PAXTON STRODE TOWARD the tent while his mind was still back on the little porch looking into Coco's eyes. He didn't know what was happening there, but he wanted it. Life was too short to ignore the good when he had it.He pushed through the flaps into the tent. Someone had pulled out chairs and a little over a dozen men were gathered facing the wall with the projector casting a square of light. Zain stood to one side, frowning at a tablet. Shane caught Paxton's eye and waved him over."Where we at?" Paxton asked."Can you confirm this timeline?" Shane nodded at the tablet."Sure." Paxton took the tablet from Zain and glanced over it, noting the times and pieces of information Zain had collected onto one screen.And right there, at the beginning was Utata's death followed by the wedding.Shit."I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner." Paxton glanced up. "This wasn't how Coco wanted Lacey to find out.""That news was never going to be easy." Shane shook his head. "Thanks for keeping
BY THE TIME Coco helped Paxton collect his things and a pizza it was past noon. It was easy to see how jet lag combined with the work from the last week had taken a toll on him. His eyes were staying shut longer and longer. He was unsteady and loosing focus. There was no way she was letting him go anywhere except a bed for several hours.She glanced at him again. He'd taken the opportunity in the minibus to lean back and stretch out. Once more, his eyes were shut, and she knew he'd passed out the moment his head touched the seatback. Her heart did that thing again where it felt too big for her chest, as though it might burst from her ribs. She hurt, and yet this felt good, if uncertain and strange.What the hell was she doing?Coco shook her head, but there was no dislodging these warm, fuzzy thoughts about Paxton.She and Lacey had gone to the tent, their curiosity getting the better of them. At least Coco had been able to say with some honesty that she was concerned about Paxton
Coco pulled his boxer briefs down, freeing his erection. Paxton groaned and tugged at her knees, but not hard enough to move her. No, she intended on taking her time.She wrapped her hand around his length and bent once more to kiss his stomach then the deep slash of muscle at his hip. He tipped his head back, his body coming to life under her. The tendons on either side of his neck stood out, and she watched his mouth move.This was her chance to make him crazy. Give him a bit of his own medicine.Coco pumped his length and shifted farther down his body. She watched his throat, saw the flex as he swallowed. He was putty in her hands. This big, strong man, he was hers. She licked the head of his cock. His back bowed up off the bed and she heard the hiss of his breath.She wasn't the only one who could be undone by sex.Before she could continue her attentions, Paxton sat up, all that intensity aimed at her. She stared, her breath frozen in her lungs at the way he stared at her. He
PAXTON HATED THIS.He'd slept in fits and bursts, his rest broken up with flashes of memory from last night running with Coco interspersed with twisted distortions projected forward on tonight. He was reconsidering his agreement with Coco. Silas wouldn't blink if Paxton asked him to secure her, and he wouldn't have to explain why. Silas was good like that. But Paxton couldn't bring himself to go back on his promise.Which was how he'd wound up in the back of one of the nondescript delivery trucks they'd borrowed with Coco by his side. It was late afternoon, pushing into evening. The sun was dipping below the horizon, but even at half strength the rays were turning the trailer into an oven.This wasn't the most absurd job he'd done. Hamstringing the poachers fell under preventative work, and while it was on the extreme end, it still wasn't the craziest thing Paxton had ever done. But he'd never brought a civilian or client with him on the job. Though Coco wasn't paying them so she al
MIA NEEDED TO do something. The files she'd copied weren't the right ones, not that she had any idea what those might be. Luke was in a rage. Mia didn't know how much longer she could keep this going if she didn't land on something.She stood at the window and stared out on the balcony. He'd let her plant a few things there. She'd done it in the beginning of their farce of a relationship to give her a moment to breathe. Now the progress of the plants only tracked the length of this sham.What was she going to do?Cane was a good man. There was no doubt in her mind about that. Which meant her only solution was to create a trap. The weakest link in the De Jong family was Cane's twin sister.The question was, how did she bully Cane into fixing a divide that had spanned years with his twin just so Mia could use the relationship against him?She picked up her cell.Cane had been in meetings in Pretoria most of the day. Chances were he'd have stopped by to see his dad and half-brothers
COCO STOOD AMIDST the noise and confusion watching the others unload the rescued animals. She'd been certain these were the people responsible for Utata's death. Where was the proof? Where was his horn? "Hey?" Paxton grasped her by the elbow and stepped in front of her, blocking off her view of the veterinary team who'd been called in to care for the animals.She lifted her chin, staring into his blue eyes."We did good tonight." His hair stuck up from the mask and dark streaks smeared down his cheeks."Did we?""Yeah. You don't think so?""We didn't find the tranq darts." She glanced at the truck, wishing someone would appear, holding a box of them. "What about Utata's horn?""It's been a few days. They could have offloaded the horn and used up the darts. Nothing's certain.""What if it was the wrong group?" She swallowed. Deep down she'd wanted it to be these people, because the alternative was going up against one of the biggest, most organized poaching outfits in the country
PAXTON KNOCKED ON Coco's door again, but there was still no answer. She hadn't responded to his texts or answered her phone. No one had seen her.He didn't like this.She should have never gone with them. She was already an easily identified target. What if someone followed them? Or what if there was another person working here that informed the poachers?His gut clenched at the idea Coco could be out there fighting for her life and he was here, searching for her in places she'd never be found.He pulled out his phone again.No reply. No missed calls.It was time to phone a friend.He tapped into his recent calls and hit Shane's number. Paxton couldn't remember speaking to Shane more than a handful of times before this trip. Now, it seemed like next to Silas, Shane was the guy Paxton spoke to the most. Hell, if it weren't for the open invitation to anyone working for Aegis Group to come help after the wedding, Paxton doubted he'd been on the invite list at all. And that would me
Coco shook her head and shoved her hands in her pockets. "I keep thinking the director of Mlilo is going to fire me. Now I find out she recommends me."Paxton rolled her words around. He'd been there, certain that the guys in his unit didn't like him, that he was alone despite being part of a team. Even joining Aegis Group had taken some convincing because he just wasn't their type of guy and he knew it. Or he'd thought he'd known it until he accepted the job offer and really got to know the guys."When you grow up apart from everyone, it's hard to see how you fit in." He turned, and they strolled up the lane toward her house."What do you mean?""You said you spent a lot of your years growing up alone because you didn't fit anywhere, right?""Yeah. But some of that was intentional. When we were kids and Mom left Dad, it was still illegal for us to be her kids." She tipped her chin up and stared at the sky. "When we were really little, she split a flat with this prostitute who had