Page 68 of Hunted to Be Mine

“Already in motion,” he said. “I’m pulling a small team.”

“How fast can they be operational?” I asked. The concession surprised me.

Silence for a beat.

“Forty-eight hours,” he said. “Thirty-six if we cut corners.”

“We’ll go ahead to Zagreb,” I said. “Set surveillance. Gather intel. No engagement. Your team meets us there.”

“I don’t like it,” Damon said.

“You don’t have to,” I said. “Every hour we wait, more disappear.”

“Damon,” Mattie said, softer. “They’re right. By the time you get there, it could be gone.”

Another pause. I could hear him weighing it.

“Fine,” he said. “Observation only. I’ll send secure meeting protocols when we’re en route.”

“Agreed,” I said. Selina’s shoulders eased.

“Selina,” Mattie said. “Take care of each other, okay? Call us the minute you reach the city.”

Selina nodded. “We will.”

“Damon,” I added, “have your team bring medical supplies.”

“Already on the list,” he said, tone a shade warmer. “Stay alive till we get there.”

The line went dead.

I pocketed the phone and watched the crowd again. Oblivion was moving, either shoring up or cutting loose. We’d hit something they didn’t want exposed. Good.

“Zagreb it is,” Selina said. Her voice was even. Her eyes were already assembling the plan. I recognized it now.

I waited for a group of tourists to pass before leaning in. “You’re staying somewhere safe while I go to Zagreb.” It came out like an order.

Her expression shifted, jaw set, eyes steady. I recognized the same stubborn set from last night when I had tried to be careful with her bruises, but she had made it clear she wanted more.

“We’re not doing this again.” She leaned in until we were inches apart, voice low. “I didn’t sleep with you just to watch you walk into a suicide run alone. I don’t carry a gun, but I know the mind. What if you black out again? What if someone who knows your trigger words, Kruger’s words, finds you first?”

The bluntness hit hard. Hearing her say it here, plain as facts on a chart, shut me up for a second. I’d replayed the night, her skin, the way she had said my name. Hearing her name it like that knocked me off balance.

“Blackout almost took you,” I said finally, keeping my voice low. My hand slid across the table, stopping just short of hers. “If he had… if Dresner got hold of you…” I couldn’t finish.

She closed the gap and threaded her fingers through mine. “I know what I signed up for,” she said. Her palm was warm against my rough knuckles. “And you need me there. Not just for the files. For this.” She squeezed once. Something inside my chest drew tight.

I studied our hands. Hers small, careful. Mine used for damage. Her touch had stitched me back together, moved over my scars with care. Mine had done the opposite to too many people.

I ran my thumb along her knuckles while I weighed it. The ease of it felt right. I saw her again under me, the way she had said my name like it meant something, even if it might not be mine.

“Kruger knew my trigger words,” I said. “He knew who I was before all this.” I met her eyes. “What if those files say I was someone you couldn’t…” The rest stuck.

What if Specter was the improvement from the man I was before?

“Couldn’t what?” Selina asked. When I didn’t answer, she moved closer. “I’ve seen you at your worst, remember? I watched your conditioning take over. I felt your hands on my throat. And I’m still here.”

A businessman passed close by. I shifted, putting myself between him and Selina. Pain lit my ribs. I kept my face blank.