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“Oh, for sure,” I agreed. “So, keep going.”
Smiling crookedly, Kael straightened and leaned his butt against the counter with his arms folded. “I was a Navy SEAL. But only for a year. I got shot in the field—first deployment after BUD/S.”
“You got shot in the back?” I clarified with a grimace.
“Right under my vest,” he nodded. “They discharged me honorably after that,” his features pulled into a wry squint, “so I could go on to do less than honorable things afterward.”
“Yeah, how do you go from Navy SEAL to hitman?”
“I’m not a hitman,” he said, rolling his eyes. “But my skillset is highly sought after. I got an offer in the Chechnya hospital, and they sort of stacked up after that.” He shrugged. “I had my own goals. It was lucrative, and I’m good at it.”
“Spoken like a true mercenary,” I teased.
Kael turned, and like it was the most effortless thing to do, he came to stand between my legs. His icy gaze sliced through me, and the sensation went straight between my legs. I held my breath, staring at him in surprise. He placed his strong hands above my knees. “I am a mercenary, Bunny. But I don’t want to get you hurt. Are you sure about this? Still? It’s not too late to back out.”
My intuition about him calling off this entire operation if he knew about Jonathon was spot on. If he knew, he wouldn’t let us stay here. And I needed to be here. I didn’t want to run from my demons anymore—I wanted to gut them. I nodded. “I’m sure.”
He squeezed my knees gently, and it sent an electric shock of desire through me. I sipped in a little breath, and it caused his expression to soften with humor. “Then give me a safe word.”
“What?” I squeezed out. Where did all the oxygen go? Is there a gas leak in here?
“Give me a safe word,” he repeated calmly. Amusement shimmered on the edges of his mouth and in the flit of his gaze over me. “In case I need to maintain our cover. If you say that word, then I’ll extract you instead of trying to keep your cover.”
“Oh,” I gusted out. He knew exactly what he was doing. Asshole. Beautiful, deadly, sexy asshole. “You mean in case they demand a public beating or something?”
His eyes hooded. “Sure.”
“I’ll… call you Casper,” I grinned crookedly.
Kael laughed, soft and husky, and it swished over my skin like satin. “Casper. Alright, I can remember that. Although, with any luck, I’ll find something tonight and we can leave.”
“We’ll find something,” I corrected.
He shook his head. “No, you’re staying here.”
“The fuck I am,” I frowned.
I tried to get off the counter, but Kael tightened his hold on my legs and pinned me in place. “Mattie, don’t go there. I’m qualified to go skulking around personal studies. You are not.”
“Yeah, but if you get caught skulking around, it will make more sense if I’m with you.”
Kael snorted. “I don’t get caught.”
“Oh, okay, John Wick. Sure you don’t.” I pushed his hands off my legs, but he didn’t move his body. I tried to wiggle down, but it only brought my spread center against his abdomen, and my neck went red hot. “Will you move?”
“Give me your word,” he glared. “You’ll stay here.”
“Yes, fine, I’ll stay here,” I promised. In the house.
Kael angled a suspicious look my way, but then he put his hands on my waist and helped me off the counter. His touch seared through my sweater, and I only barely managed to stop from humiliating myself by leaning into him. I stepped away, avoiding his burning stare. He sighed through his nose. “Mattie, I know you think I’m more bark than bite—”
“And I will change that opinion when the bite comes out to play,” I smirked over my shoulder as I left to find the TV remote. Kael made a sound like he was in pain and rubbed his eyes. I grinned.
Bunny: 23. Ghost: 0.
He wasn’t the only one who could keep count.
Ihad Tabitha confirm that the Thornes had left. She sent me a thumbs-up emoji over text, and I slipped my phone in my back pocket. I still wore my white button-down and black chinos, but I would definitely be leaving the belt behind. It shouldn’t be too complicated. Pick a few locks, take pictures of relevant shipping logs and anything I could find on cathynol, and send them off to Tabitha. Then Mattie could decide what to do with them when she was ready.
