Page 42 of How Much For a Life of Lies?

The pressure of the water dropped, the warmth of it cold for a second, and I rinsed off my hair, not wanting to steal all the water, then grabbed a towel and headed into the bedroom.

Zach wasn’t there, and my heart fell.

Was him disappearing supposed to be a message about last night and what it hadn’t mean to him?

My mind raced. He probably regretted what we’d done.

God, maybe I should regret it as well?

Do I regret what happened?

I regretted nothing.

To me, what we’d done was just the next step in whatever fucked-up relationship we had, and it had started way back when he found me in front of that crumbling house with my crew and hostages behind me and held my hand.

Determined to convince him of my feelings on the matter, I hunted him down and found him in the kitchen. He whirled on me with surprising speed, his gaze piercing mine with an intensity that sent a chill down my spine. The fire in his green eyes burned bright, a silent display of something simmering beneath the surface. Was it anger? Or regret?

Why was I even grappling with things that had no place on this mission? Things that I thought I’d left behind. Like lust, and want, and a burning fiery need. His green eyes were half-closed, his red curls messy, and desire was still there, and all the denials turned into lust once more. Complicated dynamics between me and Zach be damned. I knew I needed to tread carefully, but he stared at me, and I could either go to my knees, fight him, or focus on the freaking mission because I couldn’t afford to dwell on last night. It didn’t seem like he wanted to do anything like talk or kiss in the cold light of day, and there were bigger things at stake, and I had a job to do.

“Morning,” I began, my voice steady despite the tension crackling in the air between us. I waited for him to start talking, but when he did, it wasn’t about what we’d done; it was more mundane things.

“Hey. I have coffee.” He passed me a mug, and I stepped close enough to take it.

“Indigo called a meeting,” I said.

He thumbed at the comm rig behind him. “I know.”

“Right.” Don’t mention last night; don’t focus on sex. “Look, Zach… about last night?—”

“It didn’t happen. It shouldn’t have happened,” he said.

I stepped into his space. “It was always going to happen, and it was good, right? Better than good, and?—”

“Focus on the mission, Kai. Talking is for later.”

I rolled my eyes, then moved away from him, swallowing cooling coffee. His jaw clenched, and I knew enough about my partner that one more word from me, and he would lose his shit right there and then. He was in classic closed-down-Zach mode, and even though we were supposed to be partners, last night had made the ground uneven, and it was impossible for me to find my footing.

“I want to do it again,” I murmured.

“The sex was good,” Zach said.

I took his hand and squeezed it. “It wasn’t just sex.”

He seemed confused, but the confusion cleared and then he nodded. “We’ll talk when this is done.”

With a final nod, I turned away, striding to the front door, and leaving the rented house. The weight of Zach’s stare followed me, but for now, I pushed the thoughts aside, focusing instead on the task at hand.

The job.

I braced myself as Indigo Sauveterre swept into the room, her presence commanding attention despite her petite frame. Her blonde hair had been scraped back into a tight ponytail, and scarlet lipstick slashed her pale features. Her sharp and piercing gaze bore into mine with a glare that could cut through steel. Second to Kozlov, she’d once been a lowly pilot for hire and worked her way up, working logistics and now ruling with an iron thumb. She wasn’t Russian, more a mix of Czech-American, but somehow Kozlov had moved her up to be his second, and this was as close as I’d gotten to Kozlov.

Two imposing figures, her bodyguards, flanked her. One of them had witnessed last night’s altercation with Zach. Bulldog was a hulking brute with a short fuse and a mean right hook, and he stared at me with open hatred. We’d never been friends, but I guess now I was out and had spoiled his fun I was on his shit list. The other guard was a stoic terminator-type figure with a steely focus who remained silent. Then there was Viper looming behind Indigo, his face swollen, his arm in a cast, and his scowl murderous.

“You,” she snapped, and pointed her gun at my chest. “What the fuck happened with Viper?”

I stood straight, but with feigned nonchalance as I glanced beyond her at a scowling Viper. I winked at him, and he bristled, then winced, and I had to stop myself from laughing. “He threatened the guy I was with, got himself caught up in a fight.” I turned my gaze back to her as her eyes narrowed.

“The environmental guy,” she said in an even tone.

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