Page 25 of Innocent Target

At that second the woman they’d not so subtly been discussing walked out onto the deck looking bleary-eyed. Seemingly without thought, she walked to him and slid her arms around his waist as he lifted his own to wrap it around her. Her head rested on his chest as her body relaxed into his. This was her way of showing him she was all in and not about to run. Being open in front of Ian when she was usually so private was a statement, and one he appreciated more than he had known.

It had been in the back of his mind that she might regret what had happened last night. He’d feared that the best damn night of his life would be relegated to a mistake in her eyes.

They spent the morning hanging around with Ian, the older man making them both laugh with stories from his days on the force and Mercy’s days as a rookie. It was easy to see why he had such a big place in Mercy’s heart. He loved her like a father, and she excelled under his influence. With every second that passed, he saw more things about her to fall for, and the thought both terrified and excited him.

Mercy wouldn’t be a woman he could walk away from, and he didn’t want to, but he feared if this mission went wrong, one of them would be left heartbroken.

Around lunchtime, the call came with the meet place and time. Nick had arrived an hour before with King, who now had a small child of his own and was probably the most prepared to deal with a newborn. Nick would go with them to the meet, while King stayed to watch Abbie.

“Are you sure you need me with you? I’m not sure how I feel about leaving Abbie.”

James wrapped a hand around the nape of her neck, pulling her close enough that he could feel her breath against his lips, see the flecks of silver in her gorgeous eyes. “She’ll be fine, but if you want to stay, I understand.”

Mercy smiled, and the action softened her harsh expression, taking it from striking to downright stunning. “I’m being silly, aren’t I?”

“No, beautiful. Not silly, just overprotective. I like it on you. A lot. I’m discovering so much about you on this trip.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“That you love bone deep when you do, that you take on every failure as your own, and you don’t give yourself credit for the amazing woman you are.” James felt her stiffen her spine and knew he may have overdone and should probably lighten the mood. “Plus, you snore.” He watched as she blinked slowly in outrage, but he sensed the relief in her and knew he’d done the right thing.

“How dare you. I do not.”

“Nah, maybe not but you do talk in your sleep.”

He gave her too brief a kiss and walked toward the door where Nick stood watching then intently, his knowing eyes assessing the changes between them and the new closeness.

He leveled a stare at his friend, waiting for the criticism. James felt the hair on his nape prickle in readiness to defend what he and Mercy had, but the woman behind him spoke first.

“Save it, Nick. Whatever is going on between James and I is nobody’s business but our own. It won’t affect the team or the dynamic.”

James spun to look at Mercy who looked ready to go to war, hands on her hips head tilted back proudly, and he wanted to drag her into the nearest vacant room and show her just how fucking sexy that was.

“Fine, but I ain’t going to any more weddings this year.”

Mercy snorted. “Hey, hold your roll, we aren’t there yet.”

“Whatever. Are we going or not?”

“Let’s go meet the FBI guy.”

Mercy went to move past him, and James caught her by the arm. She looked up at him in surprise when he dipped her back and kissed her hard. “That was so fucking hot.”

Her peal of laughter made him shake his head. How had this woman turned the worst time in his life around as she had?

He was still pondering that as they pulled up to the meet point. Spotting the FBI guy a mile away, he got his head in the game and focused on finding out more about the Henchmen MC and how they’d been found.

The three of them exited the car, walking toward the man seated in a booth at the diner just off the highway. He jerked his head up as they came in and tipped the coffee cup in his hand to his lips. James slid in the booth, and Mercy followed as Nick grabbed a chair and sat on the end.

“Thanks for meeting with us, Agent Rao.”

The man was in his early thirties, tall with a medium build, brown hair and intelligent brown eyes that regarded them suspiciously. “No problem.”

He said the words, but James felt his tension and suspected he was only there because someone had forced the issue. “What can you tell us about the Henchmen?”

Rao regarded him with a hard stare before he glanced at Mercy and then Nick. “I can tell you that you’re out of your depth. If your sister got herself mixed up in this, then she’s probably already dead.”

His callous remark had James seeing red. He rose to his feet, ready to get in the man’s face as Mercy laid a hand on his arm.