Page 36 of Scorpion

I’m just going to say it.

Her mom was a bitch.

Rest in peace.

“That skill comes in handy in my line of work. You should have added it to your resume.”

She chuckles, leaning her head against my chest. In this moment, we’re untouchable. There’s no death, no war, no pit of despair waiting for us to drown in. But there are two things I know to be true.

She would kill for me, and I would do far worse for her.

Chapter 10

ZALAK

“How did I know I’d find you here?”

I glance away from the scope to Mathijs. I heard him coming through the forest a while back, but I let him pretend he was successfully sneaking up on me. “What gave me away? The cameras or the sound of gunshots?” It wouldn’t be the former since I chose this spot blind spot.

“Neither. I just need to follow my heart to get to you.”

Always such a flirt.

He drops on the blanket beside me, closer than would ever be acceptable in a professional setting. I try to ignore it, but there’s no missing the way the distance between us—both physically and mentally—has been narrowing since I started working for him.

“That’s so cringey,” I say, attempting to disregard how his arm brushes against mine each time he breathes.

I have been in active war zones, for fuck’s sake. Am I seriously losing focus because we’re sort of touching?

Jesus Christ, Zalak. Get it together.

“Wait,” Mathijs mumbles as he stares down the scope. His lips part, and the smooth skin of his forehead wrinkles. “You hit it?”

I scowl and grip the weapon tighter, then check the ballistics computer for its calculation. “I want a kill shot. That wouldn’t have hit a vein.”

I’ve been practicing every chance I get. It’s a little hard to do when my only free time is at night, but I’ve been successfully fitting in at least four hours a week. To no one’s surprise, Mathijs has refused to let me pay for the ammunition I’m using, claiming that it’s for his benefit too.

Since our night on the front porch, he’s been making time for me every single day. Sometimes it’s for a quick break between work, or a full meal. Sometimes he joins me out here even though I’m certain there are a hundred more important things he could be doing.

Still, I can breathe a little easier when he’s here. I just haven’t figured out whether it’s because it means he’s alive and safe, or because I don’t feel so alone. After two and a half years, I have someone to watch my six, and that is the most priceless thing Mathijs could give me.

Lining up the shot takes greater effort now that I have an audience. Which is good. I need the added stress to keep me sharp. Inhaling deeply, I pull the trigger. My muscles solidify to withstand the recoil of the shot, and I keep my position to fire two more consecutive shots for good measure.

For fuck’s sake. I missed. Again.

Great. Unless someone will die from a shot to the hip bone and another to the shoulder, my dreams are still just dreams.

“That’s a good shot.” His appraisal burns the side of my cheek.

“No. It isn’t.”

My breath hitches when he forgoes any claim that we’re accidentally touching. His side presses up to mine, and he tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear, lingering for a second too long, gliding his finger along the curve of my cheek like he’s hypnotized by the contact. Heat explodes across my skin and I fight to keep my eyes open.

“You incapacitate them,” he says, voice hoarse. “Then you kill them. That sounds like a good shot to me.”

I blink, forcing myself out of my stupor and to the task at hand. Only, I can’t concentrate. I can barely see the target at the other end of my scope. All because the hand that was just touching my cold skin is flat against the small of my back. A thick jacket separates us, but the heat of him seeps through the material like he’s the purest form of fire.

For the sake of professionalism and everything we’ve been through these past ten years, I shouldn’t let this keep going. I need to shuffle to the side, leave enough room for our sanity between us, and make it clear to him that there are boundaries in place that neither one of us should cross.

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