Page 7 of My Special Ops Neighbor (Neighborhood Hotties #4)

"Too many." She looked up at him, seeing the pain and anger warring in his expression. "But we can stop it. We can make sure everyone knows the truth."

"What else is in those files?"

She led him back to the workstation, pulling up more data. "Congressional connections. Three senators and two representatives have been taking RareCore money for years. Campaign contributions, consulting fees, speaking engagements."

"Keeping oversight committees from investigating equipment failures," he said, understanding immediately.

"Exactly. Every time military investigators tried to look into casualty patterns, political pressure shut them down." She highlighted the financial flows. "Senator Morrison alone took half a million in RareCore money over the past five years."

Vincent's expression hardened further. "While soldiers died using equipment he helped approve."

"It gets worse." Yvette pulled up more files. "They've been targeting family members of KIA soldiers who asked too many questions. Legal harassment, financial pressure, even threatening their benefits."

"They silenced the families too."

"Until now." She turned to face him fully. "This evidence will destroy them. Not just RareCore, but everyone who helped cover this up."

Vincent cupped her face in his hands. "You realize what this means? You're not just exposing fraud anymore. You're taking down an entire network of corruption that's been killing soldiers for over a decade."

"We're taking them down," she corrected. "Your knowledge of military operations, my ability to trace the financial networks—we make each other stronger."

He kissed her then. "I love you," he said against her lips. "I love your brilliant mind, your courage, the way you fight for what's right."

"I love you too." The words came easily, feeling as natural as breathing. "And we're going to make them pay for what they did to your Marines."

"And now they're desperate enough to authorize murder rather than risk exposure."

"Which brings us to tonight." She highlighted the latest intercepted communications. "Executive One is coming personally. Full security detail, authorization for lethal force. They're done with capture attempts."

Vincent studied the intelligence with tactical focus. "How many?"

"At least a dozen. Professional operators, military-grade equipment." She looked up at him. "They want to eliminate everyone here and destroy all the evidence."

"Can you maintain intelligence access during an active assault?"

"As long as the power and internet hold up." She was already implementing backup protocols. "I can track their approach, monitor their communications, maybe even disrupt their coordination."

"And if they succeed in destroying this place?"

"Dead man's switch." She brought up her automated systems. "If our biometrics go dark, everything gets transmitted to fifty different recipients—news outlets, congressional committees, military prosecutors, international media."

Vincent's smile was fierce with approval. "So even if they eliminate us..."

"They lose anyway. The truth comes out, the conspiracy gets exposed, and everyone responsible goes to federal prison." Her voice carried grim satisfaction. "Their only option now is to back down, and corporate executives don't back down when they're facing life sentences."

"Perfect." He leaned down and kissed her forehead, the gentle gesture at odds with the violence surrounding them. "You've turned their desperation into a trap."

Something shifted in the air between them.

The adrenaline from the successful cyber warfare operation, the way they'd worked together to outmaneuver a sophisticated enemy, the knowledge that her analytical mind and his tactical skills had proven unstoppable when combined—it all crystallized into something electric and urgent.

"Vincent," she said softly, her voice carrying a different kind of intensity.

"Yeah?" His hands moved from her shoulders to frame her face, thumb tracing along her jawline.

"We just dismantled a multi-million dollar criminal operation in under an hour."

"We did." His voice was rough, loaded with the same awareness that was making her wet for him.

"I've never had a partner who made me feel this powerful." Her hands covered his, feeling the callused strength of his fingers. "Who made me feel like my mind was a weapon."

"Watching you work, seeing how you are under pressure, how you turned their own systems against them—it's the sexiest thing I've ever seen."

When he kissed her, it was with the hungry intensity of a man celebrating victory alongside someone he respected completely. This wasn't the tender emotion of their earlier encounters—this was need born of adrenaline and the intoxicating rush of conquering danger together.

"We could have lost everything tonight," he said against her mouth. His words were full of emotion and leftover adrenaline. "When I realized they were targeting federal agents, when I thought they might succeed in destroying the investigation..."

