Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 63763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
“He doesn’t hear that we have Brenner,” Stryker confirmed.
“Not unless his investigation finds him independently.” Judge slid the notes inside his jacket. “Raines builds the paper trail. We keep Brenner off his radar and use Pike’s next instructions to pull the other two bastards into view.”
I used one of the full bathrooms connected to the outer room and scrubbed Brenner’s blood from my hands until the water ran clear. Once I was clean, I dressed again and checked the feed from home before heading for the door.
Ghost stayed with Nomad to move Brenner into the secured holding room, while Hawkeye followed Stryker outside, and Judge stepped away to make his carefully worded call to Raines.
I rode home with a dark need to feel Bex alive and warm beneath my hands. She would be pissed about what I’d done with my phone earlier, and the thought of that sweet mouth turning sassy made my cock harden against the bike. I wanted to walk through our door, put her over my shoulder before she finished arguing, and carry her upstairs until Brenner’s voice disappeared beneath hers.
Bex had asked to be there when the ugly work was over. I didn’t need her inside that building or beside Brenner’s chair to prove she accepted every part of me. I needed her at home, where I could wrap my hands around her waist and remember exactly why men like him ended up screaming in rooms no one else knew existed. And she would be.
19
BEX
Corbin walked through the front door a little after midnight. He looked exhausted, and I was so happy he was safely home. But that didn’t stop me from planting my hands on my hips and letting him have it. “You remotely disabled my car.”
“Yes.” He shut the door behind him. “Only because you shouldn’t have been starting it in the first place.”
“I wasn’t trying to go anywhere. I’m not stupid enough to put myself in danger just to make a point.” I rolled my eyes. “I just wanted to pair the phone you gave me with the Bluetooth and make sure my contacts, music, and navigation transferred okay after Wrangler messed with my car.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “He modified it for your safety.”
“Don’t argue semantics with me while I’m angry,” I huffed. “You also canceled my trip tomorrow.”
“Were you actually planning on going?”
“That’s not the point.” My voice climbed in spite of myself. “I would have canceled it myself when I remembered.”
“Sorry I saved you time,” he drawled.
Him being right only made me madder. “What about the call from Black Castle Transportation about choosing a new driver? They’re emailing me actual dossiers, Corbin. You changed all this stuff but didn’t tell me about it yourself.”
Corbin looked genuinely thrown, which almost never happened. Then again, nobody normally questioned his choices since digital systems didn’t talk back. “The car kill-switch is standard once a vehicle is under Black Castle protection. The trip was a fixed location someone could have sat on. And a dedicated driver is also standard.”
“I get why it was necessary.” I took a step closer. “But I don’t appreciate you treating my life like another system you can lock down without a conversation.”
He shook his head with a deep sigh. “Systems don’t argue this much.”
“Systems don’t sleep in your bed either.”
He closed the distance in two strides, stopping close enough that I had to tip my head back to look in his eyes. “No system has ever looked this sexy while furious.”
I felt the blush sweeping from my cheeks to my chest, just from the heated look in his dark eyes. A reaction that shouldn’t be possible when I was this angry.
I planted a hand on his chest and refused to let the pull between us derail my point. “I’m not done.”
“I can see that.”
His lips twitched, and I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t have a problem with the security. I understand why the precautions make sense. Which is why you can talk to me instead of acting like I’m just another asset you’re managing.”
Corbin studied me for a moment before conceding, “You’re right. I should have told you before the changes went into effect.”
I waited, not giving an inch yet.
“Future changes will come from me first. I’m sorry.”
His apology meant a lot. “The driver and the car rules can stay.”
“They were already going to.”
“Don’t push it.”
The corner of his mouth twitched again. I was still irritated enough that the sound of my own grumbling made me more annoyed. Then Corbin reached out, curved his hand around the back of my neck, and kissed me hard enough to stop any additional complaint I might’ve made.
I was breathless when he finally lifted his head and smirked. “How about we burn through the rest of your anger in bed?”
“Makeup sex?” I murmured, intrigued by the idea.