Page 10 of Guarding The Phoenix: Vol. 2

“What the absolute fuck were you doing?” I shouted, unable to keep my fury in check.

“Exactly what it looked like. Kylie wanted us, and we responded.” Mateo took a seat at the comms station.

“And she wanted both of us at the same time.” Chase smirked and nonchalantly sat in the captain’s chair.

I knew what that looked like, what she looked like, with two men worshipping her hot body. Memories of the night Axel and I shared her with her body sandwiched between us zapped through me. I loved taking her ass. That night had been hot as hell. And I wanted a repeat. In fact, I wanted her in my bed every night. But it still didn’t excuse their actions. “Are you fucking kidding me? She barely survived an attack. She’s injured. So are you, Chase. And yet, the two of you knuckle draggers are acting like everything’s hunky dory and thinking with your dicks.”

“You’re just jealous,” Chase shrugged with a sly grin. “It’s not our fault that your panties are in a twist.”

“My...” It took everything inside me not to wipe the smirk off his face with my fist. “Jesus fucking Christ, you don’t get it. We’re not out of the woods yet. We need to be on guard. Do you really think Santos has stopped looking for us? Do you believe that sadistic fucker just decided to stop hunting her because we foiled his assault? Wake the fuck up and start acting like goddamn agents. He’s a fucking shark, searching for any weaknesses, for the moment our backs are turned to snatch her. And you’ve seen what he does to his victims. Kylie won’t survive it.”

“Or you’ll what?” Mateo snapped, his face contorted in rage. “I’d like to see you decode thousands of lines of code and determine where a breach happened. And I know I fucked up, missing the hacker’s infiltration into our computer systems. It won’t happen again now that I’m wise to him. But Kylie isn’t angry and upset over the breach. She forgave me. So you can climb down off my back. Do you really think you can find another tech guy with skills as good as me that you can trust with her life?” He pointed in the direction of the stairs. Then leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. “If you think you can do better than me, then have at it?”

No. I knew Mateo was the best the CIA had to offer. He was the best before we joined the CIA and had honed his craft since joining the agency. He was one of the most elite hackers in the world. That’s why he was on the team. Because we needed his skills to take down Santos’s global crime syndicate. I reeled in my anger. It wouldn’t help Kylie, nor would it give me the justice I sought for my brother. “I need you to get your head in the game.”

“It’s already there, dude. Why do you think we need to make a stop in Seattle? There’s equipment I need to hunt that motherfucker down. Until then, I’ve got multiple programs running, following that hacker’s trail, and concealing the point of origin. But I can’t go on a full offensive against him or her without that tech. Which means we’re in a holding pattern on my end.”

“If anyone needs to get their head on straight, it’s you.” Chase shot back with disgust.

I slapped my hand against my chest. “I’m the one making sure we get her to safety. While all you seem to want to do is take her skydiving and shopping and shit.”

Chase rose and marched over until we were chest to chest. His face screwed up in a snarl. “You’ve got your head so far up your ass that you don’t even see it, do you?”

“What don’t I see?” I sneered.

“That you’re hurting her every bit as much as the asshole who strangled her did. Only the bruises you’re leaving behind are on the inside.”

I sucked in a ragged breath. “No. I’m not. I’m trying to keep her safe.”

Chase grunted, leveling me with his caustic glare. “Keep telling yourself that lie. You didn’t see her face after you left downstairs. She cares about you, and you treated her like an afterthought. You broke her fucking heart. And you know what I think? I think you feel something for her. Because she’s different from all the others. And I think it scares the piss out of you.”

Bullseye. “Like hell it does. We have a mission to complete.”

“If that’s all this is to you, if that’s allsheis, then stay the fuck away from her and make it a clean break. Because you’re hurting her, and you refuse to see it,” Chase snapped, taking a step back. Disdain etched into his features.

Was I? Had my absence in her bed caused her harm? Was I ignoring what’s right in front of me out of a sense of misguided chivalry? “It can’t be a round-the-clock fuck fest. We have a job to do.”

Axel grunted. “Dude, that’s not what Chase is saying, and you know it. But I agree with him. If you’re going to be an ass, then stay away from her. She doesn’t need your hot and cold attitudes. Not after everything that woman has been through. You haven’t even checked on her since the attack.”

“We’ve been a little busy here.” It was a cop out. I knew it. And I glanced at Axel. Even he knew I was being an ass. He redirected his anger toward me. Had I been blinded by wounded pride?

Probably. But I couldn’t help that my emotions were in a tumult. That she made me feel things I didn’t want to feel when I needed to remain focused on catching my brother’s killer. Yet somehow Kylie had wriggled her way past my defenses.

“We’re not busy now,” Chase said with an arched brow, daring me to refute his statement.

“Santos is hunting us. He won’t stop just because we escaped him this time. He will keep coming. And will hit even harder next time. We need to be prepared.”

“And our priority is Kylie. I agree with them. As much as it galls me to admit it. We’ll lose her if you don’t fix it. Do it now while there’s a lull in activity.” Axel slapped a hand on my shoulder and gripped tight, imparting his support and that he would take over control while I dealt with Kylie.

My anger deflated like a balloon popping. For Axel to agree with those knuckleheads—it meant I truly had fucked up. Glancing at my team and the stalwart determination emanating from them, I waved the white flag. “Fine. I will go fix things. But I want you guys monitoring our heading, radar, and searching the skies for any potential assaults.”

“We’re on it. Go.” Axel jerked his chin in the direction of the stairs.

Morosely, I swiveled on my heel and descended the stairs.

She was likely sleeping. That’s what she should be doing. Pushing the bedroom door open, her appearance drew me up short. Kylie stood by the bed with a towel wrapped around her body. Her wet hair trailed down her back. And her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

Fuck.

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