Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
“Like I trust you to drive my car,” Justin muttered, but he still shuffled to the passenger side. He slid into the car with a groan, his face scrunched up in pain. He managed to pull the door closed behind him and then sat still, breathing heavily.
Dropping his gun into the cup holder, Gabriel reached across Justin, causing the other man to jerk in surprise, his eyes popping open wide.
“What are you doing?” he demanded on a gasp.
Gabriel bit back a smile, keeping his voice low. “Seat belt.” He carefully pulled the restraint across the man, clicking it into place. “How bad is it?”
“Feel like I got kicked in the stomach by a mule. But I don’t think it’s bad. Heard the damn bullet ping off the metal prior to biting me.”
“Are you good to give me directions? I can sew you up in my hotel room.”
“Yeah, I got it,” he sighed, his eyes falling shut again.
Gabriel glanced over at his companion. His face was lined with pain, but it didn’t take away from his overall handsomeness. The man looked like he belonged in a movie, playing some poor woman’s prince charming. He was definitely a temptation. Especially when he wasn’t being a smartass or delivering snarky remarks.
A sickening feeling started to twist in Gabriel’s stomach as he turned his attention to the car and the road ahead of them. This was not how he’d wanted their first outing to go. Gabriel shoved away the anger and the heavy sense of failure that was trying to weigh down on his lungs. Justin had asked him to watch his back, and now he was injured because Gabriel had failed to keep him safe. This was why he couldn’t work with another person. When he was alone, the only person he had to worry about keeping alive was himself.
He’d failed Ivan, failed to see that Ivan could no longer think clearly enough to protect himself. And Ivan was brutally killed.
Five years later, his new and temporary partner was bleeding next to him. They needed to get this job done fast before Justin died too.
Chapter 4
Oh, this is just a brilliant first impression.
Justin leaned his forehead against the wall outside Gabriel’s hotel room. The first time he attempted to work with a partner since going into business for himself and he ended up getting shot like some useless rookie on his first mission. This was not how the night was supposed to go.
First and foremost, Gabriel wasn’t supposed to accompany him but shuffle back to his hotel like a good little assassin. He would stay out of Justin’s hair until he was needed.
But no, he had to come too. He had to be involved in order to protect his investment. His cut of the final take.
Idiots—both himself and Gabriel.
Of course, if Gabriel had stayed behind, he’d likely be dead right now. What the fuck? Who just opened fire like that without at least finding out who you were facing? Well, sure…four against two wasn’t exactly a bad thing if you were part of the four.
Resisting the urge to thump his head on the wall in frustration, he looked over to see Gabriel unlock the door to his hotel room using an iron skeleton key rather than the little plastic card that slid into the readers. He’d always hated those fucking cards. He demagnetized one every damn time he traveled.
But The Cincinnatian was one of the oldest hotels in Cincinnati, and despite having all the modern amenities, it still used real keys. He liked that. Sure, it made it a little easier to break into someone’s room when they weren’t there, but it was also quaint and pleasingly old-fashioned.
Standing there, Justin listened to the scrape of metal on metal, trying to keep from leaning his body on the wall. They were white walls, perfect for a dark-red smudge of blood. Don’t lean. Don’t lean. Don’t fucking lean. The air was cold. Not comfortably cool from the lingering summer heat, but cold like he’d stepped into a walk-in freezer. But that could have also been the blood loss. He wasn’t sure anymore. His thin T-shirt really didn’t absorb the blood like he would have preferred, and it was now soaking into the waist of his jeans and cotton boxer briefs.
At the sound of the door opening, Justin lifted his eyes but hesitated in the doorway, watching as Gabriel slowly entered. His gun was pressed to this thigh as if he were keeping it hidden. Even as the pain broke and jumbled Justin’s thoughts, he didn’t miss Gabriel’s smooth movements, his steps silent as he rolled his feet evenly across the plush carpet. Each motion was sharp and precise. No waste of energy.
There was no mistaking Gabriel had been professionally trained, but he couldn’t begin to guess by whom. Definitely not American. There were little slips here and there, hints of an accent or a strange cadence to his words. Most would never notice it, but Justin had been trained to listen for it. Military, plus something else? MI6? KGB? Mossad?