Secrets of Summer - THE SPECTER SERIES [book four]

Chapter TEN

Hunter Paxton

I have really done it this time..

What the fuck is wrong with me?..

I've never compromised myself like I had last night before.. I already know my actions are going to have consequences, hell, I knew it before I even started and still I went ahead and too what I wanted anyway..

Fuck, why am I so goddamned selfish?

Leaning back in my office chair I pinch the bridge of my nose in an effort to stem the blinding headache that rattles my brain, either a result of too much bourbon, or too much guilt..

I'm not entirely sure which.. Maybe both.

There is a soft knock on the door and I grunt and unwelcoming response.. "Yut!"

The door opens a crack and Bosslady Ellerie Devereux, the second in command at Specter and probably the most terrifying woman to walk the earth in a pair of bubblegum pink stilettos, pokes her sweet smiling face into the room, her long auburn hair pulled neatly up into a high ponytail.. "Axe? You got a minute?" She purrs..

I nod and she steps into my office, blinding me with her pastel purple pants suit, closing the door and crossing to perch her petite frame on the corner of my desk, dangling her highlighter yellow high-heels back and forth..

"What do you need, El?" I ask, not really in the mood to chat..

She frowns, eyeing me suspiciously.. Probably because I look like shit.. I haven't been able to stop thinking about last night..

About Her.. Kirby - fucking - Carter..

"I need to know where you're at with those devices.. I need to know if Kirby Carter is connected to this or not, like, yesterday.. Because I really cant keep O'connor out of this much longer and once he finds out you know he's going to warn her that we've been looking into her history.." She warns..

I lean back in my chair..avoiding her eye.. I don't know how to begin to explain myself.. Because I can't..

There's no excuse..

All I can say is it was like Kirby had me under a god damn spell.. Every sweet smile and innocent giggle.. Every sexy sway of her hips and throaty moan of desire..

And the entire time, she let me feel like I was in control.. Now I'm realising that I wasn't..

Not even for a second..

"Hellooo, Axe? What the fuck is going on with you today?" Elleire snaps her fingers in front of my face..

I heave a breath and push up, trying to get away from her.. If there's anybody who can see through my bullshit, it's going to be Ellerie and I dread her judgement..

Usually because she's right..

"I fucked up, El.. Real bad.." I admit to her..

She moves into the chair behind the desk that I just vacated, as I begin to pace the office floor, trying to work off the frustrated energy that coils. In my gut and tightens my muscles.. "Oh dear god.. No.. Paxton, what did you do?"

I shake my head, trying to clear the aggressive self doubt bombardment that howls like a hurricane in my head.. "Kirby Carter."

I turn to see the disappointment in her eyes..

Ouch.. I mean, I know I'm a piece of shit.. But to see it confirmed through the eyes of the first woman who bothered to look beneath my surface, and didn't like what she found..

Well, that fucking sucks..

"Uggghh, Hunter.. You didn't--" She clicks her tongue in frustration..

"Yeah.." I rub the back of my neck, nervously..

Waiting for her to go off on me.. Tell me I'm a bastard, or pull me off the case..
To my surprise she doesn't.. She simply lets out a low pensive hum.. "This isn't great.."

I nod.. That's definitely an understatement.. "I don't know what happened.. She--She wasn't what I expected.."

Ellerie laughs.. A short sharp bark before she clamps a hand over her mouth and I glare at her.. "Sorry, sorry.. But come on.. You don't know what happened?" She smirks rolling her eyes at me..

I shrug..

Okay, I know exactly what happened..

A beautiful, smart, funny woman threw herself at me.. And I caved.. Even though everything she thinks she knows about me is a lie..

I'm a fucking lie.

"So are you compromised then, having second thoughts?..Are you asking me to take this to West? Or I could at least talk to Ford--"

"No.." I shake my head.. No way am I handing over one of Delta's missions over to Archer West, head of Alpha team.. Especially not when O'connor is a part of that team.. Her fiancé, Jackson Ford, also a member of Alpha team, would probably be the safest bet of the three, but even him I don't want involved..

This is my case, it had been mine back at the CIA and I'm not ready to give it up.. "Not yet.. She doesn't know who I am.."

She nods thoughtfully.. "Mmmmkay.. So maybe we can use this to our advantage?.. You should try and get even closer to her.. Do you think she was interested?"

I shrug again.. I have no idea what she was.. I listened to her sneak out of the hotel room this morning, unsure about if I was making the right decision in letting her go..

I've been checking her GPS trace ever since, sure she would disappear any second.. But so far, she is still in the city..

"Obviously she was fucking interested, Devereux.." I grumble.. Pulling out the note Kirby had left before skipping out and hand it to Ellerie..

She arches a delicate eyebrow as she reads it aloud.. "Viking, Even if the world isn't perfect, last night was.. K.. oh, and there's even a little 'kiss'.." Her lips curl up into a pink painted smirk and she throws me an incredulous look.. "This is promising.. we can definitely use this.. Can't we?"

I scoff, rolling my eyes and dropping into one of the leather armchairs in the center of the office.. "Yeah, we can fucking use it.. Fuck! Why am I such a fucking asshole.. please, Ellerie, can you explain it to me?"

She sighs.. Standing and crossing to me.. "Because that's your job, Paxton.. If just one of her devices had been detonated.. Hundreds of people could have been killed.. And if there is more, we need to know about them.. we need that Intel.. This is what we do, Hunter.. I mean, you've definitely taken this to an extreme here.. And I'm not happy about it.. But I won't tell Iris.. Not yet anyway.."

Iris is the chief at Specter, one hard as* woman who would definitely chew me out for my bullshit behaviour.. Ellerie pats my shoulder gently before making her way back to the door.. "I'll give you one more week to get something out of her, Axe.. Then I'm bringing Alpha in to assist.."