"But they didn't." She leaned into him. "We stopped them.”

"You were incredible." His mouth moved to her throat, teeth scraping over her sensitive skin. "Watching you work, seeing how you turned their own weapons against them—you're magnificent."

The combination of his words and the way his body pressed against hers made her tremble.

The danger they'd just neutralized, the way they'd worked as a perfect team, the knowledge that they'd survived and triumphed because of their partnership—it all combined into a desperate need that felt urgent and necessary.

"I need you," she said, her hands already working at his shirt. "Right now. I need to feel alive."

His control snapped. His hands gripped her waist and spun her around, pressing her against the wall beside the security console. His mouth crashed down on hers, all demand.

"Yes," she breathed against his lips, already working at his belt buckle. "Like this."

There was nothing gentle about the way they came together this time.

His hands were rough on her clothes, pulling her shirt over her head and tossing it aside without care.

When his mouth closed over her breast through the lace of her bra, she arched against the wall with a cry that echoed through the control room.

"Can't wait," he growled against her skin, his hands already pushing up her skirt. "Need you too much."

"Don't wait," she commanded, her nails digging into his shoulders as he lifted her against the wall. "Take me. Now."

Hooking his fingers in her panties, he tore them away. The fabric gave way with a satisfying rip that made them both groan. When she wrapped her legs around his waist, he was already freeing himself from his jeans.

"This is what you do to me," he said roughly, positioning himself at her entrance. "Make me lose all control."

"Good," she said, pulling his mouth back to hers. "I don't want your control. I want your need."

When he thrust into her, hard and deep, they both cried out at the intensity of the sensation. There was no careful buildup this time, no gentle exploration—just the primal desire to claim each other completely.

He set a punishing rhythm, each thrust driving her back against the wall as she met him stroke for stroke. The sounds they made were purely animalistic, guttural moans, the wet slap of skin against skin as they moved together with frantic urgency.

"Harder," she demanded, her nails raking down his back deep enough to leave marks. "I want to feel this tomorrow."

He obliged, his hips snapping forward with increased force that made her see stars. The angle was perfect, hitting that spot inside her that made her vision blur with pleasure. She could feel her climax building fast and hard, fueled by adrenaline and the satisfaction of conquering danger together.

"That's it," he growled, feeling her body tighten around him. "Come for me. Show me how good this feels."

The command, delivered in that rough voice while he pounded into her with relentless intensity, sent her over the edge with shocking force. Her orgasm crashed through her like a tidal wave, her body convulsing around him as she screamed his name.

He followed seconds later, his release triggered by the sensation of her climax. He buried his face in her neck, his whole body shuddering as he emptied himself inside her with a broken groan of her name.

They stayed locked together against the wall for long moments afterward. His arms were the only thing keeping her upright as aftershocks rolled through her body.

"Damn," He panted against her throat. "That was..."

"Necessary," she finished, her voice hoarse from crying out. "That was absolutely necessary."

When he finally lowered her to her feet, her legs were unsteady and she had to grip his shoulders for balance. His shirt hung open, his hair was disheveled, and there were scratch marks on him where her nails had found purchase.

"We should probably—" he started, then stopped when he saw the satisfied smile on her face.

"Should probably what?" she asked, straightening her skirt with hands that still trembled slightly.

"Should probably get back to monitoring their operations," he said, but his eyes were already darkening with renewed hunger as he watched her adjust her clothing.

"We should," she agreed, then rose up on her toes to press a soft kiss to his mouth. "But first, I need to find new underwear."

His answering grin was purely male satisfaction. "I'll buy you a dozen pairs when this is over."

"I'm going to hold you to that."

As they gathered their scattered clothing and tried to make themselves presentable, the air between them still crackled with tension.

The frantic coupling against the wall had been exactly what they'd both needed—a physical affirmation that they were alive, that they were together, that they were stronger as a team than either could be alone.

Just as she was about to respond, her monitoring systems chimed with an alert. Agent Bates's voice crackled through the radio.

"We have movement," Bates reported. "Executive One's vehicle is on the move, heading in our direction."