Page 72 of Tangled
“And consider the options,” she finished. He nodded. “Go,” she said with a nod to the door. “I’ll be fine here. I’ll havebreakfast, clean up, then get ready for the day. Time isn’t on our side, but I want you to take the time you need so that when we do decide—and we will decide together—we both come at it from a more objective place rather than an emotional one.”
Her emotions were just as involved as Brad’s even if they were telling her to do the exact opposite of what his were telling him. She was ready to jump at the chance to bring Rathwell down, and time—even an hour—would be good for her, too.
He eyed her, then rose and came to her side. “I know we’ve barely been together two weeks, but I love you. And whatever we decide, we’ll decide together,” he said, repeating her words. Then he leaned down and kissed her, a gentle, almost fragile touch of his lips to hers.
If someone had told her six months ago that she’d hear those words from a man she’d known less than a month, she would have laughed. Or run. Here in this moment, though, they came as no surprise. She had no words to explain what existed between her and Brad and couldn’t even try if she wanted to. Whatever it was was buried so deep in her soul that it was a part of her, a part of her that defied description but was as real and as vital as the beat of her heart and the breath in her lungs.
“I love you, too,” she replied. “Now go take your walk and we’ll talk when you get back.”
His eyes fixed on hers for a heated, taut moment, then he leaned down and kissed her again. This time more firmly and with no hesitation—as if sealing their words between them. When he pulled back, he gave her a small nod, then turned and walked away.
***
Brad was on the phone with his assistant rearranging a few meetings when Kara, Chad, Sabina, Ava, and Mitch showed up. Kara was there for moral support, but he wasn’t sure why Mitchhad tagged along. He had no ties to HICC other than Ava. Then again, maybe that was enough.
“I can move that to Friday,” his assistant said.
“That’s perfect,” he answered. He couldn’t quite wrap his mind around the fact that he was casually discussing his work schedule while Scarlett prepared to meet a killer. But anchoring himself to the future gave him something to focus on other than the anxiety clawing at his chest.
By next Friday, when he stepped into the meeting Tana was currently rescheduling, the Rathwell situation would be resolved. He and Scarlett could settle into a new routine—a routine that didn’t have to take into consideration killers, drug lords, and call girls—and start exploring how they wanted to live their lives.
“The only other meeting is the staff meeting. We can either cancel that or you can have Monique run it,” she said.
“Ask Monique,” he replied. She was relatively new to his team, having joined the lodge a year earlier. But after the baby came, she’d have to step into his shoes when he took family leave, and he needed to give her the opportunity to start taking the reins.
“Email sent,” she replied. “And that’s it. Everything okay?”
No, but it would be, and that’s what he told her. After thanking her, they ended the call, and he joined his family in the living room. Somewhat reluctantly.
“It will be fine,” Kara said, stepping to his side as he entered.
Before Kara and Ethan married, Kara had had a killer after her. The man had already murdered several of her colleagues before setting his sights on her. To end his reign of death, she’d set herself up as bait, in much the same way Scarlett would. HICC had executed the operation flawlessly, and the man was currently serving several life sentences.
That didn’t mean they might not screw up this time, though.
In his head, he trusted they wouldn’t. In his head, he knew this operation was straightforward, and the chances of it going sideways weren’t high. Unfortunately, even though he’d agreed to it, his heart still hadn’t gotten the message.
Rather than agree with Kara—which felt like tempting fate—he asked instead, “So what is the plan?”
When he’d returned from his walk, he and Scarlett had talked it through for another hour before she’d called Jessica and given her the green light. Feeling raw and needy, he’d taken Scarlett straight to their bed, leaving Jess to plot and plan with HICC. And now was the moment of truth when he’d find out how close Scarlett would need to get to a killer.
“Let me call Jess,” Sabina said, pulling out her phone. He joined Scarlett on the couch while Ava took a chair and Mitch perched beside her. Chad took the other chair, Sabina sitting on the floor in front of him, and Kara grabbed the last seat on the couch.
The ringing of Jess’s phone—on speaker—filled the room. Once, twice, then she picked up.
“Are we ready?” she asked.
“Ready,” Sabina confirmed. “We’re with Brad and Scarlett. Kara, Ava, and Mitch are here, too.”
Something creaked in the background, and the sound of a man clearing his throat came over the line. “I’m here, too,” Tucker said.
The fact that they were together didn’t surprise him—after all, Tucker would be the lead operative—but the creak, one that sounded suspiciously like the headboard of a bed, did. And judging by the way Sabina’s eyebrows shot up, and both Ava and Chad smirked, it didn’t escape their notice, either.
Sabina cleared her throat, mimicking Tucker. “Great. Jess, do you want to tell Scarlett and Brad the plan?”
Without preamble, she jumped in. “He frequents a coffee shop at three every afternoon when he’s on duty. It’s called the Lima Bean—the beans all come from Peru, if you’re wondering—and that is where we’ll set the meeting up. He’ll take note that we’ve picked his go-to spot, and it will intrigue him rather than alarm him.”
“How can you be sure?” Brad asked.
