Hidden Away (KGI #3)(95)

It was time to call in a few favors.

CHAPTER 35

RIO wasn’t happy when Garrett informed him Steele and his team were coming in hot. The team leader’s lips thinned and his jaw went taut.

“Should have just hung up some balloons and announced a f**king party,” Rio muttered.

Garrett gave him a look of sympathy. Rio was a loner and it had probably been hard enough to open up his private sanctuary to Garrett and Sarah but now he had to play host to Steele and his entire team and there wasn’t much love lost between the two team leaders.

“Tell him this is my show. He’s not barging onto my turf and taking over.”

“He knows,” Garrett said. “Van was clear. You’re on point. You know this area. You have all the escape routes. Steele and his team are here to provide cover and support.”

Rio nodded but he still looked pissed.

“Look on the bright side,” Garrett said. “Van sent them to f**king Alaska first. Steele’s probably not any happier that he’s had to haul ass to Central America from Alaska.”

Rio grinned. “Alaska, huh. Ouch.”

Garrett rolled his eyes at how delighted Rio was over Steele’s inconvenience.

“I’ll stick Steele and his team on the perimeter. They can sleep in the trees. They’ll have a bird’s-eye view of the valley and the river. If someone comes after us, they’ll come from the air or the river. Either way we’ll nail them before they get here.”

Garrett nodded. “I want Lattimer taken down the first time he shows his face. And Rio, tell your men to be careful. Lattimer is a ruthless bastard. He has no compunction about killing those he perceives as a threat. I don’t want to lose a single man.”

Rio’s eyes went flat. “I already lost one man. I’m not losing another.”

Months earlier, one of Rio’s men had been killed when Garrett’s mom had been abducted from the hospital where Garrett’s dad had been taken after suffering a heart attack. It had been hard on the team leader. He’d felt enormous guilt over his man’s death and Marlene Kelly’s abduction.

Garrett put a hand on Rio’s shoulder. “I know this sucks for you man, but I appreciate it.”

“What’s their ETA?”

“Two hours.”

Rio nodded. “I’ll meet them at the river and show them their posts.”

Garrett stifled a smile. Anytime Rio rolled out the welcome mat, it was guaranteed to be interesting.

After leaving Rio, Garrett went in search of Sarah only to find her curled on a couch in Rio’s library with a book in hand. It still amazed him that Rio had such refined tastes. In addition to the well-stocked library, the man had a wine cellar that would make royalty green with envy. It was obvious that Rio had spent a lifetime stocking his house in all the things he loved the most. Sarah had called it right when she’d suggested that this was Rio’s refuge. His home. Something he kept away from the rest of his life. It made Garrett look at his team leader in a whole new light. It also made him realize how little he knew about the men—and the woman—that KGI employed.

“Hey,” he said from the doorway.

She looked up, setting her book down on her lap. “Hi.”

A broad smile spread across her face, and her cheeks bloomed with color. It gave him a kick in the gut that she was obviously glad to see him.

“Enjoying yourself?”

She patted the spot on the couch beside her in invitation and he ambled over to settle beside her.

“It’s weird in a way. I feel almost guilty to be eating good food and enjoying good books. I keep thinking I should be looking over my shoulder and worrying.”

“That’s my job,” he pointed out. “Yours is to relax and not worry.”

She snuggled into his arms and lay her head on his shoulder. “You’re spoiling me, Garrett.”

He stroked a hand down her hair and kissed the top of her head. “Being spoiled isn’t a bad thing, surely.”

She sighed and rubbed her cheek over his chest. “No, it isn’t.” Then she raised her head up so sharply she almost butted him in the chin. “Hey, I never got a caramel num num.”

He chuckled. “They haven’t gone anywhere. Well, not unless Rio and his men found them.”

She scrambled out of his arms and hurried toward the door. “I’ll fight Rio for them.”

Garrett pushed up to follow her, grinning the whole way. In the kitchen, Sarah jerked open the fridge and stared inside, her brow furrowed in concentration. Then her eyes lit up and she reached in and pulled out the pie dish.

Garrett took it from her, turned the dish upside down onto a glass platter and tapped until the whole thing came out. Then he tossed the dish into the sink and began cutting the dessert into little pieces. Sarah hung impatiently at his side until he offered her a bite.

She pounced on it and nibbled at the treat. She closed her eyes and groaned. “Oh my God. This is wonderful, Garrett. Give me more.”

She shoved him aside and picked out several of the larger pieces. He chuckled as she viewed him suspiciously, like she was an animal guarding her food.

“They’re all yours,” he said, putting his hands up in defense. He watched as she put another bite into her mouth and closed her eyes with a soft groan.

“Rio has an enclosed pool off the left wing of this house. Wanna go for a swim?” he asked.