Page 62 of Under Pressure

He’s here?

She grew hot, enraged, as she stared at a man she recognized but barely knew. Whatever was screaming in the back of her mind faded into the distance. All she felt was pure, unadulterated anger.

Chapter Twenty-Three

He was losing control. He could feel it, Delta admitted it to himself as he walked through the shadows of the motor pool toward the HMMWV. His arms surged with aggression, ready to fight, ready to rip heads off. The constant need to escalate and the need for violence rose within him, and it was unescapable.

Because he’d been triggered.

He’d seen Kendra enter that boardroom. He had been down the hall—in the shadows, prepping for his next steps.

Now she knows.

Warren had overstepped. That wasn’t what the plan had been. They’d agreed he’d warn the guys, but Warren had left out the last little detail—that he’d called in Kendra, too. Delta had made it clear that it was something he was going to handle in his own way. Betrayal ran up his throat, his walls closing in. There was no turning back now.

She’d never look at him the same.

Reaching behind into his waistband, he pulled out the nine-mil pistol he kept there, ready to cock it. Tonight was the night. Delta was going to deal with his problems once and for all. The scientists were getting a wakeup call. No one was going to have the same fate as him. He was going to do it his way—no cops, no records, just fucking pain.

Something snapped in his brain, a changing chemistry he could feel, accompanied by a deep, burning anger he couldn’t get rid of. He felt a tangible loss. The price he’d paid was too high for anyone else. No more soldiers were going to die, not on his watch.

Grinding his teeth together, he whipped down the rear hatch of the HMMWV, exposing the long bed. He placed the pistol on the empty bed. It was time to kit up for the night, in the darkness, silently and alone. He had no one left. Throwing on a tactical belt, and plated armor across his chest, he adjusted the Velcro straps.

Then he heard it—or felt it, would be more precise. Kendra’s presence. An icy heat pumped through his muscles, engorging them. His fighter instinct heightened, and he was in full switch mode—ready to go.

Spinning quietly in the long shadow of the lowering sun, he observed her slinking into the motor pool, her eyes locked on him. He should have known she would come find him. She was persistent. Her stealthy form struck him, challenged him, and he clenched his jaw. Watching her, he leaned against the HMMWV, crossing his arms. He had to get rid of her before he did something he didn’t want to do.

It was the wrong fucking time.

“Get the fuck out of here,” he thundered as she approached, closing the distance between them. Only one thing flashed across his mind.

Silently, she kept walking toward him, stopping only feet away. He sensed the burning anger. The hatred. It was real that time, and it was exactly what he feared. She had learned his secret. She knew what he was. She hated him for it.

“Leave,” he rejected her, and spun to march around the HMMWV, sending a clear message.

It was all he could do, he realized, as he tightened his arms over his chest. She darted behind him, her own gait much smaller than his large cadence, breaching the distance he needed.

“You should have told me!” she barked.

“And you shouldn’t have fucking come here…behind my goddamn back.”

Halting at the driver’s door of the HMMWV, he twisted, fuming, realizing she was right fucking there—a foot behind him, within arm’s reach.

Goddamn, she was furiously sexy. His cock twitched and his mind raced, screaming at him to stop. He took in her clever, angry eyes. She’d finally put it all together—and that put her in jeopardy.

Breathing down hot fire on her, he seethed, “You betrayed me.”

“What choice did I have?” Her voice cracked as she lit into him. “Hell, you don’t even know how fucked up you even are, do you?”

“I’m fucked up. That’s all that matters.” His body formed a hard wall—unmovable, untouchable.

That familiar impulse hit him, and his ability to resist was slipping. He needed to fuck her. He needed her to get the fuck away.

She broke, outraged. “Why did you do it? Why did you let them test it on you?”

“Why?” He snapped and his muscles flexed. He was already livid. “Because I wanted to be better.”

“And are you…? Are you really better now?” she cried out, obviously needing no answer. “Look what has happened to you. Look what you’ve become!”

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