Page 2 of Ruined

That was a bit irritating. He was two days into this four-night bullshit. If the CIA continued wasting his time, he had higher bidders. His phone buzzed again before he had time for his mood to darken further.

X:Pay will be unaffected. Confirmation of receipt is needed.

Cutler’s shoulders relaxed. He was cool with getting paid for a cruise with zero expectations. Now he could relax and enjoy himself without fear he would have to kill the person he fucked. It was a win in his books.

Cutler:New orders confirmed.

His gaze moved back to where Gable charmed his new friend. It seemed this was his target. Truth be told, he was a little disappointed it wasn’t the handsy guy who had accosted Case. Still, Cutler found a barstool and sat. Now that he knew who had earned the wrath of the U.S. government, Cutler wasn’t sure he should leave Gable unprotected. While Gable’s cut body screamed he could take care of himself, Gable was the white knight type. Cutler had no such bullshit holding him in check. He had seen the underbelly of the world and no longer cared if it burned. There was nothing he wouldn’t do. His conscience had been stripped from him a long time ago. Now he lived by his rules for the highest bidder. He would keep Gable safe.

Chapter Two

The pounding in Gable’shead spoke volumes about how far he had gone to pry information from Warren Legion. Warren was the right hand of the devil. That much the CIA knew. For years, they had tried to figure out who pulled his strings, with no luck. Whoever financed his deeds had connections and was damn good at being invisible. Warren was their only ticket to his boss. Gable had been forced to drink the man under the table to avoid going to bed with him. It wasn’t that Warren was a bad-lookingguy. Gable never wanted to go that far for his country. He had managed to slip a small listening device into Warren’s wallet after helping him to bed. The dude had immediately passed out. The high-tech device was small enough that he doubted Warren would notice it for a while. Now Gable had to vanish before crossing paths with him again.

Under the cover of darkness, Gable donned his diving suit. Transport waited a mile out. It was times like these that being a retired Navy SEAL came in handy. It would take him less than half an hour to swim to meet the waiting boat. He would be in bed before morning.

“I take it you got what you came for?”

Gable froze as the words cut through the dark. He turned. Cutler appeared from the shadows. His shoulders relaxed. “I don’t know what answer you’re looking for, but it’s a hundred times better for a guest whowas never on the list to disappear than a prominent one. Fewer police and disruption of a worthy cause.”

“Less wrath from the wrong people.”

Gable smiled. “Exactly.”

Cutler’s gaze swept down Gable’s body. “You intend to swim back?”

“Are you worried about me?”

The heat in Cutler’s gaze didn’t lessen. “More curious than anything.”

Gable wasn’t sure having Cutler’s curiosity was a good thing. A door opened nearby. Before Gable had time to decide what to do, Cutler hauled him into a darkened corner. His body hid Gable’s. Their faces were inches apart. Footsteps moved closer, so did Cutler. When it became obvious they would be spotted, Cutler had his back.

“Public displays of affection make people uncomfortable.” That was all the warning Gable got before Cutler’s mouth covered his. Then he forgot why they were there. Objectively, it was a skillful kiss. Cutler could definitely do things with his tongue. The sound of a door snapping closed had Cutler stepping back. For a moment, they simply stared at each other.

Gable broke first. “I need to go before I lose my window.”

Cutler moved from his path. “I know you can find my number with one text. Let me know when you’ve made it wherever you’re going. Just so I don’t worry,” he added, sounding dry and unaffected by their kiss.

With a dip of his chin, Gable made his way to the railing and climbed over. Without looking back, he eased himself down a set of wire ropes before diving into the cold water.His training took over, clearing his mind. He had a goal. Gable couldn’t look back.

Cutler stood on the deck for much longer than necessary. Twenty minutes passed while he stared at the water, wondering if Gable survived the dive. He couldn’t imagine the courage it would take to leap from the ship in the middle of the night into nothing. Fuck. The guy was hot. His phone buzzed, distracting him. He checked the face. It was a text from an unknown number.

Unknown:This is Gable. I made it.

Cutler’s eyebrows rose. He quickly saved Gable as a contact before responding.

Cutler:Damn. That was fast. SEAL?

Gable:In an another life, yes.

Cutler:I’m glad you’re safe.

After putting his phone away, Cutler headed for his room. That kiss weighed on him. He would be lying if he said he hadn’t purposely taken advantage of the situation, but he hadn’t been prepared for that fucking kiss.

A few months back, Cutler had jumped on his Harley and headed south. During his trip, his boss had set up a meeting with someone he thought Cutler should meet. It seemed the CIA needed men like him for contracted, legal and U.S. sanctioned exterminations. After Zander had assured his safety from arrest, Cutler had agreed to a meeting at the Mobile, Alabama CIA headquarters. Ten minutes in, Gable had burst in with an urgent message for his contact.

Cutler had noticed his tattooed hands first. They had looked rugged and sexy andcompletely at odds with his business suit. Then Gable had looked Cutler’s way. Cutler had been immediately reminded of those superhero movies where the character’s only disguise was glasses. Gable had actually been wearing glasses that day. His green eyes had sparkled with intelligence. Cutler had been struck with a desire to unwrap Gable like a present to discover what he hid. They’d exchanged introductions and a very brief flirtation before Gable had been called away as quickly as he came. That was the extent of them before tonight. Cutler hadn’t expected to see the guy again. Now his interest was fully piqued. His phone buzzed again as he opened the door to his cabin.

Gable:Now you know my story. What’s yours?

---