Page 67 of Midnight Caress

He pulled back and stared her in the face, expectantly.

“What?”

“Say it.”

She was crying for real, not trying to hide it, tears streaming down her face. “All right.” She laughed. “I love you. I thought I wasn’t going to see you again.”

“You’re never doing anything like that, ever again.” His voice was low, fervent. “Ever,everagain.”

“No.” Her voice was just as fervent. “Climbing walls at the gym will be the most dangerous thing I ever do. Ever. I—”

Her eyes widened. She’d forgotten. How could she have forgotten? “Ranesh!” she cried. “Is he okay? Is he hurt?” Ranesh was a gentle soul and she’d thrown him in the middle of danger. Oh God, if anything had happened to him, she’d never forgive herself! Even if he wasn’t hurt, surely he’d be traumatized for life.

Pierce laughed. “He’s fine. See for yourself. Ranesh! Come out!”

The bushes crackled and shook and Ranesh emerged, followed by Jacob Black. Ranesh was smiling, hair standing up on end.

“Riley!” he shouted.

“Ranesh! Are you okay?”

She ran to him, held him by his scrawny upper arms, examining him from head to toe. He was beaming and he looked like he’d grown a couple of inches in the last half hour.

He was bouncing from foot to foot, hopped up on excitement.

“That wasawesome!And my Antz performed brilliantly, didn’t they, Jacob?”

He looked back and up and up at Jacob Black’s face, clearly overwhelmed with hero worship. Jacob?

Jacob put a hand on Ranesh’s shoulder, covering it entirely. “Absolutely. They are amazing. You are amazing! We’re going to work together, make millions of dollars. The Antz are a real game changer.”

“We’ll go on another adventure?” Ranesh looked happy and about five years old.

“Oh yeah. Count on it.” Jacob Black smiled. It looked really weird on his austere face. Riley was surprised his face didn’t crack. “We’ll go on lots of adventures.”

They walked over to the picnic table. Two of Black’s men had put zip ties on Sommers, who was uselessly resisting, shouting incomprehensibly. No one paid him any attention.

“Where are his men?” Riley asked.

Pierce smiled. “Taken care of. Don’t worry about them. Now.” His expression changed, turned serious. He braced his legs apart as if expecting a hurricane. “You and I have things to discuss.”

Riley put her hands on his chest. To reassure herself that he was okay. And because it felt amazing. “Yes?”

“Black wants you to come work with him. He has offices all over the States and could probably offer you a ton of money. But I want you to come back to Portland with me. Work with ASI. They’ll give you lots of money, too. Not as much as Black, but you’d be working with Felicity, Hope and Emma. And me.”

He braced even more. “I won’t takenofor an answer.”

And waited.

Well, she thought,let’s see. Go to work for a huge corporation where she knew no one, in some city where she knew no one. That was how she’d started at the NSO and she still didn’t have any friends.

Orrrr … move to Portland, Oregon, which everyone said was a charming little city. Work with her best friends, who were really happy there. Work with Pierce who was the love of her life.

Yes or no?

No question.

“Yes,” she said. “Oh, yes.”

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