Page 40 of Volatile Obsessions

Gasping, Suki and I withdrew our weapons at the same, pointing them toward the source, our chests heaving.

“Don’t shoot, don’t shoot! It’s me!”

I deflated like a balloon. So did Suki.

Stryker.

Sure enough, emerging from the shadows with his hands thrown up in the air was the bastard himself.

“Jesus Christ, Stryker! What in the actual fuck?” I gritted out, re-holstering my gun at the small of my back.

“I’m sorry!” He laughed. “It was too good to pass up.”

“Wouldn’t have been so funny if one of us had shot your dumb ass,” Suki grumbled, her cheeks reddening as he pinned her with his gaze and closed the distance between us.

The closer he got, the more stiff she became at my side, sucking in a heap of air as he slid up beside her and curled an arm around her shoulders.

“How’s it going, baby doll?” he asked smoothly, cocking his head to one side.

I had to stifle a laugh as I watched my best friend succumb to his charm. She tried hardening her expression to the best of her ability, but anyone in their right mind could see the desire in her eyes from a mile away.

“You’re a dick, you know that?” The rhetorical question came with a shove to his chest.

Not that he cared.

Stryker simply chuckled and squeezed Suki closer to his side. “Not always, but I will admit, it is fun sometimes.”

“Oh, she knows. She can be a dick too,” I chimed in, grinning when she hit me with another glare.

“Fuck you, L.”

“I’ll pass, but Stryker may want a go at it.”

Both their faces paled—and flushed—right before my very eyes. I couldn’t contain my amusement, throwing my head back in a proper laugh that brought tears to my eyes.

“I’m going to bloody kill you,” Suki snarled, which in turn only made me laugh harder.

“On the contrary,” I wiped the droplets running down my cheeks, “you’ll thank me one day. But that day is not today and we have shit to do. Think you two can focus around each other for fifteen minutes or…”

“If by focus you mean on her ass, yeah, I can do that.” Stryker grinned devilishly.

Suki gasped in surprise. Her blue eyes bulged and her cheeks heated all the more than they already were, but she didn’t utter a single word.

Surprisingly.

“Are you done?” I glanced at Stryker, deciding not to ask for further elaboration.

Yet.

I’d cross that bridge once we were out of Noir Coast.

Stryker nodded and zipped his lips, motioning for me to continue.

“We need to make this quick, in and out. Stry, you pick the locks and stay by the door. Suki and I will find the barrels.”

A firm shake of his head was my response. “Hell no. I’m not leaving you two alone in there. I’ll keep an eye on things, but I’m going inside, too.”

“If that makes you feel better," I sighed, "then fine. Once we’ve gotten all the barrels, we’re out of here. No horsing around or fucking with anything else. Got it?”

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