Lost and Found (Masters & Mercenaries: The Forgotten #2)(123)

“That asshole is going to try to blackmail me,” she said.

“He won’t after I’m done with him.” Owen wasn’t giving up. He couldn’t. This would be the first time he’d been alone with her since that day at Huisman’s. He’d woken up laid out in a bed next to Robert’s, and they’d proceeded to spend the next two days complaining about the food and missing their women. At least Ari had come to see Rob. They’d talked about having their first date.

It had made Owen cranky.

“Let’s get this over with if you’re going to do it.” Ezra unlocked the doors. “Theo and I will stay out here in case we need a quick getaway, but remember we just managed to get off the police’s radar. Try not to kill him.”

“I’ll try, but it’s going to be hard.” Becca got out of the van.

“I think he was talking to me.” Owen followed her.

“Well, I’m the one who’s pissed. That weasel.” She strode into the building. “As for you, don’t fight with him. You’ll tear your stitches and then you’ll be late for the plane.” She stopped and looked around. “Wow, it’s weird to be back here. I know it’s only been a few days, but it seems like a lifetime.”

“Becca, I want to talk. I can’t leave for London without us talking.” He wasn’t sure he could leave for London at all.

“There will be plenty of time for that later.” She sniffled a little and turned back to the hallway, moving to the lift. She passed the modern one, toward the one she’d sworn she would never use again. “I’m sure we’ll need to talk about a lot of things. How long will you be in London?”

He hated this polite talk when all he wanted to do was to force her to look him in the eye. “I don’t know that I’ll be going to London at all.”

The lift door opened and she walked inside. “You’re going on the new mission? I heard Ezra talking about exploring what happened at Kronberg with Tucker. I’m going to put him in touch with a woman who worked there. I should have known you would go with your brothers.”

How was he supposed to answer that? He would go if he had to. He owed those men. But he wanted to be with her. “I missed you. I wanted to see you the last couple of days.”

That seemed to fluster her. “I wasn’t avoiding you. There was a lot of stuff that had to be done. I made sure you were stable. The doctors at the clinic seemed knowledgeable. You weren’t in any danger and neither was Robert.”

How kind of her. “The doctors at the clinic were bribable.”

The door opened and she strode out. She didn’t seem to care that they’d been in the very lift where they’d first made love. Oh, she might have been having a good time, but now he knew that he’d been making love.

“Well, they wouldn’t let me take you to a regular hospital.” She stopped in the middle of the hallway. “Shouldn’t we talk about how we’re going to handle this thing? Am I going to distract him while you search for the package? Maybe you should distract him and I’ll look for it.”

Anger and frustration thrummed through his system, and he wanted to get this over with so they could have the fight they’d needed to have since the moment he’d screwed up. He’d been an arsehole, but he loved her. He’d told her he loved her. Now she thought she could pretend it never happened?

“Let me show you how this is going to go.” He turned and strode down the hall toward the apartment Carter Adams occupied. He could feel Becca behind him, racing to keep up.

“Remember what I said about your stitches,” she was saying.

He didn’t give a damn about his stitches. All that mattered was getting rid of the last piece of this mission that existed between them. When he had that damn package in his hands, they could be done with all the stupid things that had come between them and maybe he could finally gain her forgiveness.

He slammed his fist against the door.

“Owen, maybe we should talk,” she said, more tentative than she’d sounded before.

Before he could reply, the door opened and he was staring at Carter, who glared at him before turning his attention to Becca.

“Ah, Dr. Walsh,” he said with a frown. “I knew you would be here after your brush with the law. You’ll have to tell me how you managed to get out of that. You didn’t have to bring your meathead boyfriend with you. I think we should discuss this situation alone, don’t you?”

That was not happening. He needed to make a few things plain. If Carter thought he was some kind of a thug, he could play that role. He pulled back his right hand and smashed it into the fucker’s face. Carter’s head snapped back and he heard Becca gasp.

“Owen, someone could call the police,” she said.

He was sick of that argument. “Who? Carter’s not going to be able to in a few moments, and the rest of the bloody floor is currently preparing to flee the country.” He followed Carter inside and was satisfied when Becca closed the door behind them.

Carter was on the ground, desperately backing away while trying to ensure his nose stayed on his face. He looked like a three-legged crab, except far less coordinated. “Get out.”

Not until he had what he’d come for. “Where is it?”

Becca seemed to have found something that interested her on his bar. “This is my mail. And my hair clips. Why do you have my hair clips?”