Millie smiled. “Leave that to me. Gio is worth the risk.”
Will frowned and looked to Petra. “What is she talking about?”
Petra sighed in disgust before answering, “Gio kidnapped her, interrogated her, faked her death, and held her hostage. She can’t stop talking about him.”
Millie stuck out her tongue. “I don’t talk about him all of the time.”
Petra rolled her eyes. “We don’t have time to argue the point.”
Millie drawled, “Only because you’ll lose.”
Will placed a hand on each of the women’s shoulders. “So, do we have a deal?”
Millie answered, “Yes. My boss will owe me big time and I can’t wait to collect. Now, come on.”
Petra jumped in. “Not just yet. Help me check Will for tracking devices.”
Millie grinned. “You’re inviting me to touch all of those lovely muscles?”
Petra resisted the urge to knock Millie flat on her ass. “Just hurry up and help me.”
Millie’s hands moved to Will’s shoulders and Petra quickly crouched down to feel his leg. Slowly running her hands up, she stopped at his pockets, which put her eye level with his crotch. Resisting the urge to look up to Will’s eyes, she inserted her hands into each of his pockets and felt around for anything unusual.
His body heat seared through the material and into her palms. Memories of earlier, when they’d been naked in the hotel room, flashed into her mind.
Petra clenched her teeth. Being near the man was dangerous.
Finishing the lower half check, she ordered, “Lift your shoes.”
After checking them, Petra stood. Millie was doing her last checks of his back and arms, squeezing and lingering longer than necessary. However, before Petra barked for the woman to finish, Millie put out her hands and said, “Ta-daa! He’s tracker free. Can we go now?”
Millie didn’t wait for an answer as she headed down one of the streets. Petra cursed and took Will’s hand. She tried to ignore how his large, warm hand engulfed hers. “Let’s go before she kills herself.”
Will’s voice filled her ear. “For someone who claims to not have any friends or people to help, your female partner acts like a friend to me.”
Glad to be in front of Will so he couldn’t see her face, Petra studied Millie’s form. The last few weeks had been both annoying and more fun than she’d ever admit out loud. Not that she trusted Millie completely. The woman had secrets, she was sure of it. “Millie owed me a favor. It’s as simple as that.”
Will squeezed her hand and she chanced a glance over her shoulder. Yet all she was greeted with was a neutral expression. Will raised his brows. “What?”
Shaking her head, Petra answered, “Nothing.”
As they wound their way down one alley and then another, Petra decided she must’ve imagined Will’s reassuring squeeze, unless he was deliberately messing with her head.
Regardless, Petra pushed all of her questions to the back of her mind. She needed to focus on making it out of Sichuan Province alive. And not only that, but also with a prisoner in tow. Giovanni Sinclair wouldn’t go down easily. His father, James Sinclair, was a power-hungry, wannabe politician who controlled the Feiru High Council and the AMT Oversight Committee with one hand tied behind his back. It was going to take all of her and Millie’s experience combined to pull this operation off.
She only hoped Millie’s boss would reward them in the end. Petra didn’t do charitable deeds. The instant she did that, her reputation as a mercenary would be ruined and people would consider her easy pickings.
Until Sean Reilly was out of the picture and her brother was safe, that wasn’t an option.
Picking up her speed, she kept her eyes and ears open as they followed Millie through the streets.
~~~
Millie Ward’s heart thumped double-time. Partly because she was nervous, but also because she was curious to see Giovanni again.
True, the bastard had kept her under watch at a remote cottage in Norway for a while. But since the man had had the ch
ance to kill her instead of protecting her, Millie’s curiosity burned to know why he’d faked her death instead. Gio’s father was one powerful bastard and Millie wouldn’t put it past the arsehole to kill off his own adopted son if he found Gio had disobeyed him.