"I only just learned of it myself," Eden murmured. "Swanny told me, thank G.o.d. My father and brothers kept me in the dark. They didn"t want me to know."
Tears welled in her eyes, and it was all Swanny could do not to forcibly remove Hanc.o.c.k from Eden"s side and pull her into his arms to give her comfort. But at the moment, there was the very real issue of there being a connection between Hanc.o.c.k and Eden that Swanny didn"t understand. It was obvious that Hanc.o.c.k had feelings for her. The question was in what capacity?
They obviously hadn"t ever had a s.e.xual relationship because she"d been a virgin when Swanny made love to her. But she"d mentioned an obvious connection to her father and brothers as well. There were a dozen questions buzzing in his head because nothing made sense right now.
"You found out about your mother," Hanc.o.c.k said in a low voice.
Eden"s eyes widened, going even glossier with a sheen of tears. "You knew? Am I the only person who didn"t know?"
Hanc.o.c.k squeezed her hand. "I would have been here much sooner, but I was in deep cover and didn"t get your father"s calls until I saw the news and then checked my messages and spoke to Eddie. I"m sorry, cupcake. I should have been here to protect you. You have to know I"d never allow anyone to hurt you."
She sniffled back the tears that threatened and gave him a watery smile. "I know, Guy. And please, don"t feel badly. As I said, Swanny and his team have been taking very good care of me. I have two more days of shooting and they"ve made provisions for my safety. It all ends with a launch party after the wrap-up of production, and then I"ll be done with this job and can go back home and be safe."
Swanny flinched at how casually Eden spoke of going home and being safe. He d.a.m.n sure wasn"t ready to let her go, but neither did he want her in danger for a second longer than necessary. h.e.l.l of a note when the only way he got to be with her was if she was in danger. He wanted to mean something to her. Something more than a protector, a temporary bodyguard, whom she would forget when it was all over with.
Hanc.o.c.k looked at Swanny, obviously picking up on the fact that though Nathan and Joe were the team leaders, Swanny was lead on this mission.
"Give me the rundown," Hanc.o.c.k said, his expression now hard and focused.
Swanny glanced at his teammates, wondering just how much he should relate to a man who was nebulous at best, though he had come through twice and had saved Maren, Steele"s wife, by taking a bullet for her, not to mention getting her out of a messy situation and back into KGI"s hands and protection.
"Tell him," Eden said softly. "I trust him with my life. He deserves to know."
"Just what is your relationship?" Swanny asked carefully, stalling before he got into the details with Hanc.o.c.k.
"Her family pretty much adopted me," Hanc.o.c.k said, uncharacteristically breaking his habit of not revealing anything remotely personal. "I owe her father and mother a lot. Eden has always been like a sister to me. It"s because of them that I survived."
This time Eden squeezed Hanc.o.c.k"s hand and smiled at him. Then she turned to Swanny. "He"s family."
Swanny sighed and then related the story from start to end, including everything Eden"s father had told him. Eden steeled herself, her features locked in stone as she heard for the second time about the events that had unfolded over all these years and how it was affecting the present.
Hanc.o.c.k"s expression grew colder and colder, fury tightening his features.
"So you have the other teams tracking this son of a b.i.t.c.h?" Hanc.o.c.k demanded.
Swanny nodded. "Rio and Steele are both on the job. We hope to find and eliminate the source of the threat as quickly as possible."
"Not soon enough, apparently," Hanc.o.c.k said in an icy voice.
"Eden is our top priority," Swanny said just as coldly.
Hanc.o.c.k suddenly rose, pulling Eden to stand beside him and engulfing her in another huge hug. "I"m going to run, cupcake. There"s apparently a lot I need to do. I"ll check back in with you in a few days."
s.h.i.t. This was not a good sign. Hanc.o.c.k could well blow KGI"s mission all to h.e.l.l. Swanny would have to warn Sam ASAP of the new development and of Hanc.o.c.k"s involvement in yet another of KGI"s missions. Sam was going to be p.i.s.sed.
She hugged Hanc.o.c.k back, and he kissed her cheek and then strode out of the suite, not saying a word to Swanny or his team.
"Well," Skylar said, breaking the awkward silence that had descended. "That was, um, interesting."
Eden sat back down but checked her watch. "We need to leave soon. I don"t want to be late and cause more disruption to the filming. But I"d like to know exactly how you all know Guy. I"m completely confused."
