“I am.” I didn’t want to come on too strong, but she needed to know where I stood. “There’s something between us. It doesn’t make sense, but we both know it’s there.” I waited for her to nod before continuing. “I need you safe.”

“That’s surprisingly sweet.” She touched her lips chastely to mine, and the scent of vanilla invaded my senses. I ached to haul her into my arms and kiss her until she went boneless, but now wasn’t the time. “Okay, I’ll come. But I can’t just sit around. I need to keep busy. Do something useful.”

I reached down and intertwined my fingers with hers. “That’s fair. You should talk to Sage about coming too, just to be safe.”

“I’ll do that now.”

We went back out to the others. I noticed my partners glance at our interconnected hands, but no one said anything. I stared at Zeke, daring him to comment as Willow extricated her fingers from mine and pulled Sage aside.

“What’s going on between the two of you?” Kade asked, edging closer. “I hope this isn’t about Zeke’s cockeyed idea of revenge sex.”

“It’s not,” I assured him, although I suspected he already knew that. “I like her.”

Zeke rolled his eyes. “Anyone would. She’s stunning, brave, and loyal. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

Willow and Sage rejoined us. Sage raised her chin. “I’m overdue to visit my grandparents in Wisconsin. I think it’s time I do that.”

I was already nodding, but Kade disagreed. “You could be a target too.”

“Unlikely,” I said. “Since Willow was the target of the attempted kidnapping, I’d say it was more a case of Sage being in the wrong place at the wrong time last night.”

Kade shook his head. “I don’t like it. They could use her to get to Willow.”

I paused. He had a point.

Seeing that he’d caught my attention, Kade carried on. “I’ll escort Sage to her grandparents’ place and lose anyone who might be tailing us. She can drop me off at the nearest airport once we’re there and I’ll fly back.”

I studied him with interest. Escorting a client to a safe location was a reasonably common part of the job, and one that any of his staff could manage. Why had he volunteered to go himself?

I looked at Sage. “What do you think of that plan?”

She shrugged. “If it keeps the silent giant happy, then it’s fine.” One side of her mouth hitched up. “Of course, he should know that I like to listen to the sounds of nature while I’m traveling.”

Kade groaned, swiping a hand down his face. “You mean I’ll be stuck with hours of birdsong?”

“Or something like that. More than you can handle?”

“No.” He thrust his shoulders back. “I’ve survived worse.”

We all fell silent, aware that no one else in the room could claim to have more experience with adversity than our former military companion.

Well, except perhaps Zeke. But he’d never confirm or deny anything.