She turned to Gina, whose brow was furrowed with worry. Kira gave her the nutshell version, and Gina’s jaw dropped when she got to the attack in the hotel room. So she downplayed everything and emphasized the two arrests, making it sound like the case was all wrapped up.
“Oh, my God, Kira. Are you really all right?”
She glanced out the window again. “Jeremy’s here, so . . . yeah.” She forced a smile. “How are you?”
“Great, compared to you. I’m headed out with Mike, but I wanted to let you know your car’s ready at the shop. You can pick it up tomorrow.”
Guilt needled Kira, because she’d completely forgotten about it.
“Thank you. And tell Mike how much I appreciate it. I’ll get Jeremy to take me over there.”
Gina eyed her warily, and a smile spread over her face. “You really like him, don’t you?”
Kira shrugged, but she didn’t deny it. “He has to leave soon, though.”
“Why?”
“He lives up in Cypress Springs.”
Gina tipped her head to the side. “That’s not that far.”
“And he travels a lot.”
“Yeah, so what? When was the last time you fell hard for a guy?”
Kira stared at her. She couldn’t answer because she didn’t remember. It had been years since she’d felt anything remotely like this. Maybe she never had.
The door opened, and Jeremy stepped inside. Sweat beaded at his temples, and in his hand was a filthy metal brush.
Kira cleared her throat. “Jeremy, this is Gina.”
He nodded at her. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” Gina smiled and looked at Kira. “Well, I’d better run. You guys have a nice dinner.”
“You and Mike don’t want to join us?”
“We’ve got plans, but thanks. Bye, Jeremy.”
She slipped out, and Kira watched her leave, sure she was going to hear all about Jeremy’s hotness later. She glanced at him, and he looked tense suddenly.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Charlotte Spears just called me.”
Her stomach knotted. “What now?”
He walked into the kitchen and dropped the metal brush into the sink. Kira’s heart started to pound as he turned around.
“They located Andre Markov.”
“Oh, thank God.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “I thought you were going to tell me something bad.”
Jeremy just looked at her, and she walked over to him.
“What is it?” she asked.
“The feds apprehended him at the airport in Dallas. He was about to board a flight to Amsterdam. He’s in custody now and being charged with capital murder in the death of Ava Quinn.” He paused and watched her. “Craig Collins is being charged, too, because it looks like he arranged the hit on his sister to square up a debt.”
Kira just stared at him. She’d known about this. She’d helped come up with this theory and uncovered evidence to support it. But theorizing about it was different from knowing that people had actually been arrested and charged with such a twisted scheme. She couldn’t imagine what Ava’s parents must be feeling right now. Not to mention Gavin, whose whole life had been destroyed.
“So . . . that’s four arrests in one day,” she said. “Everything’s happening fast.”
He nodded. “That’s the best news we could have had. Everything Andre Markov’s been trying to hide—the video evidence, his connection to Craig, his role in Ava’s murder—it’s all been exposed. Investigators have proof now, and he’s no longer a threat to you or anyone else involved in Gavin’s trial. The feds are closing in on his father, too.”
“No, I get it. It’s all good.” She stepped around him to unpack the groceries.
“Hey.”
She turned around. “We should eat. I’m hungry.”
He smiled and took her arm, gently tugging her toward him. “You know, for someone who’s a human lie detector, you’re pretty bad at it.”
“Okay, fine. It’s not all good. But I don’t want to dwell on this. I want to put it behind me.”
“I understand.”
She gazed up at him. Then she hitched herself onto the counter, so she’d be closer to his eye level. “So . . . I’m wondering what comes next for you.”
His eyes turned serious. He nodded, as though he’d expected the question. “My next assignment starts Friday.”
Disappointment needled her, but she tried to keep her expression blank.
“We’re headed to Bangkok with a client,” he said.
“Another business mogul?”
“No. This time, we’re going to an island off the southern coast. A magazine is shooting a swimsuit issue, and their cover model’s been getting death threats. Once the shoot wraps up, we go with her to a film festival in Hong Kong, so it’s about three weeks, door-to-door.”
“You don’t sound excited.”
“I’m not.”
She laughed. “Are you kidding? A tropical photo shoot with a bunch of supermodels?”
“It’s going to be a pain in the ass. It’s some remote island, with bad cell reception and no AC.”
She snorted. “I thought you were a big, tough Marine.”
“I am.”
He leaned in and kissed her. She draped her arms over his shoulders and gave in to it, even though she knew she was just sliding further and further down a slippery slope. He tasted so good, and it was the first time she’d kissed him this way since last night.
He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. “I travel a lot.”
She sighed.
“Is that a deal breaker for you?”
She eased back. “I didn’t know we were making a deal.”
He looked down at her, his blue eyes serious. “I like you, Kira. I like spending time with you.” He paused. “I’d like to see if we can make this work.”
She kissed him again, because she didn’t know what to say. Her heart was pounding, and she didn’t have the words for how she felt. She only knew that she liked him, too—a lot—and the thought of him surrounded by swimsuit models and movie stars for the next three weeks put a painful knot in her chest.
But for right now, she had him. She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him closer, and his hand slid under her sweatshirt, and he gave a low groan as he discovered she wasn’t wearing a bra. She combed her fingers into his hair, kissing him until she couldn’t breathe, and finally she came up for air.
His gaze was heated. But she could tell he was still waiting for a response to what he’d said.
He kissed her forehead. “I don’t want to pressure you.”
“You’re not.”
“I know you’re dealing with a lot right now.”
She ran her fingers through his hair. “I want to see where this goes, too.”
He looked at her, and she summoned her courage.
“I wish you didn’t have to leave.”
“It’s not that long. I’ll come see you as soon as I’m done.”
Kira wanted to believe him. But he was making promises he might not want to keep, and this was why she hadn’t wanted to have this conversation today. She felt too emotional.
She cleared her throat and looked out the window at the grill. “Looks like your fire’s ready.”
“You’re changing the subject.”
“I know.”
He slid his arms around her. “Let’s eat later.”
She smiled. “You sure?”