Hunter saw the kiss coming in plenty of time to avoid it if he’d wanted to.He didn’t and it was impossible for him to keep his professional distance any longer.Still jacked up from the battle, seeing that hungry, hopeful look in Khalia’s eyes sealed the deal. He settled his hands on her waist, his attention narrowing to the way her lashes fluttered closed as she leaned up on tiptoe, the tempting curve of her lips rising to meet his and the arc of raw sexual energy leaping between them. The tentative weight of her hands on his shoulders sent a ripple of heat across his skin and made his cock harden. That she was leaving in the morning made it easier to ignore just how bad an idea this was. But he wanted her too badly to stop it.Threading his fingers into the curly mass of her hair, he squeezed, bringing her head back before their lips touched and eliciting a tiny gasp that made the sexual fire inside him burn hotter. His way, the grip told her, and he loved the way she stilled and w

When Hunter opened the door Khalia came up onto one elbow on the bed and pushed the hair out of her face. He slipped inside, flashed a smile.“Everything okay?” she asked, not fooled by the smile.“Yeah. Gage was looking into something for us. It’s all good.” He nodded at her phone on the nightstand. “You talk to your family?”“My mom. She was really upset.” Khalia was thankful her mother wasn’t involved in this side of the foundation so she hadn’t been subjected to any of this.“Understandable.”She nodded, wishing she’d taken the time to have a shower instead of just changing into her sleep shirt and yoga pants. “I texted my brother too. I told them I’d let them know when my flight is leaving.”“Eleven hundred tomorrow.”Oh. She frowned, confused by her conflicting reactions. She wanted to go home more than anything, but she couldn’t help feeling responsible for those girls and the thought of never seeing Hunter again set off a stab of pain beneath her ribs. On top of that there was

Oh, fuck him, this was the last thing they needed.Hunter gauged Khalia’s reaction to the news. With everything that had happened he kept waiting for her to crack under the strain, and so far she’d hung in there better than he ever could have expected. Even so, he couldn’t help but feel like this was the tipping point and he couldn’t stand the thought of watching her break. And with this new strain he was very afraid she might.Her mouth was pinched, her forehead creased with an anxious frown as she stared at her phone. She squeezed his hand so tight her fingers were white. The room was deathly silent in the wake of Tom’s announcement.“Is it Aisha?” she demanded, a quaver in her voice. “We don’t know yet,” Tom answered.A muscle jumped in her jaw, her gaze still on the phone’s screen, then she gave a sharp shake of her head. “I can’t tell anything from that picture, it’s too small. Give me my laptop.” She reached an arm toward where it lay beside the sofa Hunter had tried to sleep on

Khalia’s heart clattered against her ribs as Hunter finally slowed to a walk. “Stand tall and look straight ahead, like you belong here,” he whispered.God, she was having trouble catching her breath, and he wasn’t even breathing hard. It went against every instinct to do as he said instead of constantly looking around to scan for threats, but she knew he was right. Giving off that sort of nervous energy would only look suspicious and make her stand out more. Right now the only things giving her the courage to see this through were having Hunter right next to her and feeling the strength of his hand around hers. Wanting justice for her father and putting her own life on the line to see it done were two very different things.The map on her phone showed the address as being just a few blocks from where they stood. Here amongst the back alleys and quieter residential streets the night seemed hushed and ominous. The narrow street they were on was dark, lined on both sides by rundown buil

Motherfucking hell.Hunter kept a hand braced on Khalia’s back as Gage took a sharp right and floored it. He anchored her to stop her from sliding across the seat, felt her shuddering with the force of her sobs. Those heartbroken sounds cut straight through him, all the more unbearable because she was trying so hard to hold them back.Ah, shit. Just…shit. With Gage in the vehicle they had no privacy but he couldn’t take watching her hurt like this. Hunter rubbed a soothing hand over her back in a gentle circle, not knowing what to say. There was nothing he could say to make this any easier on her.At his touch she curled further into herself and turned her face away, burying it in her arms to hide from him, as though ashamed of him seeing her crying. Something sharp twisted in his chest and a burning pressure took hold of his lungs.Wedging his hip close to hers, he slid his hands beneath her shoulders and pulled her upward. She resisted, flinging one arm out and attempting to scuttle