Page 15

After the other agents left, Nari gave Anson curious glances all day.

It looked like there was something she wanted to say on the tip of her tongue, but when she locked her bright eyes on him, she shied away.

Anson was too afraid to ask her what was on her mind.

It was for the best. Soon she buried her head in maps of the valley where the cabin was located, planning where the backup agents would be hiding so Grimm wouldn’t catch onto the trap.

They had to be far enough away to not be seen and close enough that Grimm couldn’t get away again.

“Why can’t some of your ASSes fly FUC agents in? Wouldn’t that be faster?” Though he tried to make light of the situation with a pun, Nari looked anything but amused. In fact, she looked like she might vomit at any moment.

“You mean besides the fact that ASS doesn’t work for FUC?

Or that the idea of being treated like transportation would infuriate many?

” She sighed, leaning back in the dusty armchair in the living room.

Anson tried not to watch the dust moats floating in the dying light of the day.

He did his best to pretend they were staying at a high-end hotel and not some forgotten cabin in the woods.

“What are Grimm’s capabilities? How far away do we have to keep backup?

” Nari asked her questions in rapid succession, taking her eyes off the maps long enough for Anson to know they weren’t rhetorical questions.

The coil of guilt wrapped tightly around his stomach as he considered telling Nari more about Dr. Grimm.

It felt wrong to talk to an agent about him.

But Nari wasn’t just some agent. At least not to Anson anymore.

He’d meant it when he said they were friends.

Even though he wanted more and felt he didn’t deserve it, he was okay with them being friends.

The warmth of her brown eyes softened the shame from the thought of betraying Grimm.

It diminished, at least enough to loosen his tongue.

“He has a few bird shifters who work for him. They’ll probably survey the area first. They have limited infrared capabilities.

” Anson exhaled sharply, trying to keep the focus on assisting Nari and not betraying Grimm.

Maybe he could trick his mind into helping.

He wanted to give her useful information.

He would do anything for her. Well, maybe not anything.

That got him into trouble with Grimm. Though he doubted Nari would ask anything unreasonable of him.

Anson jumped as if shocked. Did he just put his trust in Nari? He looked up, hoping she hadn’t noticed. Luckily, she was poring over the maps in her lap, her eyes seemingly glued to them.

“Hmmm.” Her finger hovered over a section of the map. Anson was still on the couch, too far away to see what Nari was looking at. “There are some caves nearby. That may help to hide the heat signatures,” she mused aloud.

It sounded like she was talking to herself, but Anson offered up some advice. “How many cold-blooded shifters does FUC have available? They may stand out less on infrared.”

Nari nodded. A thoughtful look creased her pretty face as she continued to study the map. “I’ll make a call. I have to check in with Cass and Grayson anyway.”

As she got up to make the call outside, Anson’s stomach rumbled.

It had been hours since the breakfast Agent Stone had made for them.

Getting up was easier than yesterday, Anson noted as he stood to move toward the kitchen.

Less of his body hurt, and only a few places felt achy.

He figured Nari wouldn’t mind a break for lunch either.

It would be a challenge making anything with one arm, but Nari seemed to have her hands full planning their trap for Dr. Grimm.

Anson paused before opening the freezer door.

What would it be like to be finally free of Dr. Grimm?

To be his own person again? The thought was terrifying and wonderful at the same time.

It had been so long since he was allowed to make a decision for himself.

Grimm made Anson feel that he couldn’t wipe his own ass without permission.

Maybe that was part of why he was apprehensive about telling the agents too much and finally being rid of the maniac.

That maniac had brainwashed him to depend on him. Entirely.

And then, when Anson was captured by FUC, he had to listen to them.

He also considered what he assumed Grimm would say to him had he been there.

It was like a bug in his brain, telling him how Grimm would react if he did this or said that.

But to be finally free of him… Anson smiled despite the fear of the unknown growing inside his gut.

He was about to pull the frozen pizza out of the freezer when Nari returned. “What are you doing puttering around instead of resting?” she asked, and her lips pursed in a sexy pout. He imagined she didn’t know how beautiful she was or the power she had over him. She was irresistible.

He tried to forget that fact. “I’m about to make a pizza,” he informed her.

“You want any?” he blurted out, sounding nearly robotic.

Hopefully Nari wouldn’t notice how strange he was acting.

He quickly turned to the oven, pressing any button within arm’s length.

The oven beeped angrily. No! he told his hardening cock.

I’ve decided Nari is too good for me. He felt a little crazy talking to his body parts, but it helped him to get back to the task at hand.

Calming down his junk before it exposed the feelings he was trying to hide from Nari was a priority.

He shifted his focus to making lunch before he starved to death for the hundredth time since FUC had him in custody.

Okay, that was a slight exaggeration. But he was hungry.

He just had to focus on the food and not the way she looked in those sweatpants that hung off her hips.

Crap. He was trying to think about everything except Nari.

The more he tried to redirect his mind onto something else, the faster it popped back to her.

It didn’t help that she was now standing right next to him.

Her sweet, flowery scent tickled his nose. She smelled good enough to eat.

As if not realizing the internal struggle with Anson, Nari tapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t you want to hear the updates? Cass and Grayson are done with their reinspection of your house, and they now have a list of car repair shops to try. The list isn’t even that long.”

“So, this is really going to be all over tomorrow.” He turned from the food, locking eyes on her.

Her brown eyes softened as if realizing what he meant.

After tomorrow, they would have no reason to be together.

In fact, she would probably be back in Australia, and he would most likely be behind bars—they never did work out an immunity plan if he helped.

Maybe if he’d gone to the authorities the second Grimm took Ariel, things would have been different.

If only he’d decided to ignore the threats the evil scientist had hurled his way.

They could have been empty threats. Though the longer he worked with Grimm, the more he realized none of the man’s threats were empty.

Anson knew better than to focus on the past. The past couldn’t change.

As if noting the change in his demeanor, Nari put a warm hand to the side of his face. “We’ll get her back. One way or another, we’ll get Ariel back.”

“That’s not what’s troubling me right now.” He tried to look away, but his eyes were locked on hers. They were beautiful. He felt like he was getting lost in them. Swallowed up by all the sweet things that were Nari.

“Then what is?” Her eyes softened. That cute pout came back to her lips as she pursed them slightly, studying his face.

A waterfall of silky black hair slipped from her shoulder, framing her face.

He wanted to brush it back behind her ear so it wouldn’t hide her beautiful features.

Not knowing if he would see her again past tomorrow, he drank her in.

Her scent, the shape of her body, and the soft expression on her face…

He planned to memorize every inch of her.

“It’s nothing,” he lied, trying to give a smile. The corners of his lips barely lifted.

“ Nothing wouldn’t put that look on your face.” She folded her arms, back in interrogation mode. Though there was nothing threatening about her posture. It was playful, yet stern.

Of course her eagle eyes noticed everything, even though he tried to school his facial expression.

He should have known better than to hide something this painful from her.

Anson debated lying, making something up to get her off the scent.

But he couldn’t be dishonest with her. Omitting parts of the truth was one thing, but outright lying to Nari? He couldn’t do it.

“What if we don’t see each other again after tomorrow?

” Anson asked, though he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer.

What if he didn’t like what Nari had to say?

He supposed it solved his problem. Since he felt undeserving of her, if she didn’t want him, he could walk away from the whole situation.

It was not knowing how she felt that was eating at him.

Anson would do anything she asked, even if it was to leave her alone.

“I’m sure nothing bad will?—”