The ringtone indicating Mandla Nkosi’s call pushed Max to jump out of the shower and snap up the phone. Mandla wouldn’t call without a damn good reason. “How are you, sir?” “I’m sitting on some interesting news and pondering how this might affect our plans. Where are you?” “Back at our base.” “Do you have eyes on the woman?” Mandla asked, putting Max on edge. It had been two days si

A slight dimple graced her right cheek. Its appearance was a rare occurrence. Max itched to know what would lighten that load. He’d find out, technically gathering more intel—Max couldn’t protect Abby without knowing everything there was to know about her. Nothing personal. Keep telling yourself that, Andersen, just keep repeating that mantra. He allowed Abby to use a burner phone to text Kris. The game ranger was back in town and resting up for the rest of the day, so they agreed to meet up the following afternoon at a coffee shop. Slater could scope out the location beforehand. Handing the phone back, Abby said, “I need to weed the yard. Want to help?” “I don’t know much about plants. I might kill the things by looking at them, but if you trust me with your bug-infested babies, then why not.” Abby snorted. “Bug-infested. What kind of operation do you think I run here?” Her eyes sparkled with humor. “The organic kind. I see

La Coraggio was packed, Max and Johnny sandwiched Abby on the bench. Max pulled a dollar bill out of his wallet and folded it into a sword shape as Lizzy chattered away on the other side of him. Abby had initially sensed his impatience with her bubbly friend when they’d first met, but Max now saw the girl beneath. Intelligent, kind and courageous. His mouth turned up as Lizzy made a silly joke, but Abby was thoroughly absorbed in his sexy hands folding with confident precision. His long fingers so capable. Capable enough to take away life or to protect it. Well-trained hands decorated with a few rough calluses and light scars. Feeling them run down her back or stroke her arm always resulted in goose bumps. Max stroked her calf with his foot; who knew that the game of footsy could be so damn sexy? The small paper dagger was waved in front of Lizzy, who snatched it up. He needed to smile more often. He had the sexiest smile, and combined with those piercing eyes, the r

Back at base with Abby locked in for the night, Max gazed at the monitoring station, recalling the girls’ conversation. It maddened him that there were fucking monsters out there who inflicted such lasting damage on women. At the same time, seeing his tough woman comforting her friend filled him with pride. Despite Abby’s last words to him, she felt like his woman. What an effing screwup the night had been. First dealing with Kris “the dick” Muller and then discovering that Johnny was also emotionally invested in an asset. His team was falling apart, and Max was the rebellious leader doing the damage along the way. The sooner they wrapped up the assignment, the better, then hopefully they could screw the brains out of their chosen women without having to deal with the guilt. Abby wandered out to sit on her patio in the dark, and there was too much physical space between them. He was always watching. Max was so tired of the watching. He wanted to be touching, always t

A flushing toilet jarred him awake. The faucet ran and then Abby made her way back to bed in the dawning light. Max pulled her close, warming her chilled limbs.“It’s cold out there,” Abby said, burrowing under the covers. “If you need to pee, I suggest you hold it until the sun comes up.”“I’m perfect just where I am, spooning your pretty ass.”Abby snuggled in deeper, doing naughty things to his dick but he sobered quickly when his thumb ran over the scarred ridges branding her back.“You can talk about it and I won’t splinter into a million pieces. I’ve lived with that scar for the past three years. It’s been part of my therapy and it’s now part of my soul.”“Knowing what he did fucks with my head, I can’t imagine how you feel,” Max said.“It doesn’t matter how I feel. It’s not going anywhere; the damage is permanent. I&