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I eased forward and carefully touched Phillip’s shoulder. “I’d appreciate it very much if you got off my partner now.”
“Partner?” Despite his clear confusion, Phillip’s hold eased and Nigel was set loose.
My dark-eyed boyfriend brushed off the bits of ground still clinging to his clothes before coming to stand beside me, our position all but exposed now. “What are you doing here?”
“Thought I answered that question,” Phillip retorted coolly, blue eyes stealing several glances at me. “I’m hunting a vampire, same as you. I wanted to see how well you tackled one this old, but now I see you’re not alone.” Phillip adjusted his shirt, flashing strong abs to my unprepared eyes.
Don’t you dare stare, V. You’re a vampire hunter. You’re a badass chick. You WILL NOT be seduced by a perfect set of abs.
Lord, was I always this hungry for a sneak peek at someone’s body? Guilt was back like cancer, spreading in my chest and taking my body and mind hostage.
Phillip relaxed his shoulders, his lips swept up and eyes directed at me and me alone. “The Organization sent me here to help Rose with training you. I’ll be your partner from this day forward. Congratulations.”
The dude was beyond rude, but I didn’t feel like now was the time to say so. If he was really sent from the Organization, that still made him my superior. I didn’t like it, but even I wasn’t ballsy enough to be insubordinate.
Still, the very idea of being stuck with the dangerously sexy Hunter did things to me that I’d rather not acknowledge.
I’m seriously going to Hell.
“You mean bodyguard,” I corrected, not at all convinced that he was sent to be my partner.
The dude looked like he was a top-notch Hunter, and it was all right there in the weaponry he carried. Some of that stuff only went out to the best Hunters. Top Hunters didn’t take proteges or train. Their missions were complicated and a level of difficulty that made training impossible. Often, their partners were already assigned and rarely was it an amateur like me.
Which begged the question, why? Why would they send someone to guard me when I was perfectly capable of watching myself?
As if he knew what I was thinking, Phillip smiled in a way that stole a couple beats of my heart. “You’re awful clever. I can see why the Organization is so determined to keep you safe.”
Nigel, who’d been quiet up to that point, took a step in front of me, effectively blocking Phillip’s view. “Why would they send someone when Rose made it clear I was here?”
“Because we don’t like to rely on outsiders to do an insider job. Rose was given limited permission where you’re concerned. But that’s over. V needs formal training and special attention. That’s what they sent me for.”
My pocket buzzed, and I glanced down at a bright screen where Grams’s message about Phillip drove the reality home. He was sent there by the Organization, and Grams’s text detailed how he’d be joining us on the mission soon. It was encrypted in code, but code-reading was second nature to me now.
A little too late, Grams. The dude was already here causing a massive stir. Not the best tactical move, but who was I to complain?
I looked up, finally noticing both sets of eyes on me. “Grams says he is who he says he is.”
Nigel clicked his tongue and stole a quick look at the screen as if he didn’t believe me. Not that he’d be able to read any of it. Our encrypted code was for she and I alone. No one else. Because as a Hunter, we trusted no one.
His confused expression confirmed my theory. “I don’t care what the Organization says or doesn’t say. This has nothing to do with you.”
“So, should I tell them that one of ours is in a taboo relationship with a werewolf, or do you want to?” Phillip asked calmly, his face removed of emotion.
Nigel’s eyes were amber beams. “Is that a threat?”
“Just a question. I doubt they’ll be happy to know the two of you have formed a relationship beyond the scope of your outlined duties.”
Okay, that’s enough.
“Stop,” I growled, cutting them both off. “I’m the youngest one here, but even I know how to act like an adult when the situation calls for it. This is neither the time nor the place. We have a vampire to take down.”
Phillip’s eyes danced with obvious delight, while Nigel’s couldn’t be any farther from that emotion if he tried. I didn’t care either way. Our bickering would give away our position more than it already had. I didn’t intend to lose our target because no one else knew how to table that shit until it was an appropriate time to talk about it.
What, was I the only one not suffering from a superiority complex in this group of misfits?
“I really wish I was old enough to drink,” I grumbled under my breath, crouched directly in the middle of two gorgeous men and not the least happy about it. “Let’s just team up for tonight and talk about this later.”
“A woman after my own heart,” Phillip remarked, stoking what were once embers to now bursting flames. Made evident by Nigel’s expression when it all but twisted in on itself. “We’ll be amazing partners.”
