Page 35 of SEAL's Paradise
The fact that Riley found him attractive was neither here nor there.She wasn’t interested in a fling before she high-tailed it out of Honolulu.She’d finish the job and leave.Move on with her life.Maybe they’d have a sham marriage to grant her access to base, and maybe they wouldn’t need to given what they’d discovered tonight.The marriage would just be pretend anyway.While she wanted to bust up the illegal arms trade, she didn’t want to end up with a bruised and battered heart.
A guy like Sawyer was dangerous.He knew all the right words and had the smooth moves to get a woman exactly where he wanted, but she knew none of it was real.His attraction to her might be, but as for any real feelings?
They barely knew one another, and she’d be gone before either of them ever learned more.
It was a shame in a way.She actually wouldn’t mind learning more about this particular man.He was different than the men she’d dated or worked with in the past.Sawyer was a highly trained Navy SEAL.He was lethal, in peak physical condition, loyal to his country and friends, but he could no doubt bend the rules when needed for the greater good.Improvise when a situation was in flux.
Sawyer was also smart in a way many people never would be.
He saw things.Observed.And Riley had the feeling that he saw way too much of her.
Her jaw ticked.Normally when she and Radley took jobs on their own, people asked few questions.They knew she was a former fed, and that was enough.They didn’t care to know the details of why she’d separated from the government, how she obtained jobs now, or who her contacts were.They paid her to solve a problem, and she got shit done.
It was hard to wrap her mind around Sawyer’s questions unless he genuinely was interested—in her.And that was something she didn’t want to examine too closely.Radley had been burned by someone she trusted, and Riley had been attacked by the same man.While she might have fought him off here in Hawaii, she didn’t trust easily, and letting Sawyer assist on this case was about all she could give him.She wouldn’t open up to a man and risk losing her heart.
Buildings passed by as she stared out the window into the night, and they were silent, each lost in their own thoughts.
Fifteen minutes later, they drove down a block mixed with both business and residential buildings in downtown Honolulu.A few bars were still open at the late hour, but it was the high-rise apartment at the end of the street that was their destination.
Sawyer stopped a block away, neatly parallel parking his truck.They both remained in their seats, assessing the situation.“It looks like there’s a business at the bottom of that apartment building,” she noted.“It must be new.It wasn’t even on Google Maps.”
“I just noticed the same,” Sawyer said.“It’s a massage parlor,” he added, his voice dark.
Riley stilled.If the buyer was offering up a woman as an enticement to tiger boy, this didn’t bode well for the business.Were other women involved?Were they there willingly or not?A lump of uneasiness settled in her stomach.“Maybe it’s a massage parlor by day and different type of entertainment by night.Look at the group gathered around the front doors—it’s all men.”
Sawyer nodded.“Appears like it might be.I’m not too sure what the residents think of it.Those are apartments above it.”
“Yeah, the whole thing is weird.Even if it is the middle of the night, surely someone who lives there would notice and call the cops.”
“Guess it hasn’t happened yet,” Sawyer said.“And hopefully it won’t while we’re investigating.Let’s go check it out.”
Riley opened the passenger door of the truck and hopped down before Sawyer could round the front of the vehicle to help her.He shot her a look, and she could tell he was miffed she didn’t wait for his assistance.“When did you get so chivalrous?”she joked.
He took her hand.“I am chivalrous,” he protested.“On a date.Behind closed doors.Ladies come first and all that,” he joked with a wink.
“Are you ever serious?”
“Sure, but it’s fun to tease you, kitten.”He squeezed her hand, and a jolt of electricity coursed through her.
Riley’s free hand instinctively went to the sidearm hidden under her jacket as a man suddenly came out from the alley, and Sawyer moved slightly in front of her to block her with his body.The man barely glanced in their direction and headed the opposite way, getting into a vehicle parked down the street.
It was a false alarm, but she wondered if Sawyer was carrying.“Do you have a weapon?”she asked quietly.
“Yep.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“We’ll see what services are available,” he said, his jaw tensing.“Or else we’ll hang back and observe.”He glanced down at her, a frown on his face.“If I bring you over there with me, some of the men might think you’re...available.”
“Oh, hell no,” she said, irritation rising within her.“I’m not sitting this out.”
He chuckled, the low sound doing something funny to her insides.“Didn’t think you would.We’ll go in there together.Pretty sure we’ll stand out, however.”
“Hold up,” Riley said urgently, tugging Sawyer’s hand so he’d stop walking.Both of them watched in surprise as a big SUV pulled up near the doors of the massage parlor, and the man with the tiger tattoo climbed out of the passenger seat.
“What’s he doing here?”Riley hissed.
“He must’ve gotten the address,” Sawyer murmured.
