Page 25 of The Crime of Intensity

I get to my feet and walk around the desk. He leans back while I move to stand between his legs.

“I might like you a bit more now,” I murmur and brush my lips against his.

“Just a bit, eh?” he growls and grabs my ass, pulling me off-balance as I tumble onto his lap.

His mouth crushes against mine and he swoops his tongue into my mouth to kiss me the way he likes to fuck me; hard, rough, and all-consuming.

Glass shatters, forcing us apart as we both hit the ground to take cover. Both of us palm our guns and I move around the desk to check out the window. Throwing a glance at Marvin, I notice he’s doing the same thing from the other side.

“Gunshot?” I whisper.

“Yeah.” Marvin plasters his back against the desk and I do the same so we’re sitting shoulder to shoulder.

“Both service weapons of the agents taken by the serial killer are still missing,” I state.

“Someone just shot through my old lady’s office window,” Marvin grits through the phone. “Probably, yes. 10-4.”

I wait till he puts his phone away to ask, “Dean?”

“Yes, he’s six minutes out. We’re gonna sit tight until he gets here.”

“I like you a lot, Marvin,” I confess. “Our ride might have started off rocky with you being an asshole and all, buying the ranch I wanted without telling me what your intentions were, but I’m rather fond of you now. I might be close to adoring you when you’re giving me those lovely orgasms, and it could possibly be a foundation for love–”

“Boss lady?” Marvin grunts.

I turn to face him. “Yes?”

“You’re not going to die any time soon, you hear me?”

I swallow hard to hopefully hide the panic and distress in my voice when I croak, “I hear you.”

He keeps his gun in one hand and offers me the other palm up. I slide my palm over his calloused hand and link our fingers together. There haven’t been many moments I’ve feared for my life, and most times run toward danger without thinking about the fact that my next breath could be my last.

Now? Maybe it’s because everyone panicked and called a mere moment ago, or the fact that my life shifted with new goals and a promise of a bright future. Whatever it is, I feel the balance of life and death.

“Fuck, you’re bleeding,” Marvin growls and unlinks our hands to grab my shoulder.

With the adrenaline rush, I didn’t feel anything, but when I stare down at the torn fabric of my uniform, I realized someone indeed took a shot at me.

“The bullet grazed you.” Marvin’s mouth is set in a tight line.

Glass crunches and Marvin’s gaze locks on mine. There are no words needed between us; the look we give one another lets us know we’re both aware that someone is in the room with us.

The panic and distress I felt a mere moment ago are washed away by the rush of adrenaline pumping through my veins. There’s no damn way I will let anything or anyone take a future from me. Especially when I barely got a taste of what my life with Marvin can be like.

I take a breath and slowly release to gain focus on what I’m about to do. The determination on my face must give Marvin all the explanation he needs because he simply gives me a tight nod.

As if we’ve been working together for years, we move fluently as we aim our weapons around the desk. The face of the man comes into view, recognition sets in and I watch him pull the trigger at the same time I fire off a round.

The air is ripped from my lungs while my body jerks with the impact of the bullet. I manage to fire off another round and hear Marvin shoot at Davey as well. My knees buckle as I watch Davey crumble to the ground. Marvin runs forward to kick the gun from Davey’s hand.

He takes out his phone and snaps, “We got him, send a damn ambulance, Kathleen is hit.”

I must have closed my eyes for a moment to try and breathe through the burning pain in my chest because I hear Marvin rumble beside me, “Give me your eyes, boss lady. Come on, stay with me.”

“I can take a damn nap ’cause we got the fucker,” I grumble.

Marvin makes a sound that’s a mix of half a sob, and half a laugh. “You can take all the naps once I know you don’t have any critical internal damage.”

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