“W-Wha…” Natalia cleared the crackling from her voice and tried again. “What did…you just…say?”
A flicker of something that looked a lot like worry flashed across Jagger’s darkened features. “I said, if you keep looking at me like that, I’m gonna be forced to kiss you. Now, I’ve never been one to shy away from a little PDA, but given the audience we currently have, I thought it best to leave the decision up to you.”
PDA? Audience?
A deep crevice carved its way between Natalia’s downturned brows as she worked to decipher what the confusing man was going on about. In that same moment, her distorted vision finally began to clear. When it did, Natalia saw theaudienceJagger was referring to.
Twelve highly trained R.I.S.C. operatives had positioned themselves shoulder-to-broad shoulder around her and Jagger. The members of Echo and Delta stared down at her with matching expressions, appearing to be anxiously awaiting confirmation that she was okay.
Like a rubber band snapping from being stretched beyond its limits, everything came back to her in one giant, overpowering wave. The op. Echo and Delta. Their textbook takedowns of every single previously acquired target.
Her scrambled mind returned to the very start of the mission. While the remaining holes in her memory became filled with their missing pieces, Natalia was able to recall every incident of the night up to the point where the world went black.
After having secured the eight initial targets and the two men who’d disembarked the boat as instructed, Natalia and the others had found the final two men standing on the deck of their boat. The one on the left had held his weapon on her the entire time.
The other man—the one that had looked so frightened and unsure—had been seconds away from surrendering his weapon. She’d known it. Natalia hadseenthe look of defeat in the man’s eyes.
All that changed when a large fish splashed its way out of the water’s mirrored surface. It was the moment when all hell broke loose…and Natalia almost died.
A gun had gone off. The target who’d spun toward the splash fell dead where he’d been standing. Jagger had shouted for the remaining target not to shoot. Even now, she could almost hear the panic in his raging voice.
Natalia shifted her body, causing the back of the vest to slide against the asphalt beneath her. She winced, the pain in her chest a stark reminder that the jerk clearly hadn’t followed her partner’s order.
It wasn’t until she’d heard Jagger’s soft and gentle voice that she’d found her way back into consciousness. He’d sounded different, though. All soft and buttery for some reason.
You keep lookin’ at my lips like that, I’ll have no other choice but to kiss you.
No. No way did he just say that to her. Shehadto have heard him wrong.
Except he did say it, actually. Twice, in fact. And you still haven’t said a damn thing.
Natalia’s focus flew toward their so-called audience, and she immediately regretted the sudden move. Squinting her eyes shut, she waited for the spinning to subside before forcing herself to look again.
Dammit. They were all still there. Their gazes locked in tight on her. And though she could very well be mistaken, it sure seemed as though they were on the edge of their proverbial seats.
“Let…me…up!” She slapped the palms of her hands against the center of Jagger’s tactical vest and pushed.
Hard.
The unexpected move nearly knocked the operative back onto his ass, and Natalia knew she should probably feel bad. But she was too busy trying to save face in front of the others to worry about a harmless, little shove.
Jagger recovered almost instantly, of course. The tall, dark, and sexy operative rose back up to his feet with ease. Rather than turn away, as she’d fully expected, he leaned down and offered her his hand.
Natalia held it in her sights as if it were a snake preparing to strike, but she made no move to take it. It was a nice gesture, especially considering shedidjust try to knock him over. And still, she refused to take it.
A few grunts and grimaces later, she finally managed to stand of her own volition. See? She didn’t need him or his hand.
She was perfectly fine on her own. Always had been. Things were much simpler that way.
Yes, because God forbid, you actually admit to needing someone else’s help.
“The vest stopped the bullet.” Christian’s comment broke through her whirling thoughts. “That being said, you were out cold for a bit and are probably concussed. Plus, I’m sure you’re aware of the internal damage a forty-five can cause, even when it’s stopped by the Kevlar.”
“I’m aware.”
“Good.” Delta’s team leader nodded. “Then you also understand how important it is to get checked out by a doctor as soon as possible. Again, just to rule out anything internally.”
“No doctors.” Natalia started to give her head a small shake but stopped cold when the world around her began to spin. “I’m fine.”
