Page 15 of Braxton

“Fine,” she gritted out. Very slowly, she re-holstered her pistol and he followed suit. They both reached for their glass at the exact same time and took a sip, eyeing each other over the rim.

Sometimes, they were so in sync, it was scary.

Before either said a word, the server quickly delivered the plate of mozzarella sticks and disappeared.

“I think we scared her,” Quinn commented. Across from her, Brax watched her pick up a battered cheese stick and dip it in marinara sauce. She paused right before taking a bite. “What?”

“I see some things never change,” he murmured, echoing her earlier words.

“Yeah, you still have a stick up your ass.” She tossed him a sugary smile and bit into the fried deliciousness.

His face screwed up. “I was referring to your love of mozzarella sticks,” he said, voice dry, watching as she struggled to bite through the long strings of cheese. A funny look passed over his stupidly handsome face, but she didn’t want to analyze it. That could get messy, too.

She swallowed and took another sip of wine. “Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? The Agency wants you dead and I want to know why. What did the upright Boy Scout and his crew do to piss them off?”

“I’m going to be honest and open with you, and I expect the same in return. Deal?”

“Deal.” Inwardly, she rolled her eyes. When was Braxton Gravesnothonest? He didn’t have a deceptive bone in his body.Truthfully, she’d always admired his forthrightness. While so many people oozed BS, Brax didn’t. Never had, either.

“Earlier this year, I was contacted about leading a ghost ops team whose job was to neutralize enemies of the United States. The offer…well, it came at a good time.” His voice choked up slightly, snagging her attention. She didn’t miss the shadows that flitted over his eyes, but they vanished almost as quickly as they appeared. He cleared his throat. “Anyway, I accepted and everything went fine…until it didn’t.”

“What happened?”

“We became the targets.”

“Why?”

“Some bullshit excuse about a mole in our ranks. But it was all a lie. The real traitor turned out to be our handler, Merlin, AKA Nathan ‘Cross’ Mills.”

Her brows shot up. “We’ve spoken. Well, messaged.”

“About what exactly?” He leaned closer, turning his glass in slow circles on the tabletop.

Pressing her lips together, she reached for another mozzarella stick, trying to decide what she wanted to reveal. She wasn’t ready to tell him she was the Cardinal, a world-renowned assassin, hired to kill him and the rest of Ex Nihilo. But, she could confirm what they already knew. “You’re right,” she said carefully, taking a bite. “They want your team eliminated.”

His eyes narrowed, waiting for her to continue.

“After I left the CIA—”

“Ran away,” he interjected sourly.

How dare he?Quinn’s hackles rose and hot anger seared through her veins.

“Seriously? Are we going there? Because I have a fuckload to say about that too, Braxton.”

“So let’s talk. But not here.”

He really wanted to talk about what happened? After throwing her to the wolves and abandoning her? A part of her had been desperate to hear his side of the story for the last five years, while the other part of her wanted to murder him. Slowly and in a very creative way.

Quinn shoved her chair back and stood up. “Let’s go then.”

Braxton tossed enough money on the table to cover their drinks, her food and a tip. Instead of thanking him, she spun away, her heart beating so hard, she thought it might burst from her chest.

She was finally going to get the full truth, and she didn’t know if it would make things better between them or a whole helluva lot worse.

Chapter Seven

Alight rain fell from the dark sky as Quinn and Braxton stepped out of the pub, and a misty shroud covered the City by the Bay. She wasn’t from San Francisco, but since she’d arrived, she decided she liked it. It had a certain big city charm lacking in her small hometown back in Ohio. Add in the hills and the ocean view, and she was tempted to make her stay more permanent.

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