“Hello?” a woman called out from up near the house, and Meara shoved at Finn to get him off her.
But he was already moving as fast as he could to distance himself from Meara.
Hell, Meara thought, what was I thinking? She hadn’t been. And although she’d thought Finn was a fairly sensible guy, she was now thinking otherwise. She sure hadn’t been in her right mind to allow it to go that far!
“Down here,” Finn said to Anna Johnson as she called to them from the cliff while he thought of taking a quick dip in the ocean to cool off his libido.
“Who is it?” Meara whispered, trying to get her bra and blouse back into place.
He could have kicked himself for what had happened between them. If Anna hadn’t arrived, he wasn’t sure just how far he would have taken this. Ever since he’d arrived at Meara’s place, he’d had an overwhelming need to do more than just ensure her safety. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was, although all the team members had been fascinated with her and none had dared cross Hunter by approaching her. But now?
She was his to protect, and somewhere along the line, that had turned into an uncontrollable need to possess. He brushed the sand off his trousers, not believing how easily he could lose control over himself when it came to her.
“It’s Anna Johnson,” he said to Meara, his lust-filled thoughts finally clearing enough to answer her. “She was supposed to stock the place with groceries. Earlier.”
His contact ran down the stairs and then strolled across the sand.
“Well, I see you made yourself at home,” Anna said to Finn, joining them on the beach, her auburn hair pulled back into a ponytail and swinging with her walk. A black windbreaker hid her shoulder holster, while her matching trousers covered up a knife and a spare gun. The only part of her outfit that wasn’t holding a weapon was a tight-fitting tank top clinging provocatively to well-rounded breasts that would easily distract any man from looking elsewhere.
Even with all her weaponry well hidden, she appeared dangerous, Finn thought. But maybe that was because he knew her so well. Knew how easily she could disarm a man. Knew how stealthily she could move. How deadly she could really be.
She looked Meara over, and he understood Anna well enough to recognize that she was checking to see if Meara looked as though she had been fooling around with Finn when he had a job to do and seduction wasn’t part of the mission. Meara’s hair had been knotted behind her head but was now half hanging out of the knot and draping over her shoulders as if she had indeed experienced a tumble with a man. Sand stuck to her clothes where it would not have collected if she had been sitting on the bench the whole time. And her expression and flushed cheeks indicated she was guilty as charged. Yeah, she looked as though they’d been making out.
Everyone knew Hunter wouldn’t go for it if he learned the truth. Meara hooking up with one of the members of the team was too risky, Hunter would say. He wanted his sister to have a mate who lasted longer than any of them might if they continued to take care of dangerous business like they were bound to do. That was one of the reasons Finn was so surprised that Hunter had taken a mate of his own. Tessa had to be someone really special.
Picking up on what had happened, Anna quickly glanced at Finn, her gaze shifting to his trousers. She raised her brows and looked up at him. “Well, you really did make yourself at home.” She motioned to the fire as if that was what she was referring to, but he knew better. “Have any more s’mores?” she asked.
“Help yourself. Anna, this is Meara, Hunter’s twin sister.”
“I gathered that.”
“And, Meara, this is Anna, one of our operatives.”
“I’d shake your hand,” Meara said, “but I’m afraid mine is a little sticky.”
Finn noted the distinct annoyance lacing her words. But Anna was acting like a smart-ass and riling up Meara.
“No need,” Anna said, reaching for the bag of marshmallows.
“You two probably have business to discuss alone,” Meara said and rose to get up. “I’m getting chilled anyway. See you in the morning, Finn. Nice meeting you, Anna.” Before he could object, Meara headed through the sand to the steps that would take her to the house above.
Anna cooked her marshmallows as they both listened to Meara’s footsteps on the wooden stairs until she reached the top, then walked across the deck to the house, opened the back door, and shut it.
Neither Anna nor Finn spoke for a moment, making sure they were alone. Then she said, “Wow.”
“Don’t. Say. Anything.”
She shook her head and combined the chocolate, marshmallow, and graham crackers. “Wasn’t going to say anything but ‘wow.’ Have you thought how Hunter will take this?”
“Anna.” His voice was firm. He didn’t want any discussion concerning his private affairs.
