Page 60 of Hazard

Leigh swallowed hard, and that delicate hand tightened on his vest as she shook him gently. “After you told me to shut up.”

“I didn’t tell you to shut up,” he said, irritation starting to creep in. “I told you to be quiet.”

“Oh, okay, we’re splitting hairs,” she said wryly with a tilt of her head.

“We’re not splitting hairs, Leigh, for fuck’s sake,” he said, a hint of warning in his tone. “I was trying to tell you something important. I wasn’t trying to be rude or anything. I was just trying to?—"

“Could you shut up,” she said, covering his mouth with her hand, a triumphant smile on her face. “Why do you have to be so difficult?” Her eyes twinkled, and he realized she’d bated him into an argument. The impossible woman.

He huffed a laugh, recognizing the words he often said to her.

“I’m in love with you, too.” Her words momentarily stunned him. He hadn’t expected them. He wasn’t sure where he stood with her since he’d told her how he felt. He wasn’t sure there wouldn’t be roadblocks and excuses. But here she was telling him exactly what he wanted to hear.

“Geezus, Leigh,” he whispered. Pressing her head to his shoulder, he gathered her against him, his hand tangling in her hair. He closed his eyes, the rush to his heart as intense as adrenaline hitting his bloodstream. He tightened his hold on her, his heart hammering, his breathing constricted.

“You’ve changed my life and my thinking. I’ve been so closed up, so afraid to give anything of myself just in case I lost it. It’s so hard to lose what you want so badly.” She took a hard breath. “I’d like to think I could have weathered all of this without you. The old Leigh wanted it to be so. But the truth is, I don’t know what I would have done without you.” Her voice got even softer. “Thank you.”

The DEA guy was getting pissed, and Hazard straightened and gave him a killer look. He blanched a bit, then retreated into the plane.

“Oh, shit,” he said.

“What?”

“I think I scared your escort.”

She hit his vest and said, “Why did you do that?” She rubbed her palm. “Damn, that hurt.”

“He was hurrying us up,” he groused, grabbing her hand and kissing her fingers. “I have more to say.”

The engine started to rumble.

“I have more to say, too.” She turned around. “He wouldn’t dare take off without me. I’ll rip him a new one, and he knows it.”

“I’m sure he’s a little bit afraid of you, too.” Hazard smiled, then spied the guy again. “Oh, he’s back.” The guy was glaring at them.

She turned around and set her hands on her hips. He couldn’t see her face, but it was clear that the DEA guy got Leigh’s drift. She raised her hand, her five fingers splayed. He would still only need one finger to get his point across.

“It’s going to have to wait, Hazard. Give me some time to get this case situated, then we’ll talk. I promise.”

She dragged him against her by his vest, lifting her face and covering his mouth with a slow, sweet kiss. Her breath caught, and she kissed him harder, then broke away. She smiled and waved over his shoulder, then blew a kiss. A thick feeling unfolding in his chest, he watched her go up the stairs, a thousand feelings lumbering through his chest.

He turned and walked to the team, who had pulled up while he was saying goodbye to Leigh. Boomer started singing, “Another One Bites the Dust.”

“You two square?” Iceman asked.

“Yeah, we’re good.”

“I told you,” Kodiak said. “Sometimes it sneaks up on you and bites you in the ass.”

“Yeah, even when they’re difficult,” Preacher said.

And Preacher should know. He and Karasu had one rocky road to love. She was the epitome of a difficult, hard-assed female. “That pain in the ass woman who I’ve fought with from the moment we met,” he said ruefully with a shake of his head. “Is the fucking love of my life.” Hazard met Iceman’s eyes, and he finally knew what Iceman had been talking about. His boss gave him one of his full, rare smiles. “And I have no doubt I’ll fight with her until my last breath. So, nah, I couldn’t do anything the easy way, especially not with Leigh.”

GQ grinned. “Ah, man, the only easy day was yesterday.”

“Nothing you can do about it,” Kodiak said. “It’s bigger than all of us.”

“What’s that?” Boomer asked.

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