Page 55 of Girl in the Water
Chapter Ten
Ian
Ian said, “No, thank you,” to the flight attendant when she offered him a glass ofCaipirinha, the national drink of Brazil, even if at the moment he was more tempted to go back to drinking than he’d been in the past four years.
Daniela slept next to him, her dark lashes fanning her cheeks, a picture of innocence. As if she would be no trouble at all.Sure.
God, he desperately wanted everything to go back to normal.
She wanted the job, and she wanted a relationship with him. He’d had a stern talk with her, but she’d refused to give up both. Technically, she’d refused to give up either. But, magnanimously, she’d given him time to think about the relationship.
She negotiated like a pro. She knew him too damn well, and that was the problem. She’d known his arguments before he’d made them.
Christ. A relationship. Between the two of them. In what universe would that ever be right?
Not that she wasn’t a beautiful woman. Men kept looking at her. When they did, Ian glared them down. Even so, some little fucker had managed to sidle up to her at the airport and buy her coffee.
Ian wanted her to have a boyfriend. He wanted her to have a normal life. Just not with that guy.
Truth was, she was stunning. She’d filled out, grown curves, kept her black hair long, and had a wild beauty, a certain Mother Earth kind of wholesome way about her. She wasveryclearly a grown woman. Some guy was going to be damned lucky to end up with her.
But she wasn’t for Ian.
Wanting her would be fricking damn wrong, and that was the end of it.
She was as bright as a torch in the night jungle. She was all youthful energy and beauty and innocence. And he was a worn-out, jaded soldier. He had no right to her. She’d already brought him more happiness these past four years than he deserved.
They were going to find the missing baby, while he kept Daniela safe, then they would go back home, and he’d get started on the task of finding her an appropriate boyfriend.
She needed someone. She’d had a few dates in college, but nothing serious, nothing steady.
And Ian needed to start seeing Nicole again.
Without his drunken binges, his one-night stands had disappeared long ago, and he wasn’t going back there. Nicole and he were on the same page, wanted the same thing. No feelings. No complications. He needed Nicole. Because if he didn’t have someone in his life, it’d be as if he was saving himself for Daniela, which would be just plain wrong.
Also—he grabbed on to his next thought with the desperation of a drowning man—if he found Daniela the right kind of boyfriend, then she’d have someone else to watch over her, and Ian could go back to the house in Santana and finally figure out what had happened to Finch.
Ian kept his thoughts firmly on that topic for the rest of the flight.
They got into Rio in the late afternoon, an hour past their scheduled arrival since the pilot had to fly around a major storm. At least they didn’t have to wait for luggage claim since they’d each brought a single backpack, which they’d taken as carry-ons. He didn’t know where they’d end up in the course of the investigation, and they couldn’t exactly be running around in the jungle with suitcases.
Once they passed through customs, they went straight to their hotel, some local chain, midpriced, a place that fit in the DOD’s budget.
He’d called the local investigator from the plane, and the guy called him back just as they were checking in at the front desk, so Ian walked away to take the call and left Daniela to handle check-in.
He was still on the phone when she headed for the elevators. He followed her, ending the call.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“We have an appointment first thing in the morning.”
They got off on the sixth floor—beige walls, green tile floor. He followed her to room 605.
As she opened the door, he held out his hand. “My key?”
“We’re sharing a room.” She sailed inside without looking at him.
He stood in the doorway and felt a headache coming on. “I reserved two adjoining rooms.”