“All right, all right. Not a word. But you know how fiercely protective he is of her. When Paul said something that one time about how hot Meara looked, I swear Hunter was ready to tear him to shreds.”
Finn raised his brows at her.
She threw her hands up in the air, one still clutching a half-eaten s’more. “All right. Okay, not another word. It’s your ass that’s at stake, not mine.”
“Have you found out anything about the man who attacked Allan?”
“Not yet. But the guy they found dead on the cliffs? He was a contract assassin. Worked for anyone who would pay the bills.”
“Hell. But who was paying the bill this time, and will they send another to find us?”
“They will, and they have.”
Finn stared at her. She smiled with a look of pure innocence, and yet he recognized that look. She’d killed the assassin without blinking an eye. “He’s dead. He found your car at the dealership up the road. I made sure he didn’t learn where you went after that.”
Finn cursed under his breath. Who the hell wanted them dead? “And you don’t know who he worked for, either.”
“Nope. You had to know this case wouldn’t be easy. There was a second one, too. But I found him dead just a short distance from the other. I suspect he might have been killed by the same man who killed the assassin at Meara’s beach. He has to be on our side, and I believe he lost you at the car dealership. So what do you want me to do next? Want me to baby-sit Hunter’s sister?” Her eyes sparkled with amusement. She had to know his answer to that question. “You probably need some relief.”
“No.”
A small smile percolated as she made herself another s’more. “Because?”
“I’ve promised Hunter. He trusts me.” Although after he said so, he chastised himself for giving her an explanation. And he realized that Hunter’s trust didn’t extend to Finn tackling his sister in the sand and rutting her—even though they were fully clothed—like some primeval beast.
“Hmm.” Anna took a bite of her s’more. “Can’t eat just one.” She looked up at the house. “Better watch yourself.”
He knew she didn’t mean in regard to assassins, but to watch himself with one hot female gray.
“Hell, even if Hunter doesn’t kill you for going after his sister, the other guys on the team will be waiting in line to wring your neck for not having the chance to pursue her.”
“Anna.”
She shrugged. “I’m just saying. You know how they all are. They’ll all be p.o.’d if they learn you…” She smiled when she saw the scowl he was giving her. “Everyone said she was a handful. I just didn’t know that was what they were referring to.”
Finn stood and brushed the sand off his jeans. “Take care of the fire before you leave.”
“As if you had to tell me.”
“And I want you to track down this Joe who wasn’t Joe. I have a hunch that if he killed the other man near the dealership, our Joe’s still there searching for any clues of where we’ve gone. He’s got to be trying to track us. He stuck a bug in Meara’s jeans pocket. Standard issue. Anyone can pick them up anywhere.”
“Was she wearing the jeans when he did it?”
Ignoring Anna’s annoying comment, Finn gave her a warning look. “Be careful when you look for this guy. I don’t think he’s one of the bad guys, but he’ll be watching for anyone who might be looking for him next. And I haven’t a clue what his reaction would be if he got caught in his game. Or what his business is.
“Something tells me he’s damn good at what he does—and like you, I’m pretty sure he killed the first of the assassins. No evidence of a crime, although a gun was most likely fired—which was what we heard, probably the assassin’s gunshot—and this fake Joe was as cool as the breeze whipping off the ocean as he took care of the man. He’s good, Anna. Don’t let your guard down.”
“I won’t. Be careful yourself, Finn,” Anna said, sincerely. Then she smiled. “With her, too.”
“Watch yourself with this Joe character, Anna,” he reiterated, not about to comment on her dig about Meara.
Finn really didn’t like Anna ending up with the raw end of the deal where that guy was concerned. But he also knew she might succeed where the men on their team couldn’t. He shook his head at her when she waggled her brows at him, and then he headed through the sand to the stairs, ran up them two at a time, and stalked across the deck.
When he pulled open the door to the dining room, he found the whole house dark. He walked inside and then locked everything up. Meara’s rifle was no longer where he’d left it on the kitchen counter, so he figured she had hidden it underneath her bed.
The place had three furnished bedrooms, and the couch folded into a bed. He should have taken one of the beds. The one Meara wasn’t sleeping in. He should have. But on the other hand, he told himself, what if someone broke into the house and he couldn’t get to her in time?