Page 35 of Tabitha

I hesitate a moment, then give a jerky nod.

I am under no illusion about what I am—a murderer.

A monster.

“The police are just as corrupt as any other organization.” Pierce sighs deeply, his hold softening slightly, turning into a caress that scrambles my wits. “I’d rather work behind the scenes with you than be a cog in a broken system.”

As much as I want to trust him, a lifetime of betrayal has taught me otherwise. “What happened?”

A hardness enters his expression, his grip tightening, and I almost think he’s going to pull away when he finally begins speaking. “A kid had a gun. I hesitated when I had a chance to take a shot, and my partner was killed because of it.”

My breath catches at the impossible choice, and my heart aches for him.

Our missions are carefully vetted. I’ve never had to deal with the death of an innocent or losing any of the Bellas on a job. I chew on my bottom lip, then admit my own weakness. “I don’t have much of a conscience, but even I would hesitate to take that shot.”

Pierce searches my gaze, his expression softening. “I’m going to kiss you now.”

“What?” My breath stutters in my chest, and I can only gawk at the impossible man.

I tense when his head dips, petrified to even move, unsure if I’m afraid for him to kiss me or more afraid that he won’t. I wait for him to slobber all over me, but the kiss is just a light brush of his lips against mine. He nibbles on my bottom lip, a soft nip, then does the same to the top one. He repeats the action over and over, and my stomach swoops, warmth unfurling through me until I’m leaning forward, eagerly following his mouth in a silent demand for more.

I’m not even aware when his hold loosens, no longer thinking of escape when he cups my face. With one last look, he pulls away, and I grab the front of his shirt to keep him from leaving. Breathing heavily, we stare at each other for a long moment. Pierce reaches down, his hands encircling my wrists. When he straightens, he drags me up with him, and I’m startled to feel his hard cock at my core.

Images of him pleasuring himself while I watch flash through my head, and I have to hold myself back from reaching out to see what it would be like to touch him like that. Before I can put my thoughts into action, Pierce presses a kiss to my forehead and steps back.

I pout but don’t jump down from the table. Truthfully, I’m not sure my legs will hold me. I’ve been kissed more than a few times, more experiments than anything else, but the encounters have always left me cold. I just don’t understand why people do it. So now, whenever a guy tries to steal a kiss without my permission, I put him on his ass with a broken hand or busted arm for his effort.

Pierce is different. My lips still tingle from his kiss, my body missing his warmth. Kissing could easily become addicting with him, his touch leaving me giddy, and I’m not sure I like the loss of control.

So I jump down from the table to get away from his watchful eyes. He’s careful to keep his distance, and I’m not sure whether that makes me happy or if I feel a little broken and vulnerable about it. My eyes slide past him and land on the maps on the wall, and I cock my head. “There are at least a dozen spots marked on the map.”

Pierce waits a beat, a flash of disappointment crossing his face before he can cover it, then follows my lead. “The militia group is a large organization. They’ve built a whole town around it. It would make sense that they’d have outbuildings to store their supplies.”

“We’ll need to search each of them.” Shuffling closer to the maps, I memorize the locations, easily able to read the typography. “I’m assuming Legion is using one or more of these locations as a base to store their supplies. I wouldn’t be surprised if they sold everything of value the militia owned.”

Pierce lingers before the map, hands on his hips as he studies the information. He’s distracted when he speaks. “If we work with your soldier boys, we’ll be able to cover more ground and maybe cross off places they’ve already searched.”

I scowl at his back and mutter, “Not my boys.”

Pierce glances at me over his shoulder, raising a single brow. “Hmmm, we’ll see.”

Without giving me a chance to argue, he closes the distance between us, giving me a brief kiss. He pulls away before I can decide if I want to drag him closer or nail him in the balls. Dazed by the casual affection, I do nothing as he walks away. I touch my lips, still able to taste him, then I scowl.

It has to be a fluke.

He just caught me at a vulnerable time.

The best way to prove it is to test my theory. My mind immediately flashes toward the soldier boys, and I wonder if kissing them would elicit the same response.

I will test my hypothesis tomorrow.

With that settled, I head up the stairs, my mind once more on the mission and not the foolish kiss that never should’ve happened.

* * *

RIVER

Ibide my time and wait until Gage is busy on his computer, the ass no doubt compiling a dossier on Tabitha. He won’t be satisfied until he’s proven she’s evil. It’s Bast’s night to keep watch over the town, so it’s easy to slip out the door unnoticed. I barely take a step off the porch when Rocky charges around the side of the house, a wiggle to his tail when he spots me.

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