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“You care about them.”
“I care about my brothers? Yeah. A lot.”
“Hmm,” I mutter again.
“This shocks you?”
I shrug. “Enzo said you were a monster.”
Her mouth slowly closes. The slightest twitch plagues her brow as her eyes look straight ahead at the wall behind me.
“Generally speaking,” I say, clearing my throat, “he’s a Zappia. That’s rather pot and kettle if you ask me.”
She keeps her head down and doesn’t say a word. It’s not the reaction I expected. I figured she’d roll her eyes again, maybe let out a witty retort. This is Lilah Hart. Brutal, deadly. History books may call her far worse someday, and yet, here she is, sitting quietly in obvious offense.
I stand up and move toward the bathroom, slowly pulling on the tampon string. I toss the bloody thing away and rinse my skin clear with water from the sink. Her scent lingers on my fingers. I take a second to inhale a deep breath of her before washing it off.
I grab her duffel bag off the floor and dump the contents out onto the bed beside her.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“You seem awfully calm,” I note, sifting through her stuff.
A few shirts. Another sundress like the one she’s wearing now, only green. Panties and a make-up bag. A cell phone, which I promptly turn off.
“So?” Her head tilts. “You disappointed that this isn’t my first time?”
I slide my hand into the empty pockets, feeling slowly along the inner seams. A lump in the bottom corner stops me. Hard and small. No larger than a pebble.
I glance at her and she squints with annoyance.
“This isn’t my first time either,” I say, smiling as I tear the GPS tracker free. I drop it in my palm, admiring the tiny tech before tossing it across the room. “Who’s keeping tabs on you? Snake Eyes? Your brothers?”
“Does it matter?”
“Nope. Just curious.” I stuff her belongings back into the bag. “For my next trick, you’re going to accompany me downstairs. We’ll walk through the lobby hand-in-hand and out into the parking lot, calm and steady-like...”
“Why would I do that?”
I glance at her impeccable breasts and the tattoo above her navel. “I’m a licensed bounty hunter. You’re a Snake Eyes agent wanted by every law enforcement agency in the world. Please. I dare you. Make a scene. Or do you want to know what happens to terrorists in federal custody?”
She goes silent again and looks away from me.
I know she won’t try to run. Not yet, anyway. The longer she sticks with me, the more chances she’ll have to escape. That wouldn’t be true if the FBI ran in here and snatched her up. She has no choice, but I can’t get too cocky just yet.
I step closer to her. “Ready?”
Lilah looks at me with those fiery eyes. “As I’ll ever be.”
My lips curl as I bend over but my guts twist as I lay the gun against her head. “The bounty was dead or alive,” I lie. “I’d prefer the latter but I’m more than willing to cash in the former.”
She nods, showing no fear at all, but it doesn’t make me feel any better about it. I’m a hunter, not a killer, but she doesn’t need to know that.
I reach into my pocket for the handcuff keys, fixing my eyes on her as I reach around to free one hand. She leans forward slightly, pressing her nude torso against me. I try to ignore her smooth skin and that seductive scent of her before it makes me do something stupid.
As the cuff slips off her wrist, I quickly latch it onto mine and shift backward before my obvious erection becomes even more obvious.
“Stand up,” I say.
