Page 70 of Arrogant Bastard

She rolls her eyes. “It’s the middle of summer, Killian.”

I wrestle with my jealousy and drag my gaze back up. “I reserve the right to be a total asshole to any bastard I catch looking at you.”

Her gorgeous mouth lifts, transforming her face from jaw dropping to mesmerizing. “Ditto,” she replies.

It takes my addled brain a beat to get her meaning. My frown gets a laugh. A rare sound that I’ve missed too damn much.

“What, you think guys are only interested in me? Check online. You have a ridiculous fan base. Your TED Talk on coding six years ago has over ten million views, and the comments will make you blush.”

I walk over and link our fingers. I know I shouldn’t ask, but the words fall out anyway. “Did you ever check online for me?”

Her gaze drops, and she shakes her head. “You would’ve found me.”

Damn straight I would have. The atmosphere threatens to sour again so I drop a kiss on her mouth and release her. “Better hustle. We have a ways to go.”

She leaves the room, and I double-check our destination one last time. When she returns, her hair is tied back, her leather cap is in place, and she’s already wearing sunglasses. But her feet grab my attention. She’s wearing dark, sky-high wedge-type shoes that make her legs look even longer. And the tilt of her chin tells me she’s prepared to argue with me if need be over them.

Fuck. I put my cap and shades on and grab the portable gadget to keep an eye on Betty. She’s taking too damn long. Her algorithms might need tweaking a little if she hasn’t produced results by the time we return.

Mitch and Linc are waiting outside the elevators when we exit the apartment. My respect for them notches up another level when their eyes remain above Faith’s neck. Gay or not, they’re red-blooded humans, and her bare legs are insane enough to attract the types of looks that drive me to the brink.

We hit the ground floor, and I catch her hand to slow her down as Mitch heads outside. A moment later, Linc nods. We leave the building and turn left.

Faith looks around for the SUVs. When she doesn’t spot them, she flicks a glance at me. “Where are we going?” she asks in a low voice without breaking her quick stride.

“The next block.”

To her credit, she doesn’t ask any more questions. Not until we’re in another building, heading up in the elevator. “We’re not driving.”

I shake my head. “No. Too many cameras and traffic lights to mess around with. I didn’t want to risk it.”

She looks up at the red elevator numbers. “But…what are we doing here? This building doesn’t have a gun range.”

“No, but it has something our building doesn’t. A helipad.”

Her head whips to mine. “We’re flying? And where are we going exactly?”

“Uniondale.”

She frowns. “That’s miles away.”

“It has the least amount of surveillance in the area. And it was also the only shooting range I could get to at short notice that won’t attract too much attention.”

She takes it all in and nods. When we exit, I catch her gaze clocking all the entrances and exits, where potential danger might lurk. Although the gun range will supply us with a selection, we’re both armed, and I’ve seen her run in heels so I know she can take care of herself. But still, I remain on high alert as we climb the flight of stairs that’ll take us to the roof and the helicopter.

My pilot is the same driver who picked me up at Teterboro. Like Mitch and Linc, he has skills over and above the ordinary. Between us, we have an impressive selection of weapons to defend ourselves with. Which means fuck-all if our enemy is still hiding in the shadows.

It might be time to stop the wait-and-see approach and step into the light.

I turn to watch Faith’s face, wondering how she’ll take it. Her gaze is on the large, gleaming metal flying machine sitting twenty feet away.

“Sweetheart, stop making eyes at my Sikorsky.” I don’t particularly keep my voice down.

She flushes but her chin kicks up. “But she’s just so beautiful. I want to pet her until she purrs.”

I grin. “I’m almost tempted to get you to do that so I can watch. But we have an audience. So get your pretty ass on board.”

The large aircraft is divided into two sections—seating up front for the pilot and copilot. Six seats in the main soundproof area at the back made up of three club chairs and a long bench seat. I help her into the back, and Linc and Mitch join the pilot up front. Mitch settles in as copilot.

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