The Unforgettable Ex (Captured by Love Book 5) (Volume 5) (9 page)

But
she
wasn’t sorry at all. As far as she was concerned, her getting dragged into this matter had given her the perfect opportunity to get back together with Gavin.

She hugged herself with happiness. Their reconciliation sex—could she call it that?—was more blissful than she’d let herself imagine. And goodness, she’d had such a hard time holding herself back from saying
I love you,
especially at the height of passion, which had occurred several times.

But what about Gavin? She had no doubt the sex had been as good for him as it had been for her, but how was he feeling emotionally? Did he think of Amber at any point last night?

Stop!
She didn’t want to think of Amber. Gavin seemed to have moved on, and so she should too. Why continue to remember the hurtful fact that Gavin’s feelings for Amber had been much deeper and stronger than he’d ever felt for her? Devastating as that had been, it was in the past. If Gavin was indeed ready to fall in love again, she wanted to be the one to catch him. And last night was the perfect start to achieving that goal, wasn’t it?

Determined to stay in a good mood, she sat in front of the food-laden table and nibbled on a tasty Danish pastry as she listened to Gavin finish his phone conversation.

“Hi,” he said as he turned around to face her.

“Hi,” she responded, smiling up at him.

Gavin’s gaze heated up as he took in her attire—the hotel robe with the sash untied, clearly showing she had nothing on underneath. “Carter will be here soon,” he said in a low voice.

She walked sultrily towards him. “We have twenty minutes,” she murmured, running a finger against his lower lip.

Gavin pulled her flush against him. “Maybe we can get him to run an errand to delay him a bit.”

There was a knock on the door and they both groaned.

“Your brother is always too damned early,” Gavin grumbled.

“I better get dressed,” she said with a resigned sigh.

“I’ll wait until you’re back before I tell Carter about us. Be prepared for his reaction.”

She headed to the bedroom, her heart singing. Gavin had said “us”. That might not mean much to him, but it meant everything to her.

Argh, she shouldn’t let herself get too carried away. It was still very early days, and she and Gavin had a long way to go before they were back into a committed relationship. She wasn’t under any illusion it would be all roses this time around.

Nevertheless, she was grateful for this second chance. She could only pray she wouldn’t get her heart broken by him again. Even their friendship might not be able to survive that.

G
avin took a deep breath, willing himself to cool down, before he went to the door and opened it.

“Hey, bro, how’s it going?” Carter asked, giving him a man-hug.

“Good, thanks. You?”

“Great. I finally finished that electrical job Tash wanted me to do last night. Speaking of Miss Operations Manager, where is she?”

“In the bedroom getting ready. Have you had breakfast?”

“Yes, but I see you guys need help finishing
that
.” Carter sat on a chair and started on a Belgian waffle. “How was the couch?” he asked as he took his first bite.

“Comfy,” he answered, sitting next to Carter and digging into the Eggs Benedict. That was the truth. The sofa
was
comfortable when he’d sat on it this morning.

“Slept well?”

“Yup.” That wasn’t a lie either. He’d sleep so well for five straight hours from being exhausted from making love to Tash. A smile played on his lips at the memory.

Carter narrowed his eyes. “So what did you dream about? Or should I say
who
did you dream about?”

“Getting a little personal, aren’t you?”

“Not if it was Tash we’re talking about,” Carter said with a shrug.

“Still too personal even if I did dream of Tash. But, no, I didn’t dream of her.” In fact, he didn’t remember dreaming at all. He’d been in such deep, restful sleep.

“So what did you guys talk about? You didn’t tell her anything about the case, did you?”

He took a sharp intake of breath. “I had to, considering she was followed last night. I said I’m helping the police with an undercover job that involves me pretending to be Molly’s boyfriend, so I can’t have anyone thinking I’m in a romantic relationship with anyone else.”

“What did she say about that?”

“I totally understand,” Natasha said, coming out of the bedroom.

“Hey,” Carter said, standing up to greet his sister with a hug. “You okay?”

“Yes.”

“You did well last night, losing the bastard who followed you.”

