Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
“Then no one takes your gun, not even me. You have to train. You have to learn.”
“I have. I will. You know I will.”
“I’ve thought a lot about this the past few hours. I’ve thought about you saying that you’re like me.”
“I am.”
“You have to do more than say that. You have to live it.”
“I will damn it. I will. I am. Why do you think I had the gun in my hand in the first place?”
“There will always be someone who hates me, who wants to kill me. Who wants to hurt me by hurting you. There will always be someone who wants to take your gun and kill you with it. And you have to kill them. You have to pull the trigger.”
“And I will. I’m not going to die.”
“You can’t die,” he says. “Do you understand?”
His voice is low, rough, a demand that is pure steel.
“Aaron—” He doesn’t give me time to reassure him.
His mouth comes down on mine, his tongue pressing past my lips and drinking me in, the taste of him dark and possessive, demanding. Protective. Somehow, this kiss manages to be all of those things and more, but right when I’m sinking into him, devouring him the way he’s devouring me, the door bursts open.
“Oh fuck,” Savage murmurs. “Spare me that shit. I need soap to wash out my eyes. Get a room, but do it later. We need to roll, Aaron, my man.”
“What does that mean?” I ask. “Roll where? What’s happening?”
Aaron motions for Savage to give him a minute, and Savage actually nods back in agreement and exits; agreeable. That’s not any more normal than Smith laughing with us a few minutes ago. “Aaron?” I push, feeling the pulse of growing urgency.
He catches my waist and pulls me to him. “Blake used his hacking skills and started connecting dots to clear my name, and he’s good, baby. You were right. He’s led me to places I didn’t know I needed to be led. He found a trail that leads from Mick to me.”
Hope rises inside me. “Are you telling me that we’re going to be free?”
“I’m telling you that we’re going to be free.”
I laugh and smile. “So I was right about trusting Walker Security?”
He laughs, and God, I love his laugh—all low and rough, all sexy man—and he kisses me. “Yes. You were right.”
“And you love me for all my brilliant ideas?” I tease.
He cups my head and leans in close, his mouth near mine. “I love the fuck out of you,” he says, his voice a raspy timbre that turns suddenly serious. “That’s why I’m going to make this count. I’m going to make this happen now.”
I pull back to look at him. “What does that mean? Make what happen?”
“Some of those dots Blake connected led to a woman I once had a moment with, another agent. Obviously, she betrayed me. The problem for Mick is that she also still wants me. She’ll get me what I want. She’ll get us our proof.”
I blanch. “Wait. You’re telling me our answers lie in you fucking some other woman into telling you how to keep fucking me?” I try to push away from him, but he catches my leg, holding me to him.
“Holy fuck, woman. No. I’m not—”
“You’re either going to trick her into helping you or threaten her under harm of death. Which is it?”
“Whatever it takes.”
“Including fucking her?”
“Except that.”
“But just a little rubbing here and there is just fine? Is that what I’m signing up for? Is that what this is?”
He catches my arms and stares down at me, anger burning in his eyes. “After all of this, is that who you think I am, Ashley?”
“I know you do what you have to do to stay alive.”
“I’m doing what I have to do to give you your freedom.”
“I can deal with a lot of things, Aaron, but you with another woman—”
“Don’t do this,” he bites out. “I need to go fight this war with a clear head, and damn it, I need you to trust me enough to know that no other woman—”
“Will matter?”
His lashes lower, and he looks skyward, struggling with this new war between us. I tell myself to reign it in, to make him feel better about what I feel. He’s fighting for my life, but I just need to know what life that is when this is over. “Aaron—”
The doors open again. “We need to roll,” Savage says again.
“I’ll be right there,” Aaron all but growls at him.
For once, Savage says nothing, and I don’t even know if he’s still in the doorway. I’m focused on Aaron, who is now staring down at me. “We both just got a slap of reality, now didn’t we?”
“What does that mean?” I demand.
He releases me and pulls my gun from his waistband, taking my hand and pressing it into my palm. “Stay with Blake.” He releases me and turns and walks away, exiting and leaving me standing there.