Page 44 of Covert Vengeance

“And when the heat from the media about the program became too much and threatened to expose them, they turned on you.”

She acknowledged it with a soft sound and shifted slightly on his lap, leaning into him more and resting her hands on the tops of his shoulders. “But unfortunately for them, I’m not easy to kill. And I’m not going away.”

No, she wouldn’t. It wasn’t in her nature to quit, forgive or forget something like that. He respected that a lot. “So now you work on your terms.” She’d planned a careful, methodical elimination of the Valkyries who had turned on her, and had stuck by her promise to reunite with Megan after this last mission, to help find the others.

Her inner strength and conviction in the face of everything she was up against was incredible.

Her gaze sharpened on his, too many turbulent emotions churning in her eyes for him to decipher, but he felt the connection between them solidify further. “That’s right. I play by my own rules, and one of them is that I never harm innocents. And something tells me you’ve still got a moral compass somewhere inside you too.”

He smiled a little. “Maybe. Don’t tell anyone, though.”

She smiled back, and the growing sense of intimacy between them intensified. He’d never let anyone this deep inside him before. Something about her made it impossible to hold back. When he looked at her, he saw the missing part of himself he thought he’d buried with his brother. “Never.”

“So what happens after we get Stanislav?”

She was quiet for a long moment. “I help Megan and the rest of the team find the others. After that, I’m going to find the people behind the program. Then I’m going to end them all.”

He recognized it for the vow it was. A promise she’d made to herself a long time ago, probably on the night her handler had killed himself and she’d learned the truth about what had been done to her and the others.

It probably would have sent a cold shiver up most people’s spines. For Jesse, it triggered a rush of tender protectiveness unlike anything he’d ever felt before. “Yes, you will,” he whispered, believing her completely.

Capturing her chin between his thumb and fingers, he pressed a slow, gentle kiss to her lips, then raised his head to search her eyes. “What am I going to do about you in the meantime?” he mused.

“Don’t know, but I’m not up for anything more than temporary. I won’t change. I’m past being redeemable, and I also won’t apologize for who and what I am.”

“Maybe I like you exactly the way you are.”

Her expression froze. The cool mask slipped another notch, revealing the naked yearning inside her. Yearning for his words to be real. For her to believe someone could truly care about her after everything she’d done. “You need to understand, I can’t give you anything more than a fling.”

He liked that she was upfront about it. “No?” He drew his fingertip across her lips.

She shook her head.

We’ll see about that.

With whatever time he had left here, he intended to get her so hooked on him that she wouldn’t be able to walk away. Using any means at his disposal.

She broke away and stood, and he didn’t try to stop her. “We should go see what the others are up to.” She gathered up Lady Ada and hugged the laptop to her chest, and he could admit he was mildly jealous of the piece of plastic and circuit boards.

“Sure.”

They’d just reached the lower hallway when Megan came through the front door, Ty right behind her, his face like a thundercloud.

“Something wrong?” Amber asked.

“Yeah, several things,” Ty muttered, shooting a dark look at Megan.

Megan rolled her eyes. “Just because you gave me a ring doesn’t mean you get to control me, remember? That was the deal.”

“I’m not trying to control you, dammit—I’m trying to stop you from getting yourself killed. Major difference.”

Jesse raised an eyebrow at Amber as the couple stalked past them toward the living room, or whatever it was called. “Trouble in paradise?” he murmured.

“Looks like.”

Inside, Trinity was on the tufted velvet couch talking to Georgia while Bautista helped himself to the tray of baking someone had placed on the table. They all stopped when Megan walked in. Ty stood across the room from her and stared at her with his arms folded, silent fury and frustration pulsing from him in waves.

Marcus came through the doorway a second later, his cane thudding lightly on the floor with each step and his dog at his heels. He glanced around, his gaze stopping on Megan, the pink, puckered scars around his left eye seeming more pronounced. “What are you doing?”

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