“Couldn’t have done it without Gavin’s detailed instructions,” she said, sending Gavin a sweet smile.

He smiled back, wanting to kiss those soft lips. Carter really was so annoying for arriving too early.

“So what did you guys talk about last night?” Carter asked, an eyebrow arched.

He shrugged. “We didn’t get to talk much, did we, Tash?”

“No. Not much,” Natasha answered with a little giggle.

“So what did you do? Watch TV?” Carter asked with sarcasm.

“No. We went to bed,” he answered, throwing Carter a meaningful look.

Carter stared at him, his eyes hardening. “Gavin.
Why?
”

“Hey, it wasn’t his fault,” Natasha said at Carter’s accusing tone. “
I
seduced him.”

Carter scowled at his sister before glaring back at him. “
He
should have known better.”

Natasha sat on Gavin’s lap. “Well, he couldn’t help himself. I’m irresistible,” she said with a playful grin.

Gavin chuckled, putting his arms around her and giving her a peck on the lips. Carter was mad already anyway. Besides, they wouldn’t have many of these private moments until Biggs was no longer a threat. Might as well take advantage of it every chance they got, even though they couldn’t do any more than cuddling and light kissing with Carter watching.

“Couldn’t you have waited?” Carter said in consternation, raking his hair with both hands. “This case could be over soon.”

“Or it might not be. I didn’t intend for last night to happen, Carter,” he said quietly, seriously. “But it did happen and I don’t regret it. So we’ll need to get Tash up to speed so she stays safe even if this weekend’s operation turns out to be a disaster.”

Natasha sighed against his neck, and he could feel the smile on her face. He ran a caressing hand on her back. He might not have regretted sleeping with her at an inopportune time, but he’d never forgive himself if something terrible happened to her because he hadn’t wanted to hurt her feelings and hadn’t been able to keep his dick in his pants.

“My worry is that you,” Carter said, pointing to his sister, “won’t be able to act in a way you have to or make the necessary on-the-spot decisions. You’re not trained for something like this.”

“You have to give me some credit, Carter,” Natasha said. “I can be a convincing actress and I can think clearly even when I’m nervous. You said I did well last night, and I was
scared
then.”

Carter huffed. “You’ll have to limit the amount of time you’re alone with Gavin. And to keep things as they were before, you have to continue dating other men.”

Gavin’s heart lurched. He didn’t like the sound of that, but it was probably for the best.

“Why?” Natasha asked. “I’ve just recently broken up with Leo. It’s normal not to date for a while when you’ve just split with someone.”

“Carter’s right, Tash,” he interjected. “It’s important that you’re not seen to be into me at all. And it’s
imperative
that I show that you’re just a friend to me and nothing more. It would help if we both pretend to be dating other people.”

Natasha looked unconvinced.

He nudged her off his lap and sat her on the chair next to him. “This is serious, Tash,” he said, staring into her eyes. “This is not the average undercover job. The guy we’re trying to catch—Cameron Biggs—wants to hurt women he thinks are romantically linked to
me
. He has a personal vendetta against
me
.”

“What?”

“I was the one who found his wife and reported her location to the police. She’s in jail for life and Biggs blames me for that. Since he’s on the run and therefore can’t visit her, he’s vowed that
I
can never be with any woman I want either. He’s the one responsible for Amber’s disappearance, so we have to be very careful about
you
.”

The blood drained from Natasha’s face.

He took her hand. “Hey, I won’t let anything happen to you. But you have to do your bit to keep yourself safe. That’s why we
cannot
be seen as being interested in each other
at all
. Do you understand?”

“Okay,” Natasha whispered.

“I’ve spoken to the head of this undercover operation. I gave him details of the car that followed you last night, but I didn’t tell him we stayed the night together. Carter and I decided from the very beginning to keep your name out of this. We haven’t changed our minds.”

Natasha eyes rounded. “You think someone in the police force is working with this Biggs character?”

“No. But if they knew about you, they would choose to assign someone to watch over you. But some of Biggs’ victims over the years already had security following them around, and it just made them a bigger target. Problem is, due to limited resources, no one can be protected twenty-four seven, and Biggs is smart and patient. So the whole idea is for you not to be in Biggs’ radar in any way whatsoever. That’s your best protection.”

