sighed. “I guess I cannot dispute that since she’s already admitted it.” He ran his hand down his tie and looked as if he was trying to figure out what to make of everything going on around him.
Being a newlywed and a member of the royal family that had recently been targeted—albeit by amateur threats—could not be easy. For as beautiful as the island and Kris’s collection of antique cars was, Gary didn’t envy him at the moment. In fact, when he’d climbed out of bed this morning, Gary had thought that returning to his cabin on the Choptank River in Cambridge, Maryland, seemed like a far better place to be.
“I’ll be looking closely into this Morty person,” Gary told Kris. It was his attempt to reassure his one and only long-term friend that he was there to help. Regardless of how things may have appeared last night.
“I’ve already advised my assistant to pull everything we have on him. As a staff member, he would have gone through a vigorous vetting process,” Kris stated.
“More thorough than the one on Ms. Sampson’s staff, I hope,” Gary stated then immediately wished he’d kept that thought to himself.
It was because he viewed Kris as a friend and felt comfortable with him that he was able to say what was on his mind. With anyone else, Gary was instantly in soldier mode, keeping a tight lip on any and everything. Lack of communication was one of the things his ex-wife had complained about until his ears burned.
“I’ll take the fall for that,” Kris agreed. “I spent so much time studying Landry’s file that I didn’t look closely enough at Amari Taylor’s. Still, when I went back over everything that was provided for my perusal, there still wasn’t anything to indicate that he would try to harm my family.”
“That’s part of their job. They infiltrate and execute.” Gary knew that course of action all too well.
“Guess I should have joined the military like you and Roland,” Kris stated evenly.
Gary shook his head. “You took the path that was right for you. I’m the one who kept making all the wrong turns.” That’s what he liked to call the way he’d lived his life. A series of turns and roadblocks meant to ultimately get him to his destination. At thirty years old and, finally, after too many years to count, he’d been able to breathe and live contentedly. Gary was glad the turns and roadblocks were behind him.
“Where is Roland, anyway?” Gary asked. “The calendar you gave me access to doesn’t have his location.”
Kris frowned then. He looked as if he wanted to curse, or better yet, punch something, but he didn’t. Gary knew he wouldn’t. Kris wasn’t built that way.
“He goes off for days or weeks at a time and nobody really knows where he is. I asked him to be more mindful of our situation now, but you know Roland has always had a mind of his own.”
Gary nodded. “Yeah, I know how that feels.” If there was one member of the royal family Gary could totally relate to, it was Roland DeSaunters. The need to be free to roam and to make whatever decision suited him, without council, was imperative to Gary. Roland, from all that Kris had told him over the years, was the same way.
“We’re going to need to brief him eventually, when we finalize all the changes you’ve suggested,” Kris told him.
Gary nodded again. “True. In a couple of days,” he said. “I want to get a few more details locked down. Then we can talk about the probability of another strike on your family.”
Kris stared at him then, a seriously worried and annoyed look on his face. “That’s a definite probability, isn’t it?”
Gary didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
“What’s a definite probability?” Samantha asked as she stepped through the door only a few feet behind Gary.
“That it’s going to rain later,” Kris answered while Gary stepped to the side, making room for her to stand with them.
When she looked to Gary, he nodded. “We should be back from your appointments by the time the rain begins.”
She looked at Kris, her eyes narrowing as she finally shook her head. “Rain usually lasts about an hour here on the island, but as high as the temperatures are likely to be today, a shower might be welcomed. I’ll be back by dinner,” she told Kris and moved away from them, heading to her car.
For the next few seconds Gary and Kris simply stared at her walking away, until finally Kris clapped a hand on Gary’s shoulder.
“You might rethink your plan after spending the day with her when she’s in this type of mood,” Kris told him. “So I guess this is payback for letting her kiss you in the first place.”
Gary felt the corner of his mouth lift in a smile. He was certain no living and breathing man would have been able to resist kissing a woman like Samantha DeSaunters.
When Kris had walked away, feeling a little more triumphant than Gary appreciated, Gary walked over to the car. He nodded to Phillipe. The driver had remained standing by the back door, closing it only after Gary slipped onto the leather seat.
“What are you doing?” Samantha asked immediately.
“You have appointments today, correct?”
“I have appointments. Not you,” she stated easily.
He shook his head. “I’m going where you go today.”
“This is ridiculous. It doesn’t make any sense at all. As far as your rationalization for why your idea is such a great one, I—”
He hadn’t been able to resist. Her hair was pulled over one shoulder, the tiny earrings twinkling at her ear. The blouse she wore was cut low and her jacket was open so that he could see hints of her cleavage. But it was enough to drive him freakin’ crazy in the few moments they’d been alone.
Gary had tried to focus on what she was saying by looking at her mouth, but that was a mistake. Her lips were covered in a peach-colored gloss, the bottom one a little plumper than the top. Glimpses of her straight white teeth and just a peek of her tongue had his body aching for another taste. Just once more.
So he’d quickly closed the space across the seat of the car, using one hand to grasp the back of her neck and pull her in for the assault.
The moment his lips touched hers Gary knew it was a mistake. And yet he continued. He moved in farther, thrusting his tongue deeper, letting the sound of her long and sensuous sigh drape him like a cloak. Her hand instantly came around to cup his neck in the same way he was holding her. When he tilted his head one way and deepened the kiss, she tilted hers the opposite way, taking everything he had to offer. It was like a perfectly matched battle. Only, Gary knew way back in the recesses of his mind, that they were uneven. This wasn’t what they were supposed to be doing. It wasn’t expected or acceptable for either of them.
And yet he continued.
The car was moving down the incline toward the front gate and came to a halting stop, as did their kiss. Gary pulled back just enough to turn his face so that he could look out the window at what was going on.
There was another vehicle at the front gate, trying to gain access.
