“You can call me Shanti.”
“Okay, Shanti.” He released her, leaving her to make her way back to her seat.
She sat, drew a breath, her pulse still skipping.
What had just happened?
The turbulence had taken her by surprise, and she’d almost fallen.
It was just adrenaline.
Of course. Right. And all those muscles and those blue eyes had nothing to do with the way her heart was beating. Nothing at all.
It was just after eight at night when they landed in Cox’s Bazar, an area in southeastern Bangladesh named after an officer with the East India Company. The men put body armor over their T-shirts, clipped on their radios, and disappeared into a back room for a moment only to emerge armed.
Cruz popped in his earpiece. “Longest unbroken sand beach in the world, but do I get to chill and hit the water? Hell, no.”
“Says the whiner who left the SEALs because he was sick of getting sand in his underwear.” Jones chuckled and followed him through the spacious cabin toward the exit.
“What about our luggage?” Shanti asked.
“It will meet us at the hotel.”
Connor did a radio check and then led Shanti down the stairs toward a waiting Land Rover, he, McManus Cruz, and Jones clustered protectively around her. There was no joking now, the four men silent, their gazes searching the area as they moved.
The air was humid, the familiar scents striking a soft place inside Shanti, stirring childhood memories—trying on her grandmother’s beautiful silk saris, eating ice cream at the lake next to the Houses of Parliament with her parents, visiting the Dhakeshwari Temple with her grandfather. Monsoons. Humidity. Spicy food.
When they reached the Land Rover, Connor opened the door and helped Shanti inside. He followed, the other men climbing in and taking their seats. He reached for his handset. “The asset is safely off the plane and in the vehicle.”
Asset?
Was that what she was in private security slang?
Then it came to her. “Who are you talking to? Your radio set can’t reach the United States, can it?”
Connor grinned, a smile that made her belly flutter. “The rest of our team flew straight here to vet the hotel staff and get our operation set up.”
“Oh.” Shanti had never traveled with a security detail before. She’d had no idea of the scale of such an operation. She had expected a couple of bodyguards. Then again, Bram had told her that Cobra was the best.
Guilt needled her. Had she truly dismissed them as Rambos?
She did her best to make up for that. “Thanks—to all of you. I really appreciate everything you’re doing to keep me safe.”
But the men’s attention was fixed on the world outside their vehicle, and they didn’t seem to hear her.