Page 167 of Stop and Seek
Didn’t want to.
The more Noah said, the less any of it sounded real. The Sterlings owned all of Eunice, yeah, butDevelopment? Asset Resolution?Collector?It sounded like some dystopian bullshit from a video game.
Maybe that was the safest way to keep thinking about it.
It took half an hour for Noah to lay all the gear on the desk.
Not in a messy, serial killer way—no blood-stained rags or rusty bone saws, sadly—but in a clean, almost sterile lineup. Everything had a place. Latex gloves folded. A burner phone still in its packaging. Zip ties stacked beside a slim black flashlight. Duct tape,scissors—
Noah’s go bag was fucking endless. Things kept coming. One after the other.
Kinda hot.
“Can you go through everything?” Theo asked, still perched on the edge of the bed.
Noah glanced up from where he was checking the flashlight batteries. “What?”
“Out loud. Step-by-step.”
That earned him another grin. “This is aflashlight. You shine it in the dark toseeshit—”
“Don’t be an asshole,” Theo mumbled, but even he had to laugh.
Noah gestured at the desk like he was hosting a how-to crime tutorial. “Let’s see. Gloves first.Youneed gloves. No prints, no accidental DNA. Double-layer is best, so that’s what you’ll have on.”
Theo’s pulse ticked up. Fast. It had nothing to do with fear.
“Just me?” he asked. “Why not you?”
“Because I already have full clearance stateside. The Sterlings don’t know you exist and I plan onkeeping itthat way.”
Not opening that can of worms.
Noah tapped the burner. “I got a work phone. You’ll leave your cell here. If shit happens or we get separated, you call the number saved. No one else.”
The duct tape came next. “I don’t think I need to explain this. Mouths. Doors. Really good for windows, too. Keeps ‘em shut tight.”
Theo licked his lips. He could feel it again—that low burn in his gut. It wasn’t the same as his kinks, didn’t make him giddy and light-headed. Thiskind made every nerve light on fire. Made his dick so damn hard ithurt.
“What about uh,” he paused. Swallowed. His throat was dry. “Weapons? Guns or knives or..?”
Noah blanched. He turned toward the desk, hands hovering over the items before they dropped to his sides. “I don’t really… do weapons.”
“You’re kidding.”
“It wasn’t in my job description. I can’t shoot to save my life. I’ve done the classes, watched a lot of YouTube videos, but I flinch every time I pull the trigger. And knives are—I dunno—they freak me the fuck out.”
Theo stood, adjusting himself with a quiet curse. “Noah. You killed Jagger. We areliterallygoing to ‘deal with’ Andrew. Tell me you see the issue here.”
Turning back around, Noah was all smiles again.
“Most of the time, I don’t need to hurt anyone. That’s the whole point of what I do. Get in. Get out. Get paid.”
Theo ran his hands through his hair. Something about that answer pissed him off. Or maybe it made him feel too eager. Too hot over nothing. He closed the gap between them and fisted one hand in Noah’s shirt.
Then Theo dragged them both to the bed. Waited until Noah crawled on top of him. Noah’s hips slotted against his, weight pressing down until Theo could barely suppress the groan.
Still, his voice came out steady. “What do you have in your car?”
