Page 22 of Lone Wolf

I haven’t been this physically close to someone I’m not killing in a long, long time. And I’ve never felt this…dizzy.

Finally, I think we’re in the clear. “Let’s move,” I tell her, my voice rough even to my own ears.

For a second, I think I see disappointment flash in her eyes. But she follows my lead as I guide our dance off the floor, past the bar, and finally through the exit doors.

The cool night air is a shock after the heat of the club and my ears are still ringing from the music. We walk casually to the next corner, then sprint a few blocks to our extraction point.

Our driver is waiting, reading the latest blockbuster thriller under the dim glow of the car’s interior light—doesn’t he get enough thrills driving around a bunch of mercenaries, I wonder?—and congratulates us as we slide into the back seat.

“Nice and quiet so far. All good inside, ladies?”

I’m no lady, I want to tell him. But I just nod. “All good.”

He takes off, and I force myself to stare out the window. If I look at Sunny sitting there beside me in the confined darkness of the car, I might...

I might reach over and take her hand. I was holding it so long that my palm feels strangely empty now.

Sunny is uncharacteristically quiet, which only makes the tension worse. I can feel her energy, contained but vibrating, as surely as I feel the seat beneath me. The driver pulls off into a secluded alley and kills the engine.

“We’ll wait here for a few minutes. Make sure we lose any tails.”

We sit there for about thirty seconds before Sunny Santiago returns to form. “I gotta stretch my legs,” she announces, her voice too loud in the quiet car. “Seriously, I’m all keyed up and shit. How about we check the perimeter or something?”

The driver, already back to his novel, gives a shrug. “You suit yourselves. We have another three minutes according to protocol, then we leave.”

Sunny looks at me, her eyes catching the faint reflection of a streetlight outside. “You coming?” She waits a few seconds, shrugs, and gets out her door.

I count my heartbeats—one, two, three, four, five—trying to regain my composure. But my body betrays me, following her out into the night before I can convince myself to stay put.

The night air is crisp, carrying the scent of rain and distant exhaust. Sunny is stretching and twirling around like we just pulled off the heist of the century, her grin wide when she spots me emerging from the car.

“We fucking slayed that,” she announces. “Right?”

“We completed our mission. Despite your fuck up.”

But Sunny Santiago will not be quelled. Her grin only widens, her dark eyes dancing. “Admit it, Graves—you liked working with me. Maybe even playing a couple, huh?”

“It was a necessity, nothing more,” I tell her sharply.

Her grin somehow grows even more mischievous. “Uh-huh. Nothing more. Come on—you can at least admit you were impressed by my little distraction move in that closet back there.”

The memory of her lips on mine sends an unwelcome pang of longing right through me. I want to grab her and shut her up with another kiss. I want to push her away and never let her near me again. Both impulses war inside me, equally strong, equally terrifying.

I grope for a response. “I would have been more impressed if we hadn’t needed it in the first?—”

I stop abruptly as one of the car windows lowers. “That’s time, ladies. Let’s go.”

I climb back into the car, Sunny following, and we continue on our way, leaving the city behind, heading out to Elysium.

“Hey,” Sunny says softly after minutes of quiet, her usual bravado momentarily set aside. “Are you gonna tell the Boss I fucked up?”

I make sure I’m looking straight ahead. “I will give my full account of the mission in as much detail as Hadria requires.”

She’s looking at me. I can tell from the corner of my eye. But she says nothing more.

When we arrive back, Lyssa meets us at the doors of the mansion. “I hear it went smoothly,” she says. “Boss wants your report. Head on up to the war room.” We mount the stairs in the foyer before she calls after us, “And by the way—congratulations on your first gig.”

Sunny gives a bright smile. “Thanks!”

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