Letting out a sigh, I pull Raiden’s shirt over my head, letting thefabric fall almost to my knees before looking out at the darkened night ahead, only lit by the slightest glow of moonlight. “Shit. This is going to be a long walk.”
I start grumbling under my breath as I put one foot in front of the other, not impressed with myself. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been in plenty of shitty situations after messed-up jobs, but this one has got to take the cake. Nothing sucks more than this. Though I suppose it could be worse. I could be alone. Instead, I have a strong man who would be more than capable of giving me a piggyback ride. The only question is, how long can he carry me through the desert before his back gives out?
Raiden scoffs behind me. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”
I glance back at him before hooking my thumb in an arc toward the road ahead. “Back to the ocean,” I say, brushing sand off my arms like I wasn’t just smooshed against it for ten minutes. “Land life was clearly a mistake. Are you coming or are you gonna try your luck with AAA?”
Raiden mutters something to himself before pulling a phone out of his pocket and shooting off a text, looking far too smug for my liking.
My gaze narrows, watching him closely. “What did you just do?”
“What’s it matter to you? You’re heading back to the ocean,” he states, his lips pulling into a cocky grin. “But just know, while you’re flapping around in the water trying to swim, I’ll be catching a flightback to LA.”
I roll my eyes and scoff. “You’ve gotta make it back to the airstrip first.”
He just grins and cuts across the road, looking over one of the burned-out SUVs. “Is that so?”
Fucking asshole. I don’t know how he manages to get under my skin so flawlessly, but he does. There must have been some Assholes “R” Us course that he got perfect scores in. This shit simply isn’t natural.
“What’s it gonna be, Firecracker? You walking that fine ass out of here, or are you gonna take a risk and wait it out with me? Who knows, I might even fuck you right here in the middle of the road if you’re gonna be a good girl.”
I smirk and do everything in my power to keep a straight face as I stride back over to him with an irritated huff. “Fine. But you better bend me over real good, and don’t even think about asking me to call you Daddy. It’s never gonna happen. Now, if you wanted to callmeDaddy, that’s a different situation. I could get down with that.”
Raiden just groans before grabbing my elbow and pulling me into his strong arms. “Shut the hell up and let me fuck you,” he says, his hands dropping to the backs of my thighs and lifting me off my feet. “Just the thought of you strutting around this fucking desert without any panties on is driving me wild.”
“Oh yeah?” I challenge. “Just imagine how wild it’ll get when you have me on my knees.”
Twenty minutes later, we’re both panting on the ground, my chest heaving as I frantically try to catch my breath. Before I can even form words again, a distant, rhythmic thudding catches my attention, the sound growing louder with each passing second. I sit up on the road, my ass biting into the gravel.
“What the fuck is that sound?”
“My helicopter.”
I bark a laugh. “A helicopter? You called for a helicopter?”
“Of course. What’s the point in keeping the pilot on retainer if I’m not going to use him?”
I gape at him, my jaw dropping. “You keep—What the fuck, Raiden?”
He scoffs, looking appalled. “Youdon’tkeep a pilot on retainer? Come on, Firecracker. What kind of rookie bullshit is that? What do you do in situations like this?”
“I don’t get myself into situations like this,” I say with a smirk. “In fact, situations like this only seem to arise when you butt your nose into my business. Hmm, coincidence? I think not!”
“You’re fucking kidding me, right?” he says, shaking his head. “Might I remind you that if it weren’t for me, you’d still be on that fucking ridge waiting for some guy named Lazarus who doesn’t actually exist?”
“Maybe I would, but my car and weapons would still be intact, not blown into smithereens.”
“There’d still be an army of assassins surrounding you while you’releft completely oblivious. What were you doing? Daydreaming about shooting me with another blow dart?”
I scoff. “I would have noticed them eventually.”
“Uh-huh. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Firecracker,” he says with a knowing smirk, pulling me into him so hard the breath escapes my lungs. “Just admit it. I saved your life, and there’s no other assassin, alive or dead, greater than me.”
I roll my eyes before fixing him with a hard stare, both of us knowing that no matter how right he might be, the words are never going to come out of my mouth.
The dull sound of a helicopter fills the night, and I let it steal the limelight, desperate to change the topic now that we’ve gone way off course. “Saved by the bell,” I chime, watching the helicopter slowly come into view.
Pressing against his chest, I put some space between us and search the dark sky, following where the sound is coming from, and when it finally comes into view, I pull back an inch. “Huh.”
