Page 45 of Redeeming Meg

Smiling like the satisfied and cocky male he was, he fisted his hand in her hair and eased her head back, exposing her neck so he could kiss it. “Actually, I think she’ll be pleased you finally embraced your wild child again.”

Fifteen minutes later, she marveled at the welcome ache between her legs and the new memories she had. The old ones were still there, but the new ones were fresh and made her feel alive again.

She decided to focus on them. To focus on Dec and the sounds he made when she raked her fingers and then her lips over the new tattoos he had on various parts of his body.

When they finally came back to earth, he hustled her toward the back door, tossing her jacket at her. “We’re meeting the taxi driver at the spot he picked up Tommy in twenty.”

She shoved her feet into her shoes. “That’s four kilometers from here. How are we going to get there in twenty minutes?”

“I thought we’d run. “

Her mouth dropped open. “You want me to run four kilos in twenty minutes?”

“Out of shape, recruit?”

He’d been a drill sergeant for part of his Marine career.

“I haven’t kept up with my normal exercise routine, so sue me. I had other things to handle, and I didn’t expect to be back in the field.”

He dropped one of his big arms around her shoulders and walked her toward the door. “Guess I’ll have to carry you.”

She was still griping at him when they rounded the corner of the house to find Tessa at the curb, waiting for them. The fall day was cool, but she had the windows of her car down, a techno dance beat filtering out as she motioned at them to hurry.

“I’m going to be late,” she complained, putting the car in gear before Meg even finished closing her door.

“There’s no way the taxi cab owner will willingly give us the information we need,” Dec said. Inside the tiny car, he dominated the space. “I used the app to book the exact same taxi for a ride instead. Hopefully, it’s the driver from yesterday—they typically drive the same routes—and we can question him.”

Smart. “Beauty and brains,” Meg teased, pinching his waist. “No wonder Flynn recommended you for the swans.”

Tessa watched them in the rearview as she headed for the boulevard. She caught Meg’s eye, understanding in her too-clever gaze.

Meg felt her cheeks heat. Shit. She was acting like her old self, which gave her away. The old Meg had been in love with Dec from the moment he’d challenged her on that first mission. Tessa hadn’t been with them then, but Jessie had probably told her. Jessie and Tessa, thick as thieves.

The embassy was still a disaster in the aftermath, with barricades and yards of bright police tape cordoning off the block and parking lot behind it. Tessa tsked as she got them as close as possible, not far from the bus stop. “My beautiful building.” She caught their eyes again in her mirror. “They’re looking for you, you know.”

“Who is?” Meg demanded.

“The media reported that two suspicious Americans were spotted roaming the embassy during the riots, and the Romanian police want them for questioning.” She pivoted in her seat. “They don’t have pictures of you, but they’re circulating sketches. Pretty bad ones, but you should still be careful. I’m hoping my SWAT buddy doesn’t point a finger at me.”

“And Hagar? Are they saying anything about him?” Dec asked.

She shook her head. “I thought there would be a video of him and his death squad being arrested, but there’s nothing.”

The three of them exchanged a look.

“What’s Flynn saying?” Tessa asked.

Meg’s phone had a dozen texts and missed calls from him and Del. Among them was one from Spence, letting her know he had delivered the USB to their boss. That was the only one she responded to with a thumbs-up emoji.

The taxi arrived, saving her from replying. “Thanks for the ride, Tessa.”

She and Dec bailed, Tessa calling out the open window, “Just keep me out of it, okay?”

That seemed to be the running theme when the two of them climbed into the back of the driver’s car. “Where to?” the man asked in a heavily accented English.

Meg flashed her phone, Tommy’s employment picture on the screen. “Do you remember picking up this man here yesterday?”

The driver barely glanced at the photo. “Nah.” he pressed a button on the machine connected to his dashboard. “Destination?”

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