything—or refuse to say anything—Miles and Laurie returned from the kitchen.
“Are we all set?” Miles asked.
Matteo nodded. “We should head out now and give Worth some time to get ready.”
Miles nodded. “I was thinking that myself. We’ll be by to pick you up later, and if I can, I’ll bring Ben to keep Laurie company while we retrieve Beck.”
“You make it sound so simple,” Laurie said. “Are you not even nervous?”
“I’m nervous,” Ford admitted.
Matteo nodded. “We all are.” I never expected him to say that. He’d come a long way since we all thought he was enemy number one. “You have to focus on the plan and the outcome you want. The nerves are there, but they’re not what you listen to when you’re out in the field. That’s how things really go to shit.”
I looked at Laurie. “They know what they’re talking about. And they know how to make the right plans.”
He gave me a small smile. “Okay.”
Was there any way this was going to all work out? Could we find Beck, get him out, bring him back safe and sound, and Laurie choose to stay? I could feel Laurie distancing himself already. He’d been doing it since we arrived in New York, but it had gotten worse since my friends arrived. He was preparing himself to leave; I needed a chance to convince him to stay. I needed time, and that was something we had little of.
After I’d said goodbye to all of my friends, I looked for Laurie. He was standing by the window, gazing out at the city. I came up behind him, wrapped my arms around his waist, and pulled him against me. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything right now. This all feels so surreal, even more so than the fantasy of our time in Aruba.”
“I would never have intentionally brought you here in the middle of something like this, but—”
“How often does this kind of thing happen?”
“It didn’t use to happen at all, but we’ve had a hell of a year. Some old enemies tried to drag Miles’s company down. He ended up meeting Ben because of it though, and Ben is the best thing that could have happened to him. Everything we were involved in with the cartel put Ford and his boyfriend Jay in danger, then Matteo showed back up in Carter’s life. So, things have been wild, but a lot of good has come out of it, including me meeting you.”
“How long do you have before you need to go?”
“They’ll be here to get me in two hours.”
He looked over his shoulder at me before gazing out the window again.
I wanted to suggest we go to the bedroom. Part of my mind was screaming that this was my last chance, my last time to have him before everything imploded. The bubble we’d created around ourselves in Aruba was going to pop soon. I couldn’t lose this opportunity in case it was…No, I wasn’t going to let it be the end.
Laurie turned in my arms and cupped my face with one of his hands. “One more time? It will keep you distracted.”
“This isn’t the last—” He placed a finger over my lips.
“No talk about the future until Beck is safe, remember?”
“Turn around and put your hands on the glass.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
If we were going to do this, I wanted it to be filthy. I wanted to push us both to the limit. I had to be sure it was so good he couldn’t let it be the last time. I intended to bring out the man I’d caught glimpses of the first night in Aruba. I wanted Laurie wild and free.