Page 58 of Under Pressure

“Stay the fuck away from her,” Delta snarled, reaching down to break apart his opponent’s loose pistol.

Moving backward, scattering pieces of the gun across the rooftop, Delta turned to launch himself over the edge and down the fire ladder. As his feet hit the cracked pavement in the alley, a sharp breeze gusted to his right. He let out a long breath when he realized it was just Sky.

“Is he dead?” she demanded, her eyes wide.

Delta shot back, “No. You were screaming at me to stop.”

“No one was screaming, Delta,” Sky said. “There’s no one else around.”

Delta rubbed his face, perplexed. “A woman was screaming. She was telling me to stop. It had to be you.”

“It was her.”

He leaned back against the cracked red brick wall, rubbing his hands over his face underneath his mask. Sky was right.

She continued, lashing hard, “Get her out of your head. Do you still even give a fuck about the mission?”

“Do you doubt that?” He pushed off the wall, staring her down.

She planted her hands on her hips, unmovable. “Maybe I should just call the cops.”

“No”—he lunged toward her—“I told you. Hunter’s a cop. We have to deal with this our way.”

“Our way—or your way?”

He crossed his arms, unwilling to respond.

Sky puffed, drawing in breath, seemingly trying to steady her heartrate like he’d taught her. Hell, he was the only one who’d tried. She’d always be an unfinished product—too wild for the military, too broken for further experimentation.

After a few seconds, she conceded, gazing back up at Delta, switching tactics. He gazed down at the lithe brunette as she put her hand on his chest affectionately…his apprentice.

“Look, Delta. Ever since she came back on the scene, you’ve been distracted,” she began, running her hand down to his waist. “I miss the old you—the cool, collected and focused man.”

Her words hit him hard as he searched her up and down. It was clear what she wanted.

“Focused on us. Focused on what we are doing.” She flashed a pleading look at him, hopeful and honest.

“I have to protect her. I have no choice.” He took a step back from Sky, watching her pace after him.

“What about us? What about what you promised?”

“I promised nothing except to teach you,” he clarified—which was damn true.

She gasped, lunging at him.

Holding her wrists, heaving her back, he snarled down on her, “I told you, Sky—I can’t. And you know why.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

A call came through Kendra’s cell phone, linking to the car console as she sped up Southern California’s arid, hilly terrain, lit by the low afternoon sun.

“Hello?” Kendra answered, seeing Lily’s name on display.

“Kendra—I need to get back to the lab,” Lily began. “We’ve got a backload of cases now.”

“Look, Lily,” Kendra started, taking a turn onto an isolated road. “I still want you to stay away. I don’t want you to get caught alone with Hunter right now.”

“Have you reported him yet?” Lily probed.

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