Page 68 of Never Enough

The look he flashed her was absolutely horrified. “No. Just no.”

“Haters gonna?—”

He clamped a hand over her mouth. “I know you’re doing a wind-up. Don’t even try to pretend you’re not. I’ve seen your T-shirt collection, and there wasn’t a single Tay-Tay shirt in there.”

She grinned. “You know me too well.” They worked in silence, packing up. Eventually, she couldn’t hold the question in anymore. “Why is the code to the lift July fifth, 2016?”

His movements barely stopped, but she noticed the hitch. “Each of us has our own unique code so our movements can be tracked in case of an emergency. I haven’t had time to give you your own code yet. Or should I say, get one from Midas.”

“That’s not what I asked you. Try again.”

Nemo continued to pack his kit. “It’s the day my life changed. I’ve never been the same since.”

Her hand reached to grip his forearm. “Sawyer,” she whispered, “look at me.”

Immediately, he stopped what he was doing. The next thing she knew, she was moving through the air, and her ass landed square on the worktable. Now she was eye-to-eye with him. He was wedged up to the table between her legs, his palms flat on the tabletop on either side of her hips, elbows locked, her body caged in. “I will most definitely have this conversation with you right now if you want, but we both know you’re not ready to hear what I have to say, let alone believe it. I also don’t think you want me to say it in front of everyone in this room.”

She searched his face. He wasn’t being melodramatic. It wasn’t that his expression was blank. In fact, it was the most sincere look she’d seen on him other than at the beach the night before. He meant what he was saying. Hewantedto prove to her that what he was feeling was more than just the physical attraction they’d given into on their previous encounters. And the fact that he’d bare his soul to her—make declarations, make promises—in front of his friends without a qualm told her that this was not a ploy.

Just like his refusal to sleep in her bed last night.

“Okay.” Her voice was quiet enough that only he could hear her.

“Okay?”

“Okay,” she confirmed.

His eyes flickered over her face and then her body as a whole, searching for lies in her body language. When his gaze returned to hers, he nodded once. Then she was back standing at his side.

“Time to go, people,” Waters called out, heading for the lift.

Nemo picked up their tool belts and gear in one hand, gripped her hand in the other, whistled for Scheherazade, and then led her to the lift with the rest of the team. Something about it felt like it was the first of many times to come.

And for the first time in a long time, Haskell felt like her world was righted.

26

SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

Nemo

Gem had never flown in a helicopter before. He could tell it was not an experience she was particularly fond of. Flying itself didn’t seem to frighten her. It wasn’t the speed or the sudden changes in direction or even the steep banking because Medusa flew like her hair was on fire. It was the noise. As someone who spent most of her time working in near silence, noise often meant complications. He understood how that was unsettling because it had been the same for him at first as well.

The dog sat on top of Gem’s feet, her muzzle on Gem’s knees. Nemo sat in the seat next to her and gave her a set of headphones so she could hear what was going on over the rotor blades but also to cancel out some of the cacophony. Once they were over her ears and she gave him the thumbs-up that she could hear people talking, he put on his sunglasses, put on hisown headphones, and took hold of her hand. He didn’t speak. He just gave her hand a squeeze and didn’t let go.

When the helicopter landed at a private airstrip outside of Ramona, California, they quickly transferred to a corporate jet. As soon as their bags were stored in the cargo hold, they were introduced to the copilot, a man named Janus, and then hustled into two of four seats around a table and belted in, with Scheherazade under the table at their feet. With a cursory nod to the copilot, Medusa had switched from helicopter pilot to jet pilot, and they were off.

Seeming to sense she was intimidated by the plush surroundings, Nemo handed her a map of Zimbabwe. “Do you know where the mine was that you were at, or at least a close proximity?”

She scanned the map as Waters and Steel slid into the opposite chairs. She frowned at first, then shot Nemo a look of disgust as she turned the map one hundred and eighty degrees so it was right side up. “Cunt,” she murmured under her breath.

“That’s one word for him,” Steel murmured back.

She looked up at Steel through her lashes, caught the twinkle in his quicksilver eyes, and winked at him. Nemo smiled. It was good to know she could interact with the men in a teasing way, even if it was at his expense.

“Just want to make sure she can actually read a map,” he teased.

“Don’t worry, Nemo. I won’t get you lost and leave you stranded, no matter how great the temptation may be,” she cooed.

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