Blaze Read Free

sunscreen. And he looked . . . amazing. Absolutely mind-numbingly amazing.
    Asshole.
    â€œYyyyyeah. You could say that.” His tone suggested an unsavory subject. He squinted at Angus. “Sir, can I have a word?”
    Goddamned sonofabitch . Keira’s millisecond of admiration splintered, and the hurt and anger from their past boiled to the surface. “If you have something to say, Agent Ransom, say it to my face.”
    Luke’s eyes reconnected to hers with a cold snap. He shifted his weight and cocked his hip, a move she’d once found sexy but which now struck her as arrogant.
    â€œOkay, Agent O’Shay.” He put the same venom on her title as she had on his. “Are you qualified to do this job, or are you just a pretty face for the news cameras? ’Cause I’m risking my ass here, and I’m sure as hell not doing it for you.”
    Air siphoned into her throat with the sucking sound of a gut-punch. Her stomach responded with a painful hitch. After so much time, he could still stab her right in the heart.
    That came out really fucking wrong.
    The thought drifted from Luke, but his expression remained unchanged. And after that greeting, he didn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt.
    She forced the imprisoned air out of her lungs. Refused to wince at the pain centered beneath her ribs. And faced Angus.
    â€œI’m not going to recite my résumé for this . . .” Pissant . “If he doesn’t trust me, get someone else to take me in.”
    The ATF commander invaded the group. “Problem here?”
    â€œNo.” Luke’s chin went up. Stubborn sonofabitch never changed. “No problem.”
    â€œThen get on with this before that fucker starts throwing bodies out windows.”
    Luke’s boss stomped toward their camp, wiping the sweat from his bald head with a handkerchief.
    Keira pulled off her ball cap, tossed it on the hood of the truck, smoothed her hair into a ponytail, and pulled on her helmet.
    â€œKeira,” Angus said, “ is there a problem here?”
    Hell, yes . “Nope.” Two could play this game. “I don’t give a flying fuck whether he goes or not. I can handle this on my own.”
    You always could. Never needed anyone. Sure as hell never needed me.
    Luke’s thoughts pierced her skull. She gritted her teeth and forced them out. Luke Ransom’s head was the very last place on earth she belonged.
    â€œPlay nice, Keira,” Angus directed in low tone before refocusing on the map and circling an area of the main building with his dark finger. “We have reports of your target in this area. If you position yourself here”—he tapped the paper—“you have opportunities for shots here and here. This is your point of entrance. This your exit. Got it?”
    Keira nodded once, her gaze scouring the floor plan she’d already memorized.
    Angus dropped a hand on her shoulder. “Alive is preferred. Dead is perfectly acceptable.”
    Ice spread through her belly, but she met his intense eyes. “Yes, sir.”
    â€œYour call sign is Sniper Six.” He gave her a gentle push off. “Be careful out there.”
    â€œYes, sir.” She started toward the building without waiting for Luke. Her legs pumped hard in an effort to put space between them, but he caught up to her in seconds.
    â€œKeira.” He pulled her around by the arm. “What the hell is going on?”
    Her lungs decompressed on a whoosh of air. Three long years she’d imagined all the possible ways they might connect again. What they might say. How it might go. None ever slumped to this level. So many daydreams wasted. So many fantasies shattered.
    She dug in her pocket for the two photos. The first landed against his chest with a satisfying thump. “This is the man I’m going to either capture or kill.” When he took the photo, she hit him with the second. “This is the kid