her out of his head so he could stop thinking and worrying about her every goddamn day. She was too independent, too rash, too confident. Confidence was a trait he admired and respected and Eliza had it in spades. They were just too much alike. They were both control freaks and neither were people to ever be dictated to, and Wade was honest enough with himself to know that for the right woman, he could make small concessions. But when it came to her safety? All bets were off and he would do whatever he had to, even tying her to his damn bed if it kept her out of harm’s way.
And that was the other alarm screeching like hell in his head. Yeah, no secret Eliza wasn’t taking vacation. Not unusual for her to pack her gear and arsenal, because she never went anywhere unprepared, but this . . . this was different.
She was in a huge hurry and he could hear the soft curses under her breath as she tried to close the bulging suitcase. She’d never even be able to get it to her car. It weighed more than she did.
But he recognized that determination radiating from her. She’d never let a suitcase zipper defeat her because if it did, Wade was going to take great delight in tormenting her every chance he got that a zipper had kicked her ass.
Finally, her task was completed and then she took only a few moments to pull her long hair back into a ponytail, to Wade’s disappointment, because he had some serious fantasies about all that glorious, silken hair. No, they weren’t in the least bit compatible. They were all wrong for each other, and yet . . . Good things never came easy. They shouldn’t. Anything worth having was worth fighting for. He’d never be happy with a fucking doormat. A woman who was little more than a robot programmed to comply with his demands. Was that really what he wanted? Because right now he was thinking his life would be a lot more interesting if the woman he chose challenged him at every turn. Shit would definitely never get boring. He was used to winning. He expected to win. Always. But sometimes conceding victory was a victory in itself because the reward was all the more sweeter.
Jesus, but he was losing his ever-loving fucking mind. He forced his attention back to Eliza and what she was doing.
She collected her oversize purse—armed with even more weapons if he had to guess. Then she tilted both suitcases, holding on to the two handles, and began dragging them toward the door, strain evident on her face.
He swore softly again. Stupid fucking stubborn woman. Why did he have to be drawn to her and worse actually like and respect her. If he only wanted sex, then he’d go get laid and never even think of the woman again. But once he had a taste of Eliza, he knew once would never be enough, and she deserved better than a quick fuck from a heartless bastard.
He pulled up on that thought, because if he ever got between her legs, there would be nothing quick about him fucking her. If he thought a dozen times inside her would ever be enough to get her out of his system, then he was out of his fucking mind. Eliza wasn’t a woman a man could ever fuck and walk away from, and if they did, they were damn fools.
His breath paused and he melted farther back into the shadows as Eliza’s door opened and she lugged the two large suitcases to her trunk. Then she went back inside but this time when she returned, Wade’s jaw actually dropped. Hell, she could take out an entire city with the contents she very carefully arranged on the floorboard and then wrapped almost lovingly with a soft quilt.
No way in hell he was letting her leave without explaining to him exactly what the fuck had inspired this sudden need for “downtime.” Because she sure as shit wasn’t planning a vacation and the fact that she hadn’t confided in her team, people she was intensely loyal to and trusted implicitly, made his gut tighten with dread because whatever had prompted this was bad. Very bad. And no way was he going to let Eliza shoulder it alone.
He tensed, waited a brief moment for her to be positioned so he wouldn’t be spotted when he made his move, and then