Page 22 of Play Dirty
“What do you think?” Madi scoffed. “DiMarco showed. Bennington didn’t. You think that was a coincidence?”
Az sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “No. Not likely. Shit.”
“Your ear is bleeding.”
Az glanced up. “What?”
Madi rose, roughly yanking Az’s head to the side. “Your ear is bleeding. So is your neck.”
“I also have a headache,motek. Your bedside manner could use some work,” Az said, even as he allowed Madi to look him over.
Madi disappeared upstairs and came back with a first aid kit, his touch much gentler when he returned. Az sat patiently, his arms curling around Madi’s thighs as he used tweezers to pick shards of glass and wood embedded into Az’s skin.
“How did you not notice this?”
The corners of Az’s mouth ticked up at the almost spousal tone of condescension in Madi’s voice. “I was too busy attempting to deal with the three men who ambushed me in the men’s room.”
Madi snorted. “Whose fault is that? I told you that blind hallway was going to be a problem.”
Az grinned, his hands sliding up to cup Madi’s ass, his lips pressing a kiss to his stomach through his t-shirt. “So you did. Yet, I am here. They are dead. And I even had time to get you a present.”
Az could feel the way Madi’s muscles tightened at the word ‘present.’ “Present? You got me a present in the middle of a firefight?”
“What can I say? I’m a sentimental guy. Do you want it or not?”
Madi leaned back, his look guarded as he surveyed Azrael. “If this is all just some dramatic way for you to present your dick to me as a gift, I’m going to question your timing.”
Az reached behind him slowly, watching the way Madi’s whole body went on alert at his movements. “Relax,motek. If I were going to kill you, I wouldn’t be so stupid as to think offering you a gift was the way to make you less suspicious of my intentions.”
Az pulled the gun free, presenting it muzzle down, holding the grip with thumb and forefinger.
Madi’s gaze grew hungry at the matte black weapon with its engraved scrollwork along the barrel and its unique modifications. “Did you scavenge this from one of the corpses?” The loving way he stroked the gun belied the disinterest in his voice.
“I resent that. I took out three gunmen and blew up a restaurant so you could have that gun. You could at least say thank you.”
Madi’s lips twitched as he set the gun down, leaning against the counter. “Are you going to sit there and tell me that you only killed those men so you could bring me that gun?”
Az couldn’t help but lean forward, placing another kiss against Madi’s stomach, his cock twitching at the way Madi curled over him. “No. I killed two of them because they were going to kill me. I was going to poison the third or just blow him up, but I had to destroy his kneecap in order to take his weapon. Putting a bullet in him seemed kinder. He did just lose a gun he clearly spent lots of money on. It was the least I could do.”
“You’re a regular Mother Teresa,” Madi murmured, dragging Az’s lips to his.
“It’s a burden I live with every day,” Az whispered into his mouth.
Things were starting to get interesting when Madi’s phone began to vibrate. It seemed, at first, as if he was going to ignore it, but Az’s gaze fell to the name. “It’s Jonah.”
Madi snatched the phone, sliding free from Az’s lap to lean against the countertop. “Madigan. What’ve you got?”
Az watched as Madi’s gaze hardened, his hand fisting at his side, eyes sliding towards Az with a look that made his insides wither. Whatever Jonah was saying on the other side of the phone was not good for Az. It did confirm his suspicions that Jonah’s and Madi’s relationship was far more than just a casual acquaintance despite what he’d said previously. Az’s insides crawled, his jaw clenching, as he forced himself to remember that they didn’t belong to each other and that Az hadn’t done anything wrong. Maybe he had trusted the wrong person, but he’d believed that DiMarco and Bennington would both be there.
Madi didn’t say a word to Jonah, just disconnected after a few more terse words. “We need to get out of here. There are at least two other pros in town who were gunning for DiMarco and Bennnington. I got DiMarco, Heath tried for Bennington. The other guy, Decker, is in the wind. Either way, Bennington is onto us. I don’t know if your contact sold us out or what, but there’s a good chance they know where we are.”
Az took the gut punch with a nod, mouth tight. “I can get us both out of here in two hours.”
A long stony silence passed before Madi spoke woodenly. “We need to split up.”
Az stood, walking to the counter opposite Madi to watch him, trying to read something in his expression. All he could see now was distrust. Madi didn’t trust him. Az had no idea why that hurt more than the notion that Madi had fucked another man the night before his arrival, but it did. He couldn’t bring himself to speak. He simply nodded, but Madi clearly wasn’t done saying his piece. “This was clearly a bad idea. Once the Red Queen releases the funds, I’ll make sure you get your share of the job, but, from now on, I work alone.”
“As you wish,motek,” Az demurred, refusing to give Madi the fight he evidently wanted.