My curiosity got the best of me as I asked, “What's back there?”
Her smile widened as she kicked off and went into the pitch-black space. “Now, this is where all the big toys are.” I heard the click of a switch, and floodlights came on, highlighting a Humvee, a Camaro, and two superbikes. I was so blinded by these vehicles that I almost missed the rocket launcher and military-grade sniper rifles that were hanging on the wall. This whole place was a treasure trove of high-quality weapons that even criminals would have a hard time getting their hands on.
I felt her presence behind me, watching me, before she placed her lips right above my ear. “Do you like it? I promised to show you all the fun stuff.”
I heard Dino rummaging through the vampire aisle, but I couldn't hold my tongue as I blurted out, “Why do you have all this stuff?” I looked around again. “How do you have all this stuff?”
Before she could answer me, her phone went off, beeping an alarm, and she pulled it up for both of us to see. As soon as she clicked on something, a video feed popped up, and I saw a man in a suit jacket walking the perimeter. “Friends of yours?” I asked because I didn't know if she knew who that was.
“Nope, but it looks like it could be someone from that blacked-out SUV that followed us.” She said it so nonchalantly that I almost thought she was joking. She sighed as she followed with, “I guess it's time to call in a favor.” She looked up at me, almost like she just remembered that I was next to her. “Did you pick out what you wanted? We will be leaving soon.”
Dino rounded the corner from the aisle he was in, grinning ear to ear with a few AK-47s in his hands, several boxes of bullets, and a pistol. “Can we take all of this? Also, I saw a couple of UV grenades…” Celine just laughed.
“Yep. We can take all of that. Why don't you load it into one of the cars? We are going to leave out the back way.” He eyed her up and down before turning to me.
I nodded as I added, “Put it into the Humvee. We will need the extra protection just in case.” He went in that direction and plopped all his goodies in the vehicle. She turned back to me, putting her hand on my arm, and I felt my wolf sigh as my skin rippled from where she touched me. “Do you know who those men are?”
I shook my head. “From what I can see, I don't think they are here for us…” I wanted to tell her that we wouldn't let anything happen to her. That she was safe with us. Then I looked around the room at all the military-grade weapons and state-of-the-art underground buildings and knew that it was more like we were safe with her.
She nodded. “That’s not good. You think the backer?” I nodded, smiling that we were both thinking the same thing. She grumbled, “Goddamn vampire is ruining everything. What a dick.”
Dino made his way back over to us, and she pointed back to the aisle, “Why don't you get some more bullets and guns. Also, at the end of the row are a few throwing knives I would need.” When he gave her a look, she just batted her eyes. “Please? Gears and I need to figure out the exit strategy.” He huffed when he quickly went back down the aisle, which just told me that he didn't mind at all.
“I don't think we can leave the way we came, are you okay if I call someone to take your bikes back to the compound?”
I didn't know if I wanted some rando touching our bikes, and I knew Dino would have a fit. “Is there a way that we can leave with our bikes? We hate to part with them.”
She thought about it for a second. “I was thinking of calling in a favor with a local tow truck company, and it will look like you're just getting towed while we get out of here. What do you think?”
That could work, and since they were a tow company, they would know how to do it without messing up the bikes. Plus, since it was a company, we could keep them accountable. “If you trust them, then I think that's a good idea.”
We both looked over at Dino carrying the last load into the back. My eyes drifted over to the rocket launchers and sniper rifles. I wanted to bring those, too, badly. I mean, when was I ever going to get another chance to see and take apart machinery like that?
I swiveled to head to the vehicle when I saw Celine smiling at me. She walked up slowly, reminding me of a cat with a canary as her chest met mine, and she whispered in my ear, “If you want them, you can take them.” I let out a ragged breath, having more to do with her delicious body up against mine than anything. “It would be a shame for you to leave those behind when you want them so badly.”
I gulped, looking down at her smiling smile, and something took over my senses as I broke. I glided my hand behind her head and smashed our lips together. I was like a starved man, kissing her like I wasn't going to get my shot again. I drank in her cool lips and beachy scent as I pressed harder into her, grabbing her face with both hands now. My wolf purred, telling me that I was finally doing what he wanted to do all day.
She made this cute mew sound as her hands gripped onto my shirt, pulling me into her as much as I was pulling her to me. Signaling to me that she was enjoying the kiss much more than I thought she would. I pulled away slowly, knowing logically that we needed to get out of here but having a hard time not dragging her into one of those aisles and having some time exploring her body.
She licked her lips as she looked at me. “You always surprise me.” I didn't know if that was a good thing or not, but when she reached up and set a small peck against my collarbone, I almost melted. Yep, I was a goner to this woman.
We heard a clearing of a throat, and both looked over to see Dino staring at us. I expected his normal angry response. Maybe a thinly veiled threat sent her way, or even a clenching of his teeth, but, instead, he looked at us with confusion before he called out, “Are you guys ready?”
She nodded. “Let's face the music.” She turned towards me, hand extended, and, for once, I was not shy or hesitant or overthinking it. I grabbed her hand and let her guide me over to the vehicle.
We got to the driver’s side, and she opened the door, pulled the keys out of the handle, and passed them to me. “You're driving.” When my eyes widened, she winked at me. “Dino and I need to be ready to defend while you focus on driving. Just in case.”
This woman was perfect for guys like us. Beautiful, smart, and deadly.
Dino cursed, suddenly scrambling to get out of the vehicle. Both Celine and I looked at each other in question before staring back behind us. We saw Dino snatch one of the rocket launchers and run back to his seat. When he caught us looking at him, he shrugged. “What?” His eyes drilled into Celine. “You said we could take whatever we wanted.”
Celine chuckled, turning back around, “You're right.” She motioned for me to start the car as a sneaky smile graced her lips, “But I would’ve taken the one with the grenade launcher on it.” Dino looked crushed as he glanced back longingly with sad puppy dog eyes while Celine and I laughed.
Chapter 18
Iwasstillreelingfrom the kiss that Gears gave me. I had been purposely keeping everything with these men light, fun, and non-threatening. I didn't want them to be nervous around me being an assassin. I wanted to look like I was an asset. A partner.
The drive to be seen that way did confuse me, though. I had never been one to want to be around others for an extended amount of time, and yet I felt this pull to each of these men. Even with the asshole Dino was, I still felt this connection, this drive to understand him, all of them. This need went so deep I felt it down into each cell in my body. I was so used to working alone in the field, to only relying on myself, but having Dino and Gears in my weapons bunker brought me joy. I was even having a hard time caring that there were men outside the house coming for me.
