Page 32 of Merciless Protector

I might have challenged him because he had done all the cooking. The least I could do was clean up. Instead, I assumed he wanted privacy and acquiesced. Funny how, a second ago, I thought we would grab a shower together. Instead, I was in the room I should have slept in, using the private bathroom alone.

Was it just me, or was he giving me hot and cold? What would I say to him, or should I say, especially if he said nothing? It wasn’t like we were in a relationship. Still, whatever there was between us, communication would be best.

As I ducked into the shower, having removed his shirt, I wondered if he would join me.

19

MATT

“Finally answering your phone,” the voice on the other line said.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“Oh, I don’t know. We sent you on an op and you disappeared. You didn’t go with the subject to the hotel we arranged.”

My jaw was tight as I held back all the things I wanted to say. “Why are we having this conversation over the phone?”

“I don’t know. Because you aren’t returning my messages and, like you don’t seem to remember, I have people to answer to.”

I glanced at the closed door down the hall. “I don’t know. After three months of no communication, I assumed I didn’t answer to anyone anymore.”

“Don’t be a baby.”

“Fine, here’s your report. Everything is A-Fucking-OK,” I gritted out.

“Don’t hang up. We have intel—”

But I hung up. Though I hadn’t quite decided what to do about my position with the FBI, I might have sealed my fate. Like Tayla, I had my own nightmares about the last few months I couldn’t forget. The bureau’s little lesson about staying in line had stolen several parts of my soul I feared I wouldn’t get back.

More importantly, Tayla’s disappointment at my dismissing her played in my head. I’d seen the unknown caller and knew immediately it was my handler. It would only be natural for Tayla to want to know who I’d been speaking to. Too many lies stood between us. I didn’t want to tell her another one.

I rubbed my temples, unsure of what to do, when there was a knock at the door. Before going there, I opened a drawer in the kitchen, pulled out a Glock, Griff had left, and put my hand behind my back.

“Who is it?” I asked, inches to the right of the door. If someone dared to shoot through it, I didn’t want to be an easy target.

“Call for you,” a male voice said, trying to sound pleasant.

“This isn’t a fucking hotel,” I called back, as I kept glancing back toward the room Tayla was in just in case the loud conversation brought her my way.

“You want to take this call?”

The last thing my handler said plagued my mind. She’d been trying to warn me, or had she?

I reached with my left hand, unlocked the door, and flung it open at the same time. I aimed the 9mm with precision with my right. The angle wasn’t perfect, given that I was standing off to the side, but it was good enough.

The man on the other side only held out a phone. It was a cheap flip phone I snagged from his hand. So far, he hadn’t pulled a gun on me and I prayed that Tayla wouldn’t come out. I couldn’t look back without risking myself and her in the process.

“Hello,” I said into the phone, using my left hand, still aiming the gun at him with my right one.

“Shawn.” The voice made my blood curl. Though I knew I wasn’t free of the man, I hoped I was. I said nothing.

“Shocked to hear from me? Well, let’s not waste words. I had my suspicions about you. But I was wrong. You may be more fucked up than me.” He cackled. “I’ve had you watched. And what do you know, you went to a pedo auction. Didn’t know you fancied kids.”

No doubt he thought he had something on me. Still, I said nothing.

“I need you to work for me while I’m stuck in here. Don’t worry. My bitch-ass wife and the feds didn’t get all my money. I’ll give you double what you made before. But first, you deliver my pig-squealing wife. That’s not a request, mind you. Don’t take too long. I might have pictures of you with a known pedophile. My guy did have to prove to me he saw what he saw.” He paused, and I didn’t fill it. “Do we understand each other? By the way, that piece of ass you have with you is sweet. I don’t blame you at all.”

I might have broken some teeth, considering how hard my jaw was clenched.

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