Page 47 of Burn the World Down

He was going to help me kill Snyder.

I wasn’t alone anymore.

The hot sting of tears threatened, but as always, they didn’t fall. Which was fine with me. I had no time for tears. I had to focus on my mission.

I dried off my hair and pulled it back in a damp ponytail. I did my best to cover my bruising. It was a losing battle, but as I stared at the dark marks, they served as a reminder that what I was doing was right.

From my suitcase, I dug out my favorite sage-green leggings, a black T-shirt, and a light zip-up jacket. I wriggled into the leggings. They were the most formfitting things I’d worn in ages.

For a second, I felt like myself again.

My gaze snagged on the bedside table and I sucked in a breath. There was a pretty orchid—this one potted—sitting there. The flowers were a bright, happy yellow.

My throat tightened. Flowers, food, someone looking out for me.Don’t get used to this, Georgie.

“Bagel, cream cheese, and smoked salmon,” Nash said, as I entered the living area. He pointed to the island. “Sit. Eat.”

“You’re bossier than I remember.” I zipped up my jacket.

“If you want to do this, you need to be in top form.”

I sat on the stool. “I want to do it.” I met his gaze. “Does that make me a bad person?”

“What do you think?”

“I think Snyder is going to keep hurting people, unless someone does something.” I studied Nash’s rugged face. “I think it depends why someone kills. If you kill in self-defense, no one considers that a crime. If you kill because you like it and enjoy hurting people, then it’s wrong. If you kill someone who’s evil and hurts other people…I think that’s forgivable.”

His blue gaze held mine for a moment, then he nodded. “Coffee?”

I groaned. “Yes, please.”

“Still take it with creamer and one sugar?”

I blinked, shocked that he’d remembered. “Yes.”

We ate and I gratefully sipped my coffee. I realized that I was starving and devoured my bagel. “So where is this shooting range?”

“Here.”

My eyebrows winged up. “At the casino?”

“Yes, although it’s not open to the public. It’s for the security team to use.”

That was so cool. I watched him over the rim of my mug. “So you, Landon, and the others all served in the military together?”

He was quiet for a beat. “No.”

I frowned. “Landon seems like he was military.”

“He was. Army. The others weren’t.” His gaze locked on me. A long, probing look. “I was recruited into…a special program.”

I felt goosebumps cover my arms. “What kind of program?” I wanted to know. I wanted to know everything about Nash.

He lifted his coffee and took a long sip. “When I said we’d all killed, it wasn’t just on the battlefield.”

I suddenly felt cold. “I know.”

“We were sanctioned to kill the enemies of our country.”