He had a good point.
Hanging up the phone, I did the only thing I could. I used every resource available to me to find the woman who didn't want to be found.
It wassix agonizingly slow hours later before I sensed the change. I knew even before she entered my bedroom that Anita was in my house. I needed to figure out how she got in without setting off my security system and making a single noise.
"You know, if you gave me a way to contact you, I wouldn't have to go through such extreme measures to see you."
"The last time I was here, I told you to forget I exist. Did you think I was joking?"
A pissed-off Anita was sexy. And for some reason, she looked extra sinister this evening. "No, I knew you were serious. I just like living on the edge." That was the biggest horseshit ever. Up until recently, I’d lived a very safe life. I was just now stepping out of that comfort zone. Honestly I wasn't sure how it was going.
"What do you want?"
I was still breathing. I took that as a win.
"Did you kidnap Mason and Alexander?"
Anita stared at me or more accurately stared through me. She didn't flinch or even move a muscle.
"No."
Somehow I didn't believe her. I couldn't explain why. She didn't have a single tell that would suggest otherwise. Thousands of hours of interviewing, and I could say without a shadow of a doubt if Anita were hooked up to a lie detector when I asked that, she would've passed with flying colors.
Yet I still didn't believe her.
"You sure? Mason was released from prison and has since disappeared. And now, I found out earlier today that Alexander is missing as well."
"Can't say I had anything to do with either of those things."
I had to give credit where credit was due. Either Anita was telling the truth, or she was a master at lying. I just had to figure out which one it was while also staying alive.
No big deal.
CHAPTER TWENTY
ANITA
I didn't have time for this shit. I was dealing with enough after Krista saw me torturing Alexander and then the bomb she dropped about Hawk. Who conveniently stopped responding to Sloane's messages except to tell us Beckett was becoming a problem.
"Why don't I believe you?" Beckett stepped closer with no regard for the fact that he was putting his life in danger. Did he really think I wouldn't take him out if it meant protecting my team?
"I don't give a shit what you believe," I snapped. "I told you to forget I existed. You didn't do that. Now you're forcing my hand. Which means my team is going to be pissed when we have a dead federal agent to deal with."
Beckett didn't back away. In fact, he moved closer. I kept my stance steady. I had proven several times in the past that I could take him down without a problem. I did however slip my knife from its sheath. If I was going to kill him, I would make it quick.
"You're not going to kill me." He was now toe to toe with me.
"You sound awfully confident in that. Confidence can be a dangerous thing." Yet for some reason, I found that trait to be sexy as hell. Most men backed down when my claws came out. Not Beckett. He was standing his ground. Even with a blade between us. I wasn't sure he realized where my knife was positioned, he would bleed out in no time.
"I'm confident in this."
I waited to see where he was taking things when he wrapped his hand on the back of my neck and pulled me forward. I wasn't prepared for him to slam his lips on mine. I gasped at the sudden sensation, leaving my mouth open for Beckett to swipe his tongue inside.
I hesitated for a half a second before my mind caught up to what was happening, and I let myself be swept away in the moment.
The knife slipped from my fingers and clattered on the floor. Leaving my hands free to grab his shirt and yank him even closer so that there was no space between us.
Our tongues dueled for control. I wasn't used to handing over the reins, and it would seem neither was Beckett. It made the kiss that much hotter. The constant back and forth. Teeth scraping. Lip nibbling. A hunger so hot even hell couldn't compete.
