Page 27 of Shades of Mercy
“This isn’t one of your usual situations now, is it?” she said flippantly. “Suit yourself. You can't blame me when you wake up with body aches.” She crawled under the covers, then yawned and stretched her arms high above her head, making a deep, moaning sound. “The bed’s not too bad for a two-star motel.” She gave a little flip of her body to test the springs in the mattress.
The imp knew precisely what she was doing to him.
Every part of his body stiffened, but his back was already aching. He wasn’t looking forward to the condition it’d be in come morning. The last strand of doubt frayed, and he hauled himself to his feet, swiped off his hat, and laid it on the desk. Knowing she watched him intently, he strolled to the bed but ignored her.
He stretched out on top of the blanket, and although the bed was much more comfortable than the chair, he found it hard to breathe because every inhale brought her delicious scent into his nostrils. What was happening to him? He’d always had control like steel girders, but they were lacking this evening.
He plopped over onto his side and closed his eyes.
He counted sheep.
Pigs.
Blades of grass.
Nothing worked.
He guessed he was too damn tired to sleep. Sometimes that happened. His thoughts were running too freely.
“Can’t sleep either?” she asked.
“Nah.”
“Mateo said you were injured in Kuwait. A gunshot. That was why you retired?”
“Yeah. It still gives me fits at times.” He hated discussing the day he and his unit encountered enemy fire. He got shot in the leg, but fortunately, he didn’t lose it. He and his team were deployed to a secluded area to locate a terrorist who had been hiding underground for months. They’d entered a network of dark caves and were ambushed within minutes. They took on severe gunfire and were lucky that every soldier made it out alive.
“You hate discussing the missions, too,” she said softly.
“Sometimes it’s best not to talk about things. We learn to hide them behind a steel trap.” The darkness in the room made it easier for him to open up. “That’s not healthy.”
“Neither is junk food, but I remember you always had a sweet tooth.”
“I eat when I’m stressed.”
“I’m not judging you. I’m only saying we live in a world where ninety-nine percent of our actions could be classified as unhealthy.”
“Somehow, I feel like this is your way of evading the subject.”
“You could be right,” he muttered.
“Just so we’re clear, I admire what you did,” she said softly.
He lifted his head a few inches to look at her through the shadows that seemed to move. “Which part?”
“I admire the bravery it must have taken to board a plane and jump into a foreign, potentially hostile location. The adrenaline rush that comes from searching for a criminal and bringing them to justice is exhilarating. It’s validating to end a terrorist's reign of destruction.”
“Mercy?”
“Yes?” She shifted so that she was looking at him. A hint of moonlight trickled in from the slats on the window.
“Why are you sitting behind a computer?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m beginning to understand. You took the opportunity to infiltrate Cross’s party because you enjoy taking risks. Pursuing criminals outweighs the danger. It’s perfectly okay to want to do more than stay behind the scenes. I admire that too.”
“That’s why I didn’t tell Mateo what I had planned to do. I wanted to go into the club and take pictures. I know it can be classified as clumsy behavior, but I felt alive. The desire to end Cross’s terror outweighed safety concerns.”
