“If you were fine, your eye wouldn’t be twitching.”
He clenched his jaw, the muscle in his temple jumping from the strain. “This is important. You said you’d listen.”
“I know, and I will. Just… Christ, Coulter, your chest…” She pushed down the stab of pain. having seen all the bruising only added to the guilt burning beneath her skin. How, ultimately, all those injuries were on her.
The price he’d paid because she hadn’t stood up to Gus. Hadn’t followed her heart and insisted Coulter be brought into the fold.
He narrowed his eyes, then eased back. “Fine, but this isn’t me conceding. It’s a strategic pause. So, get it all straight in your head, Neve, because the running stops now.”
He swept his gaze the length of her, then turned on his heel and walked out, favoring that one side. She watched him turn down the corridor toward their bedrooms, his massive silhouette vanishing down the hall.
The running stops now…
She didn’t know if it was a promise or a threat, just that she’d run out of time. Coulter was done waiting, and she either had to jump, or toss her future into the fire.
CHAPTER NINE
Shadows filled the room, the clock on the nightstand clicking over. Coulter hadn’t seen a vintage alarm clock like it in years, but the nostalgia of it made the room less sterile. Like a small taste of home in desperate circumstances.
Midnight.
He’d slept.
Not the semi-conscious kind that accompanied every mission, that barely counted as rest. This had been soul deep. Heavy. Sound. And he was sure he hadn’t passed out like that since he’d been ten.
The pill.
That’s what had knocked him sideways. Whatever Darwin had instructed Wynn to pass along had obviously hit him hard. Kicked him into the abyss with absolutely no resistance on his end.
He laid one arm across his forehead as he stared at the ceiling. Visions of Neve standing in the fog, of her running like a ninja across the beam, flashed in his head, the remembered fear knotting his stomach. Stealing his ability to suck in air then push it out.
It wasn’t the first time she’d risked her life in his presence, and he knew it wouldn’t be the last. But this… This was a devastating mix of professional awe and terrifying possessive love that left him questioning the last three years of his life.
Had him wondering how he ever thought he could exist without a version of her by his side.
Tossing off the blankets, he swung his legs over the edge. The concrete cooled his feet as he stood, ribs protesting, leg still sore. He took a few, shallow breaths, then ambled across the room, cracking the door open an inch.
Silence stretched through the bunker, nothing but the hum of the HVAC and the distant whisper of what sounded like a video game disturbing the heavy quiet. A dim light brightened the hallway at the far end, just enough that he wouldn’t walk into one of the walls.
Coulter pushed down the hint of uncertainty, then crossed the hall to the doorway at the very end. Neve’s room. He smiled. She’d always preferred to be on the periphery. Not that she didn’t fit in, more that she liked riding that edge. Having options that being on the fringe offered.
Hands clammy, he stopped in front of her door, the voice in his head warning him not to push her. That after spending over a week in the bunker, he’d gotten a good look behind the curtain. Witnessed the price they’d paid — their careers, their families — without any guarantee they’d be able to stop Finch. Clear Darwin’s name.
That she’d suffered, too.
An odd ringing sounded in his head as he knocked lightly on her door, then cracked it open before he could change his mind or she could tell him to fuck off. He slipped inside, leaned against the wall as Neve looked up from a book, eyes wary, a dim light illuminating her face.
God, she was stunning.
Blue eyes staring up at him, her rosy-pink lips, slightly parted. Instead of being pulled back in a ponytail, all her chestnut-colored hair cascaded around her shoulders, just waiting for him to wrap around his fingers. She had on an oversized tee, the fabric softly draping her curves.
She watched him for a few moments, then placed the book on the side table before slipping out from beneath the covers and pushing to her feet. The shirt fell to her mid-thighs, the soft blue tone a beautiful contrast to her pale skin as she shifted on her bare feet, looking as if she didn’t know whether to kiss him or toss him on his ass.
He dragged his gaze back to her face, loving the way she drew herself up, closing the distance between them with strong confident strides. She stopped entirely too close to suggest she had any other intentions but seeing this through.
That whatever the outcome, she’d made her decision.
Neve’s mouth quirked as she crossed her arms. “And here I thought you might actually sleep all night.”
