Page 4 of Renegade (The Santini Assassins #2)

He shot straight up, his hand still glued to his soft shaft. “ No, no, it’s not you. It’s me. I’m into you. I mean, you’re a total hottie. A babe. You’re babe-a-licious.”

She winced. “Yeah, so I’m gonna take off. We’ve got the room for a while, so you can use it with someone else, if you want.”

“Please, don’t go. Maybe if we bring someone into the bed with us, you know, like another woman or even a guy.”

Hell, no.

“I’m out.”

After shutting the door behind her, Caroline shuddered, then hurried down the hall toward the stairs. She hadn’t been looking for anything beyond a late-night romp, but even that had been lacking. And she’d spent the last twenty minutes fantasizing about someone else.

“That’s never a good thing,” she said as she returned to the first floor, the soulful music strumming through her. She spied Addison working the bar alone, so she hurried behind the counter.

“Want help?” Caroline asked.

“I’d love some,” Addison replied.

Addison had long dark hair, a warm smile, and kept in great shape. A few years earlier, she’d married her best friend. Two children later, she and Hawk were living their best lives.

Caroline and Addison had become friends while working at the Agency. She’d been Addison’s handler when Addison had been in the middle east. When Addison came back, they’d hung out.

After Caroline had completed her six-month assignment in Karakistan, she was told the assignment would continue for another six.

Though disappointed, she’d been making inroads with the locals and learning a lot about the terror cell that was wreaking havoc on a global scale.

Then, suddenly, she’d been asked to return to Langley, and was heading up a team of handlers while waiting for her next assignment .

As Caroline filled drink orders, she made a decision. Going forward, she’d play it smart and stay behind the counter. She was done hooking up with a stranger who took forever to get it up, then even longer to get off.

Life’s too short to get caught up in everyone’s problems. Move on.

“Hey, princess, can I get a beer over here?” asked a clubber.

She poured the guy a draft beer, set down a napkin and the glass. He paid, she moved on, but the guy waived her back over.

“You’re very beautiful,” he said. “I’m here on the weekends, but I’ve never seen you before.”

“It’s Thursday,” she dead-panned.

He threw his head back and chuffed out a hearty laugh. “Damn, you’re smart too.”

Asswipe.

She held up a menu. “You want something to eat?”

“If you’re on the menu, I’ll take one of you.”

She shook her head, then moved on to serve someone else. The night continued, the sex high unable to sustain her.

At the end of the night, Addison locked the front door, returned to the bar. “What’s your poison?”

“Six-three, long blondish-brown hair, the most gorgeous ocean-blue eyes, and built to fuck.”

Laughing, Addison peered behind the counter. “I don’t have anything closely resembling that back here.”

“Damn,” Caroline said, as she sat on a bar stool. “I’ll take a chilled water.”

After setting two bottles on the counter, Addison pulled up a bar stool beside Caroline. “I owe you, Austin.”

The two women tapped their bottles together, then chugged. The ice-cold liquid felt great as it made its way to her stomach.

“How do you find time to be a wife, a mom, work full-time, and own a club where you have to put in the hours?” Caroline asked .

“We’re not usually short-staffed, but we got a bunch of call-outs tonight,” Addison replied. “It’s Hawk’s night with the kids, so here I am. We’ve talked about selling the club, but we like having it. It’s fun, plus it’s our dirty little escape.”

“I envy you. You found your person and you’re making it work.”

Addison smiled. “It helps that we adore each other, love our children, have a close group of friends. Our parents help with the kids, which is huge.”

They paused to toss back more water.

“Did I see you with someone tonight?” Addison asked.

“Yeah, I hooked up with a member, but not again.”

“Gotta kiss a lot of frogs?—”

“I’m not looking for my prince—even though I am dressed as a princess.” The women laughed. “Maybe I am, but I didn’t expect to find him here. I’m just looking to have a little fun.”

“Well, you came to the right place.”

“I haven’t seen any recent pics of Axel and Riley,” Caroline said.

Seconds later, Caroline was smiling at Addison’s adorable photos of her children. Axel was very sweet with his baby sister.

“Do you know why you’ve been called back to the states?” Addison asked.

“No,” Caroline replied.

Addison’s expression shifted as she broke eye contact for a split second.

“But you do,” Caroline said. “And you’re not even at Langley anymore. What do you know?”

“Nothing,” Addison replied.

Caroline drained the bottle, walked behind the bar, and tossed it into recycling. “You know, Addison Skye Hawk, you are a terrible liar.”

