CHAPTER 86
Cassie
This is… insane.
Hans goes into the room first, and he strides around the space like he’s checking to make sure nothing is out of place.
I step into the room on shaky legs because I am becoming embarrassingly flustered.
This shouldn’t be sexy.
Making so many enemies you have to build an actual escape tunnel that goes from your hidden Batman room to an old moldy gazebo shouldn’t be a turn-on.
And yet, here we are.
Hans flips on the wall of monitors, reminding me of how much time he’s spent stalking me, and my core throbs.
Unaware of the fact that I want him to fuck me on this floor, Hans pulls out the chair at the work bench. “I need to grab some things. If you want to sit here, you can keep an eye on the screens.”
Knowing we need to focus, I do as Hans says and drop into the chair.
I look at all the feeds, eyes stopping on one house in particular. “So that abandoned house?”
“I own it.” Hans’s answer is simple. “Or technically, a company does, but it’s my company.”
“So when you told me about all the houses you own…” I glance over at Hans as he pulls bags out of the middle closet.
He pauses to look up at me. “I didn’t mean to not tell you. I just don’t really count that one since it’s as shitty on the inside as it is on the outside. It’ll need to be leveled when someone wants to live there.”
“Hmm.” I turn back to the screens. “Did you buy it just so you could do the tunnel thing?”
“That was a selling feature. But my plan was to actually buy all three houses on the street and live in undisturbed peace. But then the old lady across the street kicked the bucket while I was out of the country killing some people, and when I came home, a pretty little distraction had bought the house before I even knew what happened.”
“And aren’t you glad I did?” I say tartly, mad at myself for being so annoyed that his plans didn’t include me. Even though that would’ve been impossible because we hadn’t met yet.
A hand grips my ponytail and tips my head back.
I expect him to laugh at me or count. But he stares down at me with a serious expression. “You buying that house was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Everything inside me softens.
Hans doesn’t just throw words around. I know he means it.
I blink up at him. “Best decision I ever made.”
He pulls my head back a little farther, eyes locked on my lips. “Good.”
My head is nearly level with his hips.
I open my mouth, wide.
His grip tightens on my hair. “That’s two, Butterfly.”
Heat shoots down my spine. And I slide my tongue out. Inviting him to do something about it.
Hans reaches up with his free hand and traces the tip of my tongue with his finger. “We don’t have time for three.”
He rubs that same fingertip against his lips, then lets go of my hair and backs away.
For the first time ever, I kind of hate him.
Shifting in my seat, I can accept that sucking his dick, right here and right now, might not be the best idea. But goddamn, tell that to my lady bits.
I’m wondering what my punishment would be if I slid my hand down my shorts and took care of myself real quick when movement catches my attention.
I lean closer to the screen. “Uh, Hans.”
“Just two more minutes.”
“No.” I point at one of the screens. “We’ve got company.”
A van pulls to a stop between our houses, parking just before my driveway. The design on the side looks like a logo for an internet company, but it’s not the one we use out here.
Hans stops behind me, one hand on the back of the chair, the other on the counter as he leans in.
The driver is visible through the windshield, and as we watch, four men exit the vehicle.
The van is the only attempt they seem to be making at a cover, because all four men have guns in their hands.
I expect the group to walk up to Hans’s house, but they break off into pairs, two heading this way and two toward my house. And in both cases, one man walks to the front door and the other circles around to the back of the house.
Hans doesn’t have a view of my backyard, but we watch the man circle Hans’s house. I don’t know what he’s looking for, but he just looks around before ending up back at the front door, where his partner is already trying to break in.
I can feel my pulse picking up while excitement and stress swirl in my stomach.
Hans does that thing that has the keyboard appearing, then he taps a few buttons.