Mine To Protect (Mine #6)(21)

“That’s because I’m still getting used to the way I want you.” His voice deepened. “I should have more control. I should keep my hands off you, but I can’t.”

Oh, wow. She sucked in a deep breath. Then another. “I was actually, um, not talking about us.” She wet her lips. “I meant the shooting. The hitman.” Taking a life.

A muscle jerked in his jaw. “Not anything to talk about there. It was kill or be killed. Only one choice to make.”

He sounded so cold. “You don’t have to be that way, with me.” And she kept her gaze on him. “You don’t have to shut me out like you do everyone else. You can talk to me. Tell me how you feel. How you really feel. Tell me your secrets—”

“Will you tell me yours?”

The question caught her off-guard.

“No, wait, forget it.” He raked a hand through his hair. “You want to know how I feel?”

Maybe. Maybe not.

“I feel like the guy had it too easy at the end. He wanted to kill you, Zoe. He was hunting you like prey. He wasn’t stopping. His only goal was to take your life, and shit, he almost succeeded. When I think of how close he came to killing you…” His hands grabbed the armrests on either side of his body and held tight. “I want to shoot him all over again.”

That wasn’t the response she’d expected.

He laughed, and the sound was bitter. “Wrong answer, huh? Not what an FBI agent is supposed to say, is it?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never asked another FBI agent that question.”

His stare raked over her. “You were supposed to be so much easier to handle.”

Unease slithered through her. “You’re…handling me now?”

He smiled at her. A smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Nothing new there, he was always so guarded. Too guarded. “My job is to be your handler. Your protector.”

“Why?”

His smile dimmed.

“When we first met…” Not a happy memory. Not even close. She’d been held captive in a basement, with a bomb strapped to her chest. Another of her father’s enemies had been planning to kill her. “I asked you to just let me vanish. I wanted to disappear, not get sucked into the FBI’s web.”

“My boss had other plans.”

“And just who is this boss of yours?”

“Assistant Director Percy Chase.”

“Yes, okay, that name means nothing to me.” But the fact that he was finally talking to her—actually sharing information about the FBI—that mattered. “Why didn’t you just let me go? Why didn’t the FBI let me disappear?” At first, she’d thought she was safe, but that illusion had been shattered fast.

The FBI had always been watching her.

Always.

“Your father…he’s supposed to be working with us, did you know that?”

Now she was shocked. “Luther Bates never works with the cops.”

“He does…if we have something he wants badly enough.”

No, no, no. The plane jostled then, hitting some turbulence, and her heart shuddered.

“Do you know what Luther wants?” Victor asked her, voice completely devoid of emotion.

“Luther wants his freedom.” This she knew. “He wants to be back out on the streets and back in full power.”

Victor nodded, but he said, “Don’t hold back, Zoe.”

“He wants me.” She said those words in a quick rush, like they were a dark secret that no one else should hear.

“He does. You’re his family, Zoe. He wants to make sure that you’re protected. The FBI pulled you back in…because that’s part of the deal we have with him.”

“I don’t think I want to hear anymore.” She didn’t. Not another word about her bastard of a father. She’d already figured this out, anyway. After all, she’d known there must have been a reason she had FBI guards. Why they were trying to keep her alive. Why—

“As long as you stay alive. Luther has promised that he’ll cooperate with us. And he has been…giving up some bits and pieces about his empire. Telling us about his enemies. Their organizations. Helping us to make drug busts. To stop cartels. To find shipments of weapons.” He gave a grim shake of his head. “Luther may be behind bars, but he still knows exactly what is happening on the streets.”

“Because he still has control.” Another jostle of the plane had her whole body tensing.

Victor started to speak. She saw his lips part, but then he stopped.

“What?” Zoe asked.

No answer.

“Victor…”

He unhooked his seat belt and came to sit beside her. “You’re afraid.”

The plane jerked again. “The plane won’t stop bouncing.” And to think, she’d been so impressed by the fancy jet. Not anymore.

He checked her seat belt, then twined her fingers with his. “You’re safe.”

Sharp laughter escaped her. “You tell me that a lot, but…” She squeezed his hand. “I don’t always believe you,” she confessed.

“I know.” He lifted their twined fingers and kissed her knuckles. “I’m working on that issue.”