Page 49 of Protected Hearts

She met his gaze and placidly explained her meaning. “I set a timer. If I don’t update the credentials every day by a certain hour, the file auto-sends to the CIA, the FBI and a massive list of journalists.”

Nobody spoke for a long moment.

“Jesus Christ,” Oaks said at last.

The silence broken, Willow and Carson talked over each other.

“That’s brilliant!”

“Damn, we could use someone with skills like yours on our team.”

Oaks beamed at her. “You secured your life, Shiloh. William needs you alive to have anyhopeof accessing those files.”

* * * * *

Oaks swept a look at each of his siblings. “See? I told you. She’s brilliant.”

Willow rolled her eyes at him using the same word to describe Shiloh’s intelligence and high-level move in this deadly game where she opposed William. But the other words Oaks wanted to use weren’t fit for his family’s ears.

Under his, Shiloh’s hand twitched. Turning his attention to her, he found her gaping at him, awe in her eyes.

“You’re not joking, are you, Oaks? You’re really not threatened by me?”

“You’ve been with the wrong men if they were threatened by your intelligence.”

Carson and Willow were talking in quick syllables while she tapped on the laptop, bringing up screen after screen to show their brother.

Shiloh’s focus shifted to them and back to Oaks. He leaned in, placing his mouth close to her ear.

“Surprise. You married the right guy.”

As soon as the words passed his lips, he knew them to be the dead truth. His plan really was perfect. He’d saved her, and in the process made the perfect match with the type of woman that existed only in his dreams.

Or so he’d thought.

She twisted her head to meet his stare. “Oh, Oaks…”

Carson cleared his throat, drawing their attention away from each other. “We need to get this information into the righthands. If it’s really a matter of national security, more people than William are after Shiloh.”

Before Carson spoke a word, Oaks caught the smart-ass twist of his brother’s lips. He was aware of the connection building between him and Shiloh.

“We don’t need to run. We’re smart. We’re two steps ahead.” He inflated his lungs, savoring the notes of Shiloh’s shampoo dancing on the air between them. “If you’re going to have a life, we need a plan, starting with taking William down.”

Willow waved to the screen. The CIA handler, aka Russian spy, stared out at them from the photograph. “We don’t yet have confirmation that William was behind the drone. It could be anybody under his command, or the Russians backing this woman.” Her long, manicured fingernail tapped the screen right between the woman’s eyes.

To Oaks, that was as good a target as any. The woman attempted to lure Shiloh out of hiding by masquerading as a CIA handler. Any number of events could have prevented the woman from meeting Shiloh that day.

Luck was on his wife’s side. Oaks stroked the backs of her knuckles with his fingertips and felt her thigh press up against his.

“Colt took the drone to the lab. It won’t take them long to run any fingerprints and hunt down all the information about that drone,” Willow told them.

“Serial numbers can be traced back to shipments, and we can even find out where it was purchased,” Shiloh added, excitement tinting her voice.

“And by who.” Oaks’s statement silenced them all again as they mulled over their own thoughts about the matter.

“There’s one more thing you’re not seeing.”

At Shiloh’s words, they all focused on her.

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