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“Yeah, and this is no place for a quickie. We’ll eat fast, then we’ll do wonderful things to each other later.”
He kissed her nose. “Deal.”
Ian looked down at his phone and frowned. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with his sister or her newest way to torment him: bringing up Samantha Charles—or whatever her real name was.
The call was from an unlisted number.
Well, that meant it was Samantha Charles. And why was she calling him? She usually sent him mocking texts.
Just let it go to voicemail.
That was the smarter thing to do. She tormented Ian on so many levels that hearing her voice brought about conflicting emotions. He wanted to hunt her down and turn her over to authorities. He knew her ex-employer—the CIA—wanted her brought in. But a part of him also knew something else was going on. Something that reeked of a cover-up.
When his phone stopped vibrating, he slipped out of his car. He’d parked at the lot adjacent to Side Street Inn. Seth had insisted that this was a family lunch, and unless work kept him away, Ian needed to be there. He rolled his eyes. Captain America was annoying—although Ian was happy for his sister. In all the years he’d known Autumn, Ian had never seen her quite this content. Seth seemed to have chased away the sadness.
When his phone vibrated again, he pulled it out of his pocket. Unknown, again. She didn’t leave a voice message but instead called him again. He rolled his shoulders, and he clicked to answer against all of his training and better judgment.
“Finally,” the deep, sultry voice said. He didn’t know if Samantha was from the American South or if she was faking the accent. Either way, it was his kryptonite.
“I was busy.”
“You were sitting in your car goofing off.”
“I was not goofing—” then what she said struck him. “How did you see me?”
“I snuck into your car and put in cameras.”
She could do it, but he knew she wouldn’t. “Right.”
She snorted. “I tracked you with the traffic cams, and since I know y’all are going to lunch today, I wanted to talk to you before you went in. You’re not good at hiding things from your sister.”
“What are you trying to hide from Autumn?”
“Not really hide. I just want an embargo because Autumn should have a good weekend without my shit. Just tell her that I’m disappearing for a while.”
Alarm lit through him. Samantha might go underground, but she usually didn’t break off all contact for long. She would just establish herself in a new location.
“What do you mean you’re disappearing?”
“Aw, look at you faking worry. Nothing big. Just have to make sure I’m not being followed. Don’t worry, MI-6, I can handle it.”
It still bothered him. His time with the British spy agency taught him that being out on your own was a bad place to be, no matter how bloody brilliant you were. Sometimes, the smartest of them made the stupidest moves.
“You need to talk to Jin Phillips.”
“I did. I just couldn’t wait any longer, and I wanted you to know so your sister could find out. That’s all I have, Mix.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Oh, God, when you get that prissy tone, it just turns me on so much.” Her husky chuckle wound through him. Fuck, why was he so damned hot for a woman who mocked him like she did? “Just wait until after this weekend. We both know your sister hasn’t had many happy moments like this, and I don’t want to be the storm cloud. I’ll probably be back online in a week or two.”
And that’s why he couldn’t completely dismiss her. She cared about people, especially those associated with Task Force Hawaii.
“Okay, fine. Just…”
His voice trailed off as he searched for something to say. There was nothing to say and no reason to be freaking out that she might disappear and never be seen again. He barely knew the woman.
“What?”
