Break the Day - Lara Adrian Page 0,24
eyes still ablaze with amber fire and his fangs enormous in his mouth. She gave a faint shake of her head, her warm eyes wide and imploring.
As soon as he let Cruz go, the gang leader straightened, tugging at his leather jacket. He spat on the floor, then glanced around Rafe and motioned to Ocho. The other man came over carrying two thick stacks of banded hundred-dollar bills. Cruz gestured for Rafe to take them.
He scowled. “What’s this?”
“Your share of tonight’s proceeds.”
Damn. Apparently, they hadn’t wasted any time delivering the stolen artwork to their contact. Rafe figured they must have made the drop to Judah LaSalle not long after they’d cut and run on Devony and him at the museum.
Now that he was freed from Rafe’s punishing hold, some of his bravado returned. “I told you, it was a test tonight. Congrats, you crazy motherfucker, you passed.” Cruz smirked, self-satisfied, as Rafe took the money and put it in his jacket. “You need a reason why I’m the last person you want to kill, vampire? There’s fifty-thousand of ’em. Keep proving your worth like you did tonight, and that’s only the start.”
He brushed past him without another word to accept a fresh drink from Axel.
Devony stepped away too, walking over to where the men had divvied up the rest of the night’s take into similar stacks. She tucked hers into the inside pocket of her leather jacket, then with a murmured goodbye to the gang she started heading for the back door.
Rafe strode up to her before she reached the exit. “Where are you going?”
“What does it look like? I’m going home.”
He shouldn’t be surprised by her curt response. Although they had reached some kind of understanding with each other tonight, it hadn’t come on the friendliest of terms. He had pushed her into a corner and that was obviously not a place Devony was accustomed to staying.
She was tenacious and bold. Fearless, as he witnessed tonight.
He had to admire that about her.
He admired a lot about her, including a host of things that he shouldn’t. Not if he wanted to keep his head in the game and his focus on his mission. A beautiful, headstrong woman like Devony was only going to be a liability to him in the end.
He’d known that even before he put his hands on her to heal her tonight.
He hadn’t even directly touched her skin, yet feeling her beneath his palms had taken on an intimacy he wasn’t prepared for. Her heat, her strength, the softness of her curves combined with the preternatural, uniquely Breed power that simmered beneath the surface of everything that was so unmistakably feminine about her.
He had been awed by her unique psychic ability, but it was the woman who intrigued him more. Far more than he should be willing to allow.
And when Devony had placed her hand over his while he healed her in the park, he’d nearly gone up in flames. If he hadn’t pulled away, his desire for her would have incinerated the last shred of his control.
Even now, his fingertips vibrated with the indelible sensory memory of how she felt beneath his hands.
Inside, he smoldered with the need to touch her again.
To do much more than that.
“Hey, Brinks.” Fish jogged over holding a shot of whisky. He held it out for her. “You can’t leave without a little toast.”
“Sure.” She took the glass and wanly clinked it against his before taking a small sip.
Fish glanced at Rafe. “What about you, my man? Care to partake?”
“I never touch that shit.”
The human chuckled. “No worries, I got you covered. We’re heading out to one of the strip joints up the street. I’m sure you’ll find something to wet your whistle over there.”
With a cackle, he swaggered back to the rest of the gang.
Devony set her glass down without taking another sip. “Enjoy the show. I’m out of here.”
She walked out to the parking lot without a backward glance. A moment later, the low rumble of her motorcycle sounded as she sped away.
Shit.
Rafe knew he ought to just let her go.
His interests would be better served spending time with the gang, making sure they all got good and drunk so he could prod them for details about Judah LaSalle or anyone else who might be orchestrating their activities. Hell, this might be his first real opportunity to get close enough to trance each one of the humans and extract the information he needed directly from their minds.
But not while