but he understood she wanted to be certain. ‘Let me get my laptop and we can take a look.’
‘Yes please.’ Mia passed it to him.
He couldn’t set his laptop up fast enough.
‘I can hardly breathe right now,’ Mia said a few minutes later as he inserted the USB, opened the folder and scrolled through the files.
It was like winning the lottery. Every file had something to do with Lucetti.
‘I don’t know what all this means, but it must be evidence of criminal activity,’ Connor said. Elation fizzed through him knowing it could be the key to Mia’s safety.
‘Thank you, Connor!’ She hugged him tight. ‘This is all thanks to you.’
Before he could kiss her, she was pulling away and reaching for her phone.
‘I’m going to call Stanley and tell him what we’ve found. Then I’ll call Agent Roberts up.’
Connor was surprised the FBI agent wasn’t upstairs already, pounding on the door and demanding Mia hurry up. ‘How about we secure these files by downloading a copy onto my laptop?’
‘Great idea.’ Her smile was radiant. ‘Thank you, Connor. You know how important it is for me to feel safe.’
‘Your safety’s important to me, Mia.’ He willed her to understand that he’d do whatever it took to keep her safe.
‘Stanley will be so excited!’ She shook her head as she punched in his number. ‘All these years I thought Mum must’ve been bluffing. You know, if I’d left the jewellery box and the FBI had found it, they’d never have guessed it had a secret compartment. It would probably have ended up in a dumpster bin or antique store. Thank God you knew about the compartment.’
As Connor downloaded the files he listened to Mia share the news with Stanley and then call Carlisle. ‘Agent Roberts is on his way up,’ she told Connor. ‘I hope there’s enough incriminating evidence on here to turn some of Giovanni’s associates against him. I want him in prison for the rest of his life.’
It was torture to be so close to Mia and not touch her.
‘Do you think I could at least get another hug for my role in finding this?’
Mia threw herself against him, her arms reaching up over his shoulders and behind his head. ‘I think you deserve more than a hug.’ She raised herself up on her tiptoes, but didn’t need to use her hands to draw his head closer as Connor took control and plundered her mouth with his own.
It was sweet heaven to taste her mouth again and he kissed her like a dying man who knew that only her kisses could save him. Mia returned his kisses with equal fervour, affirming his belief that she didn’t want to end their relationship. These files were the chance for their relationship to move forward.
Only the knock at the door announcing Carlisle’s arrival made them break apart.
For a moment, they held each other’s gaze as they caught their breath. Need pulsed between them. Regret stamped itself on her features as she took a step back from him. Her lips parted, words seeming to hover upon them, longing to be said—or was she waiting for him to speak?
A seething mass of something unidentifiable tangled in Connor’s chest. He should speak. He tried to find the words…
The moment passed.
Whatever it was she’d wanted to say—whatever it was he’d been trying to put into words—remained unsaid.
‘I’ll answer the door.’
As she turned away abruptly to let the FBI agent into the suite, Connor felt every step she took toward the door like a blow to the heart. The gap between them was widening and he didn’t know how to close it.
Soon, Mia would leave Paris with the agent and it could be days before Connor saw her again.
Chapter Twenty-one
‘Good morning, Dawson.’
‘Mr Stewart! What are you doing here?’ ‘I’m here to see Gran, of course.’
‘But… It’s only Monday!’
‘I’m well aware of what day of the week it is, Dawson.’ It’d been well past midnight when Connor had left Paris but he’d been unable to sleep when he reached home. Instead, he’d showered, attempted to answer some emails and ended up trying to work off his restlessness in his home gym. Failing, he’d got ready for work, but decided to call in on his grandmother on the way to the office.
The butler recovered. ‘Sir, you weren’t expected. Mrs Stewart said you’d be overseas until tomorrow night.’
‘As you can see, I’m back.’ It was unusual for Dawson to be in such a flap. ‘Now, are you going to let me