Page 63 of Tempt

I arched an eyebrow. “So if I get lost I don’t have GPS?”

“I didn’t say that. You have GPS, but you aren’t traceable. Not by GPS and not by cell towers. There’s a special scrambler in there that masks your location.”

“Unless you know the right code?”

He smiled. Oh yes, Theo was gorgeous when he used his brain. “Of course.”

It was like he could sense my uneasiness. He kept close to me while they worked, holding hands or touching the small of my back, sending me reassuring smiles when the silence seemed to have stretched for too long. Our toes and elbows were touching as we stood across from Martin and I think he noticed the difference because he kept glancing between us.

“Your bags have been delivered to the safe house along with enough food for three days. I checked your flat, Miss Riley. Your mail has been taken care of and nothing was amiss.”

“Thank you, Martin.” I reached for Theo’s hand and held on for a few seconds. I just needed to feel grounded in the middle of all thischange. Theo gave me a sweet sideways smile and a wink. Just enough to make me melt a little, but not enough to drench my panties.

Higgins safe house was exactly what I hoped it would be. A nondescript ground floor flat so normal and uninteresting that you would miss it when you walked past it unless you knew exactly where you were going. A brown door set into a brownish stone building with a market on the corner, it was as unremarkable as possible while still being accessible and secure.

“Welcome home, you crazy kids.” Higgins was shifting from one foot to the other nervously as he stood in the doorway.

Theo shook his hand, but there was so much tension hanging between them that neither man made eye contact.

Higgins eyes slid over to me. “How much does she know?”

“Enough,” Theo replied, threading his fingers back through mine and giving them a squeeze.

“Well then, welcome to the family, such that it is,” Higgins sighed. “Initiation by stalking is one of many perks that comes with knowing us. Come on in.”

He gave me a shy smile that surprised me. Despite his larger than life act, there appeared to be a regular guy hidden inside there. A guy who looked a little overwhelmed, actually.

“Is Nicki here?” Theo asked as he shut the door.

Higgins nodded and leaned back against the wall, pulling out a cigarette and sticking it in his mouth, unlit. “She’s in her room.”

“How’d she react?”

Higgins chuckled unhappily and shook his head. “How the fuck do you think she reacted? I’m lucky I still have my balls attached.”

It was interesting standing there, listening to them talk. I had nothing to say, this wasn’t my world and I really had no idea what to do, but I also loved every little insight I got just from listening to them.

My first impression of Higgins hadn’t been an ideal one, to say the least. Getting caught having sex in a supply closet put a slant on everything I knew about the man. But even that quick, jumbled meeting had taught me a few things. Higgins was deeply loyal to Theo, he preferred action over waiting, and he had a wicked sense of humor. But now I also knew he had some sort of romantic connection to Nicki.

So I was pretty curious to see where the next couple of days led.

“Well, then,” Theo sighed. “I better get my beating over with so we can move on to the real problem.”

Higgins snickered. “Good luck. She’s pissed.” Then he crossed the hallway in front of us and pointed at the doors. “I’m in here, you guys have the middle room. Nik’s at the end.”

There wasn’t much to the flat other than what I was already looking at. We were standing in the communal living space. Brown couches, an armchair, and a coffee table were squeezed into the little room. On the other side of the wall was a tiny kitchen. The kind with cabinets that hung from the ceiling above a counter, so you could sit on stools in what was essentially the hallway, and see into the kitchen. Along the kitchen hallway were the three bedrooms.

Theo paused at the second door and looked in. Our bags were on the bed. Then we moved to the third door and he knocked loudly. “Nik. It’s me.”

“Fuck off!” she yelled and, oddly, that made me like her.

Theo shook his head and opened the door. Lying in the middle of the full-sized bed was a much more feminine version of Theo. Delicate with long dark hair and eyes, Nicki was unmistakably beautiful, but also unmistakably Theo’s little sister.

“Hey, Nik.”

“I told you to fuck off.” She was lying on her stomach, feet in the air, drawing on giant sketchpads with charcoal. There were already five drawings tossed around the room—all of them mesmerizingly detailed. Nicki was a brilliant artist. “I’m in the middle of a project. A project you were ever so kind as to interrupt with your unending gift of drama. And now I’m forced to work here…”

“I’m sorry. We don’t have a choice.”

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