Page 70 of Lethal Salvation

“It is if it’s us.”

“I guess it is.”

“Now, it’s time for me to repay the favour and as much as I love the idea of you walking around with my brand on your skin, I have a feeling it might not feel so fun for you. So, let’s get in the shower and I can scrub your back and clean you before I dirty you up again.”

“Sounds like a great idea.”

He stripped bare before stepping into the shower and, shielding her from the cold water until it warmed up, he took the time to wash her hair and clean her body, paying extra special attention to all his favourite parts.

When they were both spent, he carried her to bed, where he made love to her again before falling asleep with her body spread over him like a blanket. Today had been rough but with her beside him, he could cope with anything.

Chapter 19

“I thought I might find you here.”

Bás’ spine stiffened as she walked into the weapons room of the safe house. If it could even be called that. “What do you need?”

Her best skill was reading people, of knowing what they needed. In the beginning with Gideon, it had been tricky. She couldn’t read him because she was too caught up in fighting her attraction to him. Now though, it was as if she could anticipate what he wanted. But unlike with most people, it went both ways between them. He did the same, not giving her what she thought she needed but what she actually needed before she even knew it.

She’d left him in bed this morning, wiped out from the hell of the evening before but she hoped she’d given him back a small measure of the control he needed to thrive. Now she needed to do the same for her boss but without sharing her heart, which she knew belonged to Gideon and always would.

“Can we sit?”

He sighed and laid down the gun he’d been cleaning. Taking a seat, he faced her as she placed her clasped hands on the table.

“Talk to me, Bás.”

He looked at his hands not facing her. “About what?”

Duchess was stubborn too, so she waited for him to look at her and when he did, she saw the anguish in his eyes. “Tell me about Hansen. How did you two meet?”

A sigh that seemed to be dragged from the very depths of hell swept from his chest. “What does it matter, it’s ancient history.”

“Come on, Bás, you don’t believe that any more than I do. This is personal for you and for him too, and we need to know why if we’re going to fight him. We could have lost Lotus tonight and now he’s toying with us.”

The video Hansen had sent of him killing Carter hadn’t been the only thing. He’d also sent a video of Lotus and Damon, and he was close enough that he could have killed them both before they’d had a chance to react. His threat had been clear. He could have killed her and hadn’t, but only Bás knew why this game was afoot.

“She was stupid to let her guard down. We’ve taught her better than that.”

“She was and we have, but we both know that human beings aren’t that simple. She made a mistake, a bad one, yes but she’s human like we all are.”

“She’s reckless.”

“And so is what you’re proposing by going after Hansen alone.”

“It’s different.”

“Then tell me why.”

His hands clenched and unclenched the knuckles almost white, and she knew how hard this was for him.

“If I tell you it stays between us, but you won’t change my mind.”

Nadia nodded and sat silent while he explained his background with Hansen. How they’d met, their relationship, everything all the way back to his childhood. When he was done, Nadia felt shell-shocked by what she now knew.

He was right, when that particular cat was out of the bag there was no putting it back inside, no matter how much they’d want too.

“Now do you get why I didn’t want to say anything to anyone?”