“I knew it,” she murmured, shaking her head. “And the rest of those men that were just here?”
“Special forces, various teams.” He waited. “Your phone numbers?”
After he had both of their numbers programmed into his phone, he sent them each a text indicating it was from him. “Okay, now you have my number. If you ever need anything, reach out.” He waited again to see if either would say anything. Neither did. “Before I go, Briana, can I have a word with you alone?”
She laughed an amused, sarcastic chuckle. “I’m not sure what you think you could say that would interest me.”
“Yeah, you do,” Roth said. His gaze shifted to Cameron. “Please, can you give us a sec?”
Cameron nervously looked between the two of them. “Bree?”
She sighed and glanced away. “Sure, whatever.”
After Cameron Woods had removed himself to the kitchen, Roth took a step closer to her and dropped his voice to speak softly. Cameron was still close enough to hear if he spoke at a normal volume. “I am really sorry I had to deceive you about who I was. And that kiss was not just to keep you occupied while the team brought your brother in. I wanted to kiss you because I’m very attracted to you. Despite everything, I think you’re a pretty amazing woman.”
“Despite everything?” she demanded in a slightly raised voice. “You mean despite the fact you were investigating my brother and me? Despite the fact that you lied to me? And despite the fact that you kissed me to keep me from seeing that my brother was being led up to the door in handcuffs?”
Roth kept his voice quiet. “No, despite the fact that your activities were flagged as suspicious, and we had to investigate you and your brother. It’s my job, Briana. And you kissed me first and wow, was that a hell of a kiss!”
She felt the heat creep up her neck and was sure a blush colored her face. She allowed her lips to tip into a grin. “Yeah, it was.” She was referring to his kiss, not hers. “At first, when I kissed you, you didn’t kiss me back. I thought you didn’t want me to do it.”
Roth stepped into her and grasped the sides of her face with his hands. He leaned in and kissed her lips softly, slowly, taking his time for his tongue to press into her warm mouth. Beneath his fingers he felt her soft skin and he couldn’t help himself from caressing over her face, tracing soft touches down her neck and over her shoulders.
She returned his kiss, her tongue hungry to explore his mouth. Her hands reached to him and she embraced him, drawing their bodies closer together. Her hands stroked over his toned back until it came into contact with the pistol he had holstered at the small of his back.
“Stop,” she said, breaking the kiss and stepping back. “Nothing’s going to happen between us.”
“No, I suppose not. I’d like it to though,” he whispered. “Goodbye Briana. I’ll stay in touch, will text or call you occasionally. If you ever need anything, anything at all, call me.”
She nodded that she would. She tried her best to hide her disappointment.
“And be safe. We both know you’re not going to stop what you’re doing.”
She flashed him that cocky smile, which made him smile as well.
“Goodbye, Sebastian. You be safe too.”
“Bye, Cam!” he called towards the kitchen. “I’ll be in contact from time to time.”
“Yeah, sure,” Cameron yelled back.
As Roth crossed the street, he had to stop himself from looking back. It was done and nothing would ever happen between him and Briana Woods. The problem was, it didn’t feel like it was done, both professionally and personally. He just knew the Woods siblings would pop back up on the radar of some kind of law enforcement team. And it probably wouldn’t end as it had this time for them. They were both good people and the thought of them ending up in prison didn’t sit right with him.
The team already had most of the gear packed up when he returned to the loft. “What about the surveillance equipment at Woods’ place?” Roth asked.
“I disconnected the devices from his computer and the lamp near the recliner. All that’s left is the camera in the entry light. I couldn’t remove that one without Woods seeing I was getting it, unlike the other two. He never saw me remove them,” Wilson said.
“We’ll leave it,” Mother said. “Between that one and Garcia having access to Woods’ laptop, HQ will watch them today for indications they’re going against what they promised. And they’ll pop in to surveil from time to time to be sure Woods is on the straight and narrow.”
“What if he finds the device in the light fixture?” Roth asked.
“Then our surveillance from it is over,” Mother said with a shrug. “I’m sure he’ll assume we planted it.”
It wasn’t long before the team had the place tidied up, including stripping the sheets and placing them in the washing machine. Lambchop even remade Gibson’s bed with clean sheets. Lambchop had already arranged to meet the unit’s owner, Seargent Scott Gibson, at the same place they’d met him when they’d arrived, to return his keys and garage door opener.
Roth kept his eyes glued on Woods’ townhouse and Briana’s Transit van, which was still in the driveway, as they drove past until they turned the corner and a row of evergreens blocked his view. He turned his head to look forward through the windshield and saw Lambchop’s eyes in the rearview mirror flicker to him for a moment.
Mother turned in his seat, gazing back at Roth. “You either let it go, or it’s going to drive you crazy.”