Page 32 of Hiding out with a Royal Billionaire

They hung up and Skye wrapped her arms around her middle.Brooks. He was on a mission somewhere important, somewhere dangerous. And he’d called. She smiled. Her stomach was flipping around with all kinds of butterflies, some to worry about his mission but mostly the happy kind, the kind she hadn’t felt in a long time, the kind that said Brooks was someone special.

She got ready for bed while staring at her phone. Now that she knew Brooks might call any minute from some far away place, she didn’t want to miss it. The last thing she remembered was the thought as she drifted off that if she and Brooks were to be together, this might be her normal, an empty bed, a lonely night, with her phone for company. Her dreams turned to dangerous efforts to rescue Brooks from all the evil villains in her childhood memories.

11

Brooks spent the longest week of his life chasing down the evil and depraved leaders of a child trafficking ring. They’d gotten wind of a possible breach in their security and had tried to shut down and move, but Brooks and his men had caught a tail and even though it had taken twice as long as he’d planned, they were finished.

He shut the van door, locking in one of the most dangerous world criminal teams he’d ever encountered. They sent the prisoners away with a member of their team, claiming international crimes so that the corrupt local police force wouldn’t turn around and let them free. Then Brooks turned to the bus full of young girls and women. He picked up his phone, dialing a local woman. “I’ve got thirty.”

Her silence made him respect her all the more. He knew she didn’t have room to care for one more, let alone thirty.

“We will figure it out.”

“Thank you.”

She made some kind of hum and they began working out details of how to get the girls to her in safety. He walked up and down the length of the bus while he talked. After a moment, his attention was caught by a young girl in the window, staring down at him. Her eyes were wide, intense. She never let him out of her sight.

He stopped and reached his hand up to the window, spreading his palm out in front of her on the glass.

She stared at it a moment and then lifted her fingers up to his, spreading out her palm so that its tiny shape spread out against his through the glass.

He finished the call and watched this young girl for a moment more. Then he removed his hand and nodded to her. She nodded back and then her face broke out into a huge grin. It filled her eyes, her cheeks, and lit the whole area around them. She stuck her thumb in the air to him. And the bus engine turned on. He stepped back away from her and the bus, giving room for it to pull away.

Once he was standing alone in the parking lot, the team heading off separately to meet at their rendezvous point, he allowed himself a moment of thought to drift to Skye.

This mission had been his hardest to date. And it wasn’t so much that their task was harder. Though it was. Brooks found it tiresome because of how often his mind drifted to Skye. What was she doing? How were she and Chase getting along? What if something happened to her while he was on a mission? Could they really make this work together? And on and on, his questions filled him. He knew Lucan, his dear friend who had been in the same business and then had dropped out when he became married to the queen of Spain, had told him it is difficult to work in the business while you have someone you care about on the other side.

But watching those girls drive away, Brooks didn’t know if he was ready to give it up. He’d been a vital part of this rescue. No one had known where to go to pick up the trail once they’d moved. If Brooks wasn’t there, the girls would likely still be in captivity.

He sighed and made his way to the garage where he’d parked an old beat up truck. A shout from his far right alarmed him. Isabella, a local he’d brought in, came tearing toward him.

Then the soft ping of bullets and puffs of dust in the dirt around him had him running for cover.

After the first few, bullets rained down all around him, a burning slice tore through his calf. He dove behind the nearest vehicle, Isabella soon after. It looked like it hadn’t driven in twenty years. His breath came faster as he crouched down low, his mind racing through all the possibilities.

* * *

Chase steadiedSkye’s hand as he held the gun out to her front, facing the target. “Relax.”

“This thing is so loud. And the kick back. I don’t like that.”

“You’ll get used to it. The kickback just means you have a powerful gun. Learn to use it.” Chase’s eyes showed his confidence.

She steadied her arm, lining it up with the target. She wanted to learn this skill, and others. Suddenly knowing Brooks did this stuff, made her want to be a part of his life somehow.

Chase’s hand rested his hand on her shoulder.

She let the air leave her in a steady, quieting stream. She aimed, then squeezed the trigger. A hole in the target right in the center made her smile. “Yes!”

“You did it! That’s dead center.”

“What! I can’t believe I did it.” She jumped up and turned to face him. He hadn’t moved from when he was leaning over her to show her how to hold the gun so suddenly they were very close. She could smell the mint on his breath and see the stubble along his jawline. “Thank you.” She stepped back.

He reached forward, taking her hand in his own. “You’re an excellent shot. Did the kick back bother you this time?”

He held her hand almost absent mindedly, but she gently tugged it back. He seemed not to notice. “It’s time to get the guys together for cards.”

Harper burst into the room. “We’ve had news.”

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