"We"ve b.u.mped into him on a few missions," Joe said. "Let"s just say our relationship is tenuous at best. We haven"t ever figured out exactly what his motives are, but he has helped us in the past as well as hindered us. We don"t know a whole h.e.l.l of a lot about him. Our exposure to him has been brief at best. We kind of have a tacit agreement to stay out of each other"s way."
Eden frowned. "So he does what y"all do?"
Swanny glanced quickly at Joe to silence him. If Eden considered him family but wasn"t aware of who and what Hanc.o.c.k was, he didn"t want to further disillusion her any more than she already had been.
"Hanc.o.c.k is a law unto himself," Swanny said. "We aren"t sure ourselves exactly what he does, but I think it"s safe to say that it"s mostly cla.s.sified and military."
"Oh," Eden said. "That makes sense. He did join the military. Followed in my father"s footsteps. It"s just that we rarely see him, so I figured whatever he did was top secret. He"s often gone for months at a time and I haven"t seen him in two years."
Swanny wasn"t about to tell her why or give details as to Hanc.o.c.k"s activities or go into any further details about his role in the two KGI missions. There was simply no need, and she"d already been dealt enough shock. He wanted her as stress free as was possible given the circ.u.mstances, and more than that, he wanted her to have faith in him and his vow to protect her and keep her safe.
"We should go," Joe announced. "The car is here. The new hotel has been secured and security measures implemented. You"ll be checked in under an alias and officially checked out of this hotel. With the new filming location, it"s our hope that we"ve laid the groundwork for it to appear as though you"ve left the country."
Eden looked perplexed by Joe"s explanation.
"We had a double visibly leave the hotel and head to the airport, complete with paparazzi coverage. She"s currently on a plane to the U.S. under your name. The car that will be taking you to the studio is tinted so no one will be able to see inside, and we"re all cramming into one so it won"t look suspicious for a caravan to suddenly depart the premises."
Eden"s eyes rounded. "You"ve thought of everything."
"I hope to f.u.c.k so," Swanny said. "We"re not taking any chances with your life, Eden. I won"t lie. I wish you were on a plane back home, but I also understand how important this is to you and your career."
She touched his arm, her eyes warm, as she met his gaze. "Thank you, Swanny."
"Okay, let"s roll," Joe said, a hint of impatience in his voice. "Take your places and let"s get the h.e.l.l out of here."
CHAPTER 29.
THE tension in the studio on the outskirts of Paris was thick, a tangible air that permeated every single person working. Except Eden. Swanny didn"t know how she did it, but she pulled it off with perfection. Smiling as if she didn"t have a care in the world. Playing to the camera. Saying her lines in a smoky, husky, s.e.xy-as-h.e.l.l voice that kept him hard for the better part of the day.
There was posted security around the entire perimeter, and Skylar and Nathan had taken position on the roof with their sniper rifles, doing constant recon and reporting to Joe every half hour.
Every single member of the filming crew, including the director, much to his displeasure, was thoroughly searched before being allowed in, and Swanny"s team had done a sweep of the entire studio much earlier that morning before returning to the hotel to bring Eden in.
Swanny, Joe and Edge were on the inside with Eden, standing just off the set and out of the camera range but close enough to cover her quickly if things went south. Swanny was the closest to her, purposely positioning himself in front of Edge and Joe so he could keep close watch over Eden.
Even the director was uncharacteristically silent. He was on edge, nervous and jumpy, and his mood quickly spread to his crew, who were every bit as agitated as he was.
It was clear they were scared s.h.i.tless, but there was also admiration in the director"s eyes each time Eden pulled off a flawless performance and he called it a wrap.
Eventually her calm spread to the rest of the crew, and by the afternoon, the tension had dissipated and the mood was much more relaxed. No one jumped at the slightest noise any longer. It was as if she held them all in her thrall, and, well, he supposed she did just that. He knew he certainly wasn"t immune to her. She just had a way of putting those around her at ease, and yet Swanny knew just how scared and upset she was behind the calm facade.
It only made him admire her all the more for being able to maintain her composure and act as a rea.s.suring presence when it was he and his team who were supposed to have that job.
Every once in a while, between shoots, Swanny could see the calm slip just a bit, and he saw the fatigue and fear in her eyes. The sorrow as she was still processing all she"d learned in the last twenty-four hours. And h.e.l.l, the woman could have died. Again.
