Page 52 of Love Me Knot

Six a.m. rolls around, and I stoop to say goodbye to Captain after loading all my stuff in the truck. “I’ll be back in a few days, girl. Caleb will be here later to pick you up. Do me a favor and scare off any unsavory bitches that try to talk to him, will you?”

Captain barks and licks my jaw. “That’s right. You do a good job keeping the Bennett boys out of trouble.”

My platoon takes off from Oceana an hour later. When we land at Naval Station Rota, a convoy will be dispatched toward our official destination, the embassy, but my platoon won’t be on it. We’ll be on a helo headed toward the southern coast.

The PMCs will fly direct to Malaga in a charter jet. We’ll meet up with their outfitter at the borrowed coastal mansion and begin our undercover roles.

“Hey! Watch the suit!”

Fish and I look up at the commotion to see Wrench waving off my newest squad guy. Wrench picks up the garment bag, dusting it off and straightening it. “This is going to be a long few days,” Fish groans.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to it,” I reply.

Fish laughs and drops into the seat next to mine. “She’s burrowed deep in there, isn’t she?”

I wink at my second and lean back, closing my eyes.

Our flight is just over eight hours. We transfer to a Sea Hawk after landing and get dropped off in the backyard of our staging property. It’s almost nine p.m. local time when my boots touch the ground.

The pool and house are lit up inside and out, and several bodies filter out the back doors at the sound of our helo arriving. We meet the PMCs on the pool deck, eyeing one another as if we hadn’t worked together on staging this mission for the last several weeks.

A stiff ocean breeze carries up the cliffside after the helo leaves, rustling the numerous decorative trees dotting the landscape and filling the air with the scent of jasmine. I step forward to greet Sadie, Knot’s top operative. “Glad you made it,” she says. Gesturing to the Indian man on her right, she continues. “You remember our outfitter and field magician, Sambi.”

It’s a good thing she reintroduced him because I didn’t recognize the man in his expensive suit. His clothes were a few classes lower in Bulgaria.

“Happy to see you again, Lieutenant,” Sambi says. “I have all the equipment you requested and a few extras I thought would be helpful. Let’s get your team settled, and I’ll show you everything.”

I nod and turn to the rest of my guys. “You guys set up in the guest house. I’ll stow my gear and meet you there.”

They take off and I turn back to the contractors, who I assume are housed in the primary residence. Sambi tours me through the main level and outside, pointing out security features and controls.

When I don’t see signs of any other people staying here, I mention it to Sadie. “That was a game-time decision,” she says. “In case Harding is the paranoid type and brings security to snoop around, we didn’t want them to find a reason to be suspicious. The rest of us are staying in a neighboring house. Only those posing as security will remain on the property.”

She dismisses Sambi and gestures toward Chelsea. “You show him around upstairs while the rest of us review the security setup in the guest house.”

The cavernous entry clears quickly, leaving Chelsea and me alone in the big house. I step toward my fake wife, and Chelsea spins away toward the great hall. “This way,” she squeaks. I lick my lips and follow close behind.

The four-level home has three living rooms, one opening to a grand covered lanai adjacent to the gigantic pool. The three accompanying dining rooms mean you can host multiple parties at one time, I guess.

The bedrooms are upstairs, one complete with an enclosed deck featuring spiral staircase access to a roof-top terrace. Twin-sized cushions pad wooden platforms with plants everywhere. Plants in pots, on stands, in baskets on the walls, and even plants growing up the walls themselves.

I follow Chelsea up the stairs and take in the view in silence. Trees surround the whole place except for the cliffside, which looks out over the Bay of Marbella. I survey the area from beneath a vined arbor, providing added privacy from the neighbors to the right.

The place is impressive and screams high class. The walls and ceilings are all white, but color abounds with the terra cotta floors, accented bathrooms, bright pillows, books, and other expensive touches on display. It’s not my taste, but I can appreciate the look, especially with this view.

Chelsea stops the tour when we reach the bottom of the spiral stairs. “Well, that’s about it. Which of these bedrooms do you want?”

I keep my tone and expression as serious as possible. “Hmm. If Sadie’s right and Harding has guys snooping, what will he say if his security questions our separate sleeping arrangements?”

To her credit, the former Marine doesn’t rile. “Since you get to be your charming self, you could always flip him off and insist he mind his own business. Or I could cozy up to him and let the man think what he wants.”

I toss my shit in the closest empty room and grumble, “I vote neither.”

Chelsea and I walk downstairs to join the rest of our blended team in the guest house. A plethora of surveillance equipment is already set up, courtesy of Sambi and his minions. The outfitter is currently briefing the group on all the security upgrades.

“We’ve placed cameras and microphones in all public places of the residence. All of your team will be wearing cameras except for Mr. and Mrs. Bennett. We don’t want to risk exposure in case the congressman looks too closely.”

“What if Harding wants to talk somewhere privately?” Chelsea asks.

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