“For a long time,” Carter said, “no one else knew about the two of you but me. So you’ve never had Biggs’ eyes on you—until now.”

“I should have been more careful that night you broke up with Leo,” Gavin said with a harsh sigh. “I think that made Austin curious about you. Then when they saw you outside my building last night...”

“Why? What did you do the night Tash broke up with Leo?” Carter asked in a low voice.

“I saw them having an argument outside the hotel. I sent Leo on his way when he wouldn’t listen to Tash wanting him to leave her alone. I was worried about how Tash was feeling, so I kinda touched her face. We might have looked sweet standing there, and Austin happened to be outside, having a smoke. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d deliberately followed me out to see where I was going.”

“What the hell, Gavin?” Carter said angrily. “You knew what was at stake.”

His guilt multiplied. He’d been stuffing up lately. Had he done the right thing by asking Natasha to hide in this hotel, then joining her?

“Hey, it was my fault too for visiting him last night and getting teary on the street because of Molly,” Natasha said to her brother.

Gavin’s lips curved. His Tash was so sweet to want to deflect the heat off of him.

Carter rolled his eyes. “How do you expect me to have confidence that the two of you can keep up the act when, suddenly, both your heads are in the clouds when it comes to each other?”

“She didn’t know anything before she was followed,” he said, defending Natasha. “She hadn’t known then to be careful. That’s why we’re telling her now.”

“Well, we have to salvage the situation,” Carter said. “We have to show Biggs’ eyes and ears that there’s nothing going on between the two of you.”

“What’s the operation next weekend that you guys are talking about?” Natasha asked.

Gavin told her.

“Wow. I hope Molly stays safe. So when Biggs is caught, there’ll be no more hiding for us?”

“We’ll still need to somehow ascertain that he hasn’t passed his vengeful plans to one of his loyal cohorts. But, yes, that’s the hope.”

“Okay. I’ll do exactly what you guys want me to do so I don’t stuff up this case. The sooner you catch this Biggs person, the better. But... when do we get see each other?” she asked Gavin.

He leaned back on his chair, his heart getting heavy. That was a question he didn’t have a clear answer to. “There’s nothing stopping us from seeing each other like we’ve done in the last few years—as good friends catching up. As for dating again...”

“I don’t think you guys should even contemplate that for the time being,” Carter said. “We want the perps to focus all their attention on Molly, or else what we anticipate happening next weekend might not eventuate at all. We don’t want the bastards questioning your feelings for Molly,” he said to Gavin. “And we most definitely do not want a repeat of anyone following Tash again.”

Gavin nodded gravely. “Carter’s right. We have to wait.”

Natasha made a sad face. “Sounds like we don’t have a choice.”

“You don’t,” Carter said, his voice softer. “So find someone else to date. We have to make it look like Gavin’s rejected you for Molly. That’s the best route to take that would be believable for the perps.”

“Can I tell our close friends about what’s happening, then? We all know we can trust them and they can help with our cover, especially with me fake-dating someone else.”

“There’s merit to that,” Carter said cautiously. “But please don’t think you can tell them everything and anything, or you’ll end up putting not only yourself but other people in danger.”

“I know.”

“Carter,” Gavin said. “There’s still a couple of hours before we need to check out of here. Would you mind leaving me and Tash to discuss a few things alone? Then could you pick her up at eleven? Maybe bring her a big hat or wig or something.”

“Fine. And I thought I’d get to enjoy this breakfast,” Carter muttered.

“You can take the croissant with you,” Natasha said with a cheeky grin.

Carter rolled his eyes, took the pastry and headed for the door. “See you later.”

“Later, bro. And thank you,” he said sincerely.

“For what? I might still deck you if something happens to either of you because you can’t keep your hands off my sister.”

“I said it was my fault,” Natasha said.

“Oh, don’t worry. You’re in trouble too. But I’m sure Gavin won’t mind copping all the heat,” Carter retorted, opening the door.