Two brushes with death in a short period of time and yet she was stalwart and a consummate professional. He"d never met a woman like her. Never met her equal and he knew he never would. There would never be another woman for him. Not after her. How could any other woman ever measure up? Who else would accept him and his faults? His scars, both external and internal.
She looked up as if sensing his gaze, and her eyes immediately warmed and she smiled, the tiredness and fear drifting away as if she drew comfort and strength from his presence. Ironic, since everyone else was drawing comfort and peace from her.
"If we can get in another hour, we"ll be ahead of schedule and can wrap up by noon tomorrow," the director announced. "Great job, everyone. And Eden, you"re fabulous as always."
A cheer went up from the crew, and Eden smiled with her usual grace. "I"m sure under a different director we would indeed be behind schedule. You did a wonderful job, Lonnie. As always. I can"t imagine working on this project with any other director."
The director flushed at Eden"s praise and dragged his finger around his collar as if uncomfortable. The cantankerous, brusque director was as enthralled with Eden as everyone else, though he tried to hide it with his bark. Right now, though, Swanny was imagining a satisfied cat cuddled against Eden while having its head stroked as the director preened and actually smiled-a genuine smile-at Eden.
And the h.e.l.l of it was that Eden had been utterly sincere. She really was just too d.a.m.n nice. Swanny would have told the director to go f.u.c.k himself on several occasions, but Eden had taken it all in stride and performed to expectation. Beyond expectation, in Swanny"s opinion. Considering all she"d been through, it was a d.a.m.n miracle that she could even perform at all.
Swanny"s team immediately kicked it into high gear, preparing for Eden"s departure to the new hotel, where she"d be checked in under a false name. Joe had used one of the many aliases KGI possessed for just such occasions as this.
Before departing, Eden donned a black wig and wore heavily tinted, large sungla.s.ses that covered nearly the entire upper portion of her face and a scarf wrapped around her neck and pulled up over her mouth. She also wore a coat with extra padding so it appeared she was several pounds heavier than she was, and she wore flats to make her appear shorter. She"d been instructed to hunch slightly to solidify the illusion of her being shorter and heavier.
Swanny"s team had dressed casually, looking like normal people instead of the operatives they were. Though it made him extremely uneasy, they didn"t completely surround Eden, because they didn"t want to draw any attention to the fact that they were protecting her.
The crew was instructed to remain until thirty minutes after Eden"s departure.
Joe and Nathan went out first to get into the waiting SUV and then Swanny came out with Eden at his side, Skylar and Edge following casually behind.
Swanny was on heightened alert, scanning their surroundings while appearing to be casual as he headed toward the car. One hand was inside his light blazer, resting against the b.u.t.t of his pistol in case he needed to act fast. He knew Skylar and Edge were similarly prepared and that Nathan and Joe, already in the vehicle, would both have their weapons drawn, ready to leap out at the first sign of danger.
When Swanny got Eden into the middle seat, Skylar went to the opposite door while Edge took the front seat next to the hired security specialist driving the SUV.
Swanny didn"t like Edge being in such a vulnerable position. After what had happened when their vehicle had been hit with an RPG and the driver had been killed, if a similar attack happened, Edge was an open target. The very last thing Swanny wanted was to lose a teammate. A brother.
Eden was more at ease as they drove to the hotel. She was relaxed, leaning into Swanny"s side, snuggling as if seeking his strength and warmth. Uncaring of how it appeared to his teammates, he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to his body. She laid her head on his shoulder and let out a sigh.
"One more day of shooting and then the launch party and we"ll be done with this," she said, relief evident in her voice. "I won"t lie. I"m ready for this to be over with. It scares me that you and your team are in the line of fire. I"d never forgive myself if one of them-or you-were hurt or killed because of me."
Swanny frowned because she sounded like she was ready to be done with it all. Including him.
He was suddenly struck with a raging case of nerves. He could feel his palms growing clammy. What if she didn"t feel the same way about him as he did about her? What if when this was over, she moved on, leaving him behind, only the memory of him being her first lingering in her mind?
He tried to block out his doubts and focus on the positive and hope for the best. It scared him to death to put his heart on the line. To open up to her completely and to be so direct in his planned conversation with her.
