Page 68 of Oblivion

“Yes,uh huh.”

“Why won’t you acknowledgethis.”She motioned between us.

I stood and forced her back a pace. “The moment you became the three-week long job, you ceased being anything else.”

Harsh. Even to my own ears. But I had to get the upper hand if I was going to survive the next few weeks with her. Put me in a war-torn, third-world country over this any day. Right now, I would gladly swap.

Penny set my nerves on edge by slow-clapping and backing away. “Arrogant asshole it is. And you know what? I’ll be finished packing when I’mdone,not when youtellme to.”

I released a long string of curses while scrubbing a hand over my head. Exhaling hard, I strode to her room and leaned against the door frame.

“I’m sorry for being a dick. It was uncalled-for, and I can see it’s upset you. It’s just that we can’t let Vegas distract us from why you’re here. I can’t let it. I’m loyal to my team, Penny, and that means when I’m given a task, I do it to the best of my ability.”

So much for an apology. I ended up sounding like a twat.

Nevertheless, she nodded emotionlessly. “I understand.”

“You do? Or are you just agreeing to save face?”

Her thick eyelashes twitched as if irritated. “I’m notthick,Dante. I said I understand because Ido.”

“So we’re good?”

I chewed the inside of my cheek until Penny snorted. The sinister tone of her laugh made my spine straighten.

“We are anythingbutgood. Now get out ofmyface while I pack.”

Fuck.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN

Dante

I bit my tongue for the next hour and twenty minutes while Penny packed at a fucking snail’s pace. I’d seen men missing limbs move faster than she did.

Impatience burned a hole in my stomach, and I went to the nearest window to lean against the pane. The coolness from the glass seeped through my shirt and eased some of the heated frustration, but not all. Ideally, the chill would be directly against my bare skin, but considering I was already walking a fine line with Penny, clothing removal was absolutely out of the question.

By the time the sound of rolling suitcase wheels came from her bedroom, I was a vision of cool, calm, and collected on the outside. Inwardly, though, I simmered.

My eyebrows hit my hairline when she came into view. “Fuck, you’re not moving in permanently!”

She manhandled one suitcase over the front doorstep, then the second. “You asked me to pack on short notice. That means I didn’t have time to plan what I packed, so I brought a bit of everything.”

“You don’t say!” Smoothing a hand over my mouth to scrub away the smirk before it caused a major explosion, I locked down all amusement and shoved it deep.

“Let me help with that,” I offered, reaching for the large case.

A sharp slap landed on my outstretched hand. “No! I’ve got it.”

I snapped up both palms. “Be my guest. Truck’s waiting.”

Call me an asshole, but I pushed past and strode down the garden path, leaving her to it. I leaned against my Chevy and watched with amusement as Penelope struggled her way along with two suitcases and a handbag.

I called it character building; times of struggle more often than not exposed a person’s true attitude. Some crumbled and gave up, others dug in and fought, and the Beret part of me wanted to know which category Penelope fell into.

My pulse surged when she gave me a glare, after forcing both suitcases through the narrow gate. I stared back, not daring to laugh, silently fucking impressed by her determination and tenacity. I’d pegged her to change her mind and click her fingers, and I appreciated that she proved me wrong.

“Need a hand?”

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