“I was hunting the person who set me up in the CIA. Lila was a target because of that.”
“That’s not true. They didn’t know who helped you,” Lila said.
“You were burned right after that,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“It was weeks after that. It had been coming for a long time.”
“What do you mean by that?” Ian asked.
“I get that El and Eden have guilt over that, but I’ve said that my burning had nothing to do with them.”
“They used it to revoke your access to their computers and kick you out of the CIA,” El countered.
She snorted, amusement easy to see her in bicolored eyes. “Fat lot of good that did them.”
“Do not say anymore,” Ian muttered.
“Hey, I don’t work for the government anymore. I know exactly where she’s coming from,” Miko said, a small smile playing about her mouth. She looked at Lila. “So you think someone had been setting you up for a while?”
She nodded.
“What made you think that?” the former profiler asked. He didn’t like the woman’s tone. He got it though. She would always be a profiler, but for some reason, he didn’t like the idea of her doing it to Lila.
He opened his mouth to say just that, but Lila stopped him. “Don’t worry, Mix.”
Miko looked between them, her eyes widening when she took in his expression.
“Seriously, it’s okay,” Lila said.
“What’s okay?” Miko said, playing dumb.
When Lila didn’t answer right away, he glanced at her. A small smile played about her lips, and he wanted to kiss her. Then he wanted to strip her down and taste every inch of her. He shifted his weight trying to ease the tightness of his pants.
“I know you’re working on a profile. I’m okay with that. And yes, I do have a sixth sense about these things.”
“You think you have a sixth sense?” Miko asked. There was no condemnation in her voice.
“Sure. I guess that’s what you would call it. I notice little things. Like how three of my neighbors seemed to move out suddenly, replaced by what can only be described as suspiciously neighborly.”
“You think it’s suspicious that your neighbors were suspicious for being nice?” Jenner asked.
“Of course. I lived in DC, downtown in a condo where almost everyone worked for the government. Also, the assholes always seemed to be around when I was. They were not very good at what they did.”
“Are you fucking kidding me, Lila?” El demanded, anger dripping from his voice.
Ian was up and out of the chair before anyone had a chance to blink. He did not like the way the former CIA agent was acting towards Lila.
“You need to control yourself, El,” he said, his voice controlled, but he was sure the threat was easy to hear.
“Mix, don’t threaten El.”
He glanced over his shoulder at the woman who had become the center of his universe.
“He needs to watch his tone.”
Her eyes widened. “It’s okay. I know why he’s mad.”
“And why is that?”
