Don’t worry? Was he fucking insane? That was all she ever did. It was all she had ever done, since Mom died and Annabelle ended up in a wheelchair. In Marcus’ clutches. The fucker wouldn’t even get her the surgery she needed to repair the damage to her spine.
Her recalcitrance must have been plain on her face, because Steele firmed his jaw. “We have a very high-powered lawyer on it.”
“How high-powered?”
“Very. He’s never lost a case. Trust us, Roni. We’ll get her back. But in the meantime, you need to let Morrow believe you’re still on the team. We need you to feed him stories for us.”
She liked that, that conciliatory tone. They needed her. She glanced at Sterling and smiled. “Do you need me?” she quipped.
His hold on her tightened. His nostrils flared. “Baby,” he growled. “You have no idea.”
* * *
All the way to LA, Sterling’s gut was in a wad. The thought of Roni going in, being exposed, being vulnerable, ate at him. He’d insisted on coming. Insisted on being a spotter for this mission. Although Steele hadn’t agreed to let him have a rifle.
Probably too worried Sterling might give in to the urge to pop Morrow if he started behaving like an ass or something. Or Ant, if he got too friendly. Which he well might.
The jet landed at the Burbank airport and rolled into a private hangar. As they all collected their gear and moved into the van, they went over the plan again. And again.
Roni and Ant would visit the office of the Snoop together, both wired for sound with full covert coms. Steele and Sterling would be stationed in a building across the street with a clear line of sight into Morrow’s office. They’d be able to see and hear everything, and chirp into Ant’s and Roni’s earpieces if necessary. Chrome would monitor everything from the mobile unit in the van. If the mission went sideways, he’d be the closest. And he was, without a doubt, the best.
She was as safe as she could be. Protected.
Still, Sterling was in a wad. It was up to Ant to drop the clone and then get Roni the hell out of there. If any shit went down, the rest of the team would be too far away to intervene. Sterling would have preferred a more reliable plan. Like him going in too, but Steele insisted Roni having two new boyfriends stretched the credibility of their backstory a little too far.
Sterling tried to maintain a confident façade though, because he didn’t want to worry Roni. This was her first live op, and hopefully her last. They’d prepped her as best they could and she was damn competent.
But, yeah. He was in a wad.
“Are you ready?” he asked as the van pulled up next to the Snoop’s office building. It was hardly as impressive as one would think. Four stories with a wall of windows. They’d be camped out in the insurance building across the street.
Roni glanced up at him, chin wobbling, but she nodded.
“You got your mic on?”
“Yep. I’m wired.”
“Don’t forget. We’ll be watching your every move.”
“Such a relief.”
Though he liked her sarcasm, that hint she wasn’t cowed, he affected a frown. “Don’t be a brat.”
She waggled her brows. “I thought you liked it when I was a brat,” she murmured, so none of the others could hear. But they probably heard. Judging from their snickers.
It was all he could do not to growl.
He pulled her closer and kissed her, just because, and then he turned to Ant. “How about you? All ready?”
His buddy shot him a smug grin. “Ready and raring to go.”
He fixed Ant with a fierce glower. “I’m counting on you,” he said in a meaningful tone. Ant’s grin widened. It made Sterling want to throttle him or something; to Ant, this was fun.
Fun!
This was the woman he cared about, going into the lion’s den. The woman he—
Sterling’s thoughts derailed and his nostrils flared as the fucker dropped an arm around Roni’s shoulders and tugged her closer.
“This is going to be awesome, isn’t it, sugar lamb?” he cooed.
Fucking cooed.
Fuck. They should have picked some cover other than this. Any cover other than this. Sterling didn’t think he could bear to watch Ant and Roni play boyfriend and girlfriend. Not even through a telephoto lens.
Ant noticed his bristling and clapped him on the shoulder. “Chill, dude. I’ve got this. Believe me, I