She attempted an indifferent shrug. “Just getting ready in case it turns out I am.”
He strode farther inside without waiting for her permission, bringing with him the woodsy scent of his clean skin and hair, and that more elusive masculine spice that twined around her sense like a drug.
“I didn’t take you for the type to give up that easily on something you want.”
“Well, life is full of little disappointments. I find it helps to be prepared.” She placed her boots on the floor, then seated herself on the edge of the bed to relieve some of the pain in her abused soles. “Did they show you the news reports from this morning?”
“I saw them. I think the whole world’s seen them by now.”
“God.” Kaya exhaled a quiet curse. “I’m sorry, Aric. I really screwed things up today. Probably for both of us.”
He lifted his shoulder. “Our exit strategy could have used more finesse, but things could’ve been a hell of a lot worse.”
“I killed that guard,” she reminded him.
“Only after he fired at your partner. Our mission objective was fucked as soon as that gun went off. Nothing you did after that would’ve changed the way it all went to hell. Besides, we still managed to come out of there with valuable intel that not only gives the Order license to go after Mercier, but also brings us closer than ever to one of Opus Nostrum’s members. And that’s all credit to you, Kaya.”
She slanted him a wary look. “Are you just trying to make me feel good? If so, don’t bother.”
“If I was trying to make you feel good, believe me, you wouldn’t have to ask. You’d know it.”
Her cheeks flared hot at the way his low voice caressed those words. She didn’t want to acknowledge the awareness that had sparked between them from the instant they first met--awareness that had only intensified during their shared mission today.
“You don’t have to be nice to me, Aric. I own my mistakes.”
“So do I,” he said. “And we both made some critical ones today. You may have complicated things for us by taking out that guard, but under the same circumstances I would’ve done the same thing. And that’s what I told Lucan and Nikolai today.”
“You did?”
He nodded. “I also told them I was the one who fucked up even more by not scrubbing Stephan Mercier’s memories before I left the pavilion to look for you. That was my job, and I didn’t do it. He’s probably already been in touch with Opus Nostrum to let them know something wasn’t right about us.”
Kaya had considered that unfortunate likelihood before now too. “I said it was my fault you didn’t have time to scrub him. If I had paused long enough to let you know what I was doing, you wouldn’t have needed to come looking for me. You could have been erasing our tracks with Mercier while I went after his Opus contact at the reception.”
Aric grunted, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You saying you covered my ass, partner? Here I was, thinking you only wanted to drop me on it.”
She laughed in spite of the weight of her worries. Her chances of making the Order as a teammate may have dried up today, but at this moment, she relished the feeling of camaraderie she shared with Aric Chase. She had dismissed him as an arrogant, entitled jackass when they met, but looking at him now she felt a strengthening respect that surprised her.
And the start of a caring she wasn’t prepared for at all.
“You did good today,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure I told you that before I clear out of here and head back to D.C.”
“You’re leaving?” Why the hell that idea should put a pang of disappointment in her breast, she had no idea. “When will you go?”
“As soon as tonight, probably. This trip to Montreal was just a detour. Until Lucan called me with the Mercier assignment, Rafe and I were on our way to D.C. with the woman we brought with us from London.”
“Oh. Right, of course.” Kaya hadn’t been introduced to Siobhan O’Shea, but Mira had filled her in on the awful ordeal the shy Breedmate had endured the night that Aric and Rafe had rescued her and taken her into the protective custody of the Order. “Your friend seems to like her quite a bit.”
That Rafe was attracted to the pretty strawberry-blonde was obvious to anyone who saw the pair together for even a few minutes.
Aric smirked. “My friend’s got a thing for damsels in distress.”
“What about you?”
He slowly shook his head. “I don’t have a type.”
Kaya snorted. “Of course not. You’re more of a free agent, I’ll bet.”
His gaze stayed locked on hers. “More or less.”
If she had to guess, she’d go with more. After all, she’d felt the heat of this Breed male’s allure firsthand. Aric Chase was charismatic, magnetic. And damn if he didn’t kiss like the devil too.
She should be relieved he was leaving Montreal.
Especially after what happened today.
Her encounter with that security officer had left her more rattled than it should have. She had never seen the man before, but the fact that he’d been so certain he knew her--by a name she hadn’t heard in years--continued to bother Kaya even now, for reasons she preferred not to consider.
She had secrets no one knew.
Old secrets, but still powerful enough to destroy everything she’d worked for.
And if anyone at the Order uncovered them, there would be no place for her on any team. No, they would condemn her as a liar for all the time she’d kept those secrets buried.
Worse, they would have every right to consider her an enemy.
Letting herself get sidetracked by a charming player like Aric was a mistake she refused to make. It was good that he wasn’t sticking around. If she
