Not giving Leyna a chance to refuse, he took her by the waist and lifted her up. Unlike before, he took advantage of the view and admired the toned muscles of her arse. Back in the hotel, he hadn’t the time to memorize the new planes and valleys of her body. And for some reason, he was curious to do so.
All too soon, Leyna was over the wall and out of sight. Her absence helped to regain his wits and focus on the end goal of getting to Giovanni.
It wasn’t as if he and Leyna had a future anyway.
Will followed the two women and pulled himself up.
He quickly jumped to the other side. The second his feet touched the ground, Millie and Leyna hurried off in the direction of the large, two-story house in the distance, and he followed.
The silence and lack of Leyna’s hand in his gave him time to think. He might’ve agreed to go with Millie and tell all, but he didn’t know Millie’s boss or what her people would do with the information. A back-up plan was in order, just in case the woman’s boss turned out to be no better than a crazy drug lord or power-hungry politician like James Sinclair.
No matter what others might think, Will had some morals left.
Then there was the problem of Leyna. If he stayed around the woman too much longer, he might start doing something daft, such as forgiving her for breaking his heart and possibly giving her a second chance.
Which he didn’t want.
Mostly.
What the hell? Frowning, Will picked up his pace.
Chapter Six
Millie increased her pace as they drew nearer the large, two-story house at the western end of town. She shouldn’t care so much about seeing Giovanni again, but not only had her pride been stung, the man was a walking contradiction. Kiarra Melini—her brother’s girlfriend and Gio’s first-born sister—kept telling stories over the phone of the young lad who’d taken in stray animals and nursed them back to health. How Gio had morphed from that boy to the lackey of James Sinclair was beyond her.
Sure, nabbing Gio would win Millie bonus points with her boss, her brother, and Kiarra, but she would keep him tied up until he answered her questions. Otherwise, she might go mad from the ‘what if’ questions floating inside her mind.
Reaching the perimeter of the giant house belonging to the town’s mayor—bribed heavily by the AMT research facility to look the other way—Millie put up a hand and Petra and Will stopped just behind her. Scanning the area and listening intently, she didn’t see or hear anything out of the ordinary. No doubt, the mayor had security inside the compound. However, earlier research had shown there weren’t any security cameras due to the AMT Oversight Committee’s mandate, which worked to their advantage.
It was still a daft place to have a secret meeting since getting in and out would be difficult for the untrained. And no matter what Will Evans said, Gio wasn’t trained for an assignment like this one.
Rather than worry about what could happen, Millie moved to Will’s side and whispered into his ear, “Once we’re inside the tree line, we should be safe and I’ll allow you to lead. For now, I need to know which direction to go.”
Will pointed to a spot southwest of the house. With a nod, Millie signaled for Petra to watch their backs before Millie weaved her way toward the spot, careful to stay out of sight.
When they were nearly to the tree line, she heard a small branch break.
One second passed, and then another, but she didn’t hear another sound. Maybe it had been a wild animal.
Taking out the stun gun she’d purchased from a contact in China, Millie inched slowly toward the trees. Everything remained quiet until they were all about five feet inside and shielded from view. A large crash sounded from deeper in the forest. Moving through the trees as quickly as she could without giving away her position, Millie readied her gun. When she approached a small clearing deep in the forest, she halted and blinked.
Neena Chatterjee stood over an unconscious Giovanni Sinclair, her foot on his arse and a grin on her face. Neena waved. “Hello, Millie. Right on time.”
Millie surveyed the area but didn’t sense any other threats. With a sigh, she pocketed the stun gun. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
Neena prodded Gio’s arse with her shoe. “Because I need to keep you on your toes.” Petra and Will finally emerged from the trees. Neena waved at them. “It’s nice to meet you two in person.” She growled and made cat claw motions with her hands. “Although you are much more stunning in person, Leyna Grunwald.”
Petra aka Leyna frowned and looked at Millie. “Who the hell is that?”
Millie motioned toward the petite, copper-skinned woman with wild, curly black hair. “May I introduce my boss, Neena Chatterjee.”
Neena skipped toward them. When she stopped, she took out a baggie and opened it. “Trail mix? I brought my super-secret blend with me today.”
Leaving Petra and Will to fend for themselves, Millie approached Giovanni.
Unconscious, the man looked almost peaceful. There was no hardness to his jaw or tension in his forehead. Of course, with his eyes closed, she couldn’t see the intelligence or cunning in his gaze. For some odd reason, she wanted to slap his face and wake him up so she could.
But Millie resisted. Her next job was getting Gio out of China. Only then would she have the chance to interrogate the man and get some answers.