“Strip.” Even in the dark he could see her eyes widen. “I can explain, but I need everything off.”
“Did you get hit in the head back there?”
Shane lifted his T-shirt over his head and handed it to her. “They’re following you.”
She took the shirt and held it up to her face. “So?”
A countdown ticked in his head. If a third gunman lurked out here somewhere, he’d be closing in soon. “Someone—I’m betting that first guy—planted a device on you that keeps bringing them to us, so I need you...”
She had his shirt balled in her fists. “What? Just say it.”
“Naked.”
She balanced on the balls of her feet and stared at him. For a few seconds she didn’t say anything. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Before he could answer—and he had no idea what he would have said—his cell beeped in his pocket. The noise and slight vibration made no sense until he remembered he’d already called for help.
When her fingers touched the bottom hem of her shirt, he turned away from her. Tried to block out the sound of clothes rustling and not think about what he would see if he looked over his shoulder.
He answered the phone instead. Talked before Cam could. “I need a cleanup crew at my house.”
“That’s the worst phrase ever.” Her voice sounded muffled.
Shane ignored every thought running through his brain. Tried to ignore the fact that Makena stood a few feet away without any clothes on. This moment amounted to both his fantasy and his nightmare all wrapped up in one. “Connor prefers that term.”
“And, of course, he knows people who do that work.”
Shane could hear the smile in her voice. Let the sound wash over him. Could stand there for hours except for Cam saying his name on the other end of the line.
That snapped Shane back into reality and got him talking to Cam. “Meet us at the safe house by Foster’s.”
Cam would know that meant the old mill once owned by the Foster family. They had three neutral places close by they could go to if any team member hit the scramble warning. Connor made sure they always had options. Tonight, like so many times in the past, Shane gave thanks for his boss’s compulsive tendencies and called the code for one of the safe houses.
“Is that code for something?” she asked.
This time Shane glanced over and immediately regretted it. The T-shirt hung down to her upper thighs. Not long enough to guarantee his peace of mind or prevent losing control.
The long legs, the way she curled her bare toes into the ground...he was a dead man. “And bring clothes for Makena.”
Chapter Six
Makena took a deep breath as she stood in the bathroom of the safe house. The one-bedroom cottage sat at the end of a long, dark road. From the outside it looked broken-down and in need of repair. A building with fading brown wood and a crooked front porch.
Inside told a different story. Just getting to the front door meant unlocking gates and deactivating alarms. Shane did it all using his watch, and then led them through the door. The cozy interior consisted of a small kitchen and living area with an L-shaped sectional sofa. One door led to the bedroom with the bathroom tucked inside. The other opened into what Shane called an SCIF, a sectioned-off room for receiving and reviewing sensitive information. To her it looked like a bare room with a desk, computer and safe, and no windows.
Smoothing down the borrowed T-shirt, the same one that skimmed over her, and the sweatpants that were too long and puddled on the floor around her feet, she guessed Julia had handed Cam the clothing but decided not to ask. Between the stripping and the kiss, Makena’s head still spun.
She stepped into the living area with a smile plastered on her face. Seeing Shane kicked up her heartbeat. Noticing Cam also sitting on the couch calmed her nerves a bit.
Cam looked up at her and smiled. “You look good.”
“It was either this or a towel.”
His smile deepened. “I’ll refrain from saying anything in response to that.”
“Good call.” Shane sounded anything but happy.
Cam leaned back into the couch cushions. “Hey, you’re the one to blame here.”
“How do you figure that?”
“Clearly Makena being with you is putting her in danger.” Cam frowned at Shane. “Why are you shaking your head?”
“Because you’re wrong about that.” Makena knew the back and forth could go on forever and decided to jump in. She walked farther into the room and took a seat at the very end of the couch. “This is about me, not Shane.”
“You’re saying that because of the note the first attacker carried?” Cam exhaled. “Yeah, I get that, but there has to be an explanation.”