Now wasn’t the time to argue.He dragged his shirt over his head and then reached for his pants.Where were his briefs?Fuck it, no time.For now, he’d have to go commando.“Go get dressed and use the bathroom door for cover.If things get bad, I want you to lock yourself in there.Don’t argue with me,” he said when she opened her mouth.“I can’t do everything I need to do if I’m worried about your safety.”
She stared at him for a few long seconds, and then must have changed her mind about arguing because she nodded, slid the bathrobe on, and headed for the bathroom.
Pistol in hand, Navarre crossed to the window.It was tempting to check the peephole, but there was always the risk of getting shot through the door.Instead, he peeked through the curtains and saw a huge figure in all black by the front door, but the view sucked and he couldn’t get a good look at the guy.Masculine voices spoke in hushed tones, but he couldn’t make out the words.They were probably discussing how best to breach the room without any of them getting killed.
Apparently, one of them thought the best strategy was to knock.
Sloane shot him a questioning look.
“Who is it?”Navarre called out.
“It’s your fairy godmother.Now open the goddamn door.”
The tension broke like a snapped wire, and a smile split Navarre’s face.He’d know that voice anywhere.
He lowered his weapon and flipped the safety on.“Jackson, is that you?”
“Yeah, it’s me.Now are you going to open the door or what?”
He looked to Sloane, his gaze meeting hers, and the finality of the moment slammed into him with the grace of a bulldozer.This was it.Their time together had officially come to an end.After this, things would revert to normal, only that didn’t feel normal anymore, and he sure as hell didn’t feel happy about it.
He burned the image of her into his mind, looking soft, and tousled, and more beautiful than words could possibly describe, because he never wanted to forget a single detail from their time together.
Her lips twitched as she gave him a nod, and then she disappeared behind the closed bathroom door.
Straightening his spine, he drew a deep breath and blew it out slowly.It took every ounce of discipline to pull his shit together.Then he crossed the room, pulled the chair from the door, and disengaged the lock.He opened the door and saw Jackson, Austin, and Wade standing outside, dressed in all black and armed to the teeth.They grinned at the sight of him, and he opened the door wider for them to come inside.
Before he could utter a single word, Jackson pulled him in for a big bear hug that crushed the wind from his lungs.
“Damn, you’re a sight for sore eyes.”
“It’s good to see you too,” Navarre said once he could breathe again, though he would have been happier if they’d called first and given them time to prepare.Then maybe this whole thing wouldn’t feel like such a kick to the nuts.
If any of them noticed the rumpled sheets, the bathrobe on the floor, or the lingering scent of sex in the air, they didn’t let it show.Thank God.He didn’t have the mental fortitude to deal with that shit at the moment.
Austin closed the door behind him.“Where’s Sloane?”
“I’m right here.”
Sloane emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed.Her hair was tucked behind her ears, which minimized the case of bed head.She smoothed a hand over the front of her fitted pink shirt in a futile attempt to flatten out the wrinkles.
Austin smiled at the sight of her.“You have no idea how happy I am to see you two.We’ve been worried sick.”
She wore a smile like armor—bright, unyielding, and a little too perfect.“Well, Navarre took good care of me.I don’t think I could have been safer.”
“Damn straight,” Jackson said.“But I still can’t believe it took you two shots to take down that drone.You’re slipping in your old age.”
Navarre’s hackles went up, even though he knew his friend was just giving him good-natured grief.“I only had a pistol, and I hit it both times.”
“That’s no excuse.You’ve got a reputation to uphold.I expect you to be able to shoot that shit down on the first shot with both eyes closed and a broken trigger finger.”
“How about this finger instead?”He flipped Jackson off, and his friend laughed.If his chest hadn’t felt so damn hollow, it would have seemed like any other day.
Austin clapped to get everybody’s attention.“I hate to cut this reunion short, but we need to get moving.We’ve got drones in the air to make sure there won’t be any surprises waiting for us on the way to Sierra’s estate.There should be enough time to grab some lunch before we leave for the airport.”
They gathered their things—there wasn’t a whole lot, just Navarre’s ruck and his boxer briefs, which he hoped nobody had noticed.As he sat on a chair to put his boots on, Sloane went back into the bathroom and came out with the creep’s gun.
“You might as well take this.”She held it out to Austin.
