“You called me!” Somehow the woman says it in a way that makes it sound like they know each other well. Like she’s dealt with this sort of behavior from Hans before.
He drops his phone into the little cubby on the dashboard. “What’s wrong?”
“Who is she?” My arms stay crossed.
“Karmine. She’s a… colleague.”
I turn in my seat so I can glare at him harder. “In health inspecting.”
This time, when his eyes dart over to me, he reaches out and grips my forearm. “Stop that.” He pulls, dislodging my crossed arms. “Don’t be mad at me.” He slides his hand down until he’s holding my hand in his. “Karmine and I work together… helping good people and hurting bad people.”
“Have you slept with her?” I snap.
I have no right asking him that. No right to feel this territorial over a man I’ve slept with once. But if he’s gonna be obsessed with me, he’d better be obsessed with only me.
When Hans lets go of my hand, I suck in a breath.
If he’s going to stop touching me while he admits to having slept with her, I’m going to hit him.
“That’s fucking one,” Hans growls.
He presses the button to unbuckle my seat belt.
I try to slap his hand away, not sure what he’s doing, but he catches my fingers and shoots a glare of his own my way. “That’s two.”
He drops my hands and, keeping a grip on the wheel with his left hand, leans over so he can reach across my body. He hooks his hand around the front of my waist, and then he drags me across the bench seat toward him.
“Put your seat belt on,” Hans bites, acting like he’s not the one who just unbuckled me.
But my heart has started racing, and my chest feels warm, so I do as he says and buckle the strap across my lap.
When I finish, Hans grips the far outside of my thigh, his fingertips digging into the soft, bare flesh. And I love it.
“I have never slept with Karmine.” He looks down at me, the headlights illuminating a straight road ahead of us. “I haven’t touched another woman since you moved in across the street. Got it?”
His intensity is intoxicating.
“Got it,” I whisper.
“I like your jealousy, Little Girl. But it’s unnecessary.” He grips me harder. “Now, unmute the call.”
Satisfaction blooms inside my chest.
He’s not trying to hide the conversation from me. And he doesn’t want to let go of me long enough to unmute it himself.
I believe him.
I lean forward and tap the screen.
The woman must be able to hear the change because she speaks immediately. “What’s wrong?”
“Possibly little. Possibly scorched earth.”
“Explain.” The woman’s tone is all business.
CHAPTER 67
Hans
I flex my fingers against Cassandra’s leg. She isn’t going to like me sharing this, but if there’s anyone I can be fully transparent with, it’s Karmine. “I have a body that I need identified.”
“You back home?”
Cassandra tenses at Karmine’s question, probably not liking that she knew I was out of town.
“Yeah.” I resist the urge to smile. I always dreamed of a world where my Butterfly would let me touch her. It never occurred to me to fantasize about her being possessive of me.
And I fucking love it.
I slide my hand over the top of her leg, then shove it between her bare thighs.
She follows my unspoken command and presses her legs together, squeezing my palm between her warm flesh.
Karmine makes a humming sound. “Sandra is on a job in New Mexico with the R Team.” Sandra is her go-to for finding IDs, and if she’s working with the Rescue Team, that means they intervened in something big. “And I’m on a hit with the K Team in Utah.”
I grunt my approval. The Kill Team in action is always good for humanity.
“Can you keep him on ice?” she asks.
“No. It can’t wait.” I sigh. “I’m on my way to The Alliance Kill House.”
I can feel Cassandra’s gaze on me, but I need to pay attention to the road now. I know we’re getting close.
“I’m letting you know because I think this might be what you warned me about.” I refer to Karmine’s warning that people were looking for me.
“Shit, man. Was he at your house?”
“Not exactly. He was at my neighbor’s.”
Karmine lets out a low whistle. “The girl you’re stalking?”
I keep my eyes forward. “I’m not stalking her.”
“Uh-huh.” I can hear her damn eye roll. “You get the guy before he could touch your porridge?”
“Porridge?” Cassandra whispers, but not quietly enough.
“I’m not fucking Goldilocks,” I grumble to both of them. “Can we focus?”
It’s silent for a beat, then Karmine snickers. “She with you?”
I glance over at Cassandra, and she bites her lip, pretending innocence.
I sigh. “Yeah, she’s here.”
Karmine’s laugh is more of a snort this time. “If you didn’t want me to out you, you shouldn’t have put me on speaker.”
“That was me.” Cassandra squeaks out the admission. “Sorry about the invasion of privacy.”
I shake my head. Only she would apologize in this situation.
“No worries. Just one question.” Karmine is talking directly to Cassandra now. “Are you with Hans willingly?”
“Um, yes?” she says like it’s a question. “Sorry, are you asking if he kidnapped me?”
“Yes.” Karmine doesn’t mince her words.
“Oh, well, thanks for checking. But I’m happy with Hans.”
I push my hand farther between her legs until I’m able to slide my fingers under her closest thigh.
I can’t get her close enough.
I can’t touch enough of her.
“Okay, then.” Karmine accepts her answer. “So, what happened? Did you get him to say anything before he died?”
“I didn’t—”
“That was also me,” Cassandra cuts me off. “It was an accident.”
“Well, this keeps getting more and more interesting.”
I lean down and press a kiss to Cassandra’s hair. “I’ll give you the particulars later, but the man was in Cassandra’s backyard, acting like a fucking predator. When she came over to tell me what happened, I swept the woods around our houses. No sign of anyone else, so I think he must’ve been a scout. But he had no ID on him. And I need to know who he’s working for.”
“You do have a lot of enemies,” Karmine adds helpfully.
“He had a phone on him. I’ve disabled it, but I’ll see about digging through it to see if he reported anything.”
“Either way, if they’re on your street, they’ve found you.” She says what I already know, but it twists something inside me.
I just got my Butterfly. Finally got to touch her. Hold her in my hands. But if they’ve found me, then my life living on that quiet little cul-de-sac is over. And…
My lungs hitch.
She can’t live there either.
I’ve put her in danger.
I’ve done the one thing I never wanted to do.
Small hands close around my forearm.
I look down, and all I can see are her fragile fingers against my body full of violence.
And I hate myself for bringing her into this.
It was never my intention.