Page 20 of Covert Vengeance

She’d pulled the first blanket and was gently easing the tattered remains of the golden gown away from Kiyomi’s skin. Amber hissed, and Jesse’s gaze immediately shot to the bloody stripes that marked the woman’s back, from her waist to her shoulder blades. Some were so deep he could see muscle tissue.

“Assholes,” Amber spat, and pulled a multi tool out of her backpack to unlock Kiyomi’s cuffs. She set them and the chains aside on the floor and glanced up at him. “Can we have a little privacy?” There was a bite to her tone.

His instinct was to refuse. But she wasn’t going to take off and ditch her friend here. Whoever Kiyomi was, she clearly meant enough for Amber to protect her. He could leave the room without worrying Amber would try to escape. “Sure.”

He waited out in the living room, texting Trinity to confirm he had Amber and Kiyomi safe with him. Amber emerged a few minutes later, stopping at the entrance to the living room to measure him with a guarded stare. “I started an IV and gave her antibiotics. She’ll need something for the pain and fever when she wakes up, maybe something light to eat if she can handle it,” she said.

He nodded and ran a cursory gaze over her. She had more curves than he’d expected, her hips and breasts fuller. Knowing her capabilities just made her that much sexier. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No.” She looked down at her clothes. “It’s not my blood.”

Good. “You’re supposed to update Trinity asap. Go ahead and shower if you want.”

She didn’t move. “Who are you, really?”

“Already told you. And Alex Rycroft brought me on board.”

“Why?”

“Because someone wants you dead so bad they’ve put a two million dollar bounty on your head.”

She stared at him a moment, then arched a chocolate-brown eyebrow. “Who?”

“We don’t know. But two others and I were offered the contract. Something didn’t feel right, so I reached out to an old acquaintance. Miguel Bautista. Married to your acquaintance Georgia, apparently.” Who was friends with Trinity, and therefore linked to Rycroft and the taskforce he’d put together.

At that Amber stiffened. “How much do you know about me?”

“Enough. More than enough. They gave me a whole file on you.”

Her jaw tensed. “So you know what I’m doing here.”

“I know you came to rescue another Valkyrie, and now she’s dead. What about her?” he nodded at the closed bedroom door. “Is she one of you too?”

“Yes.”

“What was she doing here?”

“I don’t know.”

He shifted on the couch, couldn’t quite cover the grimace as his back flared up in protest. “We need to get you both out of the country.” How was another matter. With Rahman hunting them, it would be even harder.

“How bad are you hurt?” she asked.

“I’ve felt better.” He gave her a sardonic look. “That was one hell of a chase you led me on.”

“I thought you were trying to capture me.”

“I was trying not to lose you, and if I caught up to you I would have explained everything and given you Hannah’s location. Trinity called me with it yesterday morning.”

Amber folded her arms and leaned a shoulder against the wall. “Did you break anything?”

“I’ll live.” He wouldn’t admit that he was basically a massive, black-and-blue contusion from his shoulders to his ass, and his neck was a giant, painful knot. “How’d you know I’d stop?” On his own, he meant. Because if he hadn’t, she’d have dropped him with a series of bullets to the chest. But somehow she’d guessed he would dump the bike rather than risk hitting her.

“I didn’t for sure.”

“But you thought I might.”

She shrugged. “Had to find out for sure whether you were going to kill me or not.”

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