Page 60 of Fast Fury

He didn’t dare say it. Abby had been through the ringer where men were concerned. If he told her his true feelings now, it might freak her out, or she might dismiss them out of hand. More time. He’d give her more time, wait until things settled down and they found their footing once they got back home.

He just hoped he wasn’t falling in love alone.

One minute he was breathing in the scent of Abby’s perfume. The next, he was blinking against the bright morning sunshine streaming through the edges of the plantation-style shutters covering the guest bedroom windows.

Abby was curled into him, half-sprawled across his chest, her breathing slow and even in her sleep. As soon as that registered, images of Hani’s last moments flashed through his head. The pain of it stopped his breath, a giant fist twisting his heart in a cruel grip.

Before he could move, his cell rang on the bedside table. He grabbed it as Abby shifted off him and onto her side, watching him with sleepy blue eyes, tugging the covers over her bare breasts.

Kai glanced at the screen. It was still early, not even six. “Maka here,” he murmured.

“Detective Carruthers,” the man announced, his voice crisp, alert. “We’ve just got results back from the ballistics folks.”

The words made him even more alert.That was fast.“Find anything?”

“Yeah. Ballistic fingerprints on the bullets taken from your cousin match the ones from a murder a few days ago. A doctor Bradshaw.”

“I know about him.” His murder had been all over the local news and papers. Now the same gun that had killed him had also killed Hani?

“Seems like our murderess has been busy.”

Shit. Did theVenenoshave female enforcers now? It was the only explanation Kai could think of. “So she’s working on a hit list?”

Abby sat up, an alarmed expression on her face. Kai reached for her hand, gave it a squeeze and didn’t let go, awaiting the detective’s response.

“Looks that way. We’ve released her description and the composite sketch you helped us with to the media. It’s a small island. Someone will know her. And then we’ll find her and bring her in.”

“Good. Thanks for the update.” As soon as Kai got off the phone with the detective, he called Taggart, back home in Virginia. “Hey, it’s me. Got an update about the situation here.”

“I’m glad you called,” his commander said. “We’ve got a bit of a situation here ourselves.”

Chapter Seventeen

Rowan Stewart paused a moment to tug on the bottom of her suit blazer and smooth her hands down the front of her matching pencil skirt before knocking on the closed office door. Malcolm might be here. His text early this morning had come as a complete shock.

Something important has come up at work. Can you make an early meeting at HQ this morning?

It was the first time she’d heard from him in almost a year, since the day she’d put an end to their budding relationship.

Doing that had been one of the hardest things she’d ever done, and seeing him again wouldn’t be much easier, no matter what he might think to the contrary. She’d hated hurting him, but there’d been no other option. Better to end things early on than later, when it would have been even more painful. Hopefully by now he could admit that they were just too different to make a relationship possible.

A tall, well-muscled man with a strawberry-blond buzz cut and an intense aquamarine gaze opened the door. “Ms. Stewart?” He radiated an authority she instantly recognized as former military.

“Yes.”

His expression warmed slightly. “I’m Commander Jared Taggart,” he said, offering his hand. “Thanks for coming on such short notice.”

She shook with him. His hand was huge, his grip firm, but not overbearing. Handshakes, eye contact and body language told her so much about a person. This man was tough, but not a bully. She was more than familiar with the latter. “My pleasure. Nice to meet you.”

“You as well. Come on in.”

She stepped inside, her heart jolting when her gaze landed on Malcolm, seated in a chair opposite his commander’s desk. He was every bit as fit as he’d been the last time she’d seen him, wearing cargo pants and a black T-shirt that molded to his muscular torso.

He was pure, latent power curled up deceptively in that chair, like a resting panther. A few days’ worth of black scruff covered his jaw, cheeks and upper lip, accentuating his luscious mouth. His skin was a beautiful deep brown, his eyes a few shades darker, like melted dark chocolate. They pinned her in place for a moment, unreadable, the penetrating intensity of them making her stomach flutter.

No fluttering. You’re an Assistant U.S. Attorney, for Christ’s sake, and you’re here in an official capacity. Get it together.“Malcolm,” she said politely, giving him a nod that was a little stiff because her neck muscles were so tense.

“Rowan.” His deep, dark voice slid over her like rich, molten chocolate over ice cream. Not good for her, but tempting as hell. Exactly like the man.

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