Page 60 of Every Last Breath

“I’m responsible for this mission. I lost the bioweapon. If we don’t find Novak—”

“I get it.” He raked a hand through his hair, free and flowing past his collar. “But there’s nothing more you can do tonight.”

She had the Novak case file to go through. A chance to get inside his head. The Ghost and his son posed a serious threat on American soil. Her personal drama couldn’t be a factor.

“Let’s go to your place.” He slid his hand up her thigh. “We’ll talk—or not talk—and rest.”

Doubtful the four-letter word they’d indulge in would be either talk or rest.

The chemistry between them crackled in the air, on her skin, like an effervescent tongue licking up her spine. He was probably still wired after the yacht, wanted to wind down in another way. Not that she blamed him. Stress coiled tighter than an overwound watch spring in her muscles and she ached for release. But the job came first.

Rubbing her stinging eyes, she shook her head. Her throat went painfully dry. “Look, I know I owe you for helping us, but this isn’t the right time. You can sleep at my place, since we haven’t fixed your Russian problem yet. I can crash at Gideon’s or at Reece’s. We’ll settle up after I’m done with this mission, if you’re still around.”

Cole getting his closure had to wait. He’d delayed the conversation nine years already. A few more days to be free of her wouldn’t kill them.

Chapter 18

Gray Box Headquarters, Northern Virginia

Friday, 12:30 a.m. EDT

Settle up?” As though there were a bill between them she could possibly pay. “You don’t owe me for helping you.” Rising, he grabbed his helmet.

After almost being put in the grave by sniper fire and nearly losing Maddox—to bullets, at the hands of Novak, and to a bomb, all in one day—he didn’t know what to do with the avalanche of emotion threatening to blanket him. A restless energy vibrated in him, an anxious fear that closure and severing the ties that bound them might be a pipe dream.

And for a man who feared very little, he didn’t want to delve any deeper.

What he wanted, needed more than sleep and food, was to be close to her, skin to skin, grateful they were both breathing. It wasn’t about sex, releasing the pent-up storm. Not entirely anyway.

He needed to hold Maddox, feel her heart beating steady against his chest. He missed the ecstasy of intimacy. A connection beyond the physical through the flesh, a sense of peace, of absolution that he’d only found with her.

A respite from this shitstorm would do them both good.

While she stood, ready to be rid of him.

She squared her shoulders, the glacial wall redrawn. “We have unresolved stuff, outstanding issues,” she said as if talking about a damn business transaction.

“That we do.” He pressed up on her, backing her against the table, making the nature of one part of his business clear.

Her hands flew to his chest, keeping their bodies from colliding.

“I need to see this thing with the bioweapon, with Novak, through to the end,” he said, making the second part of his business equally clear.

Tracking down Novak and his son was going to be dangerous. They were predators, deadly beasts like Cole. If they put their hands on her, hurt her, killed her—

Stiffening, she skirted around him. “Thank you for helping us. For risking your life. I know it wasn’t easy for you, and I appreciate it, but your role in this is done.”

Her professional dismissal bit him to the bone. She was trying to heave him to the curb yet again. “You may be done using me, yanking my chain like I’m a junkyard dog, but I’ll let you know when I’m finished with you.”

Her eyes stayed guarded, her posture defensive. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He didn’t have the faintest clue, but he’d be damned if he’d let her talk to him like that. He wanted to sink his teeth into her, bite back, and it’d sounded good. “Means I don’t need you for a safe place to sleep, but I’ll see you soon.”

* * *

As Cole strode out of the conference room, Maddox’s heart sank.

Part of her wanted him to stay, to fight harder, but it was best he left. Every time he drew close, much less touched her, she reverted to a young girl—hopelessly in love, far too eager to worship at the altar of his body like a fanatic disciple.