On Her Master's Secret Service (Masters and Mercenaries #4)(46)

The spot beside them was already taken by a non-descript sedan. Adam had been given everything he needed to set up his equipment. “Do we only have the two slots?”

The parking was assigned.

“Yes,” Kristen explained. “When Sean’s car is delivered, one of us is going to have to park in front of the building. There’s a side door that takes you straight to the elevator. There’s one on each side of the building, so in all there are four points of entry, the garage, two side doors, and the main entry where guests have to go.”

It seemed fairly secure, better than he would get if they were at a motel. “The last one in parks outside. How many bedrooms do you have?”

“I have three. Adam is already set up in one. I thought Eve and I would share.”

No f*cking way. “Eve stays with me.”

She’d made her bed and she was definitely going to lie in it with him.

“Alex, we don’t need to play games outside the club,” Eve said in a far too patient voice. She’d been the calm one, the easy one to deal with. She hadn’t been snippy with anyone and everyone who asked a question or had a comment. And it was pissing him off. He was a volcano waiting to go off, and she was an ocean of calm.

He put the car in park, slammed out of his side, and hit the button to release the trunk. He stalked around to the passenger side of the back and had Eve’s door open before she could do it herself. He turned his back because if he laid a hand on her at this point, he just might have her over his knee right then and there. Getting the luggage was easier than dealing with Eve.

Even from the parking garage he could smell the salt in the air, hear the sound of the Atlantic hitting the shore. It was a soothing sound that did nothing to ease his anxiety.

What the hell was he supposed to do?

Sean walked up beside him and leaned in, grabbing his suitcase and a rolled up piece of luggage that he’d explained contained his knife set. He’d checked it at the airport but had been carrying it around ever since. “Don’t do something stupid. You need to think about this for two seconds.”

“I don’t think I have to do something stupid. You already did that for me.” Sean should have made sure Eve was safe at home. It was what he would have done for Sean.

Sean shook his head. “You’re my friend, but she’s my friend, too, Alex. If I had stopped her, she would have shown up anyway and then everything would have really gone to hell.”

“Yeah, I think that was her plan. She tried to talk me out of this. She couldn’t get her way so she manipulated the situation until I had to make a choice. I could give up looking for Evans or place her in danger. I’m either doing her bidding or I’m the bad guy, but that’s the way the last few years of our relationship have been.”

“I never made you the bad guy, Alex,” Eve said, her voice as steady as when she talked to her patients. He was getting her shrink voice. Awesome. She stood there, her grave eyes staring him down, and he felt like the bad guy. He was the * who always let her down.

He didn’t want to have this conversation here with witnesses. Hell, he didn’t want to have this conversation at all. He nabbed his bags and shoved Eve’s on top of his and started to follow the arrows that led to the elevators.

He was such an idiot. She was topping from the bottom and here he was still carrying her f*cking bags around because he couldn’t stand the thought of not doing it. Because a long time ago, he’d promised her father that he would treat her like a princess for the rest of her life, and she was still alive so he was still held to that vow and that meant Eve St. James didn’t carry her own bags or open her own doors.

And she sure as f*ck wasn’t sleeping alone tonight. There was a limit to his generosity.

“This is fun. All we need is some popcorn because this is a whole lot of drama.” Kristen gave him a wink as she walked through the door he held open. The elevator was immediately to his left. The door between the garage and the elevator was open, but the garage itself had a gate and a remote entry and security on site. Eve walked through next and then Sean.

Alex looked around. He needed to get his head out of his ass and start assessing their situation. This was going to be their home for the next couple of weeks. He needed to figure out the weaknesses.

“I count two CCTV cameras. One right behind you.” Sean held up his middle finger with a smile. “Hello, Adam.” He shrugged. “You know he’s already watching. It probably took him like five seconds on arrival to cut into the feed.”

Eve and Kristen were standing next to the elevator, just out of range. He lowered his voice. He just couldn’t f*cking let this go. “Why would you do this to me? Adam, I get. He’s always been closer to Eve, but I didn’t expect it from you.”

Sean frowned. “I did not betray you, and Kristen is right. You sound like a drama queen. Eve is not some girl off the street. She’s Eve St. James, and she’s smart and more capable of doing this particular job than anyone else. I brought her here for the same reason I came here myself. To watch your back because you are not capable of being reasonable about this. So calm yourself down before you do something truly stupid. Every single one of us walked away from something to be here to back you up, and we did it because we’re a family. Every one of us except that girl you’re placing so much trust in. She’s hiding something.”