She gasped, her body crying out with the need to touch, to hold, to kiss.
She had to find a way out for them both.Think, Tara, think.
“I love you,” she whispered. What did she have to lose?
He faced her, his browneyes bleak. “I love you too.”
He did? Her vision blurred. “I’m sorry.”
Leaning in, he kissed her hard. His belt buckle dug into her wrists, but she couldn’t care less. At least they’d both die knowing they were loved, the taste of the other on their lips.
“Enough.” Jeff was yanked away.
Tara blinked up at a scowling Hulk, who towered over her, his brown hair nearly touching the ceilingas he pushed Jeff toward the couch.
“You don’t have to do this,” Tara said.
He smirked and glanced at Ball Cap. “They’re perfect for each other.”
The smaller man grunted.
“Unfortunately for you,” Hulk said once he had Jeff seated, “you’re going to have a falling out.”
Tara turned cold. What the hell did that mean?
“Here’s her gun,” he said to his partner, holding out the Sig Sauerthat she had bought to use at the gun range after the whole Colin fiasco. It looked like a toy in his huge hands.
She inhaled sharply, dread weighing down her limbs. “Where did you get that?”
“Your condo. It’s not really that secure, you know.”
She knew that. Hell, she worked for a security firm. She understood all the flaws in her building’s system. Steele exploited those types of flawson a daily basis in order to expose their clients’ vulnerable points.
It didn’t stop Hulk’s theft from feeling like a violation. Add that to the litany of infractions for which she wished him a cozy spot in Hell.
“Here’s the plan,” he said, seeming entirely too chipper about the whole thing. He was impressed with himself, wasn’t he?
Lowering her head to hide the disgust that was surely showingon her face, she stared at the tape on her wrists. She squinted. Was that a tear? Slowly, she wiggled her wrists. Sure enough, there was a small cut, probably from Jeff’s belt buckle.
She glanced at him. Had he planned it somehow, or was it an accident?
One of his eyebrows quirked almost imperceptibly.
Heart pounding, she scanned the room. How could she take advantage of this?
“You’regoing to have a lover’s quarrel,” Hulk said, regaining her focus. “You’ll shoot him and then kill yourself.”
God,no. “That won’t work,” she blurted.
He gave her an indulgent smile that made her skin crawl. “And why is that?”
“Because…” Dammit. She needed to buy time.
Next to her, BC took the gun from Hulk. Turning away, something shiny in the cab caught her eye.The key!It was stillin the ignition. And there was no one in her way.
“Because,” she started again, “the investigators will notice our wrists were bound. I’m already getting rub spots. Plus, do you know how hard it is to remove duct tape adhesive from the skin?”
Hulk sneered.
