Page 53 of Stealth Mission

Karma is a local hub of activity in an otherwise sparsely populated tropical country.

That’s all fine and good, but someone could be putting a scope on us right now, from anywhere. “Let’s keep moving. I’m parked by the hotel.”

Marianna steps closer to me, her hand tightening on her purse. “What happened just now?”

How do you explain something that’s been honed over years of dangerous ops in every kind of place the world has to offer. Regardless of Karma’s historic air and vibrant energy, danger can lurk in beautiful places.

“Let’s keep moving.”

My sixth sense on this is never wrong. I grumble and inch closer toward her, feeling protective as fuck. “How long has this been going on with your old man?”

She laughs humorlessly. “This level of nutso… about three months. My grandfather died, and my dad got weird.Weirder.I mean, he’s always been out there and had this whole different?—”

Thick skeins of dark hair dance around her shoulders as she shakes her head. “I’m rambling.”

I force myself to speak when all I really want to do is kiss the hell out of her. “That was less than thirty words… definitely not rambling.”

I lay a hand on her forearm. It shouldn’t feel as intimate as it does, but everything with Marianna is different.

When she casts her warm, golden gaze up at me, the innocence in her eyes causes a chain reaction in my blood. Lust pulses through me, thick and hot, making my veins feel heavy and my mind race.

I curse silently. This is shit timing.I haven’t wanted a woman in ages, but now of all times is bad. I can’t lose my focus on work.

But the curiosity in the way she studies me makes my resolve weak.

A small smile tugs at the corners of her mouth, sending another heatwave through me. “That was kind of you to say. You’re different.”

I chuckle. “Different from whom?”

“Most men.”

“You’re probably right about that.”

Some things are best left buried. I’d never elaborate on all the fucked up things that set me apart.

Just as I drag my eyes away from her, a shadow flickers ahead. My brain registers the change in light as a threat before the fireplug-shaped man has even lurched onto the sidewalk in front of us.

All my senses go into high alert. Muscles tensing, preparing for anything and everything, I let my awareness feather out, taking in the whole scene around us at once.

Fuck.

We’re in a bad spot. I don’t like being this exposed.There’s very little cover. I’d have to push Marianna into the store to our right.

“Crap, now this,” she mutters under her breath.

The brim of a fedora hides the man’s eyes, but his body language is loud and clear. He folds his arms, puffing up his chest. “Marianna, your father wants you to call him.”

I force myself to stay still. Ready, but still.

Marianna exhales hard. The light in her eyes dims as she glares and purses her lips. “Tell him I’m busy.”

The man’s head shifts, swinging his attention solely toward me. Upper lip pulling back into a sneer, he demands, “Who isthisbozo?”

Karma’s got asshole issues.

Good thing I’m well versed in dealing with this kind of trouble. “Are you the sidewalk police?”

Marianna steps closer to my side. “This is my father’s assistant.”

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