Page 64 of Shadowed Sins: Nitro

The rational part of my brain screams warnings about vulnerability and tactical disadvantage. But something deeper responds to his quiet patience with desperate hunger.

I want to believe him. That's the most terrifying part.

"Viktor wants to meet tomorrow. Casino." I force the words out, trying to restore professional distance. "Full team surveillance."

"I know." His thumb traces circles on my palm. "Cole told me."

"We should prep. Review the building schematics—"

"Mira." He turns to face me fully. "Seventeen days from now, when this is over—"

"We might be dead in seventeen days."

"Or we might not." His free hand cups my face. "What then?"

The question hangs between us, heavy with possibility and threat.

"I don't know." The honesty hurts. "I don't know how to be anything other than this."

"Then we'll figure that out too." He presses a kiss to my forehead—gentle, nothing like the desperate hunger from moments ago. "When you're ready."

fifteen

Mira

"Viktor should be here any minute." Gideon raises his tumbler, ice clinking against crystal.

Jax bounces on his toes beside me, weight shifting from foot to foot while his fingers drum against his thigh in that 4-4-2 rhythm he favors. He hasn't eaten in two days.

"Great, sounds like a real opportunity. I mean, expansion is good, right? More opportunities, more racing, more—"

My hand settles on his chest, cutting off his rambling. His heartbeat hammers under my palm, and he's already hard just from the contact, visible through his dress pants as he shifts his stance to hide it.

"Breathe." I steady my voice so it doesn't betray how rattled I am. "You're going to be brilliant."

Cole's voice comes through my earpiece with that measured tone that means he's concerned. "Nitro, your vitals are concerning. When's the last time you ate?"

Before Jax can respond, Remy's laugh fills the channel. "Fifty says they don't make it through appetizers."

"That's a sucker's bet." Asher's deadpan delivery carries his signature dark humor. "Look at his pupils. Classic arousal response mixed with starvation."

When did touching him start feeling this natural?

"I have to say, when you two reconnected after Long Beach, I wasn't surprised." Gideon leans back in his leather chair, enjoying this. "The chemistry was obvious even when you were Sterling's date, Mira."

Cole's voice cuts through again, all business now. "Target approaching. Frost has overwatch from the tower, full visual on all exits."

Viktor approaches through the lounge, weaving between cocktail tables with lethal confidence. His pale eyes immediately note our position: how Jax has unconsciously angled himself between me and the room, how I keep my hand on his chest like I'm claiming territory. Violence barely contained beneath expensive tailoring as he stops three feet away, perfect distance for threat assessment.

"Gideon, my friend!" Viktor's accent carries old-world menace beneath polished charm.

"Viktor, you know Jax of course." Gideon gestures toward us with his whiskey. "But do you remember Mira from the Long Beach event? She was Sterling's date that night, but apparently our boy Jax made quite the impression. Mira, Viktor Kazakov."

Viktor circles us slowly, predatory, forcing us to track his movement. "Ah yes, the beautiful woman who can't stay away from the dangerous racer. How... romantic."

The way he says 'romantic' makes it sound like a weakness.

"What can I say? I have my moments." Jax's arm slides around my waist, pulling me against his side so desperately that our hips collide. Viktor's eyebrows raise at the graceless need in the gesture.