Page 10 of Sinner's Salvation

She was sitting on her bloodied gurney, facing the door, her hands in clear view, resting on the blood-spattered fabric covering the thin mat.

She smiled, and it punched him in the gut. Hard. The room grew smaller and all the air got sucked out of his lungs.

He’d been wrong.

She wasn’t pretty.

She wasgorgeous, with dark eyes that told you she knew a thousand naughty tales, each more sensuous than the last.

He should have been ready for the emotional reaction to seeing her up close and in person for the first time, but he wasn’t.

He used the few seconds it took for him to walk into the room and prop the door open, to regain his composure, restart his breathing, and don his good ol’ boy mask.

“Good morning, my name is Evander Gunn,” he said, giving her a nod.

“Anna Breznik,” she replied, her voice sounding softer in person than it had been on the tape. It hit a button inside him that sent a shaft of heat straight to his groin.

She extended her hand toward the FBI agent as if she were conducting a formal introduction in her own home. “And this is FBI Agent Brian Stettler, as I’m sure you know.”

Evan had to wrench his gaze off her. If he didn’t, he was going to do or say something completely inappropriate.

He looked at the agent, who was watching him with a wary expression. That guarded mistrust cooled his response to Anna, allowing him to think clearly. To do his fucking job. “My apologies, Agent Stettler,” he said. “For inconveniencing you.”

At that, the younger man surged to his feet, though he stayed planted right where he was. “Inconveniencing me?Inconveniencing—” he cut himself off, turned around to give the room his back, and swore a blue streak for twenty seconds straight.

He turned around and bowed slightly to Anna. “My apologies for the bad language.”

She waved it off like she was a queen. “I think you’re allowed to have feelings about our unexpected and illegal incarceration.” She turned her attention on Evan and her soft voice sharpened into a blade. “Why are we here, Mr. Gunn?”

Fuck, hearing her say his name shouldn’t make him hot, but it did. If she glanced down at the erection he was trying hard to suppress, he’d be in a whole lot of shit.

He crossed his arms over his chest to draw her gaze, ensuring that his left hand was visible, resting on his right biceps. “Well, ma’am, there’s an issue with the fact that you’re not dead, when you really should be.”

She blinked at him. Then tilted her head to one side and studied him again. Her gaze paused for a moment on his hand, then darted up to scrutinize his face.

She’d seen the ring. Did she recognize it? It had been a lot of years since she’d last seen it at the end of World War II. When she’d given it to Evan’s grandfather in thanks for saving her life and getting her out of German hands.

Finally, she said, “Well, Mr. Stettler, at least they sent someone who isn’t going to feed us cow shit.”

“Bullshit, ma’am,” Stettler said, in a tired voice. “We say bullshit.”

“I see no difference,” she said, her tone cool. “It all tastes bad.”

Stettler shrugged as if they’d had this conversation more than a few times before. Interesting.

“So, about that not dying thing,” Evan said, with a casualness he didn’t feel. “Care to explain?”

“I am not a doctor, Mr. Gunn, I work for a bank. My skills are with numbers.”

That almost made him laugh. “Would you consent to some tests?”

She smiled, showing off a set of canines that had been filed to sharp points. “You mean, like I consented to be kidnapped and brought here against my will?” Her voice was so sweet it could have been dipped in honey, but he bet it came with a side order of cyanide.

Evan glanced at the baby agent and found the young man watching him with a gaze that, for the first time, appeared focused and astute.

Huh, maybe the FBI hadn’t made a mistake putting him in the Breznik corporation.

Out of the corner of his eye, Evan noted Anna fidgeting a little. Concern regarding his interest in Stettler? Who was he to her?

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