Hitman vs Hitman - L.A. Witt Page 0,95
expertly taking people out only weeks after being shot through the gut, not that August was worried about him or anything—then he wouldn’t spoil it by acting like a little bitch. “Two for the price of one?” he asked with a forced smirk. “Kinky.”
“Not exactly.” Ricardo narrowed his eyes. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing! I think it’s lovely you’re getting back in the game. Heidi obviously has confidence that you can pull it off and that’s…just…so nice.”
“Do you think I can’t?”
“Did I say that?” August rejoined him, taking another long sip of martini. He should probably slow down. On the other hand, Ricardo was getting up off the lounge chair and heading this way, so maybe he should finish the drink while he still could. No. Don’t be a coward. He put the drink down on the bar and folded his arms over his chest.
“I know you can handle it,” August said with perfect honesty. “I’m just…annoyed.”
Ricardo stopped right in front of him, less than an inch from touching him. “By what?”
“By the end of all of this.” He twirled one finger in a little circle, trying to indicate everything from “us” to “the island of Malta” to “the world as I want it” in one gesture.
“You wanted a longer vacation before going back to work?”
“It’s not about what I want, it’s—wait, what?” August’s mind flicked him out of tirade mode, like a record that had skipped back to the beginning of a song. “Me going back to work?”
“It’s a double,” Ricardo pointed out. “I never take those unless I’m working with someone else. The logistics are too complicated. And I’ve never worked with anyone else.” Apart from you, his eyes said even if he didn’t let the words come out of his mouth. From Ricardo, it was as good as a declaration.
“Oh.” August’s smile slowly came back and began to grow. “Oh. So what you’re saying is that you made Heidi adopt me.”
“No,” Ricardo denied, but he didn’t quite meet August’s eyes as he slid his hands around his waist, pulling them closer together. “I just told her that in the future, more complicated jobs would be an option, because…” He shrugged. “Because we’ve got a broader skillset together.”
“Aw, Ricky!” August nuzzled at the side of his neck, tracing up the thick muscle there with the edge of his teeth. “If you wanted to go steady, you just had to ask. You didn’t have to set up a job together to convince me it was a good idea, although babe—that’s completely awesome, hashtag couple goals!”
“Not so much a goal as an acknowledgement of reality,” Ricardo said, finally looking at August. His eyes were dark and serious, despite the little smile playing around his mouth. “Neither of us is going to change for each other, but the good thing is, we don’t have to. I know how fucked up you are. You’ve got an idea of how fucked up I am. There’s no layer of secrecy required when it comes to our jobs. It’s better than a lot of people ever do.”
“Aw, you really do want to go steady.” August batted his eyelashes, and Ricardo rolled his eyes in response. “And yeah, by the way. I do want to do this.” He kissed Ricardo on the mouth, hard enough to sting but not bruise.
“So,” he said with a grin as he pulled back. “Tell me about the job.”
About the Authors
Cari Z. is a Colorado girl who loves snow and sunshine. She writes award-winning LGBTQ fiction featuring aliens, supervillains, soothsayers, and even normal people sometimes
Cari has published short stories, novellas and novels with numerous print and e-presses, and she also offers up a tremendous amount of free content on Literotica.com, under the name Carizabeth. Follow her blog to read her serial stories, with new chapters posting every week.
Want to follow along or get in touch? No problem!
Website: http://cari-z.net
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @author_cariz
L.A. Witt and her husband have been exiled from Spain and sent to live in Maine because rhymes are fun. She now divides her time between writing, assuring people she is aware that Maine is cold, wondering where to put her next tattoo, and trying to reason with a surly Maine coon. Rumor has it her arch nemesis, Lauren Gallagher, is also somewhere in the wilds of New England, which is why L.A. is also spending a portion of her time training a team of spec ops lobsters. Authors Ann Gallagher and Lori A. Witt have been asked to assist in lobster training, but they "have books to write" and "need to focus on our careers" and "don't you think this rivalry has gotten a little out of hand?" They're probably just helping Lauren raise her army of squirrels trained to ride moose into battle.
Website: www.gallagherwitt.com
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @GallagherWitt