Page 24 of When He Defends

“No,” Gray broke through his words. “She does not need to marry you. Not in any universe. And don’t you have some actual work you need to do?”

Rylan shrugged. Mischief danced in his eyes. “You think that you can do better on the target, Agent Stone? I mean, Emersonhere just proved herself. You think you still got what it takes to nail a target like she just did?”

At least six agents inched closer.

Emerson could not help herself. She put the gun down. Motioned toward Gray. “Six in the heart. Two in the head.” A deliberate challenge.

Without another word, Gray took up a firing position. Not in the lane she’d just used, but to the right. “Set it up!” he shouted.

And the lane was set up. He checked his gun. Nodded.

He fired until the weapon was empty.

More than eight shots.

Rylan pushed the button for the target to advance toward them.

There was no applause. There was just dead silence. Sort of a stunned silence.

All of the holes were tight and close—basically on top of each other—right on the heart. And in the head. Tight. Close. Accurate. Deadly.

“Want to marry me, too?” Gray asked blandly.

“Uh, no, thanks,” Rylan returned as he backed away and put his hands up. “I’m good.”

One weekand two days since Briar…

“We’re sparring?”Emerson crept forward in her sneakers. She’d made sure to change into running shorts and a t-shirt after getting the text from Gray saying they were meeting to workout. At five a.m. “I thought we were going for a run.”

His gaze swept over her body. “That explains the shorts.” His stare lifted. Pinned her. “Self-defense practice. That’s why I asked you to meet me in the training room.”

“Five o’clock in the morning.” She nodded. “For self-defense. Sure, why not?” Emerson squared her shoulders even as she edged closer to the mat that waited for her.

Gray stood in the middle of that blue mat. “Didn’t want us to be disturbed by any of the other agents. As it is, Rylan follows you around like a lost puppy.”

Uh, he did not. “Be careful, you sound jealous.”

“Is that what you want me to be?”

She stilled. Totally stopped her creeping-forward movement. Because this was as close to a personal conversation as they’d come since Briar.

“I’m not jealous.” He rolled his neck. “Not my business at all who you fuck.”

Emerson blinked. “Then why are we having this fun pep talk?”

He growled.

Don’t find the sound sexy. Do not.“Unless you’ve changed your mind.” Now she advanced fully onto the mat. Stopped about a foot from him. Maybe she should have taken off her sneakers. He’d taken off his. Oh, well. Too late. Too late to ditch the shoes and too late to call back the words she’d already spoken. “Did you decide you want us to be more than partners?”

His nostrils flared. “How much self-defense do you know?”

A lot. Instead of answering, she shrugged. Yes, she was feelingdifficult.

A muscle flexed along his jaw. “I want you to get out of some basic holds. Don’t worry about hurting me. You can’t.”

“Never thought I could, not for a second.” She sent him a hard smile. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

“The hell I have. I’ve been with you in every briefing session and every case update.”