Page 35 of Lethal Lover

He clicks one last time and returns his ice-blue gaze to my face. “We both have jobs to do. Mine is to give the goddamn orders; yours is to execute them. That was always our arrangement. We’ve lost a lot of time and more lives because we haven’t been able to catch Branko. How much more death do you want staining your hands, Valentina?”

My spine stiffens. “You’ve got some fucking nerve putting that all on me. What about your brilliant data guys who can’t seem to track a damn signal long enough for me to get to it?”

“Branko is a slimy piece of shit who knows how to get lost in the murk. We finally know how to get through his ironclad gates, and you want to change the plan?” He narrows his eyes. “No.”

“The link to the cartel will bring a lot of attention to us. The guy who tried to snatch Aisling knew who Quinn was, even with his disguise.”

“He called him by name?”

I make a face. “I don’t know. But I’m sure he put two and two together when he tracked Heaven and Aisling.”

“So I’m supposed to derail my plans because you have a hunch that you’re now a target for a drug cartel?”

I press my fingertips to my temples and take a deep breath. “I’m asking you to reconsider this marriage because it potentially makes Quinn a target. And since I’m right next to him, that bullseye will be slapped on my back, too.”

He stares at me for a long minute, and a sliver of hope flares up inside of me.

Yes, yes, Alek. You know I’m right. Come on, say what I want to hear.

“The mission is too important to alter any plans this late in the game. All of your paperwork has been filed and we should hear about your membership decision as early as tomorrow.”

My heart sinks to my ankles.

“Don’t forget about your objective, Val. You want to avenge the deaths of your parents, of Dima, of Charly. This marriage is a speed bump. Roll over it and get the damn job done.”

I shudder at the anger in his tone. He clicks off the FaceTime call without another word and his pinched expression disappears from the screen.

“No, he did not just hang up on me!” The sharp yell explodes from my chest. I sweep my arm over the top of the desk and send the full water glass crashing to the floor. Shards skitter across the shiny tile, glittering under the overhead light.

The bathroom door opens. My head jerks in the direction of the steam cloud that obscures my vision for a hot second. And then Quinn appears in all his tattooed, ripped-muscle glory.

What fucking perfect timing.

Heaven and Aisling took off a little while ago when Matteo, her husband, came in with an army to secure them and get them back to the Xcelsior Hotel and Spa. So there’s no buffer here anymore.

It’s just the two of us now.

Sham newlyweds.

But fuck me if my mouth doesn’t water at the mere sight of him.

The white towel hangs low on his waist, the cut of his V peeking over the top of it. I bite the inside of my mouth, my frenzied thoughts stalling as other X-rated ones take over the front burners of my lust-riddled mind.

He sweeps a hand through his dark hair, but instead of it staying slicked back, it falls over his eyes in wet strands. His half-hooded gaze pins me to my spot in front of all the broken glass.

“Sounds like your call with Alek went well.” His lips curl into a smirk as he walks over to one of the dresser drawers. He pulls open the top one and grabs a pair of black basketball shorts.

My hand flies up to my eyes. “You couldn’t have changed while you were in the bathroom?”

He casts a smug look at me over his shoulder. “What kind of fun would that have been?”

Swirls of black ink with bold colors cover his back, the muscles flexing as he moves around the room. He suddenly stops in front of the full-length mirror and drops his towel.

I almost choke because, hello! Reflection!

And sweet Lord, the sight makes my knees wobble. I grab on to the edge of the desk for balance.

The smirk on his face tells me he knows exactly what he’s doing.

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