Hidden Impact by Piper J. Drake

Author:Piper J. Drake [Drake, Piper J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-01-27T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Gabe took himself out of Harte’s office and strode down the hallway. He wanted to get outside and take a run or head to the nearest gym and pound a punching bag. Do something to take the edge off his temper when there wasn’t anything he could do about the hard news he had to give. Neither of those was a good option at the moment, with limited time and Maylin waiting for him.

Still, he ducked inside a conference room at the other end of the suite and starting pacing. He wasn’t ready to give the update to Maylin yet. Too many things didn’t fit.

He’d have been fine if he’d never had to deal with Jewel again. Some part of him had known he would have to, though. The business of private military contractors had a high turnover rate but it was a small world. They’d have ended up on a multi-contractor job together—or ended up like this, set to go head-to-head. All things said and done, it was less complicated as it stood.

Still, a couple of questions were hanging out there and he didn’t like letting them go unanswered. Jewel wasn’t as good a distance shooter as Lizzy, but she could’ve made a head shot in that last mission. She could have killed him. He’d spent his recovery rapidly progressing through the shock and betrayal, setting those aside and dismissing the whole thing, assuming she’d decided leaving him crippled was worse than dead. He’d gotten good and angry then and used it to fuel his temper and get himself back on his feet.

Now? He wasn’t so sure. She might not have adjusted her shot out of spite.

He and his teammates didn’t pry into each other’s backgrounds much. They had all met as they’d joined the Centurions. All any of them had ever needed to know about their teammates was who they were as Centurions: skill sets, abilities, anything lending to the completion of a given mission. Strengths and weaknesses were reviewed in terms of performance.

But none of those things gave insight into why people did the shit they did. Gabe wasn’t particularly fond of psyches, but he saw the value in a therapy session if it helped a person get their head back on straight. With Jewel and her fire team leaving the Centurions, he’d assumed they’d made a simple choice: money.

Her having chosen not to kill him added a twist to the logic. And her showing up now mucked things up. Made it more difficult. Because he didn’t want to wonder if she was going to take him out this time, or worse, kill Maylin.

Gabe dragged a hand through his hair and cursed.

He’d always been a no-strings-attached kind of guy. When he mixed it up with a woman, it was for mutual enjoyment and lasted only as long as convenient. No regrets when it came time to walk away.

He halted and planted his hands on the windowsill, looking out and not seeing anything. He couldn’t walk away from Maylin the same way.

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