Page 78 of Operation Heartbeat

When she paced back to the door, she saw him inside, his back to her and his phone to his ear. God, he was a beautiful man. Intelligent in ways that sparked her brain, and his body made hers come alive.

As soon as this was over, she would head back to her humble, solitary life. She’d deal with her terrible parking spot and her snarky ex.

But when she left Turkey—and Ryan Constantine—she would be leaving her heart with the man who owned it.

EIGHTEEN

As Con lowered the phone from his ear, he swung toward the patio door. Beyond the glass, Sophie walked into view. He watched her measured steps as she paced in front of the pool. She left his view for a moment before coming back the other direction.

Fuck. He had orders. And Sophie couldn’t go with them, not this time. He only had two options, and a decision had to be made now.

With no time left, he opened the patio door and stepped out.

Sophie stopped pacing.

“Ryan—”

“Sophie.”

They stared at each other.

“You go first,” he told her.

Turning to him, she took a deep breath. “I considered your job offer, but I think at this time, I’m going to decline it.”

Hell. Not what he wanted to hear, but he didn’t have time to consider how she’d arrived at the decision.

He gave her a slow nod. “I’d like to talk more about this, but right now, I can’t. I have orders.”

Her brows arched upward.

“I have to leave for the dock. The people controlling Deniz want him to move the shipment. Now. I have to leave. It’s our only shot at getting these people, finding Deniz’s wife and getting closer to untangling this web with Bayar and the cryptograms too.”

“What do you want me to do?” Her voice had an edge of worry that sent his body into protector mode.

He took a step toward her and took her hands. “You can go to the safe house and stay there. Or stay here.”

“Alone?”

He nodded. “I can’t spare a man to guard you. Fuck, Sophie.” He hovered over her, head bowed as he battled with what he wanted to do and the order he had to take.

“Where do you think I should stay?”

“Here. At the hotel. There are guards at the door and security onsite. If you lock the door, no one can get to you. This place is a fortress, which is why so many important people stay here.”

“Okay.” She stepped back, withdrawing her hands from his but holding his gaze. “I’ll be here, Ryan.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“I’m scared. Just come back to me.”

He grabbed her, snaking his arm around her waist and yanking her flush against him. He planted a hard kiss to her lips that didn’t last long enough.

Then he released her just as quickly and strode through the room straight to the front door. He’d only made it a few steps before he heard her twist the extra deadbolts, securing herself inside.

By the time he met the team at the safe house, they were locked and loaded. He threw on his gear and grabbed his rifle. As he ordered them into the vehicles and headed to the dock, his mind zeroed in on the op.

“ETA?” he barked at Mason.

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