peaches and cream. He wanted to pull his arm free and put it around her protectively, but he didn’t want to lose the contact they already had. He was also afraid she might move away from him altogether if she thought he was trying to be friendlier than she wanted him to be.
“Are you tired?” Bjornolf asked, still wanting to re-situate her so he was more in charge.
“Yeah, I’m tired,” she admitted, snuggling her face against his chest. “I served extra guard duty to make up for last night. Aren’t you?”
“Wide awake now,” he said, referring to the way she’d aroused him so quickly.
She chuckled softly.
He listened to the way she breathed in and out against his chest, feeling the way her soft body pressed against his, her heart beating faster. His heart’s pace matched hers, and his arousal was growing harder.
Trying to get his mind off what she was doing to his libido, he glanced out the window at the winding road, cliff on one side, jungle closing in on the pavement on the other, having seen nothing for several miles except a couple of cars passing them.
“What… what if you’re right,” Helen said from the backseat, where she sat with the sleeping kids.
Both Bjornolf and Anna glanced back at her. She looked like she had barely slept last night—the skin dark under her eyes, her eyes puffy.
“About what?” Anna quickly asked.
Helen pursed her lips. “About… about…” She took in a deep breath and looked out the window.
“What is it, Mrs. Wentworth?”
Helen chewed on her bottom lip. “I think… I think maybe my husband has been having an affair.”
Bjornolf frowned at her. “What makes you suspect that?”
“He had one fifteen years ago. Right after we were married. He would never say who it was, and when he said he’d made a big mistake and had given her up, I believed him. But somebody’s been calling the house and hanging up when I answer. Unknown caller. I just figured it was someone who had the wrong number. After what happened out here, I just can’t quit considering… what if… if this whole thing had been planned from the beginning?”
“What are you thinking?” Anna asked.
“William plotted to have me and the kids murdered,” Helen blurted out.
Bjornolf felt Anna tense next to him. “Do you have anything to back that up? Anything that leads you to believe he wanted to get rid of you?” Bjornolf asked.
Her gaze on his, she quickly shook her head. Yet, he suspected she wasn’t telling the truth. What the hell was going on?
“Has he ever acted in any manner that made you believe he’s able to accomplish such a thing?” Anna asked.
Helen swallowed hard and hesitated too long to say, which made Bjornolf wonder just what William Wentworth III was capable of.
Helen looked out the window. “No one has to have done anything like that before… to want to do it now. If… if it meant he wouldn’t have to pay out any money for a divorce settlement… stuff like that happens all the time. He never wanted the kids. They were… a mistake—for him, not for me. It would have been so easy to get rid of us if you guys hadn’t shown up. And who would have thought he was lying?”
“Why tell us this now?” Anna asked. “Why not last night when I asked you if you knew he had other plans?”
“I had to think about what you said. I… was in denial that William could have wanted such a thing.”
The spouse was always the last one to know, Bjornolf thought. “Are you certain he’s having an affair?”
“I can’t think of another reason he’d want to have us killed.”
“Mrs. Wentworth, is there anything you can tell us that would prove any of this? Do you feel you need police protection?” Anna asked.
Helen continued to look out the window, then wiped away a tear and then a few more. “No. I can’t prove anything. You’re probably right. There’s nothing to it.”
“But if there is…” Anna said.
“We’ll be fine.”
“This isn’t the kind of work we normally do,” Bjornolf said. Hunter
“Thanks,” Helen said dismissively, her back steeled as she avoided looking at Bjornolf.
He and Anna exchanged looks. Even if William wanted Helen dead, he might not try again. Not with the team knowing something about the case. But still, who knew what lengths someone would go to when they had loads of money and wanted to keep every penny of it?
Thankfully, the man making the calls in the jungle village, who seemed to have been monitoring their moves, either hadn’t been or his cohorts missed stopping the team, because several hours later, the SUVs arrived in Bogota without further incident. The team and the Wentworths quickly made their way to the American Embassy. They dropped off the family so that embassy personnel could make arrangements to secure new passports for them and flights home. A sparkling Christmas tree sitting in the entryway of the embassy reminded Bjornolf of his next mission—with Anna.
Bjornolf towered in front of Elsie and smiled. “You be good and take care of your mother and brother.”
She tugged on his hand. He leaned down and she whispered in his ear, although at this close range, anyone with wolf hearing could hear. “Can you spend Christmas with us?”
He smiled and gently pulled affectionately on a length of one of her curls. “I’ve got to rescue another kid. You be good and Santa will bring you lots of presents.”
Paul patted Jimmy on the shoulder. “It’s been good knowing you, son.” He pointed to Bjornolf. “Like he said, be good. Santa should be coming real soon.”
The mother profusely thanked them. Bjornolf couldn’t figure her out. Did she really believe her husband wanted her and the kids dead, or had it been a case of an overactive imagination? Trauma like she’d been through could cause that. The two Wentworth brothers said nothing, looking glum.
Bjornolf noted that once Helen and William had left the vehicles, William made no effort to approach her, offer her a hug, or hold her hand. Nor had he done anything to show affection toward the kids. He hadn’t before he retired to the other cabana last night, either. Hell, if the kids and wife had been Bjornolf’s, he would have been hugging them to pieces and not letting go.
Finished with the job, Hunter and his team took one of the SUVs, leaving the other behind for Hunter’s contact to pick up at the embassy. On the way to the airport, Bjornolf and Anna related the talk they’d had with Helen.
“You know what I think?” Paul asked.
“What’s that?” Anna asked.
“The wife knows more than she’s letting on.”
“I thought the same,” Anna said. “Like she knows William is capable of murder. And how would she know that?”
Hunter shook his head. “Hell, I thought it was a simple case of blackmail, trying to steal money from his company, avoiding taxes, tax write-off. I’ll have some men look into it.”
Everyone was quiet after that, tired and ready to go home. Hunter didn’t tell Anna all about the new mission, but she agreed to do it, whatever it was. Bjornolf hoped she would still be willing when she heard what it entailed. When they arrived at the airport, Hunter arranged for Anna to fly home with Bjornolf and him. They still had another two hours before their flight left for the States, so they dropped into one of the VIP lounges to drink a round of beers and sat in several lounge chairs circling a coffee table.
Bjornolf wondered what Anna was thinking as they all wound down from the mission. He was glad to be here with them, finishing the job like this.
Hunter turned to Anna. “I need to talk with you about another mission. You don’t have a contract of your own anytime soon
She shook her head, but she looked a little wary. “Bjornolf is working with you?”
