Page 28

“I don’t belong to you.” She whispered the words. Despite the certainty in her tone, her confidence wavered. She’d only ever belonged to one man. Did she still belong to him? He’d died. Died and left her alone. Old pain, aching and familiar, dampened her lust, and she shook her head. “I don’t, Gabriel. I won’t.”
“You can run,” he told her. “But I’ll be right behind you. It took me two years to find you, five to realize who you really were. I’ve seen you now, Copper. You won’t shake me so easily.”
Threats should never turn her on, but she met his fierce kiss with a demand of her own. No more words. She was done with talking. He wanted her to say something, to offer her surrender, to give him everything, but it wasn’t hers to give. When the explosion ripped Brad out of her life, it had detonated an emotional IED and she’d never found all the pieces.
What few she’d been able to cobble together belonged to the team. Tomorrow, she might have to kill Gabriel. It would shred what little part of her remained. That was tomorrow. If tonight was all they really had, then she’d take it. Live today. Die tomorrow.
Hadn’t that always been her motto?
Chapter 8
When the next morning came, she forced herself out of his bed. The weight of his gaze followed her while she dressed, put her gun back together and turned on her phone. Thankfully, Gabriel made no issue of her leaving.
He kept his silence until she was at the door. “This isn’t goodbye.” The absolute certainty in his statement gave her pause. Glancing back, she found him sitting on the edge of the bed, his blue-eyed gaze intent where it rested on her. “I willfindyou.”
“I heard you last night.” Her body hummed at the memory.
“You don’t want to believe me.”
Quite the opposite, but she refused to give him the insight. It had taken every ounce of her will to leave his bed. Wearing Copper’s armor, she made the decision. Choosing between him and her team wasn’t the difficulty. Accepting she couldn’t have both? That hurt.
“Thank you for last night, Gabriel.” Then, because she couldn’t leave well enough alone, “You should go back to your school. Go back to teaching.”
“I’ll see you later,” was his only response.
Shaking her head, she let herself out and followed the corridor to the elevator. Texting Cobalt that she was on the move, she waited for his acknowledgement, then texted Plat.
Do you have him in your sights?
He didn’t ask her whom she meant. He texted back a simple,Yes.
At the elevator, she hit the up button.Is he following me?
One beat.
Two beats.
No.
Disappointment curled through her. Was he giving her lead time, or had he been lying? The ride to the room she split with Cobalt gave her time to get her recalcitrant emotions under control. She was in work mode by the time she made it to their room. Cobalt opened the door without her using her key.
His gaze went past her to scan the hallway. “All clear?”
“Plat has him.” She dropped her bag on a chair and removed her gun to sit it on the table. “I need to shower, then I’ll change. Fill me in on the schedule.”
Cobalt leaned against the bathroom door while she turned on the water. When he said nothing, she glanced at him and raised her brows. “Did you find out anything about the men you recognized?”
“Arms dealers from France. Ant’s identified a lot of the guests. More arms dealers, drug smugglers, and human traffickers in one place than we’ve ever seen.” Grim news.
“What about Red Wolf?” She made short work of her clothes and left them in a pile before stepping under the water. The icy chill was replaced by swiftly warming hotel shower water. Not enough bracing to cool her already overheated flesh.
“Your guy is the only lead we have left.” He made it sound like an apology. While she appreciated the sympathy, she didn’t want it. “Coyle was a hit. A very professional one. The room was wiped down. Even the prostitute he was with didn’t hear anything. She’s not lying. I got a chance to watch the interrogation tapes.”
Copper didn’t have to ask how. They needed the information, so they’d found a way. “No leads on who?”
“No, but I have a theory.” Cobalt folded his arms. “I think he was expendable, and Red Wolf eliminated him.”
The hot water did nothing for the chill in her veins. Gabriel had been in the building. Just because she ran into him downstairs didn’t mean he hadn’t had time to eliminate Coyle before finding her in the lobby. It would also explain why he’d followed her and continued to play the game.