Page 115 of Tactically Acquired

“What?” I snapped.

He nodded to the door I’d just exited, grinning at me like the idiot he was. “She’s hot. I mean, I would never tell Honey that. She’s a real-life badass, whereas your woman is a pretend badass, but if we’re going to compare?—”

“FNG!” I snapped.

“Yeah?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Oh. Are we not talking about that?”

“Not with you,” I muttered, shoving my way past him.

As I stomped down the hall, he shouted, “What about Thumper? Are we talking about it with him?”

I ignored him and got to work, busying myself with all the odd jobs no one else liked to do. Yeah, it was bullshit. I was purposely avoiding her, and everyone else knew it. Well, everyone aside from Audrey and Spencer. I saw the knowing looks they shot me when I tried to escape her every time she approached. It was going to be harder than I thought to keep her at a distance, but I was determined to make it work. It had to.

I hauled the bags outside, glancing back at the house as Audrey stepped out on the porch with Spencer, laughing at something he said. Her lips were spread wide and her hair tumbled over hershoulders in chaos that I knew all too well as it tickled my chest as she rode my cock. And those delicate fingers straightening his tie? Those fingers slid over my chest as she laid with me at night and told me about all her favorite times on set over the years.

Fuck, I really needed to stop looking at her. Every time I looked at her, my resolve shredded just a little more. I shouldn’t have even spent last night with her. I should have cut myself off before I got in too deep. Hell, that would have been before I kissed her. But it was too late for that now. The only way forward was through sheer will.

I packed the last of the bags into the back of the SUV and slammed the trunk. Glancing around one final time, I headed to the back seat and slid in beside Audrey. Thumper and IRIS had the front, and Rae was riding with the crazy fuckers who landed in the plane the other day.

“Let’s move,” I said, my voice tight as we backed out of the driveway. My whole body was strung tight since the moment we decided we were headed back to California. With someone trying to kidnap Audrey and Spencer, this still felt like a trap. Even though we confirmed Ginger’s death, I couldn’t help but think that somehow, this was going to get her killed, and after the past few nights with her tucked into my side, I couldn’t stand the thought of anything ever happening to her.

“Are you okay?” Audrey asked, keeping her voice low.

“Of course,” I answered, keeping my eyes trained out the window. I ignored the look IRIS shot me from the front passenger seat. I knew all too well what he was thinking. He didn’t need to call me a pussy for me to understand that was exactly what he was thinking.

“So, after we fly into California, what’s the plan?” Audrey asked. I could tell she was trying to get me to talk. She was nervous and needed the distraction. Unfortunately, if I was the distraction, that meant I wasn’t doing my job.

“We’ll get you to a safe house and keep you out of sight until the funeral.”

“But what about her husband?”

I finally looked over at her, wondering what the hell she was talking about. “We’re not protecting him.”

“No, I mean…I need to see him.”

“Why?”

Her lips pressed in a tight line as her eyes narrowed on me. “Because he was married to her. I need to talk to him.”

“Audrey, the more you’re seen, the harder it will be to keep you safe.”

“I understand that, but if it was your family, do you really expect me to believe you’d just stay hidden?”

I wouldn’t. The truth is, I’d be out there hunting down whoever got my family killed. But I wasn’t the target.

“Audrey, you can ask all the questions you want when this is over.”

“When this is over,” she said slowly. “You mean when people stop trying to kidnap me.”

“Yes.”

“And how long will that take? You don’t even have any leads. You have no idea who wants us or why.”

Tension coiled in my belly at her words. The problem was, she was right. I had no way of knowing how long this would last. We still hadn’t found a single trace of anyone who would want her to disappear or a motive for taking either of them.

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