Page 158 of Enigma: The Complete Collection
“Exactly. That's why you need to trust that I wouldn't keep anything from you unless it were important. I wish I could share everything with you now, but I can't… not yet. But when I can, I will. I promise. Okay?”
A smile curls on her lips. “Okay. I can work with that.” After straying her eyes over her clothing discarded chaotically throughout our room, she returns them to me. “I should be ready to leave in around twenty minutes. Will that give you enough time to make your calls?”
When I nod, she stares lovingly into my eyes. “Okay, I’ll meet you outside in twenty.”
“Stop looking at me like that, Isabelle, or we’ll never leave this cabin.”
“Please.”
When my brow arches, a pink hue flushes her cheeks.
“I said that out loud, didn’t I?”
My cheeks groan when they rise high. “Do you need me to scratch your itch before I make my calls?” When I step closer to her, I rake my eyes down her seductive body, ensuring she didn’t miss the innuendo in my tone.
Her eyes shift to the window at the same time a crack of lightning brightens the late afternoon sky. “Does your car have a hard-top roof?” Her bottom lip drops when I shake my head. “Then I’ll meet you outside in twenty minutes.”
She’s as scared of storms as she is of flying. She must have a vendetta against the sky.
After assuring her I’ll keep her safe, I head outside to make my calls. Parker answers his phone on the very first ring.
“Boss.”
I drift my eyes back to the cabin to ensure Isabelle isn’t within earshot. This is one conversation I never want her to overhear.
Confident the coast is clear, I ask, “Any updates?”
“Two point four million dollars is scheduled to be transferred Thursday morning at nine. The withdrawal will be distributed from your Cayman account.”
“Will the funds be traceable?”
Parker barks out a laugh. “No. This isn’t my first rodeo.”
“Good. Let me know the particulars once it’s been processed.”
“Will do.” His tone is as flat as his personality.
“Parker…”
I hear his phone hit his ear, before, “Yes, boss.”
“I want to be there when it’s done. I want to make sure it’s handled right.”
My request is met with a length of silence. I’m so convinced he has hung up on me, I lower my phone from my ear to check our call is still connected. It is. He’s just quiet.
I discover why when he growls, “Boss—”
He only says one word, but his tone speaks volumes. “No, Parker. It wasn’t a request. I'll be there.” I disconnect our call, refusing to answer to a member of my staff. I am the boss. I pay his salary. That means he does as I tell him, not the other way around.
The hairs on my arm bristle when I gallop down the three stairs at the front of the cabin. While heading to the attached garage, I dial a memorized number into my satellite phone.
“Everything all right?” Hugo questions not even three rings later.
“Yes. We’ll be leaving the cabin shortly. I want Roger to scan her apartment again before we arrive.”
I hear him scrub his chin. “Shouldn’t you be instructing Hunter that, since he's your head of security?”
“Was.That title is negotiable at the moment. Have Isabelle’s apartment scanned and update the security personnel in her building. Tell them no one, not even if they have police credentials, is allowed access to her floor without first running it through me.”
