Page 38 of Wicked and Ruthless

The tension between them thickened. Nash could practically taste her inner turmoil. Would one more well-placed touch have her throwing caution to the wind—and herself into his arms? Or would it drive her away for good?

“It’s over, Nash.”

It wasn’t. Every part of her body—from her beseeching stare, to the way she licked her lips, and ending with her shallow breaths—told him that.

The only question was, what should he do about it?

Pushing her now wasn’t the answer. He couldn’t risk ruining whatever chance he had with her. Besides, they both had jobs to do, and like him, she took hers seriously. He had to find the willpower to resist stepping over the line and change tactics. Since he wanted to win her back, he needed to find his goddamn patience and play a long game.

“We’ll see.” He set his cup down and stepped away with a raised brow full of challenge. “For now, I’m going to confer with Ethan and start interviewing the existing security staff at the mall, look at their cameras and the rest of their tech setup, and see what I can find. You dig up the architectural plans for the structure and any outbuildings. I want permits, schematics—anything you can give me. I’ll let you know what I find.”

His chest constricting as he forced himself to leave her, Nash turned away—only to be stopped short when her fingers wrapped around his forearm in a desperate grip.

“Wait.”

The urgent note in her trembling voice stopped him. He turned back, his gaze locking onto her beautiful face as he fought the urge to take her in his arms and soothe her. “Yeah?”

“Be careful. These people are clearly dangerous. Depraved, even.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m hardly their usual target.”

“I’m serious. I…I don’t want anything to happen to you,” Haisley confessed in a hoarse whisper.

A wave of tenderness crashed through Nash. Despite her protestations and anger, she still cared. If he’d truly been too rough or kinky or whatever fill-in-the-blank excuse she’d had for breaking things off, she wouldn’t be staring at him like her whole world would fracture if these twisted monsters took him down.

Of their own accord, his feet carried him back to her. Nash nudged her into the cubby again, out of her coworkers’ sight. Cupping her face, he drank in every delicate angle and curve. He gently stroked the silken skin of her cheeks with his calloused thumbs as her worried eyes searched his.

“Don’t worry, baby,” he rasped in a voice thick with emotion. “You haven’t seen the last of me.”

CHAPTER NINE

The rest of the day passed in an emotion-filled haze.

Nash walking into her office to be her counterpart investigating these disappearances at the mall had knocked her world off its well-ordered axis. The trio of people in her group—the ones whose trust she needed to win—had all stared at her when she’d returned empty-handed after a full ten minutes in the refreshment cubby with Nash.

Angela lifted her pierced brow. “No coffee, huh? Were you back there getting something other than a steaming cup of java?”

She ignored the woman and went about her day, setting up her computer, her voicemail, and meeting the other important people in her office. But she felt scattered. No, rattled by the thought of investigating so much as a missing paperclip with Nash.

She also hated him jumping into the middle of this dangerous investigation. Which was silly. Or she tried to tell herself it was. His job was dangerous as hell. She’d always known that. It hadn’t bothered her much in the past. He was strong, intimidating, well-trained, and capable. When they’d been together in the past and he’d left on a mission, he had always let her know he would be gone for a few days. He’d checked in when he could and called her as soon as he made it to safety. Yes, to make plans to hook up again, but she’d been able to breathe once he’d assured her he was on his way home.

What was different now? The fact that she knew how perilous this case was…or that she’d finally admitted she was still in love with him?

Her afternoon wasn’t any better. While out at lunch, something had pissed off her boss. He came ranting into the office, slamming doors and rattling windows, growling at a handful of her coworkers to hustle their asses into the conference room. Reluctantly, they complied. Afterward, his wife hid in her office for the rest of the afternoon. Mila seemed so bubbly and sweet that Haisley felt sorry for the woman having to endure Mr. Benedict’s bad mood and verbal abuse.

In the meantime, she dug into the company’s social media and started rounding up the things Nash needed. Reluctantly, she knocked on Mr. Benedict’s door.

“What? This better fucking be important.”

Wincing, Haisley stepped in. “I’ve found the schematics and other associated documents Nash asked for. Is it okay for me to send them on?”

“Nash?” Benedict barked.

“Mr. Scott.”

“What’s up with you two? Today wasn’t the first time you met.”

“We know each other through mutual friends.” Not a total lie…but she didn’t owe her boss information about her personal life, especially when he was in a crappy mood.

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