Page 9 of Judgment Day

“Are you saying we don’t treat you like ladies? Fuck the rest of the guys. Are you sayingIdon’t treat you like a lady?”

“I’m just saying that you all treat them differently.”

“Because they’re different.”

“Say that shit again, and I’ll stab you.”

“Babe, you have to admit that you and Arson are different from Rain and Oni. It has nothing to do with you being ladies or damsels, whatever the fuck that means. You’re an assassin. Rain owns a food truck. Oni is a writer. There’s a difference.”

“But...” Exa started, then paused. “Forget it. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Are you jealous of them?”

Her gaze jerked to his. “You don’t think I’ll fuck you up, do you?”

“I know you will. That’s another difference between you and them.”

“They’re violent too. I heard Oni tell Garrett that she’d stab him. And when Rain was on the phone with Dean, she told him if he didn’t hurry back here, she’d burn his PI firm down. That’s violent.”

“They can be violent, that’s true. But they’re not part of this mission, love. They won’t be going with us. Therefore, they don’t need access to all of the information. Knowing them, they’ll wait until we go out on the mission, then they’ll try to follow us. So, the less they know, the better. Get it?”

Her eyes widened. “Ohh! So that’s why you don’t want Rain listening when Arson and I discuss Zian.”

“Yes, chocolate.”

“Why didn’t you say it that way then?”

“I was trying to but...”

“No. You made it seem like Rain was better than me or some shit.”

“I never said that, love.”

“You insinuated it.”

He could argue with her until the shower water turned cold. Or, he could agree that it was all his fault and finishing showering.

“You’re right, chocolate. I never should’ve said that. I was wrong.”

Smiling, she pressed a kiss to his chest. “You’re forgiven. Now, let’s finish showering so we can go to the meeting.”

Scar held in his chuckle. His woman could go from zero to a hundred, then back to zero in under a minute. Life with her crazy ass would never be boring.

“What was I saying before you made me go a little crazy?” Exa mused. “Oh, right. Zian’s profile. Seven and Liam put one together for him. I think Zian is smarter than you all are giving him credit for.”

“I refuse to believe that. The little bastard is dumb as fuck.”

“I don’t think so. And I don’t think he’s stalling to buy time or because he’s trying to think of a demand that will calm him down. I think he knows that you all can be hotheads sometimes. He’s banking on that.”

“You mean he wants us to break into his shit and rescue Letisha and James?”

Exa nodded. “Though he keeps saying he doesn’t want a war, I think he does. I think that’s exactly what he wants.”

“He’s keeping her alive and stalling to make us angry and frustrated enough to rush in.”

That dirty fucker.

“Yup. Zian Fang is up to something. And it feels bigger than this kidnapping. It feels bigger than that drug house we burned down in Texas. Even my agency is concerned about the moves the Triad is making. This shit is far bigger than we think.”

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