Page 69 of Taming Achilles

Pippa didn’t stop her tirade.

“What on earth are you two doing? Brett, you’re supposed to be the level-headed one. And Ajax!” The man flinched at the sound of his name spoken in that Pippa tone. “You’re supposed to be the voice of kindness. What on earth are you two doing?”

“He had it coming.” Brett grumbled like a child who was in trouble.

“No real man would ever coerce … ” Ajax started, but she held up the hand that wasn’t on my chest, palm towards them in a stop gesture.

“What goes on between me and Geo is no one’s business but ours,” she said, flatly. I wanted to celebrate because she had called me Geo. “And to say otherwise is patriarchal and, frankly, sexist.” She looked at each man, holding their gaze. “I expected better from you two.”

I wanted to pump my fist in victory, but settled for a grumbled, “Told you so …”

Her head whipped around, her green eyes bearing down on me with fire. God, it made me hard to see her that way. Her temper. Her anger. How easily I could mould that into passion and ecstasy.

“Who the hell is Geo?” Callum asked, his head popping toward me with a raised brow.

“I am,” I stated, raising a single finger in the air.

“Really?” Callum’s voice pitched high in surprise. “I’ve never heard you call him that before, Pip.”

“It was an inside thing,” I said, happy to be sharing this to anyone. Even this group of ragamuffins.

“Christ, have I been this oblivious this whole time?” Callum scratched at his temple.

“Dinnae think too hard about it.” I placed my hand over Pippa’s, pressing it to my chest where my heart pulsed, as though it wanted to beat from my ribcage, toward her. “You ken we kept everything under wraps.”

Callum’s eyes flashed a hurt that I hadn’t seen before, but it was brief. He nodded.

“We’ve come up with a plan, lads,” Cal said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them as if he was about to reveal some scheme.

Pippa slipped her hand from my grasp, and like the schoolboy I had been at the beginning of our relationship, I wanted to reach out for it and pull it back to me. I ached at the loss of her touch.

“We lure him out to take another shot at Geordie, if you’re up for it.” Cal nodded towards me. “You up for being bait?”

“Aye, if it keeps her safe.” I wasn’t looking at Pippa now. I couldn’t, without wanting to yank her by the strawberry hair and pull her to my chest as though I had to protect her from Rhodes right that second. As if he was lurking in the halls.

“Well, we’ll have to make your affair public.” Callum said, and again, I wanted to pump my fist in the air. “Tell the paparazzi where you two will be tomorrow, holding hands. See if he’ll take another shot at you.”

“She’ll get the Caledonia armour, aye?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

“Keep your pants on, lover boy,” Callum teased with a small laugh. “Aye, she’ll get the armour, and so will you.”

I had forgotten that I’d need a set too. Callum had been working with an American engineer to come up with the thinnest, most concealable body armour. It was heavy as fuck, but it was so thin that most people never noticed it under a regular jacket. They cost a mint, but in a situation like this one, it was worth every pound.

“And the twins?” I asked, referring to Lea and her twin, Leo. “They’ll be on look out?”

“Will you stop interrupting me, man?” Callum said, letting out a sigh. “We have a news helicopter on standby for Alastair to fly over the area as a lookout.” He shook his head at me when I opened my mouth to speak again. “Wait a minute, man. Jesus, you’re like a horse at the start of the Royal Ascot.”

I lifted my brow, and crossed my arms, but stayed silent.

“I’m calling in all hands, including my wife and brother-in-law,” Cal said, then eyed Ajax and Brett. “And I’d like you two on deck as well, in the crowd, and on the rooftops. He took a shot at you like a sniper last time, which means he’s likely to do the same again. We’ll look at all avenues of approach and get eyes on them. We’ll take him out before he even gets his tripod set up.”

I gave in to the need to grab Pippa, and pulled her under my arm. She stiffened before she fell into it.

“I don’t like the idea of her being there,” I said. “She should stay in the safe house, and I’ll go alone.”

“That won’t work,” Pippa said. “Instead of taking a shot at you, he might try to find me instead. We need a foolproof way to get him where we want him.”

I could see the reasoning. Intellectually, I understood she was right. But it made my stomach turn.

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