34
EMERSYN
“Are you sure that thing isn’t a wolf?” Jamal asked as he side-eyed Fang who had his large head on my thigh.
I grinned at Jamal’s look of apprehension and thought back to the first time I’d opened my eyes to Fang’s gold gaze and how unnerved I’d been—I kissed the dog’s nose and gave him a good scratch behind the ears.
Fang had taken well to domestic life and when he wasn’t hounding everyone for scraps of bacon, he was curled up in Lev’s office under the warmth of the computers, or burrowed under the covers of my bed.
“That’s for sure a wolf-dog right there,” Hangman chuckled.
“I don’t know, he certainly doesn’t act like it,” Lev said. “Damn thing thinks he’s a lap dog.”
As though he understood, Fang turned over onto his back, all four paws in the air. We all laughed and Hangman obliged with belly scratches that sent Fang’s back leg kicking wildly.
“We leave in thirty!” Riggs called out from somewhere in the house.
That sobered the mood. The last several months Riggs had been on a rampage. After the failed job that had sidelined us for weeks, we’d gone over our failings backwards and forwards until I could replay every second of that job in my sleep.
I kissed Fang on the jaw, and he and Lev disappeared down the hall, while the rest of the men and I got ready and headed out to the cars. Tonight, we were taking out a warehouse that was a popular hand-off spot for a group of traffickers we were currently targeting.
“What are we betting on tonight, Sinny?” Hangman asked. “Most kills?”
The two of us were on overwatch. I had a suspicion Hangman somehow had convinced Riggs to put me there, but I knew Hangman wouldn’t admit it, so I didn’t ask.
I was ready for anything after being relegated to surveillance for so long—I’d been about to rebel again.
Hangman finished loading his gear and threw his arm around my shoulder.
“How about if I win, I get a kiss?”
I punched Hangman in the stomach to get him off me. “You wish.”
Hangman’s subtle flirting tactics had escalated in the last few months. I thought he was harmless, but Riggs’ warning still hovered in the back of my mind, which caused a lot of it to make me uncomfortable. I kept second-guessing my reactions and overall just wasn’t used to the attention.
But, the worst part was, Riggs had started to notice and was constantly growling at him to leave me alone. Hangman didn’t seem put off by his friend’s threats. In fact, in the last few weeks, I’d become pretty convinced he was doing it on purpose to get a rise out of him.
“You’re killing me, gorgeous.” Hangman slammed a fist into his chest, dramatically impaling himself with an imaginary blade.
I rolled my eyes. “Quit being so dramatic. Besides, I think Riggs might actually kill you if that happened.”
Hangman waved away my warning. “Psh, I can handle that old man.”
I looked over Hangman’s shoulder where Riggs had stopped to scowl at us.
“He’s behind me, isn’t he?” Hangman said.
“Yes, he is,” Riggs grumbled. “Get in the car, Hangman.”
“Yes, sir.” Hangman winked and climbed into the waiting SUV.
Riggs scowled at the smile on my face. I immediately wiped it off and glared at him as I went to climb in too. Before I could open the door, Riggs crowded me against the side and planted both hands on either side of the vehicle to box me in.
“If he ever touches you, I’m cutting off his dick,” he growled.
“Why?” I frowned up at him.
Lately Riggs had been finding ways to get in my personal space. He hadn’t touched me yet, and I found it both extremely unnerving and slightly exhilarating—like he was pushing me toward something—testing my boundaries to see what I’d do.
Riggs’ eyes glittered in the dim evening light, but he stayed silent.
The tension between us grew oppressive and charged.
It made my skin crawl with electricity. I could smell the spice of his aftershave and faint scent of gunpowder.
I fought to keep my attention on his eyes, because suddenly I felt compelled to look at his lips.
What the fuck? Why did I want to look at his mouth? I hated him. And he hated me—right?
When he still didn’t answer me, I slowly inched my way out from between his arms, conscious of the bare inch of space I had to move, without touching him.
I rounded the other side of the SUV and took a deep breath before I climbed in.
I didn’t know what the fuck that was about, and quite frankly, didn’t want to think too hard on it.
I felt eyes on me and looked up to see Hangman with a smirk on his lips and a knowing glint in his eyes. I flipped him off as Riggs climbed into the driver’s seat and with the odd interaction still circulating in my mind, we headed off to the job.