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“What are you thinking about?” Erica scooted up the bed until she was sitting with her back to her pillow, which was now leaning against the headboard.
“So you’re definitely not going to go back to sleep, I see,” he told her.
“Nope. Hard to sleep.” She shook her head. “Too much to process right now.”
He could see it in her eyes. The pain of all that had happened to her crushed him. He wanted to kiss her, to hold her, to tell her everything was going to be okay. But he couldn’t. Maybe it was selfish of him in a way, but he knew another touch would ruin him. He would forget his plan, his self-imposed mission and make love to her again. That wouldn’t be good. Not one damn bit.
“Have you thought about talking to Sam about what happened?” he asked her. Though he didn’t care for mumbo jumbo psychological BS, Sam O’Leary might be the only man he would ever consider going to see. He wouldn’t of course. It wasn’t something he could do. Sharing. Opening up. Honesty. Not part of the job. Not part of the mission. Not part of his makeup. Not one damn bit.
“Maybe,” she answered. “I just don’t know what I need to do. I’m a complete mess, Dylan. I have been ever since the Felix incident. After what happened with the Russians, I’m a wreck. I’m scared of my own shadow.” Her voice began to crack.
Like it or not, he had to hold her. She needed him right now. The mission, his mission, to get Erica and Cam together as a couple, would have to wait. He grabbed her and squeezed.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. You’re dealing with a ton of things. There are operatives in the Agency that haven’t seen the kind of action you’ve dealt with. It’s a lot.”
“Yes, it is,” Cam said, letting him know that he, too, was now awake. “You’re doing great, baby. Trust me. You’ll get through it.”
“I hope you two are right. I just don’t know.” Erica leaned her head into Dylan’s chest and he felt his hardened heart soften. “I want to go back to our lessons at the gun range. You will do that for me, won’t you?”
“Yes, I’ll do it,” he said. Time to get the mission underway. “I think Cam should join us. Don’t you? He’s quite the shot as you saw in Denver.”
She nodded and then he saw the subtle signs of her anxiety pop up. Her quivering lips. Her shallow breathing. Her clenched fists. He’d made a mistake mentioning Denver. It had clearly taken her back to last night in the warehouse.
“What time is it?” Cam asked, obviously sensing the change in her, too.
“Late. Nearly eleven,” he told him. “We should all go back to sleep. We can hit the gun range in the morning.”
“That sounds great to me,” she said, her dark mood lightening. “What time?”
“Eager, are you?” He grinned and touched her cheek. “How about nine? We can grab a bite at the diner.”
“Let me have my phone. I can text Scott and Eric and tell them I’m going to be in late and make sure they don’t mind. I know the gun range at the house is soundproof, but I don’t want to come over uninvited.”
“Your phone was trashed,” Cam told her.
“What about my laptop?”
“It’s at TBK. The Texans have it. I think it’s salvageable.” Cam kissed her on the back of the neck. “I’m awake now. I have an idea we might all enjoy.”
“You do?” she asked coyly, clearly warming up to what Cam was suggesting. “What about you Dylan? Are you fully awake?”
His cock sure was, already lengthening to the max. He knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help himself. One more taste of the forbidden fruit and then he would get back on track with the steps he’d planned for them. Just one. No more.
“You tell me if I’m awake or not.” He traced his fingertips down her shoulders and then took her naked breasts in his hand. God, he couldn’t get enough of her. Erica was the perfect package.
“You’re definitely awake,” she giggled.
As he devoured her lips with his, the plan whirled in his mind.
He would hate leaving her, leaving his brother, leaving Destiny. But he must. Erica and Cam’s happiness depended on it.
* * * *
Erica held the Glock in her hands. Cam and Dylan were behind her. The target silhouette of the man was thirty yards ahead in the enclosed gun range below the Knight mansion. She had the earplugs in as did both the Strange brothers. Strange? That was the right word for everything in her life now. It was Monday. She should be at work, but when she’d texted Eric and Scott the night before, they had demanded she take the week off. She wouldn’t. She would go in later today. It was what she needed, though she wasn’t sure if it would get her back to normal. What was normal? Nothing would be ever again.
She felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around, keeping the pistol pointed ahead.
Cam mouthed the words “Do it.”
