Chapter 11 #2
“I can be ready in three minutes.” Savvie hurried across the room. As she reached for the doorknob, a hand caught her arm and turned her.
She looked up into Hunter’s dark brown eyes, her heart melting.
“We’re not done,” he said.
She frowned. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I’m not totally on board with the no strings attached rule. What if I want strings?”
Savvie’s heart constricted. “Now isn’t the time to discuss this.” When she tried to open the door, he leaned his hand against it, holding it closed.
“Just so you know, I’m not giving up on you.”
“Hunter.” Savvie touched a hand to his chest. “I’ll always be looking over my shoulder just to stay alive.
Anyone who gets involved with me will be a target.
Because. Of. Me.” She slid her hands up his chest to circle behind his neck.
“Whatever’s happening between us can’t continue.
Because of the choice I made, I’m destined to live alone and move a lot. I don’t wish that life on anyone.”
“You don’t have to keep moving. You can stay here.” Hunter gripped her hips and brought them flush against his. “And you don’t have to worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
“That’s not the point.” With him standing so close, she couldn’t think straight. “Oh, hell, I forgot the point.” She lifted up, kissed him hard and fast and dropped back down. “We can talk about this after we rescue the others.”
“Damn right, we will,” he said.
As she started to back away, he caught the back of her head and kissed her so thoroughly she forgot to breathe.
Hunter broke the kiss as suddenly as he’d initiated it. Then he opened the door and poked his head out into the hallway. “All clear.”
Savvie darted out, dug the key from her pocket and fumbled to unlock the door, dropping the key in the process.
Hunter retrieved the key before she could and unlocked her door. “You liked that kiss, didn’t you?”
“Too damned much,” she murmured and then dove into her room, slamming the door closed behind her.
Soft laughter sounded from the hallway.
“What’s wrong with me?” she whispered. “I’m a goddamn assassin, not a silly teenager getting her first kiss.”
“It’s because that was a damned good kiss,” Hunter’s voice sounded through the door.
Savvie’s lips twitched. “Yes, it was.” She raised her fingers to her lips still tingling from his touch. Then she frowned. “But it doesn’t change anything.”
“It changes everything,” Hunter said. Footsteps sounded, and a door closed nearby.
For a long moment, Savvie stood still, letting Hunter’s words sink in.
He was right. That kiss…making love…with Hunter…had changed everything.
She was falling for the guy. Never in her career as an assassin had she fallen in love with anyone.
She’d kept her distance, breaking off any relationship heading into more serious feelings.
On the guy’s part, not hers. Savvie knew what was at stake and wouldn’t let herself love someone for fear of placing him in the crosshairs of anyone gunning for her.
Then again, she hadn’t met anyone as physically strong or combat-ready as Hunter.
No, she hadn’t met anyone for whom she had strong feelings. No one she cared enough about to want the life she’d never dreamed possible for her—one in which she and her “forever” partner could build a life together, complete with a kid or two.
Children scared Savvie. Babies, especially. They were so small and completely dependent on others to care for them. Savvie could barely take care of herself. She couldn’t begin to take care of the needs of an infant.
Could she?
“Don’t be an idiot,” Savvie scolded herself, pushed away from the door and headed for the stack of clothing laid out on the bed. Kyla had come through for her once again.
She’d delivered a small collection of outfits, including a couple of pairs of blue jeans, a dress, several tops and a lacy black bra. Also, among the gently worn clothes was a new package of bikini panties in various pastel colors.
Savvie grinned, grabbed black jeans and a black, long-sleeved T-shirt, and quickly changed out of the sweatpants into Kyla’s borrowed garments. Though Kyla was a little taller than Savvie, the clothes fit surprisingly well. She’d even included a black elastic ponytail holder and ball cap.
Once dressed, she checked her backpack for her .40 caliber pistol and the extra magazines. She tucked them all back into the backpack and slung it over one shoulder.
When she pulled open her door, Hunter stood there with his fist raised to knock.
“Good,” he said. “You’re ready.”
She followed him down the stairs to the lobby where the team had congregated.
Stone lifted his chin when they joined the group.
“Savvie,” he pointed to a man with brown hair and blue eyes, “Dax Young.” Then Stone waved his hand toward another man with brown hair and brown eyes.
“And that’s Carter Manning. They’ve been briefed on what’s happened so far and what’s at stake.
The vehicles are loaded. We’re meeting Hank and his guys at the airport in Bozeman. Let’s load up.”
The men filed out of the lobby into the gray light of predawn.
Stone turned to his pregnant wife. “I’ll be back as soon as possible.” He kissed her hard and held her close for a long moment. When he stepped back, he bent and pressed his lips to her swollen belly. “See you later, baby. Take care of your mama.” He left the lobby, following the others outside.
Savvie followed Hunter and Stone across the lobby.
“Savvie,” Kyla called out.
Savvie stopped, turned and met Kyla’s gaze.
Kyla’s hand rested on her belly, a frown denting her forehead. “Watch out for him, will ya?”
“I will,” Savvie promised, her heart pinching tightly in her chest.
Kyla, a trained assassin who could take down a man twice her size without breaking a sweat, looked more vulnerable than Savvie had ever seen her.
“You love him, don’t you?” Savvie said.