Fast Burn (Body Armor #4)(90)

Andy hooted. Terrance snickered.

Quietly, Olsen said, “You already know you can’t trust her, so stop dicking around.”

Over her head, Ross asked, “Is he right, Sahara? Should I go ahead and strip you now? Or do you think you can behave?”

“That depends.” Steamy heat rose from his body, alleviating some of her chill. “Will I get to undress in private?”

“In this room,” he told her, “with everyone’s gaze averted. That’s as private as it’s going to get.”

“Then I’d just as soon keep my wet clothes.”

He sighed. “Difficult to the bitter end.” In the next instant, he stripped off her coat despite her squawking struggles, then his big paw settled on her shoulder, gently groping. His gaze landed on her breasts. “I suppose your sweater is dry enough. The skirt has to go, though.” He reached for the side zipper.

Sahara slapped his hand, saying, “I’ll do it!”

For a heartbeat or two, they stared at each other, her defiant, him amused.

“Spoilsport.” He shook out a blanket, then held it up in front of her, stretched wide between the breadth of his long arms. “Good enough?”

Fuming, she gritted out, “Look away.”

He laughed softly...and turned his head.

Unwilling to push her luck any further, Sahara unzipped and shimmied out of the sodden skirt. After being dragged through the river to the boat, everything from her waist down was drenched, including her panties, but no way would she remove them.

She dropped the skirt over the back of the pew, then took the blanket from Ross and wrapped it around herself toga-style, pulling one end to drape over her shoulder. Sitting in the corner of the pew closest to the kerosene heater, she tucked her feet up under the blanket.

That little skirmish had helped her to forget, for just a few minutes, the sight of her brother falling into the mud after the gunshot. She squeezed her eyes shut and put her head in her hands.

“Sahara.”

She jerked her head up to glare at Ross.

He gave her a stern look that gradually turned into rage.

She didn’t know what to think when he clasped her chin and lifted her face, turning it toward the dim light, his gaze searching. “How did you bruise your face?”

“I got in the way of your friend’s fist.”

He straightened with a slow menace that had Olsen saying, “She tried to shoot me! It was the easiest way to disarm her.”

Sahara snapped, “You’d just shot my brother! Of course I wanted to shoot you. In fact, I still do.”

Olsen huffed. “You see? She’s nuts.”

Fury got her off the bench. Her bare feet on the dirty floor sent a chill climbing straight through to her heart. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten you, Olsen. You’re the sexist pig who feels superior to women.”

Olsen reared back. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“When you helped kidnap me the first time, I remember everything you said. I knew right then you were an insecure, ignorant—”

“That’s enough.” Ross forcibly pressed her back in her seat with a withering look that clearly said cease and desist.

“He started it.”

“For the love of... Stay put.” Assuming she’d obey, he turned away and said to the men, “Anyone else touch her, for any reason, and he’ll be dealing with me. Are we clear?”

After a collective bobbing of heads in the affirmative, Ross wanted explanations of what had gone down.

Sahara could hear them explaining the chaos of the evening, how they’d intended to take Scott.

Ross clearly wasn’t happy, especially since, according to what he said, her brother really had paid the money owed. Somehow, he’d gotten into Ross’s apartment and left it there for him to find.

“Why didn’t you tell us you got the money?” Andy asked.

“I wasn’t sure if it was a trap. I didn’t want to drag you all into it until I was sure no one had followed me.”

Olsen nodded. “I remember you told us to watch our backs.”

“I’d just gotten the text telling me the money was at my place. Even after I got home and found it, I kept wondering if Scott had men ready to close in on me—or on all of you, if I gave you away.”

“You wouldn’t,” Terrance said with conviction.

“Of course not, but a lot of good it did me trying to look out for you. Seems we might all be sunk anyway.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“We found one guy hiding in the bushes, watching. I clubbed him in the back of the head.”

Brand! For an instant, pure terror gripped her. Then she remembered Brand calling her name, racing toward the boat.

Her pulse calmed as she realized he was okay. Injured, probably, but like her, he would recover.

Andy said, “It should have been easy, but instead of raising his hands, Scott lunged toward me. I wasn’t expecting that. I just...reacted.”

“He’s dead?”

With a shrug in his voice, Andy said, “Turned out she had a small army with her. We heard them charging in, so I didn’t stick around to take his pulse. He sure dropped like a dead man.”

In an effort to keep her heart from shattering, Sahara concentrated on listening. Once her men rescued her, she wanted to be able to give a detailed accounting to the police. Assuming any of goons survived, the very least they deserved was a long time in prison.