“Since you’re so fucking fascinated,” he says flatly, “and since it’s your fault we’re still standing here, you’re the one who’s going to find her. Now. We already dropped one body, and it’s only a matter of time before some drunk asshole stumbles over it. The longer we stay inside, the higher the risk.”
My grin only widens.
“Oh, I will gladly hunt her down,” I say, rolling my shoulders as the wings shift across my back, feathers dragging over sweat-slick skin. Ink stretches across my chest, catching the spill of red light bleeding out through the open door. “She’s the first bitch who’s made my dick twitch without needing that last breath first.” I huff a laugh. “Shit, at this point, I can’t tell if I wanna Kill her or Kiss her when I catch her.”
Kade turns on me, heart-eyes glowing steady and pissed, like he’s measuring how far gone I already am.
“You’re enjoying this.”
I snort. “Abso-fucking-lutely. And don’t even start pretending you didn’t clock her too.”
“That doesn’t matter,” he snaps. “It never matters. She’s not worth getting caught over.”
I bark out a laugh. “Getting caught? That’s adorable. I don’t plan on getting caught.”
He steps closer, voice low and lethal. “You’re sloppy when you get like this.”
“You call it sloppy,” I say easily, still smiling, “I call it motivated.”
His jaw tightens. “She’s not running scared. She’s playing with us. Girls don’t pull shit like that in places like this unless they know exactly what they’re doing. Games like this, in crowds like that, get people killed. Or in our case—caught.”
I laugh again and shrug, the wings shifting on my back. “Well, no shit.” My eyes flick back toward the club, pulse kicking up. “That’s why she’s got my attention.”
“She’s not fucking special, Kross.”
I grin wider. “That so? Then why are you so goddamn twisted up about her?”
That shuts him up for half a second.
Not long, but long enough to matter.
“I do the catching,” I shoot back, unfazed. “You do the cleanup. Same system it’s always fucking been. Try to keep up.”
He just stares at me through the mask, quiet, calculating. I can practically hear him running through every worst-case scenario while I’m already three steps ahead and enjoying the hell out of it.
The pause stretches. Long enough to be irritating.
Finally…
“Fuck this,” Kade mutters. Then, louder, “You’re enjoying this way too much.”
I grin and adjust my hard on through my jeans, subtle but intentional. Gotta be comfortable for a hunt. “Yeah? And?”
His jaw tightens. “I’m not letting you turn this into a game.”
“Oh, relax, bro?—”
“No,” he cuts in. “I’m coming with you. I’ll help track her down and make sure the job actually gets done. Properly.” His eyes lock on mine through the mask. “Because when you get like this, you stop thinking and start playing.”
I snort. “Aw. Are you worried about me now?”
“I’m worried about the mess,” he snaps. “And about you thinking with the wrong fucking head.”
I laugh, low and pleased. “Relax. I’m not losing her. I’m just giving her a head start.”
“And I’m making sure that head start doesn’t turn into a fucking problem,” he says.
I clap his shoulder as we turn toward the door. “See? Teamwork. You babysit, and I have fun.”
