Page 48 of Vicious Temptation

Zara perks up at her new responsibility. “Got it!”

“Later, baby,” I say as I make my way out of the kitchen.

“What? No goodbye for me?” Estela calls out after me, laughing. “Is it because I told you not to stay single forever?”

I wave her off without looking back. “Keep it up, and I’ll make it a personal goal.”

* A Spanish expression meaning “to end up unmarried.”

Fourteen

Thiago

I don’t want to see you again. I don’t want whatever you think this is or could have been. It can’t be. And it won’t ever.

I’m halfway through clearing the second room when I hesitate. Her words replay in my head, followed closely by the commander’s warning in the parking lot. I haven’t shaken either of them off, and now they’re fucking with my focus.

“Again,” Grey snaps from behind me.

I reset and force my attention back where it belongs, sweeping the room, checking every corner, and clearing every angle. Everything has to be clean because hesitation in the field gets people killed.

The irony isn’t lost on me.

I spend my days protecting lives, and another part of my life takes them. I’ve always been able to reconcile the two because Helios doesn’t send me after innocent people. The names they hand me belong to men and women who leave bodies behind, all without losing a second of sleep.

At least, that’s what I’ve always believed.

Then Remi happened.

Helios wants me to see the Cain name and everything attached to it. The violence and bloodshed.

But I’ve also seen Remi with Zara.

I’ve watched the same woman Helios considers dangerous drop to her knees for a little girl, tease her, hold her, and look at her with nothing but love.

Maybe those things can exist in the same person. They exist in me.

“Braga, focus,” Ryan calls from the doorway.

“I am,” I shoot back, already moving into the next room.

This time, I push everything else aside and focus on the drill. I check the corners, clear the angles, and move faster, but the distraction is still there, waiting for the second I give it room.

“Clear,” I call out as I step back.

“About time,” Grey mutters.

I ignore him, grab my helmet, and toss it onto the bench as we cycle out of the drill. Sweat clings to my skin and soaks through my shirt as I rake a hand through my hair and head for the lockers.

Hurried footsteps follow me into the locker room.

“Hey, T, you good?” Ryan asks.

“Yeah.”

He snorts. “Bullshit.”

I don’t respond as I pop open my locker and reach for my towel.