His head told him he was an idiot for even considering that a woman like her would have any interest in seeing him beyond the time they spent protecting her, but his heart clung to the tenuous hope that he was more to her than her bodyguard.
What if he got shot down?
He wished he could be more confident. But his demons wouldn"t go away. His dreams were still tormented by his time in captivity, though he had noticed that when Eden slept with him, she chased away those demons, calming his inner beast and soothing away the pain of the past.
But he had visible reminders of his captivity. Could a woman like Eden look beyond those? In her career, where beauty and elegance was a part of her daily life? He couldn"t imagine her ever wanting to show up to an event on his arm.
Beauty and the Beast. Literally. Only real life wasn"t a fairy tale and no happily-ever-afters were ever guaranteed. He"d seen love work with the Kelly brothers. Other members of the KGI team. But he"d never considered it for himself. Never thought he would even entertain the thought.
And yet he knew in the deepest recesses of his heart that he loved Eden beyond measure. He felt the worst kind of fool for setting himself up for such a huge fall. He wasn"t even sure when he"d fallen for her. She"d certainly had his attention from the moment he met her, but looking back he couldn"t pinpoint an exact moment when love had happened.
It seemed he"d always felt it toward her, growing even more the first time they made love and he discovered he was her first. That had humbled him in a way he"d never been humbled in his life. It still had the power to bring him to his knees. It was a gift he"d treasure forever, no matter what happened between him and Eden.
But he knew one thing. No matter where life took him, he"d never love another woman as he did Eden. Nor would he ever meet another woman of her caliber.
CHAPTER 30.
EDEN issued an audible sigh of relief once Swanny and part of his team had entered her suite and swept the interior while Edge and Skylar had remained in the hallway with her, flanking her protectively and watching for any sign of anyone in the hallway.
They"d rented out the entire floor of rooms so they"d be the only occupants, and the hotel had put a block on anyone stopping on their floor on the elevator. But the stairway presented an issue because they couldn"t lock it in case they needed to get out fast, and they d.a.m.n sure needed more than one option for escape.
Now everyone was gone except Swanny, and she sank onto the couch, only wanting Swanny next to her, his arms around her.
"Want to get undressed and into more comfortable clothing?" Swanny asked before he sat next to her. He stood just in front of her, as if waiting to see what she wanted before he decided on his position.
"Only if you"ll come to bed with me and hold me," she said, watching for his reaction.
It bothered her that she was still so unsure of herself, or rather of him. She wasn"t used to being anything but confident in her life and career. But this was something she"d never encountered before.
She"d completely lost her heart to Swanny and she had no idea if he reciprocated her feelings. She knew he cared about her. No question there. But when this was all over with, would he simply move on to the next mission and she"d go back to her life and career as if they hadn"t ever held such a close bond?
His expression immediately softened and a heated glow entered his eyes as he stared warmly down at her. He held out his hand to help her to her feet and then pulled her into his arms.
"I"ll hold you all night, honey. But first there"s something I want to give you and then . . ." He hesitated briefly, uncertainty flashing in his eyes giving him an almost vulnerable look. He let out his breath as he pulled her a little farther away from his embrace. "Then, I"d like us to go to bed because there"s something I want to discuss with you."
He blurted out the last, as though it had taken him a moment to gather his courage and say it before he changed his mind.
She looked curiously up at him, a sudden attack of nerves making her stomach flutter. Was he going to tell her they were over? That he"d made a mistake by making love to her? How did the saying go? Something like women got way more emotional when it came to s.e.x and how they read far more into the act than a guy did? Had she set herself up for a monumental fall?
Some of her panic must have shown on her face, because Swanny immediately looked contrite and pulled her back into his arms. "I"m sorry, Eden. That probably came out badly. I"m not so good with words, and I"ll man up and admit, I"m nervous as h.e.l.l. But it"s nothing bad. G.o.d, I hope not anyway."
Something in his voice immediately soothed the tension that had knotted her insides. She could hear the nervousness in his voice, see the same tension she had felt in his features. It made her want to comfort him instead of seeking comfort for her own bout of nerves.
"What do you want to talk about?" she asked, deciding to take the plunge. Like a bandage. Rip it off quickly and cleanly.
Instead of answering her, he took her hand and pulled her toward the bedroom. When they were standing by the bed, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a silvery strand. At first she wasn"t at all certain what it was until he held it up.