“But probably North America or Canada,” Broadstone said. “The tech, anyway, has all been sold to companies in that region.”
“So we, what?” Hunter asked. “We wait?”
“You have a better idea?” Josh queried. And it was a query. That was one of the things Hunter liked about Josh’s crew. Better ideas were always welcome.
“Let me catch Tazo tomorrow morning. I can knock on his door, tell him my lead for a job didn’t pan out, ask him to rec me—”
“Absolutely not,” Danny and Felix said, both at the same time.
Aw. That was sweet. “Guys, I’m not going over to the other side.”
“No, you’re offering to play double agent,” Felix told him. “I know you think you’re badass—”
“He is!” Grace said excitedly. “He’s very badass—”
“I can vouch for this,” Lucius said ruefully. “He’s quite forceful.”
“Maybe he doesn’t have to be,” Danny said thoughtfully. “Maybe he just has to follow Tazo tomorrow. Is he staying in town or taking a flight, do you know?”
Hunter had been able to get at least that much out of Tazo. “He and his buddy are flying out Sunday. This is sort of a gravy gig for them. They have another job already lined up with someone else.”
“Then he’s definitely making the drop,” Josh murmured. “And probably tomorrow by the sound of it. Stirling, can you put an alarm on your computer so you know when the box, at least, is on the move?”
Stirling gave Josh a droll look, and they all took that to mean yes.
“Of course you can,” Josh said. “Okay, Dads?”
“Son?” Felix said while Danny cracked up in the background.
“That’s what we’re going to do. Everyone needs some shut-eye. We all chill, get some rest, and if Stirling doesn’t get the alarm before that, Hunter and I will stalk the gem and see where it goes. Everyone else, business as usual. Broadstone, I suggest you track down your Jenkins, the guy who shot at our friend, and see if you can guess where he’s going. Let us know, and we’ll make a plan later. I’ve got your number. If we have a planning meeting, I’ll text you, even if it’s back in Chicago.”
“Or I could text you,” Broadstone muttered, and Josh rolled his eyes.
“Don’t get your panties in a knot, big boy. I don’t tell you how to run your empire, you leave the cloak-and-dagger shit to us. You’re welcome to call us tomorrow and see what’s doing, but let us know about Jenkins, okay?”
Broadstone grunted. “Are we best friends now? Can we make playdates?”
Hunter gave him a thin smile. “Sure. Would you like to know what I do on a playdate?”
“Yes,” Grace said unexpectedly from the bed.
“No,” Broadstone told him, with a little more force than was, perhaps, strictly necessary. “But I will keep in touch.”
Hunter looked up and winked at Grace, who preened. God. God, he was so damned fun.
“So we have a plan,” Felix said, and everybody agreed.
“Stirling and I can spell Hunter and Josh on the tracking if it goes on too long,” Molly said, and she sounded reluctant as hell.
“And miss your shopping?” Josh teased. “No way.” He sobered. “Besides, you and Julia, in hair and makeup, need to go out and do your thing. Engage Artur and Grace. Look as normal as possible. Stirling, you can do your thing from wherever you want. Just tell us where command central is at the moment, deal?”
“Coffee shops,” Stirling said happily. “And here.”
Well, fair enough.
“Okay, Dads,” Josh said. “We’re bailing now.” His voice dropped a bit. “Love you both.”
“Love you too, son,” Felix said, and Danny added his own murmur, and then the conversation was finished.
They sat and planned a little more after that, waiting for Julia’s entrance to tell them that she’d arrived and put Artur safely in his room and to bed. By then it was after one in the morning.
More than late enough for them all to go to bed.
Hunter stood, watching Grace get to his feet and wobble a little, painfully aware that he, Josh, and Stirling were sharing the same room, and Grace was going off to his own. Grace obviously thought the same thing, because his eyes met Hunter’s over the bustle of the room, and something tender flashed in them. Something vulnerable.
“Grace, I’ll help you,” Hunter said, surprised the words were coming out of his mouth but not shocked that he’d wanted to say them.
He waited until they were both out of the room before he swept Grace up into his arms and cradled him like the damsel in distress Grace was definitely not.
“This is help?” Grace asked, sounding bemused.
“Hush,” Hunter murmured and continued to carry him to the elevators and down.
Easy Feeling
HUNTER RUTLEDGE was in Grace’s room.
Grace wasn’t sure what had kept him from struggling or bitching or whining as Hunter had swept him up and carried him down two floors and across the hotel. Part of it was just that Hunter didn’t really brook a lot of argument. He sort of was proof that arguments didn’t exist. And part of it was that Grace’s feet hurt, and he was tired.
But Grace worked through pain, and he and Josh had pulled more all-nighters than he could count.
It had to be something else, something more important.
Maybe it was the way Hunter smelled.
Or maybe it was the way his gray eyes grew warm and soft, almost ocean gray, when they locked gazes.
Or maybe it was the kindness Hunter had used when touching Grace’s feet.
Maybe it’s that you’ve been trying to get his attention for weeks, you stupid moo. Romance is for assholes.
Grace grinned at Hunter after Hunter deposited him on the bed. And then he started to take off his pants, underwear at all.
“What are you doing? No!” Hunter snapped, and Grace glared at him.
“But you brought me to my room!” he said.
Hunter sighed and reached up to his ear and took out his com, then held his hand out for Grace’s.
Without a thought, Grace took out the bud in his ear and dropped it in Hunter’s palm.
Removing the buds deactivated them. Hunter walked into the bathroom and came back with two nice tissues. He wrapped each bud in a tissue and put one on top of the clock. “Yours,” he directed—and one next to it. “Mine. Now I’m taking off my duster and my boots, and that’s all. You can take off your shoes and your hoodie—”
“No.” Grace clutched Hunter’s hoodie to his chest with tight fingers. “You gave it to me.”
Hunter raised his eyebrows but nodded. “Fair enough. Now I’m going to sit on this bed, and you’re going to lay your head on my chest, and we’re going to talk about stupid stuff for about half an hour before I leave and let you sleep. Do you understand?”
Grace let out a breath. Well, the instructions couldn’t be clearer.
“Why no sex?” he asked suspiciously.
“Because sex is easy for you,” Hunter told him sharply. “And I don’t want to be forgotten.”