Page 91 of Don't Look Back

“I’ve never thanked her for that.”

“Me neither. I was too busy trying to play it cool and not let on I was obsessed with you.” His mouth explored her neck and shoulder.

“She saw right through us,” she said.

“Well, that’s Freya. It’s kind of her superpower.”

“One among many.”

“Does she scare you as much as she does me?”

Kira burst out laughing. “Oh my god…the day we met, I was so freaked out about seeing her—it had been a few months and the timing was last minute, no time to mentally prepare, and she always terrified me. And then there was Ian and you, and I get flustered around attractive men. I was hopeless.”

“You were hot and adorable. But I’m going to ignore that thing you said about Ian.”

“He’s objectively attractive. You’d have to be blind not to notice. And Freya doesn’t scare me so much now. At least, I don’t think she will.” She kissed his chest, then turned her cheek and rested her head, closing her eyes. “I’m looking forward to seeing her after this.”

He chuckled. “As long as it’s Freya and not Ian you’re eager to see.”

“Oh, I always enjoyseeinghim. But that’s generic. If it makes a difference, I never once tried to imagine him naked like I did you.”

“Do I live up to your imagination?”

“You tell me. Remember what happened when I saw you shirtless the first time?”

“It’s one of my favorite memories of all time.”

“It was only twenty-four hours ago.”

“That changes nothing.”

She again ran her hand over his abs. “You’d better not go shirtless when we’re at Laskin’s. One look at your spectacular physique could give you away as a special operator.”

“Sweetheart, you noticed my muscles even when my clothes were on.”

She played with a nipple until it peaked. “Yes, but I didn’tknowuntil you took your shirt off. I suppose you could say you’re a bodybuilder or fitness instructor for your day job.”

“That works. I’ll ask to see his home gym and give him all sorts of unsolicited advice.”

She snickered. “He’ll see you as irritating, but not a threat.”

The fact that Laskin had no reason to think Rand was anything other than what he’d claimed was on their side. Whoever had searched his hotel room had found manuscript pages with handwritten notes and nothing about his military service.

He’d locked down his privacy before he became a SEAL and had no social media presence. There were a few men with his name on LinkedIn and Freya had created a profile for him there—without a photo—last winter in case Gillibrand did some digging.

His website under the name Reece Foresman and the LinkedIn profile under his real name were now being embellished by tech wizards at FMV, adding biographical details should Laskin decide to do some searching.

“We need to tell Freya to add that to your bio.”

He nodded and reached for his phone and sent a text.

His mood had turned serious, and she could guess why. Everything hinged on Laskin’s focus remaining on Kira. Tomorrow, they’d take a massive gamble, and even if they got what they wanted, when all this was over, Laskin would remain untouched.

Taking down Grigory Laskin was not the goal. It wasn’t even a likely outcome.

Like all billionaires who funded terrorism and coups, Laskin would remain free and clear from whatever atrocity he had planned. The only way he’d pay a price would be if he was caught pulling the trigger or detonating a bomb himself. But men like Laskin never did their own killing. They sent in mercenaries or traitors to do their dirty work.

Rand was taking a huge risk in entering Laskin’s home. The oligarch wanted nothing more than to kill Navy SEALs and had a team of henchmen on his staff.

---