Page 89 of Hate Mates

Gorgeous, but a fucking inconvenience.

She tossed her hair, sending silky golden-brown curls sliding over her bare shoulder, and I gritted my teeth. If she was trying to seduce me, she wasn’t going to get very far. I was a professional. Creed had handpicked me for this job, and I wouldn’t let him down. I owed him my life, after all. He’d brought me out of the gutters, given me a new life after I was caught hacking into a government server when I was a fifteen-year-old orphan with nothing to lose and no one to answer to. I’d grown up watching him build his empire brick by brick, and I’d been right there alongside him. The shadow in the background.

Xenon.

That was my online name. Few people knew my real identity, and those who did were part of Creed’s trusted circle. I worked behind the scenes the majority of the time, and if I was asked to go out on assignment, I used a false identity.

Speaking of assignments, this particular one involved Federico Fontana, long-time associate of the infamous Messina crime family. I’d been tasked with getting hold of his encrypted phone, unencrypting it and transferring the information to my device, all without him noticing. I didn’t know what the contents of the phone were, nor did I care. My job was to extract the information as quickly as possible and get out of there. Creed was paying me well for this, and I wasn’t going to let him down. Whatever it was, he needed his hands on it before the Irish got to it.

“Let go of me,” Kinslee hissed, and I blinked. I’d completely forgotten she was there for a second, my mind on the assignment.

“You’re not going anywhere,” I repeated flatly, releasing her and heading back over to the screen I’d been studying. I clicked through the open windows to bring up the floor plan of the hotel building, hunting until I saw the blinking red dot that indicated where our mark was. Where I hoped he was, at least. I’d managed to slip the tracker into the handbag of his English mistress when she’d been in the lobby checking in. There was no guarantee she’d still be using the bag, but from the intel I’d received it seemed to be a favourite of hers, and the couple were travelling light, which minimised her chances of switching to a different bag. I also had it on good authority that when the couple stayed at this hotel during their frequent trips to London, they liked to finish up their evening with a nightcap in the sky bar on the twenty-seventh floor. So, if nothing else, I planned to head up there tonight.

First, though, I had to sort out this situation.

Kinslee Stewart.

Far too fucking pretty for her own good. We were supposed to be blending in, but with that sexy-as-fuck midnight blue midi dress highlighting all those curves, all eyes would be on her. It hadn’t escaped my attention that the clothes we’d been provided with matched, either. I yanked my phone from my pocket, sending Creed a text through our secure messaging service.

Me: What the fuck were you thinking?

Creed: You work too hard

Me: What’s that supposed to mean?

Creed: This is an easy job for you. Enjoy the side benefits

I glanced over at Kinslee,who was captivated by one of the screens showing a CCTV feed of an arguing couple, doing my level fucking best to ignore the way the satin draped over her gorgeously rounded ass.

Me: You can’t be suggesting what I think you’re suggesting

Creed: I’m not suggesting anything. All I’m saying is, K’s a good one. You can trust her

Creed: I think the two of you would make a good team

Creed: My instincts are rarely wrong

Me: With all due respect, fuck off

Me: I’m a professional

Creed: I know you are and I trust you. But you work too hard, and you don’t let people in. When was the last time you went on a date or had anything more than a casual fuck?

Me: I could say the same about you

Creed: It’s no secret I’m a workaholic. But you don’t need to be. Get the business done, then you can work on the pleasure

Me: Not with her

Creed: Stubborn bastard

Me: Business only. I’ll take a day off at the weekend

Creed: Three days off starting as soon as you finish this assignment, and I’ll hold you to it. If I see you anywhere near my building I’ll fire you myself

Me: You wouldn’t dare

Creed: I would. Now go. Report back when the assignment is complete. My colleagues are waiting

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