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)
Reluctantly he broke off the kiss and pulled back. The smile he gave Justin felt frail and weak, already trying to slip away. He knew the feelings of burnout. The wear and tear on the soul when he thought too much about what he was doing. Most of the time he could keep those doubts at bay, but there was something about the time they spent together. He knew of no one else who would understand their frustration and pain.
The connection he felt with Justin didn’t scare him for once. It was nice to not feel so alone in the world. That first spark had been there from the moment he’d met eyes with the man in the restaurant, but Gabriel had been more than happy to brush it off. Over the past several days, it had become clear to him that Justin was more than a talented assassin. He had a heart too big for his chest, a tenderness that should have made it impossible for him to work in this field. But he did, and he thrived because he was protecting people.
The world needed Justin Mallory. And if the idea didn’t scare him so badly, Gabriel might have admitted to himself that he needed Justin too.
But right now, he didn’t want Justin tangled up in that darkness. They’d done good work tonight. Saved some innocent people and had a wonderful time in bed. Gabriel kissed him tenderly, slowly teasing away the last of the tension until Justin was limp beneath him. He had to be close to sleep.
He crawled off the bed and quickly scooped up a handful of his discarded clothes. It didn’t matter if he got everything. It was more important to beat a hasty retreat before he did or said something that would give his secrets away.
“What about you? Why do you do it?” Justin whispered as he tried to escape.
Gabriel stopped, his clothes balled tightly in his fists, and looked at the man who was still lying on his back in the middle of the bed, staring at the ceiling. A dozen answers danced through his brain, but on a whim, he decided to give Justin the truth.
“Because I haven’t yet found a reason to stop.”
Chapter 19
Justin lounged in the leather desk chair, glaring at the screen in front of him as he tried to read through more of the report he’d pulled from the research files at the hospital, but the shit wasn’t making any sense to him. He’d already talked to his friend Brianna, who was a forensic pathologist. The autopsy reports had been located for the three dead patients. If he could get his hands on the data that was likely on Dr. Weiss’s hard drive or even hack into Iaso’s database, he could ship it all off to Brianna. She could uncover the truth from this medical jargon.
But first he had to break into the doctor’s portable hard drive or get into the files at Iaso. The hacking program he’d written was still working on the hard drive password, and his phishing emails to Iaso had gotten him nowhere so far. Not that he was surprised. This part of the process was supposed to take weeks. The only problem was that he’d not expected to be hunted by another assassin nor had he expected to have Gabriel Prescott underfoot.
Not that Gabriel had been that problematic.
He’d actually been more helpful than Justin had anticipated. And sex before bed always helped him sleep better at night.
It was the “after” he was struggling with.
As if against his will, his eyes darted over to the computer screen that showed the video feed from the various cameras around the house. He’d switched the screen from a four-way split screen to a single feed of Gabriel lounging in a chair in the living room. With his feet propped up on the ottoman, Gabriel sat there in a pristine, button-down white shirt and dark slacks. The outfit perfectly framed his wide shoulders and narrow hips. The only thing he was missing was a tie. His tattoos were hidden from view, but Justin knew exactly where they all were even if he couldn’t see them. He sat primly in the chair, reading a book.
Blinking suddenly, Justin sat upright and leaned closer to the screen, staring at Gabriel. Had he even moved the chair? He had! The fucker had moved the chair just a little bit, but it was now squarely facing the camera as if he knew exactly where it was. It was galling! And more than a little amusing.
It should be unnerving. Even terrifying that Gabriel could locate his cameras with such ease, but it had become a game with them, and Justin was enjoying the anticipation of seeing what he would do next.
Fuck…he’d already come harder with Gabriel than he had with anyone else in a long time. Not that sex meant shit in their business, but for some reason it felt like it did with Gabriel. It had been painfully obvious from the very first moment that Gabriel didn’t trust anyone, and Justin was at the top of the list for untrustworthy, but he was slowly unbending, and it was the most fascinating thing to watch.