“I think they already are nasty.” The Arcadian patted her body down, looking for weapons.

“Yeah? Wait till you see this.” She slammed the back of her skull into his nose.

Bellowing, the Arcadian released her and stumbled away. She whipped around and punched him in the throat. As he gasped for air, she kicked him between the legs. He collapsed face-first, a writhing puddle of agony.

Blue released his grip on the power, and as it exploded through him, life twitched into his muscles, allowing him to trip forward. He grabbed Evie by the arm and drew her behind him . . . then whaled the Arcadian.

He punched, and punched, and punched. “You don’t hurt her. Ever.” Punched, and punched, and punched. Blood sprayed. Teeth flew and skidded across the ground.

Soon, there was nothing left of the guy’s face.

“Uh, I think he’s dead now,” Evie said. “You can stop and maybe we can go the hell home.”

Blue jolted at the sound of her voice. He was panting, and he knew he had to look fearsome. Still, he straightened and jerked her into his arms, needing her close, if only to soothe the bestial rage inside him.

She offered no resistance. Even curled closer.

“I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry I let him get to you. He’ll never harm you again.”

“Hey, it wasn’t your fault. I was so primed to get to you, I forgot to scour for a third hit man.” Very gently, she began to pet his chest. “And you killed him real good, Blue. Watching you work was a real pleasure. My review will be glowing. He’s not going to harm anyone ever again. Promise.”

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If anything had happened to her . . .

He wasn’t sure what he would have done. Right now he was having trouble muting his emotions. Panic. Fear. Relief. Anger.

A long while passed before he felt calm enough to speak again. “You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady!” he snarled, pushing her away while maintaining his hold on her shoulders. Dude. Maybe you should have waited a bit longer. “Why the hell did you leave the house?”

She broke away with a single step back, and a rumble of irritation cut through his chest. “Do you really want to do this here and now? Some of our audience is still alive.”

He turned and shot both the Cortaz and the Bree Lian in the face. Yellow beams. Not azure. Death rather than stun. “Not anymore.”

“Blue!” she said, and stomped her foot. “We could have interrogated them.”

“I got all the answers I needed from them. So. I ask again. Why did you crawl out the freaking window, Evie?”

She threw her arms up in a what-did-I-do-to-deserve-this gesture.

“Well?”

“Several reasons,” she said, raising her chin.

“Name one.”

“I saw the guys lurking in my yard.”

“And you didn’t call for me?” he shouted.

“I didn’t want to lose them, and, quite frankly, I needed a little time away from you. Time to think.”

Inside him, the fury chilled, becoming far more dangerous. “Is that so? Well, then, take all the time you need, princess.” He stomped away, never looking back.

* * *

Evie knew she’d made a mess of things.

Blue was in the guest room and she was in her room. They were like boxers in their respective corners. Sunrise would be the starting bell, and only one of them would be declared the winner.

I can’t wait that long.

She had to make things right. Already she missed their easy banter. Their . . . friendship.

They really were friends, weren’t they?

Wearing a tank and shorts, she marched down the hall and into his room. For once he wasn’t working. The lights were out, and she couldn’t see jack, but she could feel the hum of his power.

“You awake?” she asked loudly.

“I am now,” he grumbled.

“Good. You promised we’d have snugs and then you dare not deliver? Don’t be that guy.” She climbed into the bed and stuffed herself under the covers. Divine body heat enveloped her, and she shivered, her lust level rising quickly.

Though she pressed into his side, he didn’t tug her any closer. “You aren’t the only one in need of time apart, Evie.”

Ouch. “I’m not used to this relationship stuff, okay? I’ve never even had a boyfriend. I’ve had boys that took advantage of a young girl desperate for someone’s approval, guys that used me for a night and snuck away—and, yeah, okay, that always made me feel like crap and I suck for doing the same to you, and I’m sorry. I was wrong. And I know you told me not to apologize anymore, but it really does bear repeating. I was also wrong to judge you and call you the very names I called myself for years. Minus the ‘he-’ and ‘-man,’ of course. You’re a great guy, Blue, and it’s throwing me off my game.”

At first he gave no reaction. Then, with a sigh, he tucked his arm under her nape and rolled her into his side. She nearly wept with relief.

“You are not a whore or a slut,” he said. “And I don’t want to hear you talk like that ever again.”

His vehemence thrilled her. Who was she kidding? Everything about him thrilled her. “I want to be with you while we’re working this case,” she admitted. “You and no one else. Not just once or twice, but every day, every night. I want us to be exclusive.”

A pause.

A pause that scared her.

Rejection? This one would hurt more than any other. But she was a fighter and wasn’t going to give up easily. Not this time. “You need space to think. I get it. Meanwhile, ask me anything,” she said. “I’ll tell you straight up. I’ll even kick things off. Do I think this relationship is going to be easy? No. Do I think it’ll be worth it? Yes.”

No longer hesitating, he said, “What happened to Claire?”

She stiffened. Of course he’d go there. But she’d said she would spill, and so she would. “Three years ago, Michael assigned me a job, told me to pick a couple of agents to help with recon before I made the kill.” The more she spoke, the easier it was to get the words out. “But I didn’t want to pick a couple of agents. I wanted to do it on my own. I was so certain I’d succeed, and then I could hog all the glory.”

He didn’t say anything, but his arms tightened around her.

“Do you remember the Night-light Killer?”

“Yes.”

“It was her. I narrowed down my suspects to two, did more recon on both, and decided it was one over the other. I was right—and I was wrong. I made my kill, and while I was busy patting myself on the back for a job well done, the other woman was doing recon on me. The two were partners. I’d taken her best friend, so she waited for the perfect moment to strike and take mine.”




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