“I am not,” Addison protested through her smile. “I’m an excellent liar but you seem to somehow possess this magical ability to know when I’m telling the truth.”

“That’s because I’m a princess. I know all.”

The women grabbed their handbags, headed for the exit. Addison set the security system, shut the club’s front door. As they made their way into the parking lot, a car pulled up.

Stan got out, walked over to Caroline. “Can I give you a ride home?”

Addison hurried over.

“I don’t need a ride, Stan. What are you doing here?”

“Waiting to drive you home.”

Oh boy, I picked the wrong guy to hook up with.

“She’s good,” Addison said.

“Who the fuck are you?” Stan asked. “Her mouthpiece?”

Whoa. What the hell?

“The owner.” Addison snapped his picture, tapped an app on her phone. Seconds later, she spun her phone toward him. “That’s you. That’s your account. You walk away, you get to keep your membership. If you don’t, you’re out. You got three seconds?—”

He raised his hands. “Okay girlie, you gotta take it down a few. Princess and I have a thing?—”

“No, we don’t,” Caroline said. “You gotta walk. Seriously.”

“No problem. It’s all good.” He retreated to his car.

Once seated, he unrolled the passenger window. “Sorry for trying to be a nice guy.” He shot them a smile before driving away.

“I haven’t been with anyone in forever, and this is who I pick?” Caroline sighed. “Celibate is better.”

“Well, you have nowhere to go but up,” Addison said. “What’s his story?”

“We hooked up twice here. I ended it tonight.”

“Do you have your weapon on you?”

“God, no,” Caroline replied. “Do you? ”

Addison pulled aside her black, leather duster to reveal her Glock tucked into the shoulder holster. “Carry your weapon.”

“That’s extreme.”

“You gotta protect yourself,” Addison pushed back.

As Caroline drove out of the parking lot, she scanned the area for Stan’s vehicle, but didn’t see it.

“I thought being in Karakistan was dangerous,” Caroline muttered as she drove toward home. “There’re just as many predators here as there are there.”

GREYSTONE

Greystone had nailed six hours of sleep like a swaddled baby.

The only thing missing was a woman in his arms, a dog on the floor beside his bed.

Rested and refreshed, he pushed hard on his morning run, was a beast in the gym, and enjoyed a full-protein breakfast on his porch table while soaking up the morning sun.

For the first time in a long time, he could breathe.

But his moment of Zen would be short-lived.

For the two weeks since he’d been called back to the DMV—the District, Maryland, and Virginia—he’d been in the dark as to why.

His desk job at Langley was more smoke and mirrors…

and non-existent. When he swung by HQ, no one would answer any of his questions.

He’d asked about Caroline Austin, only to be told she’d been promoted to an intelligence officer and was on assignment.

Where?

No one would tell him that.

Who was her handler?

He was chastised for asking. How dare he expect an answer when he knew that information was confidential? He hated not knowing where she was, hated that he didn’t have her back for a change. The one thing his superior told him was to work the restaurant gig like it mattered.

In truth, it did. He hadn’t been a part of the family business since he was a kid, but that business was all about dirty deals, blackmail, cons, manipulation, and murder. At least this time, the eatery was legit.

He hadn’t been a Santini in so long, it felt damn good to be one again.

His phone buzzed with a text from Dakota Luck.

I’m outside

With his backpack in hand, Greystone left the small house in Arlington that the Agency had rented for him.

It was an older home with outdated furniture, but it was clean, it was close to DC, and the neighborhood was filled with regular people.

Regular people with normal jobs. Some had families, some had dogs.

Some had both. People said hello to each other, neighbors stopped to chat on the sidewalk.

And he had no idea what the hell to make of that.

He made his way down the front lawn, got into Dakota’s black SUV. Two coffees waited in the cup holders.

“Hey,” Greystone said.

“You want a coffee?”

“I’m good.”

Dakota pulled away from the curb, drove down the quiet residential street. “You’re gonna have to cut back on your restaurant hours.”

Greystone said nothing.

“The assignment will eat up your time,” Dakota continued.

“No prob.” Greystone shifted his attention out the passenger window.

“How are you adjusting?” Dakota pressed.

Greystone glanced over at Dakota. He wasn’t much of a talker, but Dakota wanted to have a conversation, so he’d have one.

“It’s good to be back,” Greystone said. “Lotsa changes. I missed my brothers, and it’s been tough seein’ ‘em. They’re like strangers to me.”

“Do they know about the Bakers?”

“No.”

“Have you seen them?”

“The Bakers? Every week.”

“What do your brothers know?

“’Bout me? Nothin’.”