“Right?”
The sound of the door opening interrupted their conversation.Ash entered with a guard behind him.The guard directed Ash to sit and then turned on his heel to leave the room.
“Before you go, can you remove his restraints?”Stan requested.
“Sorry, but I’m not allowed.All convicted murderers must be kept in cuffs to keep them from shifting.”
“Right, the neuro dampeners.I forgot.”
“It’s okay,” Ash stated.“I deserve to be in these cuffs.Let’s get started.”
“Before we go any further, I must remind you that you’re allowed to have a lawyer present.”
“That’s not necessary,” Ash said.He turned his gaze to Kalliopi before continuing.“I deserve to be in these things because of what I’ve done.And you are?”
Kalliopi raised a brow as he met her gaze.“My name is Kallie.”She wasn’t sure if Zagan knew her full name, so she went with her shortened one to throw Ash off her scent.“We haven’t met before because I’m new here.I hope you don’t mind my joining Stan tonight.”
“I don’t mind, and nice to meet you,” Ash said with a shrug.“And for the record, I’m no longer going to make up excuses about why I stayed by Zagan all these years.I may not have had a choice when I was a kid.But now that I’m an adult and was arrested, I see just how terrible Zagan is to the shifter community, and if my information can help you place that monster behind bars for good this time, well…I am willing to help.”
“Well, that’s very noble of you,” Kalliopi said, hoping to encourage him to talk more.
“I’m not doing this for any other reason than to help you collar him because I just found out he killed a friend of mine.And for that alone, I want to see him rot in jail.”
Kalliopi lowered her gaze, expecting Stan to pick up the conversation, but to her surprise, he seemed to be happy to let her take over the conversation—even from the corner seat.Finally, Kallie asked, “What information do you have that you think might help us with capturing Zagan and bringing justice to your friend’s killer?”
“Zagan plans to set up shop two miles from campus,” Ash informed them.“In that old facility you raided a couple of years back.His intent is to go after the new recruits that come in from Milos.”
“I thought he was after royal blood.”
“Yeah, he was, but when he was at SHIT last week, he found something new to go after.One of the MILFs he took down has a promising property in her blood.Apparently, she’s the first successful subject in Greece.He’s hoping the cadets’ blood has the same properties as the girl.Of course, he also hopes that girl is here so he can kidnap her and continue performing experiments.He rambled on about him finally finding her after so many years.”
Stan’s gaze met Kalliopi’s.Neither of them attempted to give away their thoughts to Ash, especially since Kalliopi knew Ash was talking about her, and now Stan did, too.
9
“He couldn’t have known I was the target… Could he?”Kalliopi asked as she climbed into the passenger seat of Stan’s car.
“All I care about is that he seemed to trust you.That’s better than his thinking you are a MILF because he would have put two and two together if he had known you were a soldier.But just to be sure, perhaps you should stay with me until we can infiltrate the lab.”
“Stan, I can take care of myself.”
“I’m well aware of that, but I’d feel better if you let me watch over you, protect you.And?I don’t want our date to end just yet.”
“Is this your way of asking me to stay the night, Agent Dutetre?”
“Perhaps it is, Command Sergeant Major Kouris,” Stan said with a grin and a wink.
“In that case, I accept your invitation.”
She probably should have said no, but she found it hard to resist him.He’d tried so hard to sweep her off her feet, and she refused to lie to herself any longer.She liked Stan.Like really liked Stan.And if they were on Milos, she’d start dating him and see where things went between them.But they weren’t on Milos, and this wouldn’t go any further than a fling.She had to be sure of that.The best-case scenario was that she’d do anything and everything to get him out of her system—even sleep with him.Of course, she needed little convincing for that part.Stan was sexy as hell.And since she decided not to lie to herself, she really wanted to sleep with him tonight.And why not?They were two mature consenting adults, right?
The sound of Stan putting the car in park broke her train of thought.They were now in his driveway, and everything she wanted to do with him and to him suddenly seemed very real.He was rounding the car to open her door, and for a split second, she didn’t think she had the nerve to go inside with him.
“Here, take my hand.”
Kalliopi reached for his hand, and electric heat shot through her body like a bottle rocket, setting her skin ablaze with a yearning she hadn’t experienced since she’d been with Jace… the name of he-who-should-remain-nameless.Why had his name popped into her head now?Perhaps because, with Stan in front of her, Jace seemed like nothing more than a distant memory, instead of someone with any power over her emotions.
Stan placed his palm on the small of her back and led her to the front stoop.
