Page 93 of Hate Mates

Instead of replying, I straightened up, blowing him a discreet kiss, and then gave Vanessa a subtle nod. She lifted her glass in acknowledgement, moving back around the table to Federico. As I shifted to give her space, Thomas reached out, pulling me into him, so I was standing in between his legs with his hands on my hips.

His dark eyes glittered at me, his jaw set in a hard line, tension thrumming through his body. Shit. He was fuckinglivid.

“Finish your drink,” he commanded in a low tone.

I twisted around to pick up my untouched drink, my former glass having been cleared away while I’d been occupied with Vanessa. I noticed Thomas had drained his whisky. Keeping my eyes on him, I lifted it to my lips, letting the chilled liquid slide down my throat. He kept his eyes on me until I’d drained every last drop, and the second I was finished, he manoeuvred me out of the way and rose to his feet.

“We’re leaving,” he ground out from between clenched teeth. Giving Federico a brief nod, he dragged me away, leaving Federico smirking and Vanessa giving me an encouraging smile. Of course, she probably thought I was being dragged off to a hotel room so Thomas could do dirty things to me with his tongue, but in reality, the only thing he’d be doing with his tongue was serving me with my inevitable backlash.

The second the door to our suite was closed behind us, he was on me, trapping me up against the door with his body weight, spitting fire from his mouth.

“What the fuck were you thinking? You’ve jeopardised this entire assignment, and you let him get his hands all over you. Isthat what you’re into? A two-bit mafia wannabe who can’t keep his dick in his trousers?”

“I had a plan,” I gasped, heat unfurling in my core, my breaths coming hard and fast as this incredibly angry and incredibly sexy man continued to press into me, holding me in place effortlessly.

“Yeah? What was your plan? To seduce him?”

“What if it was? We need that phone, and I didn’t see you coming up with any ideas.”

He tore himself away from me, pacing up and down, tugging at his hair. “This was supposed to be an easy fucking assignment. Go in, slide the phone out of his pocket while he’s distracted, connect the Bluetooth, then put the phone back. Simple. I’ve done it enough times, and it’s always gone smoothly. Then you come along, trying to be fucking BFFs with Fontana’s mistress, and the next thing I know, he’s got his hands all over you and you’re fucking encouraging it.”

Whirling around, he stalked over to the tech room, shoving the door open. It rebounded off the interior wall with a bang. After a moment of trying and failing to slow my heart rate, I followed him into the room, determined to make him see reason, but he was already speaking to someone through a mic. His glasses were back on, and his jacket was tossed on the floor in a heap.

“She jeopardised the whole fucking assignment. It was supposed to be in and out, a quick, easy job… Yeah, no fucking chance, mate… Fuck.Fine.” He slammed his hand down on a button in front of him, making me jump, and suddenly, Creed’s voice filled the room.

“Kinslee?”

“Hi,” I croaked.

“Hi. Can you tell me what happened tonight?WithoutHunter interrupting,” he added in a hard tone.

Hunter.

“Well…um…I didn’t know what was happening.Hunterdidn’t tell me anything beforehand, other than the fact he needed to make contact with the mark, and I was supposed to speak when I was spoken to. After he’d pointed our target out to me in the bar, I noticed the people sitting opposite leaving, and I thought it would be a good idea to go over. I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know…”

“See what I mean? I told you I didn’t have time for this babysitting shit. You should’ve sent someone who knew what they were doing, or even better, sent me in alone. You know?—”

“Hunt.” The warning in Creed’s tone stopped his tirade, and he snapped his mouth shut. “This was on you, too. You should have provided Kinslee with clear instructions beforehand. This is her first assignment, and I expected you to walk her through it, not to fucking wing it and hope for the best.”

I glanced over at Hunter, and then cleared my throat, responding to Creed. “When he eventually told me what was happening, when Federico took a call and Vanessa was in the loo, I did my best to salvage the situation. I noticed Federico had been, um, looking at me, so I followed Vanessa and put some feelers out?—”

A muscle ticked in Hunter’s jaw. “So itwasyour fucking idea to let Fontana get his grubby hands all over you.”

“Yes, and it worked, didn’t it?” I fished the keycard from my bag, brandishing it. “I have a key to their room and an invite from both of them to join them tonight.”

“Is that so?” Creed’s voice sounded again, and there was definite amusement in his tone. It was a direct contrast to the man leaning against the desk with his arms folded across his chest, staring daggers at me from behind his sexy glasses.

“She’s not one of your sirens, Creed,” Hunter bit out.

“We haven’t decided where she’s going to be placed yet. You’re good at rolling with the punches, and it appears Kinslee is too. Deal with it. I’ll expect a report later.” There was a click, and then the room was silent except for the sound of our breaths.

“Fuck.” Hunter ripped off his mic, launching it across the room. He turned on me. “Do exactly as I say. To the fucking letter, okay? Do. Not. Fuck. This. Up.”

“Okay,” I whispered, the seriousness of the situation hitting me. Something flashed in his gaze that looked a lot like worry, but I was sure I was mistaken. Before I could get a closer look, he turned away.

He dug around in a drawer, swearing under his breath. When he straightened up, he beckoned me over, and I crossed the room on shaky legs.

“I’m gonna be in touch the whole time, okay?” There was still a hard edge to his voice, but his tone was noticeably softer. “You’ll be able to communicate with me through this earpiece. Just don’t let Fontana or his mistress see it, whatever you do. Keep it covered by your hair. I should be able to get in and out before things go too far, but—” He cut himself off with a shake of his head. “Iwillget in and out before that asshole has a chance to get his hands on you.”

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