Into the Lair (Falcon Mercenary Group #2)(40)

“You’re not funny,” Ian snarled.

Despite herself, Katie burst out laughing. She wiped at the corners of her eyes as tears gathered. She sucked in a breath and kept laughing.

“Apparently Katie thinks so,” Braden said smugly.

She swiped at her eyes again and wheezed as she tried to regain her composure. When she looked up, though, she saw a glimmer of amusement in Ian’s eyes. She relaxed a bit in her seat and then groaned when the movement sent a fresh wave of pain through her gut.

“You okay?” Braden asked gently.

She closed her eyes briefly as she ran her hand over the thick bandage covering her wound. “It hurts like a bitch.”

“You need stitches,” Ian said. “There’ll be a doctor to see you when we land. It’s a pretty bad cut.”

“You dressed it?” she asked.

“Yeah, it was full of dirt. Needed to be cleaned or you’d get one hell of an infection.”

She glanced down. The whole reason her wound had been so nasty was because she’d run fast and hard. Neither man had said anything about the fact she’d taken off again, but what else was she supposed to do when faced with a bloodthirsty predator? Still she felt guilty—for what, not trusting them? The funny thing was she did—well, when they weren’t snarling cats.

“I’d like the inhibitor and the sedative,” she said quietly.

“I’m not as keen to give it to you as Ian is,” Braden said dryly. “I want some assurances before we just hand that shit over.”

Her gaze jerked back up to his. “Assurances? What kind of assurances do you want? You sure as hell can’t offer me the one I need most, mainly that you won’t turn into kitty cats on steroids and make dinner out of me.”

“How ’bout that you don’t use the sedative unless it’s a last resort,” Braden said. “Seems to me we’ll be handing you the perfect weapon for you to escape whether we shift or not. I think we’ve proven that we have your best interests in mind here. I want your word this crap is going to stop.”

“And you’d accept my word? That’s pretty stupid,” she taunted. “I’d lie in a heartbeat to protect my interests.” Why, oh why couldn’t she just shut up? She was fully prepared to offer them something—an olive branch? But she just couldn’t keep her fear, her insecurity, from surging up, and then she became a defensive, surly bitch on wheels.

“Thanks for the warning,” Ian said.

She moved her gaze to him, searching his expression, for what she wasn’t certain. Earlier, her fear of him seemed to bother him, and even now his eyes were guarded. Had she hurt him? It seemed odd that she’d have that kind of power. Did she like this man? Did she trust him? Before he’d changed into a freaking jaguar, she’d found herself softening toward him, and yet by shifting, he’d saved her. He hadn’t come after her. His ire had been directed at Ricardo. Coincidence? She couldn’t decide.

“What were you saying about a safe house a while ago? And now that you’ve got me out of the country, what next?”

“Just a change in plans,” Ian replied. “We had a place set up in France but we’re going to Austria instead. As for what’s next, we go there and lay low until Eli and Falcon nail Esteban.”

“Esteban is the man after me?” she asked.

He nodded. “He’s the one responsible for the chemical agent that turned us into shifters.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Why does he want me? What could he possibly want with me now that Gabe is dead and he can’t use me against him?”

“That’s a good question,” Braden interjected. “We don’t have any idea. But we promised Gabe we’d make sure you were safe.”

“And what then?” she asked. “What happens when there is no longer a threat to me? I can’t go back and pick up where I left off. I may have gotten away with killing Paulo, but now there is a vehicle with my fingerprints all over it and several dead bodies that I’m sure the police wouldn’t have to work hard to pin on me.”

“We’ll figure it out, Katie,” Ian said quietly. “We aren’t going to let you go down for that scumbag de la Cruz.”

She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. It was tempting as hell to take that promise and hold it close, but she couldn’t afford to be such a moron. No matter that Ian and Braden wanted to look out for her, she’d be a damn fool to place her trust so implicitly. But hadn’t she already? The whole saying about leaving the barn door open came readily to mind. The fact was, she did trust them. She didn’t want to. She thought she was dumb to, but it didn’t alter the fact that deep inside, she knew, she just knew that they weren’t out to screw her. Did that make her an even bigger dumbass?

A warm hand slid over her cheek, startling her into opening her eyes. She found Braden leaning down, his fingers stroking over her bruised cheekbone.

“I know you don’t trust us, Katie, but we aren’t going to hurt you.”

His voice was warm and vibrant and slid over her skin like the softest of blankets. She wanted to wrap herself in those words and hold them tight, like a talisman. She wanted to tell him that she did trust him. But she wanted a lot of things, and it didn’t mean they were good for her. And she was uncomfortable giving them that kind of power over her.