Page 75 of What I Should Have Done

Breathing in deeply, my soul finally rested. How he knew that was what I needed more than his lips against mine, I didn’t know. And I wasn’t going to ask.

“Where’s the rest of the team?” I asked as he gently pulled away. Short, sweet, and exactly what I needed.

“A couple minutes behind. They made sure I didn’t get my ass killed on the way here and are clearing the rest of the house.”

“You should probably let go of me before they get here.” I blew my lips up and exhaled slowly.

“Probably,” he mumbled.

And the moment that his palms fell away from my cheeks, a chill split the air.

Chapter 26

MIKEY

Kiss me .

Despite being covered in grime and blood, despite seeing the monster that I had easily become, she’d asked me to kiss her. I couldn’t imagine the horror that she’d been through. Yet, despite all that pain, she still asked me for comfort. She’d sought me for reassurance.

Kiss me.

I stepped back as the rest of the team gathered her in hugs, scanning over her to make sure she was mostly unharmed. Dom shot me a couple curious glances after seeing the random dick and balls skewered to the wall, but he said nothing.

Kiss me.

She’d given me verbal consent to kiss her. Maybe I should have kissed her lips, but something felt so much more intimate when I chose to kiss her forehead. Whether she was ready to admit it, even if she closed herself off and pushed me away again, she had feelings for me. I was certain of it.

Kiss me.

Scottie left the group to grab her gear that had simply been sitting in the corner. So odd that they didn’t try and discard it, or steal it, or get rid of it. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from her, running over the events in my head as the rest of the guys returned to my side. They had to be suspicious at least. I knew that. But I prayed that they chalked it up to spending some extra time together in that cave or something.

Kiss me.

Shit. There was no fucking way that I would be able to move past her. She was going to have to either accept my dumbass or she would have to kill me.

“It wasn’t Karimy-boy,” she muttered as we all turned to head down the stairs. My feet froze. Bernie smacked into my back as Dom whirled around.

“What?” he snarled. Her knuckles paled as she tightened her grip on her rifle.

“The man who kidnapped me said that he doesn’t work with terrorists and it wasn’t Karim who hired him,” Scottie explained.

“Fuck, that’s right, I should’ve thought of that on the way here,” I grumbled, and Dom closed his eyes as Ford turned and punched the dead body nearest him.

“That’s right? On the way here?” Scottie’s brows furrowed.

“The mercenary doesn’t come to the Middle East because of the major terrorist cells,” I said. She shook her head, still confused.

“Merlin?” Bernie asked.

“I know all that. You said ‘on the way here’?” she asked.

“You’re asking if we knew who the bitch with his dick and balls still hanging from the knife in the wall was before we came to get you?” I restated, and she nodded.

“Yes. How?” she exclaimed.

Dom nodded. “Thompson was able to tell us it was Merlin right before he died, and he suddenly jumped the list on priority. His file has popped up every now and then before, but Merlin doesn’t, or I guess now didn’t, work with terrorists.”

“Did he say who hired him?” Duncan asked.

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