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“Well, she has a lot of experience and was taking over the Copper Po
t before I left,” Nina said to him.
“They hired a new manager, so she’s pretty pissed off. I know for a fact everyone is thrilled that you’re back. Paulie’s been hounding all of us for information,” he said to her, and Nina nodded but didn’t elaborate or comment on what Brutas said to her.
Jessup wondered who Paulie was. Again, he felt jealous. He stared at Nina and absorbed her beauty. He wanted to remember her, the scent of her perfume, the sweet softness of her voice. He wanted to pull her into his arms right now and kiss her, but one look at his team and their firm, angry expressions and he knew he couldn’t make a move and react like he wanted to. Besides, what the hell did he have to offer Nina? She was young, professional, and had her whole life ahead of her, and they were battered, broken down, and covered with scars and battle wounds. They knew nothing but fighting, infiltrating enemy lines, and facing danger and death head-on. How could they ask her to wait for them? To be more like a kept woman than an equal, a partner in life—hell, a wife? His gut clenched tighter. He cleared his throat and refocused. He had to let her go. It wouldn’t work out.
* * * *
“Any new information on who killed Zinc or what he was involved in?” she asked Brutas.
He didn’t respond right away. “Not really. I can fill you in later on some of the details. It’s not looking too good, though. Storm has some people involved now, too.”
She didn’t ask more questions. She didn’t want the men to hear about what she’d faced and how what Zinc might’ve done, if he was guilty, was damaging to her own reputation. Instead, she remained still until the SUV slowed to a stop.
Nina wasn’t going to move from her seat when the SUV stopped at the warehouse, but she couldn’t do that. It would be rude to not say thank you or good-bye.
So when Brutas helped to carry the bags to the door of some old building the guys said was a supply house, and not where they lived, she stepped out of the SUV.
“Well, thanks for everything. Be safe,” she whispered to Freeman and then stepped forward to kiss his cheek. He held stiff and inhaled, but he didn’t hug her or kiss her back. Atlanta was next to him. He reached out and caressed her cheek.
“Take care of yourself.” He then quickly walked away to help Brutas.
Corona had his laptop in his arms.
“Be safe and stay alert.” He then leaned down to kiss her cheek. He kept his lips against her cheek, and she held on to his arms, and it was as if he didn’t want to let go, just like she didn’t. “It’s better this way. You knew what this was from the start,” he whispered to her, and instantly, his words hurt, despite their truth.
She swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat as Jessup stood by her, arms crossed and looking like his angry, pissed-off self.
He looked her body over, and damn it, her nipples hardened and her pussy swelled. She was so screwed. No man would ever come close to these men or ever touch the amount of emotion they’d stirred in her. She wanted to tell them that she loved them, but she couldn’t. It would make it worse for them. They had a job to do, missions to go on, and lives to lead that didn’t involve a commitment to a young club manager who they saw as barely experienced in life.
“Be safe, Jessup. All of you,” she said, and Brutas returned, and she stepped into the passenger seat of the SUV. She glanced back at the men to see if they would watch her go, but they didn’t. They headed inside of the building, not even giving her a second glance, and suddenly, all she wanted to do was cry.
Fifteen minutes later, Brutas walked her up to her apartment and helped her with her bags. He stood in her doorway with his arms crossed as she took in the sight of the place she called her home.
“Are you okay?” he asked her.
She gave him a nod, despite the fact that tears filled her eyes.
“I’ll be just fine. I guess I’ll see you at the club this week?” she asked him.
“I’ll be around. Things have been crazy since Nalia was located. Team Thirteen is heading home with her, and there are various events going on. We took care of everything with Zinc, but you need to meet with Cramer. Viktor put him in charge of the investigation of Zinc’s and Cobra’s murders, and it seems that something fishy was going on.”
“What do you mean?” she asked him.
“I shouldn’t say. It’s just something Cramer uncovered. You need to meet with him.”
“Okay. But why can’t you tell me what you heard?”
Brutas seemed uncomfortable as he shifted his feet and looked away from her a moment. She had a feeling this was going to be bad news. Before she’d left Texas with the guys, Viktor had informed them that there wasn’t a connection to Nalia’s disappearance and that it was a completely different situation. Corona and the guys wouldn’t go into any details about where Nalia was found, who took her, or if they caught the ones responsible. Why couldn’t Brutas just be honest with her? After all, this was her problem now.
“I like you, Nina. I’ve always felt protective of you, and it was because I could see how hard life has been for you and how you work so hard to have a better life. It just pisses me off to think that Zinc and Cobra were looking for some easy side money. I don’t want to believe that he was letting some bad shit into the club. Word is he made some kind of deal and came into some money, but no one knows where that money is. That’s what they’re working on. Well, that, and who he was working for.”
“No. He wouldn’t go against Viktor. Viktor saved his life, and he saved mine. What else do you know? Have you heard anything on the streets?”
He scrunched his eyes together and glared at her as if her question triggered some unpleasant thought, or maybe just at the fact that she’d asked him that. He looked pissed off, as if he didn’t want to tell her.
“Tell me,” she said to him.
