Page 86 of Broken
She thought about how Hawk had fooled the guard, but opted not to share that with him. He had enough going on without having to worry about her.
“Jack, you there?” he asked.
She blinked several times, returning to the moment.
“Jacqueline, are you safe?” he repeated.
All she heard was him calling her Jacqueline. The sensual way her name rolled off his tongue, the way his luscious mouth moved over the letters.
Her cheeks warmed.
“Yeah, I’m good.” She opened her laptop. “If you want to get started, let’s do it.”
He hitched an eyebrow and his gaze darkened.
“Doing it” would be the perfect escape. They’d steal away and bring each other the ultimate pleasure. Nothing but feels to balance out the mayhem.
“Weshoulddo it,” he murmured.
He sat beside her. His size dwarfed her, his achingly beautiful face mesmerized her. Prescott Armstrong was a powerful aphrodisiac.
Heaving down a breath, she pulled out her phone. “Let me share Ethan’s playlist with you.”
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said. “To everyone else, we’re two strangers working together.” He raked his gaze across her face. “But I know that if I touch you here—” he ran his long finger down the nape of her neck, and a moan escaped from the back of her throat— “you like that.”
“And I know if I caress your thigh, you’ll harden.” She sat tall, leaned close. “But I’m not. There’s a killer out there hunting down his next target. If we get something done in the next few days, I’ll let you take very good care of me.”
His lips parted, a groan ripping from his throat.
She had to put space between them or she’d maul him. Pushing out of the chair, she grabbed a bottle of water and filled their glasses.
“You didn’t say anything to Ethan about coloring on the table. I was wondering how you’d handle that.”
“I’m pretty sure it comes off.” Prescott pressed the glass against his lip and sipped. Cool, clear water slid into his mouth, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he drank it down.
She had never met anyone who captured her attention so completely, but they were losing precious time, something they had very little of.
After squaring her shoulders, she said, “I need to take what appear to be random facts or information about four different people and find commonalities.”
“Understood.”
She asked basic information like the victim’s names, years with ALPHA, prior professional experience. Although Hawk and Addison weren’t killed, she had to include them in her profile to determine what they had in common with the first two Operatives.
Both Gloria and Bert had been with ALPHA for over a decade. Gloria had prior law enforcement experience. She’d been a detective. Bert had military experience.
“Can you show me their files?”
“It would be easier if I gave you access,” Prescott replied.
“That would be great. I can work at night.”
“Too bad you don’t have anything better to do in the evenings.”
Her lips tugged up at the corners. “I will, soon enough. And if you’re lucky—very lucky—maybe you will too.”
12
PRESCOTT’S NEW NORMAL
