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My cock hardened painfully, taking her in—strapped down with weaponry, an ammo bag slung over her shoulder. So fucking beautiful. All I could think was—I would walk through the gates of Hell itself if this woman asked me to.
Instead, all my tangled mind could manage was a stiff nod. "Yeah. Ready."
Chapter 28
TIERNEY
In hindsight, insisting on bringing my bike probably wasn't the best idea. Still, it had given me nearly an hour wrapped around Ahren like a koala, so it was hard to find fault with the idea.
Ahren pulled into a school parking lot and turned off the engine. "We continue on foot from here," he said, lifting his helmet to reveal perfectly tousled hair I ached to run my fingers through.
My hands smoothed over my braid, suddenly feeling self-conscious about my appearance. He was perfection. Deadly with any weapon, it seemed. A face I swear was chiseled by the gods. Oh, and he was even a good cook. What was I in comparison?
Get your fucking head in the game, girl. I groaned internally.
He laced our fingers together, leading me toward the upscale neighborhood where the new broker lived.
I much preferred the run-down area the other guy lived in. No one there bothered asking questions. Here—well—let's just hope we don't run into the neighborhood busybody or some rent-a-cop while we're here.
In less than twenty minutes, we found ourselves standing beside a massive marble statue meant to commemorate some historical event I couldn't care less about.
"When this is over, remind me to burn this place down—just for spite."
His dark chuckle sent a pulse of need straight to my core, the few remaining solid parts liquefying as his hot breath fanned across my neck.
"Didn't know you worked for free, kitten."
"Kitten?" I asked, lifting my brow and turning to face him.
He shrugged. "It's short for Hellcat. That shit takes too long to say, though. You're both lethal and adorable."
Heat rose, staining my cheeks and even the tops of my ears felt the burn. Carissa called me Tia. She was the only person who ever bothered with a nickname for me. I wasn't sure how I felt about 'kitten', but just the idea that he thought enough about me to come up with one sent off tiny fireworks in my chest.
"I don't work for free." I said, circling back to his original question. "But whoever designed this place deserves it—just on principle."
"Interesting." His sly smirk was at odds with the edge of mocking disdain his voice carried.
"Come on, you know you're thinking it, too. No decent cover anywhere and cameras on every porch."
"Fair enough." He said, reaching into his bag and pulling out a cartridge and loading it into a smaller rifle. I thought it seemed odd he brought two, but I had ignored it. Now, though, I was curious.
He raised the rifle, taking aim at the nearest house. A soft tink following the squeeze of the trigger as his bullet found its target.
"Are you really going to take out every camera in the neighborhood?" I snorted.
"Why not? These just hit them with an electromagnetic pulse, a tiny one. It shorts the camera."
"So it just looks like a malfunction, not an attack. Stealthy. I like it."
The muscles of his arms and back flexed hypnotically as he worked, walking down the center of the deserted street, firing rapidly as each camera came into view.
My smile grew wider with each shot, my fingertips dancing at my side, wishing he had brought a second.
As if reading my mind, he asked, "Wanna try one?"
Before the words were out, I was already reaching for the gun, my head bobbing excitedly.
"That house," he said, pointing to a house three doors down from our current position. "That's the new broker."