year, you still get all gooey-bellied and jelly-kneed around him? What the heck is the matter with you?
She refused to contemplate the answer to that question. She had enough on her plate right now without dealing with her ever-present feelings for one William Wesley Reichert.
Case in pointâ¦âI want to find out who this is without them knowing weâre on to them,â Billy told Jeremy. âSo weâre going to stroll out there, calm as you please, like youâre just seeing us out. Savvy?â
âAye, aye, Captain,â Jeremy snorted, playing off Billyâs Jack Sparrow jargon as they turned for the door.
And, huzzah! Eve mentally patted herself on the back for picking up on that reference, because she wasnât much of a moviegoer. As a girl, her father hadnât liked the idea of her sitting in a darkened theater where anyone and everyone with an eye toward ransom could sneak up and grab her. And then, after sheâd become an adult, a single adult, sitting alone in the gloom, eating too-salty popcorn while being surrounded by all those starry-eyed couples just reminded her of everything sheâd lost when sheâd lost Billy.
But in this case, she was well-schooled on Johnny Deppâs Captain Jack lingo because after having been held hostage by Somali pirates, Beckyâd thought it would be a hoot to hold a Pirates of the Caribbean movie marathonâcomplete with eye patches, fake parrots, and little chocolates in the shape of gold coins. So Eve could âwho drank all the rum?â and âIâve got a jar of dirt!â right along with the best of them.
Of course, not even good olâ Johnny Depp could bring more than a short-lived smile to her lips right then because the fact remained that she was in danger. Maybe imminent danger. She gnawed on her bottom lip during the too-short elevator ride to the bottom floor. Then, after theyâd shuffled across the well-appointed lobby, it was time for the show. Or maybe the show down was the better way to put it.
Oh geez. Oh geezâ¦
She repeated the mantra like a pathetic prayer when they edged out the front door as a unit, Jeremy and Billy creating a wall of living flesh in front of her. She instinctively grabbed the back of Billyâs waistband, hooking her fingers into a belt loop and marveling at the warmth of him, at the sheer strength of the muscles in his lower back as they bunched with his steps and brushed across her knuckles. It was the first time sheâd touched him in months. And, okay, so she could admit sheâd missed his nearness waayyy more than she should have, especially considering how things stood between them. But she could also admit that while the sensation of his hard flesh against the back of her hand was titillating, it was also comforting. Giving her the strength to keep from faltering as they crossed the street to the parked Hummer.
âGet ready to open the door, Eve,â Billy instructed quietly once theyâd made it to the vehicle. He and Jeremy body-blocked her from the suspicious SUVâs direct line of sight. Then, a chirp-chirp emanated from the big Hummer, and she knew heâd unlocked the door and disarmed the alarm system with the key fob in the hand that wasnât snaked behind his hip, palming the handgun he kept hidden there. Gulp. âOkay, now jump on in there, and donât be shy about it.â
She wished she could say she hopped-to without hesitation. Unfortunately, that wasnât the case. For some reason she couldnât explain, maybe it was momentary panic or a bout of fleeting hysteria orâ¦the fact that she didnât want to let go of Billy and the comfort his nearness provided, but she froze. For just a second. But it was long enough for Billy turn to her, his expression so soft, the light in his eyes so warm that she almost forgot how precarious her situation was and melted into a puddle of hormonal slop right there on the