Page 14 of Point Blank

“You’ve got a lot of balls, Milo. That’s all.”

He laughed. “Why does my being single piss you off?”

“It’s not that you’re single. It’s that you hinted I’d be mad if there was someone other than me. And, for your information, there is no you and me.” She wagged her finger between his body and hers.

He cocked his head. “I think you read too much into it.”

Her body temperature spiked. “Why did you bring me here?” She shook her head. “I was stupid to come.”

Pain spread through her chest, threatening to expose her insecurities, her vulnerability . . . everything he’d left her with. She was the one who’d gone running to him at the first opportunity. How pathetic was she? Hours after catching a glimpse of his handsome face on social media, she ran to his sister’s bar in a moment of desperation. Not just for his help—but to see him. And here she was, rubbing her own face in her shitty past. He sure as hell didn’t have to make things harder, though.

His eyes softened, and just like that, her anger deflated. She’d never been good at staying mad at him. Maybe that was the problem.

“Serena, I was a young, dumb kid. After your idiot uncle got my dad locked up, I just . . . being with you would’ve been the ultimate betrayal.”

“Did he say that?”

He reached behind his head and scratched. “Hell, you remember my dad. He was more hotheaded than you are.” His lips worked into a grin.

Her body hummed. That grin was what got her every blasted time. “You might have been a dumb kid back then, but you weren’t two years ago when you said you never wanted to see me again. It’s just like you to minimize your actions.” She laughed. “You must think I’m an idiot.”

His body remained in the relaxed pose, but a muscle in his throat jumped. “You came to me, Serena.”

She folded her forearms over her stomach and rubbed the chilled skin of her arms. He didn’t seem to want to let her forget that. He straightened and stepped closer to her.

Her eyes stayed trained on him. She felt like prey watching its predator. He lifted his hand, and the back of his knuckles brushed her cheek.

“I was trying to protect you. You and I both know that if the FBI had arrested you, shit could have gotten ugly for you and Dani.” He exhaled and looked away before rounding on her again. “I was mad that night. I’d hoped like hell you’d managed to get out of that life. Seeing you there showed me you hadn’t changed . . . and I had. I was scared, dammit. Scared of falling back into that rut alongside you when I was so close to being out.”

“You know I didn’t have a choice then.”

“There’s always a choice.”

She scoffed. “That night you told me you were working as a mole. How did you get involved with the FBI?”

“Rhett Callahan, an FBI agent, approached me with a bunch of evidence of the last job I’d worked—stealing a painting worth millions. He said I could either help them land Alban on some charges by working undercover, or go to prison.”

She raised her eyebrows. “I guess that’s not a tough choice.” Then she wrinkled her nose. “Who’s the friend you called after I spoke with the police?”

“Same guy.”

“Wait. The FBI agent who caught you stealing is now your friend?”

“Why’s that so shocking? People become friends under unusual circumstances all the time. Besides, I’m an honest citizen now,” he said with a wink. “When he made me that offer, it felt like a golden opportunity. A way to get out of that business without having to worry that someone would be angry at me for leaving and rat me out. You know how those people are. No one ever wants good for anyone else.”

Was he talking about her? Did he think she hadn’t wanted better for him? She let the words fall between them. “Going undercover to nail Alban Moussa was risky.”

“So’s stealing a Monet painting.”

Ring ring! Ring ring!

She jerked and turned toward her purse, which Milo had placed on a stool at the island. She pulled out her phone and looked at the screen. Dani’s image filled it, and she hesitated. FaceTime? Of all times, why did she have to FaceTime her now?

She couldn’t avoid her. Serena had promised she’d call her sister when she got home and she hadn’t. Dani was going to flip when she told her about the accident.

Milo’s eyebrows rose.

“It’s Dani, I have to take it.”