Page 62 of Waging War
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I’ve just finished fixing the heating unit when Hazel pokes her head out the back door. She nibbles her lower lip, looking sexy as hell in the glow of the inside light. “Hi.”
I stand, wiping my brow before tossing the wrench I was holding to the ground. Her little bare toes wiggle when I zero in on them. “Hi.”
Her hair is still wet from our shower, and she’s wearing a pair of slouchy shorts and a loose tee with no bra. I’m not sure how it’s possible, but I’m hard for her all over again. If she asked me to go again, I’d certainly not turn her down.
“I’m gonna make us some food, ’kay?”
There’s a sudden sharp pain in my throat. It’s so forceful that when it hits my chest, I’m nearly knocked back on my ass.
Her brows pinch. “You okay?”
Fuck no, I’m not okay.
“Yeah. That sounds great. I’ll be inside in a few.”
Hazel’s smile blinds me before she scampers off, and I rub the aching hole forming between my pecs.
Earlier, I questioned when I’d begun softening toward her, but only now that the haze from our sex-fueled afternoon and intimate conversations is wearing off am I realizing how truly fucked up this entire situation is.
My head swims with each step I make toward the back door. How could I have let this happen? As if she wasn’t already being used enough, now she’s a liability.
If Bruce found out about my feelings for Hazel, he wouldn’t waste a second exploiting that to keep me in line. He already holds Cassidy’s pregnancy over me like an axe waiting to strike, and I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to her because of me… again.
As soon as my boots hit the floor inside, my phone starts buzzing. A sheen of sweat breaks across my forehead and neck as adrenaline surges.
Hazel turns to me from beside the sink. “What is it?”
I hold a finger up, pressing the answer button before heading back outside.
“Hello?”
Eerie silence touches my ear, and then, “Where the fuck have you been?”
Bruce.
My mind reels so hard that black spots cloud my vision. I clear my throat and recover quickly. “I’ve been patrolling. Heard there were some break-ins with the businesses on the east side, and I wanted to make sure there wasn’t any interference.”
I hold a breath and pray that he doesn’t question me further.
“I see.”
Seconds tick by and my nerves grow more frayed. Does he know where I am? Did someone tip him off that Hazel’s no longer in our custody?
When I open my mouth, he cuts me off. “I’m at Lucky’s. Get here now.”
The line goes as still as my breath. A whooshing noise gathers in my ears as I get the overwhelming feeling I just narrowly avoided a bad situation.
“Fuck,” I mutter.
Raising my arms over my head, I begin pacing.
Sasha was supposed to grab the guys after they dropped the shipment and come back for the truck once they were in custody. That way the arrest would be practically untraceable.
Has something happened to her?
I bend over, breathing heavily.
