Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 99604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
“Hold on.” He withdrew from me and my body jerked, protesting. Grinning, he slid the blanket on me before standing and starting a fire. Buck ass naked.
Aiden had a body made for firelight. Or moonlight. Or full sunlight. Hard and lean, he showed scars. A couple of knife wounds, a burn or two, and bullet wounds.
His job had never been safe.
Of course, I had a few scars of my own from being shot. Sometimes life gets odd.
I admired his muscles and ignored the scars as he piled more kindling on the fire and then lay back down, cuddling me close beneath the blanket. I stretched against him, bracketed by pure strength, and watched the fire light the logs. “When are you leaving?” I whispered.
He stroked a calloused hand down my arm. “Don’t know. The task force is heating up, and we’ve found two more warehouses with illegal or dangerous substances. More mushrooms for microdosing.”
I blinked. “That’s not an ATF issue.”
“No. But there’s a volatile residue created from the process that involves us, as well as some illegal weapons being used to protect the grows. Like I said, it’s a task force between several agencies with letters. I’d like to wrap up the dynamite investigation before leaving again, but I might have to finish that from somewhere else.”
I didn’t ask where. “Are you going undercover again?” It was tough not to hold my breath.
“Possibly.”
It took everything I had not to let my body shudder or my shoulders slump, even though they were pressed against his upper chest. I wiggled my butt against his groin, noting he was still half-hard. Would probably be fully there in a few minutes. Impressive. “Okay.”
He kissed my head. “That’s it? Okay?”
What else could there be? I was fully aware of his job when we’d moved in together. “Yeah. Just be careful. Don’t get shot.” Or stabbed. Or blown up.
“I won’t.” His brogue was deeper tonight. A bit darker. “You’re still okay with my job?”
Hell no. “Yes.” I’d gone into this with my eyes open. “I’m getting the feeling that this one is dangerous.”
“I have good backup.” So yes, it was dangerous.
“All right.” I accepted him as he was and chose not to delve too much into the future. He hadn’t proposed, and I wasn’t ready for marriage, anyway. But what if we got there? What if we had kids?
“I love you, Angel.”
I closed my eyes. For now, that was everything I wanted. I’d worry about the future later.
His phone buzzed from the crumpled mass of his jeans by the sofa.
“Really?” I muttered.
He chuckled. “It’s only a little past dinnertime.”
Oh. Huh. It felt like midnight.
He stretched a muscled arm, felt around, and drew the phone to his ear. “Devlin? Yeah? Okay. Thanks.” He clicked off.
I held my breath. Hopefully his mission hadn’t been moved up.
“That was my team. They found something on the CCTV,” he said. “They have somebody leaving your Nana’s shop before the explosion.”
I jolted. That was excellent news. “Who was it?”
“Saber just said we need to see it. Let’s go.”
I wriggled a bit. “Sounds good.”
We had to get this figured out…and fast.
Chapter 10
Rain hammered the windshield in steady sheets as Aiden pulled the truck into the lot. The headlights cut through the downpour, glinting off the slick blacktop and the shadowed outline of the old spa. The place sat on the edge of Lilac Lake, half-hidden behind a row of dripping pine trees, and I still couldn’t believe he’d bought it.
Aiden had converted the whole building, turning it from a spa that I had unfortunately shut down, into the regional ATF office. They rented it from him now, which seemed to be government efficiency at its finest. He killed the engine, and we both shoved open our doors. Cold rain slapped my face, dampening my jeans by the time we reached the reinforced front door.
He punched in a code, and the lock clicked open. Warm air met us inside, carrying the faint tang of varnish and fresh coffee. The cameras mounted in the corners tracked silently with their little red lights glowing. I always tried to find the hidden ones.
As usual, I didn’t have any luck with it.
The first floor was surprisingly homey. Leather sofas lined the walls, still smelling faintly of new hide, and a sleek white counter stood empty behind the glass door.
“Are you ever going to get a receptionist?” I shook water from my hair.
He wiped rain off his angled face. “I’m sure we will at some point, but it’s not like this is open to the public, so why deal with another person?”
The floor creaked softly as we climbed the newly polished wooden stairs.
“Let’s hit the conference room,” he said when we reached the second floor.
I knew the layout by now. He’d located the smaller conference room on the second floor while designing the larger one downstairs. I followed him through a glass door into the room, where James Saber leaned back in a chair at the far end of a long redwood table. His boots were up, his expression easy.