man, crawling over a fence,
racing across someone’s private lawn and breaking into their house. The thrill
of the hunt seeped into her blood and had her heart pounding wildly. Or maybe
it was just the look in Julian’s eyes that held her so captivated.
At heart it didn’t matter either way to her what caused this
physical reaction—she felt drunk, utterly intoxicated by the thrill of what
they were about to do and the fact that she would be sharing it with this man.
Her life had never been one of sitting in the backseat and letting someone else
drive.
Liv was completely used to forging her own life and creating
her own luck. She knew she would never be the sort of girl who could settle
back and not be involved in everything. This would be the perfect opportunity
to show Julian that. Hopefully it wouldn’t turn him off too much. She had plans
for them later this evening.
Wild, wicked, sensual plans.
Flame checked her watch and nudged Blade’s arm. “We need to
get moving. Final briefing is in half an hour, then we’re due at the mansion an
hour after that.”
Everyone simultaneously dug into their wallets and piled
money on the table, leaving a hefty tip for the waitress. Liv scooted out of
the booth, followed a moment later by Julian.
“Is it wrong that I feel this excited?” she asked, the
question more rhetorical than real.
Julian snorted and shook his head. “We all get a buzz when a
mission becomes real,” he explained. “Anyone who says differently either is
burned out and needs to quit, or is a liar. Surely you get a buzz when you
finally get on the trail of a Retrieval? When you can feel a case come together
and it really starts to get moving?”
“Oh, yes,” she replied as they led the group out of the
diner. “But this still feels different—bigger. And it also feels faintly wrong
to be so excited and pumped when we’re effectively going to—”
Liv cut herself off with a wry grin as she realized she
probably shouldn’t really say what she’d been about to. “Do what we’re planning
to do,” she finished with a secretive little smile. “I’m really starting to get
giddy from the anticipation. I’ve never been on this side of the fence before.
Usually I’m Retrieving something that’s already been stolen. I can understand a
whole lot better why Kelly was unable to give this up. It’s a rush.”
“A dangerous one,” Julian said. “But we’ve planned this out
as well as we can. And with six of us on site, our chances are good that
nothing uncontrollable will happen. Besides, I’ll be watching your back. I
promise it will go smoothly.”
“Can you really promise that?” Liv asked with a smile as she
tilted her head thoughtfully to stare at the handsome blond. “Or can you just
promise that together we can handle anything the mission throws at us? You
realize, I hope, that I am quite capable. I figure that in any scenario that
occurs tonight, between us we can manipulate or manage and end up having it
work in our favor.”
“You’re supposed to stroke my ego,” Julian laughed, “tell me
what a big strong powerful man I am and how you trust me to watch that utterly
delectable ass of yours.”
Liv laughed and tossed her hair saucily back over her
shoulder. “I do trust you, handsome,” she said cheekily but also with the
weight of honesty firm in her words. “And you most certainly are a big, strong,
powerful man. But I’m an equal partner, here. I wanted to make that point.”
Julian nodded more seriously and stroked his fingers down
the side of her cheek in a gentle caress. He looked as if he were about to add
something, but Matt and Kelly came through the door with Blade and Flame right
behind them. The privacy of the moment was broken and Liv had to take a step
back from Julian as they formed a small, tight circle.
“We’ll call if anything else relevant comes up in the final
meeting,” Blade said. “Otherwise, Flame will expect to hear from you all
racing across someone’s private lawn and breaking into their house. The thrill
of the hunt seeped into her blood and had her heart pounding wildly. Or maybe
it was just the look in Julian’s eyes that held her so captivated.
At heart it didn’t matter either way to her what caused this
physical reaction—she felt drunk, utterly intoxicated by the thrill of what
they were about to do and the fact that she would be sharing it with this man.
Her life had never been one of sitting in the backseat and letting someone else
drive.
Liv was completely used to forging her own life and creating
her own luck. She knew she would never be the sort of girl who could settle
back and not be involved in everything. This would be the perfect opportunity
to show Julian that. Hopefully it wouldn’t turn him off too much. She had plans
for them later this evening.
Wild, wicked, sensual plans.
Flame checked her watch and nudged Blade’s arm. “We need to
get moving. Final briefing is in half an hour, then we’re due at the mansion an
hour after that.”
Everyone simultaneously dug into their wallets and piled
money on the table, leaving a hefty tip for the waitress. Liv scooted out of
the booth, followed a moment later by Julian.
“Is it wrong that I feel this excited?” she asked, the
question more rhetorical than real.
Julian snorted and shook his head. “We all get a buzz when a
mission becomes real,” he explained. “Anyone who says differently either is
burned out and needs to quit, or is a liar. Surely you get a buzz when you
finally get on the trail of a Retrieval? When you can feel a case come together
and it really starts to get moving?”
“Oh, yes,” she replied as they led the group out of the
diner. “But this still feels different—bigger. And it also feels faintly wrong
to be so excited and pumped when we’re effectively going to—”
Liv cut herself off with a wry grin as she realized she
probably shouldn’t really say what she’d been about to. “Do what we’re planning
to do,” she finished with a secretive little smile. “I’m really starting to get
giddy from the anticipation. I’ve never been on this side of the fence before.
Usually I’m Retrieving something that’s already been stolen. I can understand a
whole lot better why Kelly was unable to give this up. It’s a rush.”
“A dangerous one,” Julian said. “But we’ve planned this out
as well as we can. And with six of us on site, our chances are good that
nothing uncontrollable will happen. Besides, I’ll be watching your back. I
promise it will go smoothly.”
“Can you really promise that?” Liv asked with a smile as she
tilted her head thoughtfully to stare at the handsome blond. “Or can you just
promise that together we can handle anything the mission throws at us? You
realize, I hope, that I am quite capable. I figure that in any scenario that
occurs tonight, between us we can manipulate or manage and end up having it
work in our favor.”
“You’re supposed to stroke my ego,” Julian laughed, “tell me
what a big strong powerful man I am and how you trust me to watch that utterly
delectable ass of yours.”
Liv laughed and tossed her hair saucily back over her
shoulder. “I do trust you, handsome,” she said cheekily but also with the
weight of honesty firm in her words. “And you most certainly are a big, strong,
powerful man. But I’m an equal partner, here. I wanted to make that point.”
Julian nodded more seriously and stroked his fingers down
the side of her cheek in a gentle caress. He looked as if he were about to add
something, but Matt and Kelly came through the door with Blade and Flame right
behind them. The privacy of the moment was broken and Liv had to take a step
back from Julian as they formed a small, tight circle.
“We’ll call if anything else relevant comes up in the final
meeting,” Blade said. “Otherwise, Flame will expect to hear from you all
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