Page 13 of Vicious Sabotage

Next thing he knew, he was back there, fighting in that godforsaken desert. Staring through the thick fog of destruction following the missile strike.

Then came the blood. Pools of it sinking into the hot earth.

He jolted upright, eyes wide open. But he didn’t see anything but death and destruction. Heart racing, he curled his fingers. Instead of finding the steel of his weapon, he crushed a soft cotton blanket in his grip.

Fuck. He was at Livia’s place.

He never planned to drift off. Had he made any noise during that nightmare?

He sat up on the edge of the couch and then got to his feet, making his way to the kitchen for a drink of cold water. The tile floor was cool under his bare feet. Too bad it didn’t alleviate the coating of perspiration on his throat and chest left from that dream.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

Livia stood in front of the open fridge. The frilly ruffled hem of her silky nightgown barely covered her round ass.

Realizing that he was right behind her, she straightened and slammed the refrigerator door shut.

Her stare latched on to his bare chest, then ran down to the jeans hanging low on his hips.

He almost didn’t notice. He was too busy staring at her cleavage in that adorable…pink…negligee.

“What the hell are you looking at?” Her sharp tongue whipped away any softness he felt toward her in that moment.

He cocked his head, eyeing her up. “I took you as more of a cami and shorts girl. But I see you do have a softer side. I like it.”

“I am not soft!”

“You’re cute.”

“Actually, not cute. I’m mean.”

In the dim light over the kitchen sink, he studied her face.

A clatter came from the other room.

“Fuck—the vase!” He rushed out, but not before he spotted the glimmer of fear in her eyes.

Chapter Three

The noise of the vase falling over and then rolling shoved Livia’s heart into her throat and out her nose.

She hated admitting that Wolfe was right about someone coming after her.

Gripping the counter so hard that the edge bit into her fingers, she stared at his retreating back. She should go after him. After all, this was her house.

She kept a weapon in her nightstand drawer, but to reach her bedroom, she needed to walk through the living room. She pictured armed men engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Wolfe.

Of course, the huge man would win. He hadn’t informed her that he was a Navy SEAL, but he being friends with Colton and Hunter meant that he likely was.

Counting to three, she braced herself to make a run for her weapon. She pushed off and dodged into the living room just in time to see Wolfe swiping at a big white ball of fur.

“Angel!” Livia rushed forward and scooped up her cat before Wolfe sent her flying. With the cat cradled in her arms, she whipped around. “You can’t hurt my cat!”

He blinked at her. Those dark eyes like obsidian and steel melded into one otherworldly material to make up his eyes.

“I didn’t know…you had a…cat.” The words burst out in spurts, low and deadly in their anger.

She cuddled Angel closer and kissed her soft head. “She hides whenever somebody new comes in. I’m not surprised you didn’t see her when you were searching my house.”

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