The Dangerous Thief (Stolen Hearts #3)(23)
“That could be a problem.” Toni’s brow creased. Willa could practically see her running through thousands of different scenarios. “Hold up,” said Toni suddenly. “You didn’t know James was coming here?”
Willa sighed. She was too sober for this conversation. So she just turned and walked farther into her apartment and left James and Toni to follow her. The penthouse apartment was on the top level of the building and overlooked the river. Although the kitchen was slightly closed off, the rest of the apartment was open, with fresh white walls and a light hardwood floor that complemented the natural light that came in through all the windows. Even though Willa could really go for a glass—or six—of wine at the moment, she decided to play it safe and took some water out of her fridge. She set two extra bottles on the island that divided the kitchen from the rest of the living space.
Toni took a seat on one of the barstools on the other side of the island and James moved to stand next to Willa. Toni’s gaze bounced between the two of them. She shook her head as she twisted off the cap. “So, Willa, if you didn’t know Weston was coming here, what exactly happened today?”
“Well.... He walked in the room and I literally fell off my chair in surprise.”
Toni smirked and rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you, Weston. You should know better.”
“You have something you want to tell me?” he asked in a low, gruff voice.
“Hey guys,” said Willa, trying to defuse the situation.
But Toni apparently wasn’t in the mood to back down. “Yeah. I want to tell you that the guy we’re after killed my mother. I can’t afford to have you running around with your little girlfriend,” she turned to Willa quickly, “no offense,” she turned back to James, “and taking your eye off the ball.”
“You want me to stay focused on the prize? Where is Hart, Toni? Is he going to be sleeping in the spare bedroom at your borrowed place or is he going to be safely tucked away at a hotel?”
Willa had no idea what just happened, but Toni immediately shut up. After taking a deep drink from the water bottle, she set it back on the counter and fished out a piece of paper from her pocket and slid it over. “This is my contact info. Don’t lose it. If it gets compromised, I can just change it. I isolated the signal from the bugs and gave them a replacement feed that is transferring to whoever is on the other end. I’ll switch it up to make it believable. Maybe transmit one of those Real Housewives shows or something.”
Great. Toni hacked my DVR.
“In the meantime, please try to remember that you’re not on vacation, Weston. And Willa, if you’re in the mood for tall, beefcake, and handsome, I will find someone else for you. Someone who is much less distracted.”
James narrowed his eyes at her and Willa immediately averted her gaze away from him. This was a topic she was not discussing with Toni. As Toni started for the elevator, Willa followed and asked, “Are Melody and Adam coming?”
“Adam,” said Toni slowly, as though tasting the word and not being very happy about the taste. She snapped out of it and hit the down arrow on the elevator. “Melody isn’t America’s most wanted any more, but she’s still too hot to be in such a big city. Her face would be recognized in a heartbeat. Weston is our freshest face, so he’s a good asset. Jennifer and Austin will be here soon and between the two of them, we’ll pretty much own the city.”
“So what do you need me for? What is my role in this?”
“You’ve already done your part. You told us that Jadon Belli knows we’re coming after him. So for the time being, keep your eyes and ears open. Weston will be doing the same. I’m still sorting some things out, so I’ll be in touch.”
By then, the elevator had reached the apartment and Toni was getting on. Funny, Willa had been upset about the strange woman’s appearance, but she didn’t want her to leave. Because now she was once again alone with James, and now that he’d made his intentions more than clear, she was going to have to be diligent every second he was close.
Mostly because her own self-control wasn’t to be trusted.
“What the hell did you say to her?”
“Pointed out that she’s being a hypocrite.” James undid the buttons at his wrists and rolled up his sleeves.
Toni being here had ended up being a good thing. James had caught her by surprise twice today. Once when he walked into that conference room and again when he’d made the intensity of his feelings all too well known. Well, she wasn’t going to be taken by surprise again.
“I have to get some things ready before I go out for dinner tonight with Jadon. There’s the television that I’m sure you can figure out and this building also has a fully equipped gym and recreation center if you want to get away for a few minutes.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” said James.
Of course he wasn’t. “That’s fine. But I need some time alone, so until then, please make yourself at home.”
He and Willa had very different definitions of alone time. James had been waiting for her to come out of her room for a good hour before he realized that she had no intentions of facing him again.
Understandable. He’d come on strong. He hadn’t meant to scare her, but he’d bottled everything up for too long. From the second he saw her when he first walked into that conference room, he knew it was only a matter of time before everything came back to the surface. The fact that he’d kept himself together until they reached her apartment was a miracle. And if Toni hadn’t shown up? He had to bite his lip as he thought about what he could be doing to Willa right at this moment.