Chapter 23

23

Rogue

R ogue lay awake long after Bea fell asleep. To be fair, she’d fallen asleep almost immediately after they stopped talking, her small, naked body curled against his.

Fuck. Don’t think about the fact that she’s naked under the sheet.

Rogue hugged her closer, careful to keep his cock away from her butt. He was hard again.

What if I want it now? He’d been hard since he heard her utter those words. Hard enough that it was going to be impossible to sleep. But it was worth it. Having her here, against him, felt incredible. And sure, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to have sex with her. The thought of being inside that beautiful dark pink pussy made his cock weep. But he wanted other things even more. He wanted to keep her safe, to help her get a start on a new life, and make sure the ugliness from her old life didn’t follow her.

He sighed. So yes, it was better if he kept his cock away from her, however hard it might be to do so. He heard the footsteps out in the corridor long before the soft knock came.

“Give me a second,” he said in a low voice. He eased himself away from Bea gently and quickly put on his jeans, not bothering with his boxer shorts or top.

Dark was on the other side of the door.

“Sorry to bother you,” he said quietly. There was a look in his eyes that told Rogue his team leader knew exactly what had been going on in this room, but there was no judgment in his eyes.

“It’s okay. Bea’s sleeping.”

“You know what you’re doing, right, Rogue?”

Rogue nodded. “I’m going to keep her safe. No matter what.”

Dark ran his hand along his hair. He looked like he was about to add something, but then decided not to.

“What’s going on, Dark?”

“We have a problem. We can’t fly out of Colombia with her. We can’t get the papers we need. It appears Cruz is more powerful even than we figured.”

“Shit. What about?—”

Dark shook his head. “Thorne has tried everything. She won’t be flying out.”

Rogue picked up on his friend’s wording. “I’m not leaving her behind.”

“I’m not asking you to. Carrie’s figured out an alternate route. There will be a flight waiting for us in Colon, if we can get there.”

“Panama?” Rogue asked. He nodded. “I can get her to Panama.”

“ You’re not getting her to Panama. We’re a team, Rogue. We’ll do it together.”

“And how will Alexia feel if you get killed doing this, Dark? Something that’s not even part of the job.”

Dark’s blue stare narrowed. The man was not backing down. “That’s a low blow, Rogue. Alexia knows what we do. She knows we’re a team.”

Rogue swallowed thickly. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”

“We’ll take a boat, keep her out of sight. Slate has a boating license. We’ll just be three friends out on the water together.”

“I don’t like boats,” Rogue said.

“Yeah, well, you can tell us about that on the way,” Slate said, coming up behind Dark.

Rogue nodded, his eyes suddenly itchy.

“Thank you. Thank you both.”

“Don’t thank us yet. Thank us when we’re home.”

Home. Rogue realized the word sat right. Home right now was the team’s headquarters, in Zurich. He could imagine Bea there. She would love the green, open spaces, the lake with its undecided shades of blue, the city’s historic squares and churches. Hell, he wanted to bring her there. He wanted her with him.

But that may not be what she needs. She’s twenty years old. She deserves a chance to find herself.

He was smart enough to know her future might not include him.

Fuck.

As hard as it would be to let her go, the best thing he could do for her was to give her space.

Get her to Europe, then figure out where she wants to go, and get her there.

He said goodnight to Dark and went back to bed. The sounds of her breathing had changed. Bea was awake. He sat down next to her and stroked her soft, blond hair.

“Hey,” he said, when she didn’t open her eyes. “How are you feeling? I know you’re awake.”

At that, she turned to look at him and sat up, clutching the sheet against her. God, she was beautiful.

“You should go on without me,” she whispered.

Something clenched in his gut. Leaving her behind wasn’t an option. “That’s not going to happen, honey. We’re not going to leave you here.”

“I’ve messed everything up.” Tears filled her eyes. “When I asked you to bring me with you, I didn’t realize you were there to stop my uncle. If I’d only waited, none of this would?—”

“It’s going to be okay, Bea. We’ll find a way to stop Emiliano.”

“You will?” she asked. Hope shone in her eyes.

“We will. But first, we’re going to get you somewhere safe.”

“Somewhere safe,” she muttered, as if the concept was foreign to her. “Where?”

Zurich. That was what he wanted to yell. But he wouldn’t.

“Our team’s based in Zurich. That’s where we’re going. But we can drop you off anywhere you like, Bea.”

A tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped at it angrily, her expression suddenly shuttered.

Shit.

Was it something he’d said? He replayed his last words in his mind but, before he could figure it out, her expression cleared.

“Zurich would be good. The money I told you about, it’s in a bank in Geneva. I will get it and?—”

Jesus. Her words were like a kick in the balls.

“We’re not going to take any money from you, Bea. That’s not what this is about.”

She didn’t argue, but he had a feeling this wasn’t the last time he would have to say that to her. He didn’t need her money, but even if he did, he wouldn’t take money from her. Not when she would need it, to start her new life.

“A few people in the team have good contacts at Interpol. We will help you get a passport.”

“Why are you doing this? Why are you risking your life for me, when you know … when you know who I am?”

This time, her words were a knife twisting in his gut. “I know who you are, Bea. You’re the woman who risked your uncle’s fury to teach the kids at the hacienda English. You risked your life to give me water. You’re one of the bravest people I’ve ever met, and if I could change one thing in the world right now, it would be to get you to believe that.”

“I don’t understand,” Bea said, her expression somewhere between uncertain and mutinous. And he realized, she hadn’t had a chance to trust anyone in a long time. She was trusting them now—to get her out, to bring her somewhere safe—but trust was a fragile thing.

“I promise you can trust us, honey. I won’t let anything happen to you, not while I’m alive.”