Page 16 of Hiding out with a Royal Billionaire

“Your guys checking perimeter too?” Lucan Valdez stood at his side and clapped him on the back.

“Hey! Just the man I’ve been avoiding! Did you hijack my comm link?”

“I did, glad to see both our teams are hard at work.”

“And you as well, I’d imagine.”

“And you.” His eyes flit to Skye and back.

Brooks nodded.

“But not all work?”

He shrugged. Skye was not someone he was willing to discuss. “How long are you in country?”

A man approached Skye and was introduced. Brooks stiffened.

“Long enough.”

“For us to talk?” Brooks indicated the man now standing overly close to Skye. “Is he?”

“That’s Chase.”

“What?” The man had gone through training with them both. But that had been years ago. “He looks…older.”

Lucan laughed. “That’s one way of putting it.”

The man was solid, huge, and attracting too much attention from Skye.

“What’s he doing?”

“Just getting to know the job.”

Brooks stiffened, but he liked that answer better than anything else more personal.

Lucan nodded. “I’m sure you’ve heard all the chatter indicates something is going down.”

“Here?”

“Possibly. Or soon. The fact that you stayed here tells a lot.”

“Or it could just mean I like it here.”

Lucan raised his eyebrows.

“Or I was worried about her so I stuck around.”

“Well, everyone else seems to think you two are holed up counting your Spanish coins.”

Did he imagine it or did Lucan put some emphasis on the word, Spanish? “We are faster counters than that.”

“Yes, finished counting in about five minutes.” Skye joined them. “Nice helicopter.”

Lucan nodded. “Thank you. It’s my favorite model. Has incredibly long distance tracking devices.”

Skye flicked her eyes to Brooks, but he stared Lucan down. “Look, brother. We’re on the same side. You can track me. I’ve got nothing to hide.”

Lucan glanced over his shoulder then said, “I’m fairly certain you don’t know what you’re messing with. I need the cross.”

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