Page 79 of Striker
“Be careful,” she whispered. They were almost through this. Almost reunited. So close, yet so far away.
“Nothing’s stopping me from getting back to you, Mol.” His voice was thick with yearning.
Worry coiled around her ribs. “Ninety minutes?”
“You have my word.” The deep rumble of his voice touched something inside her. Atlas took her comfort and safety so seriously. He cared about what she thought and felt. Cared about her fears.
There was no other man like him.
“Call me when you land in the city and I’ll pick you up.”
“You got it. Ninety minutes.”
She chuckled at the second confirmation. They ended the call and she left the bedroom with a smile still on her face. Viper was dressed in his military gear. He was so large and imposing she couldn’t help but shrink back an inch.
“You okay with this?” Yet another man who cared about her safety. He shifted his weight and scowled as if he liked this situation as little as she did.
“I’ll be fine. Can you give me a ride to my apartment?”
His mouth firmed. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Why don’t you stay here?”
A crushing sense of dismay filled her. She shook her head adamantly. “No. I’ll feel more comfortable if I’m not trapped in one spot. I’m not even going inside my building. I just want to get my car and drive, maybe hang out at a café or somewhere else that’s public until Atlas returns.”
He swished his lips to the side. “Grab a sweater,” he said, clearly against the idea but not willing to fight her on it.
She chuckled. “It’s like eighty-five degrees out.”
He hiked up his eyebrows. “It might get breezy.”
She rolled her eyes. As if a breeze would kill her. She went back to the bedroom to grab her zip-up hoodie. Were all the Phantom Ops guys so darn protective?
She returned to the living room and followed Viper out the door. He led her to the parking garage, and she couldn’t stop her cheeks from heating as people stared. Not only was he a soldier—his gear and sheer size made him look murderous.
“Does everyone just stare at you like that?”
He flicked a glance her way. “Like what?”
“I dunno. Like you’re the terminator.”
He barked out a laugh. “Never really noticed, I guess.”
He opened the passenger door of the SUV and waited for her to climb in. Then he rounded the vehicle and turned on the engine. They rolled through the narrow space that seemed to shrink in height with every passing foot.
Finally, they were outside. Streetlights turned on below the dusky sky as Viper drove through downtown.
Being outside of the hotel made her tense. She’d been safe in that room, high above the ground with military men surrounding her.
Now, she was as vulnerable as an exposed nerve.
She puffed out her cheeks as they drew closer and closer to her apartment building.
“Just know, Rex is caught,” he said, breaking the silence. “He can’t get to you or send someone after you. You’re the least of his worries right now.”
“I know. I’m not worried about that, really. It’s just strange being out—returning to my place even though I’m not going inside.”
“Mmm. Yeah, I suspect you have PTSD.”
“Atlas mentioned the guy . . . um, you know . . . the one who attacked me. That he was ‘taken care of.’ Is his body gone? Did you . . . ?”
