Steel Vengeance (Blackthorn Security #6)

Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

S loane stretched out and touched a leg. A hairy, male leg.

It felt nice, and for a second, she thought she was back in D.C., in Matthew’s bed. Then she opened her eyes, and everything rushed back.

Budget motel.

Islamabad.

Him.

She jerked her leg away and stared at the window on her side of the room. The blinds were drawn, but light streamed in from underneath and around the sides. It was morning.

Matthew had tried to kill her. He was one of the bad guys.

Fully awake now, she replayed the events from last night—the hotel bar, Jeremy, the look on his face when he saw her standing there. Even though she’d enjoyed the moment, she couldn’t muster a smile. It was still such a shock, they wanted her dead. She knew too much about their heroine importing scheme.

Still, it had felt good to confront him like that. It was now a game of cat and mouse, but they were winning. The fuck-you message she’d delivered last night had said: You’re going down, buster. You’re not going to get me.

And it was all thanks to Stitch.

How crazy was it that a month ago, she’d arrived in this city with nothing but a case of clothes and an assignment? Now here she was, teamed up with two Navy SEAL operators, about to take down a drug trafficking ring. It was surreal.

This had been the weirdest, most insane month of her life. She was now a CIA agent on her first mission. She’d been shot, met a man who made her pulse race, and now she was helping to dismantle a drug cartel. Real life would seem boring after this.

Then again, boring would be a relief.

Boring was safe. It meant she could go home, and not worry that a lone gunman on a motorcycle was going to take her out as soon as she let her guard down.

One thing she knew for sure—she wasn’t going back to the CIA.

No freakin’ way.

She was done with the Agency. It was pretty clear that the life of an agent wasn’t for her. She’d take the chaos and mayhem of a school day over this any time.

Except for Stitch.

She could never regret meeting him—her scarred, rough, and damaged sailor.

Sitting up in bed, she looked over at him, still sleeping soundly. He was on his back, his broad chest rising and falling steadily. She admired his naked torso, the powerful muscles now relaxed in sleep, the tattoo winding down his arm.

She imagined what it would be like to caress the patch of hair on his chest, trace it down to his belly button, and over his chiseled abs.

“Sleep well?” asked a deep, growly voice beside her.

She gasped, her eyes darting to his face. Had he caught her staring?

“Uh, yeah, thanks,” she replied, coloring. “You?”

“Fine.” He tossed the sheet back and strode to the bathroom wearing nothing but his boxers. She knew she shouldn’t, but her gaze dropped to his firm, muscular butt. The kind that demanded attention.

Once the door was shut, she sprung out of bed and reached for her clothes, wincing as she did so. Her arm still ached, even though the shot he’d given her had helped. She hadn’t asked him to redress the bandage last night, since she’d dozed off before he’d gotten out of the shower, but she had managed to apply the gauze and a strip of band-aid she’d found rummaging through his medical kit.

He emerged, pulling on jeans and a T-shirt.

“Let me see your arm,” he said, gesturing to the stool beside the dresser. “The band-aid’s fine for nighttime, but you need to keep it covered during the day.”

She sat and tried not to move as he wrapped the dressing around her arm. Those massive, scarred hands—so gentle. She still felt them holding her hips, moving over her back, in her hair.

I’ll never let you go.

Words she longed to hear, but they were for someone else.

Not her. Never her.

A melancholy slapped her in the face, and she sighed.

“You okay?” He was looking down at her, his gaze narrowed.

“Oh, yeah. I’m fine.”

“Don’t forget the sling.”

She nodded and got up. She slid her arm in and looped it over her head, wincing at the movement.

“Here, let me.” He straightened it for her, lifting her hair out from beneath the band.

Now he was just messing with her. She took a step back. “I’m okay, thanks.”

He moved away with a little nod. “Sloane, there’s something you should know.”

She bit her lip. “What?”

Her heart skipped a beat. Was he going to tell her she was on her own? That he and Blade could no longer protect her? That they were going after Omari themselves?

“The day I went to the graveyard to take out Omari?—”

“Yeah?”

“I overheard the date the shipment is leaving Karachi.”

She gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He sighed. “I couldn’t trust you. I knew you’d tell Matthew.”

She fell silent, but his words gnawed at her.

“You were right not to,” she admitted, eventually. “I called Matthew that night and told him everything. If I’d known about the shipment, I would’ve told him that too.”

Stitch just nodded.

“I can’t believe how naive I was.” She shook her head. “I trusted him. I thought he… I thought he cared about me,” she corrected. “But he was using me this whole time.”

“You weren’t to know.”

“I should’ve figured it out.” She looked up at him. “You did.”

“I’ve had years of practice. You’re new to this.”

“I’m quitting the Agency,” she said quietly.

He didn’t seem surprised.

“This isn’t who I am. I’m not the girl who chases bad guys, gets shot at, and takes down drug dealers. I’m a teacher. I like being a teacher and I don’t care if that makes me boring.”

“You could never be boring,” he murmured, softly.

She barely heard him. “Besides, I’m a terrible field agent.”

He smiled softly, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners. The look stopped her in her tracks, turning her brain to mush.

Oh, hell.

Don’t look at me like that.

“I bet you’re a great schoolteacher,” he said, unaware of the effect he had on her.

It was too much. Her heart twisted painfully, and she looked away. “Thanks. I’m looking forward to getting back to it, once this is over.”

An edge crept into her voice. “If this is ever over.”

“We’re going to end it, Sloane,” he said, firmly. “You will be able to go home. Get back to your life.”

God, that sounded so good.

And yet, terrible at the same time, for it would mean leaving him.

“Thanks for your help,” she said, awkwardly. “I mean it. You could have deserted me and continued with your mission, but you didn’t.”

He gave a nod. “I’d never leave a team member behind.”

Team member. The thought made her warm inside and she smiled. “Well, I just wanted you to know it means a lot.”

He grinned and made for the door. “You’re welcome. I’m going down to meet Blade. See you downstairs?”

She nodded, still reeling from that grin. “I won’t be long.”