Page 85 of Being Bold
Yumi almost snorted. The lawyer was trying to puzzle her out. Maybe she’d have been amused if she hadn’t been in the worst kind of trouble. But the CIA wanted her dead. What she needed was to disappear.
When she said nothing, he lowered his voice. Sidling closer, he lightly touched the top of her arm. “I have a brother who . . .” he trailed off with a shake of his head. “He could help.”
The elevator opened on the main floor, and she looked up at Burkhart, silently demanding he offer his arm. When he gotthe hint, she wrapped hers around him, asking, “Who’s your brother?”
They exited the lift, and she leaned on him while steering around the crowd toward the main entrance.
“Miles, or I guess he goes by Crane? He works for Tactical Operations & Protection. They—”
“I’ve heard of it,” she cut him off.
Well, that’s interesting . . .
She hadn’t met Crane, but she recognized the name. The rest of his team at TOP was very familiar to her. Maybe Barrett Burkhart might come in handy, after all.
They were nearly to the glass exit doors when she felt it. Blood trickled past the bandage on her leg. Gravity urged its flow down her skin, and soon it would leave droplets on the limestone under their feet.
“Shit!” she cursed softly.
“What’s wrong?” Burkhart’s question sounded far away.
Her heels echoed against the stone and the noise buzzed in her ears. She blinked as the lights in the hall darkened at the edges of her vision. Her head didn’t feel right. Another step, and she stumbled, but Barrett’s arm kept her vertical.
Damn.She must have lost more blood than she realized.
Clinging to him, she managed to mumble, “Take me to TOP,” before her vision completely tunneled and she lost her grip on consciousness.
Epilogue
Bo
Bo and Selene walked into Tactical Operations & Protection’s conference room in Charlottesville, Virginia. They were the first to arrive for the operation debrief. No bodies filled the matching slim black leather chairs surrounding the shiny silver tabletop, and the television hanging on the wood-paneled accent wall remained dark.
Bo hadn’t been inside this room or TOP headquarters since he’d been hired three years ago. They typically debriefed in the field or via videocall, but Victor had insisted everyone meet here for this one. He mulled over why.
“Where do we sit?” Selene’s question pulled him from his thoughts. She hovered in front of the windows, twisting her fingers together.
Clearly, he needed to make her relax. Grinning at how he planned to do that, he advanced on her. Backing her into the corner, he boxed her in and leaned down to steal her lips in a kiss that he’d been waiting the last several hours to give her. After wrapping up in Montreal, they’d flown straight here. He was ready to get this over with and find a hotel room for some alone time with her.
She returned the embrace with fervor. Wanting more, he slid his hand underneath her shirt to trace the skin just under her breasts.
Her mouth popped off his with a gasp. “We can’t do that here!” she cautioned with a smile that told him she’d like to, though.
His hand was still up her shirt. He was pretty sure theycoulddo this here. He craved her enough to want to but . . .
He huffed, “Yeah, you’re right. I’m pretty sure there are cameras.”
“What?” she shrieked, head swiveling to look for them. “Bo!”
He couldn’t help but chuckle at her panic. Removing his hands, he tugged at her waist. “Let’s find a hotel before we give them a show.”
She shook her head with a smile. “Afterward.”
As much as he didn’t want to wait, he figured walking out on his team after what they’d done for Selene wouldn’t sit well. “Fine,” he grumbled.
Reaching for her hand, he led her to the table. He chose the seat closest to the door and parked her beside him. She chuckled when he pulled her chair closer so that he could keep his hand on her thigh.
A smile made his lips twitch as he thought about how he planned to spend the time in their hotel room. It started with slowly undressing Selene, and then—
