Chances Are - By Christy Reece Page 0,14
from concern and caring, not lack of faith. They’d been like sisters to her. Her only concern now was the dark, brooding man in the corner.
“I think someone’s wanting a chat with you,” Eden murmured.
A shiver she couldn’t hide zipped up her spine. Eden, Shea and Sabrina all gave her encouraging smiles and walked toward the door. Surprising the hell out of her, Riley stood close to Angela and said, “Want me to stay here with you?”
She and the other woman had probably exchanged only a couple of dozen words since Riley had started with LCR. The young operative said hello when she came in for her assignments and goodbye when she left. For her to act so protective touched Angela. Most LCR people were that way by nature, but for some reason, she felt there was another cause for Riley’s concern.
Whatever the reason, Angela knew she needed to handle Jake on her own. She wasn’t looking forward to their first argument. He had expressed support for her but would that continue in private? Would he try to talk her out of this? She wouldn’t pull out of the op, but when he’d voiced his support, the feeling had been extraordinary. Of course she wasn’t naïve enough to believe he was totally onboard yet, but she had every intention of convincing him of her skills and abilities. Someday soon she hoped he would completely believe the words he’d spoken.
She smiled her gratitude for Riley’s offer and shook her head. “Thanks, but I’ll be fine. He looks vicious but he’s mostly bark.”
Shooting Jake a fierce, warning look, Riley turned back to Angela. “Looks can be deceiving.”
Though a bit indignant on Jake’s behalf, Angela couldn’t help but be pleased to see a different side of the mysterious, much too solemn operative.
Riley walked out, leaving only Noah and Jake with Angela. Surprisingly, Noah gave Jake the same kind of look Riley had just given him. Only Noah’s had more teeth. She was glad her boss had never looked at her that way.
As Noah passed her, he said, “Samara is expecting you Thursday at two.”
Angela nodded her thanks. She had no worries about talking to Samara. They talked almost daily anyway. Even though this wasn’t their usual friendly get-together, there were no major secrets to be revealed. She might work for an organization filled with classified information but inside LCR, Angela had, with the exception of a few minor issues, been an open book. Besides, Samara McCall was one of her best friends—there was nothing she didn’t know about Angela.
The upcoming physical stamina tests with Dylan concerned her even less. She was in excellent shape. Grief might have softened the edges of her mental toughness but her daily runs and hours at the gym had helped keep her sane. She knew she could do this job. Convincing Samara or Dylan of her readiness wasn’t a concern. No, her biggest worry was the man who stared at her as if torn between yelling obscenities and spanking her.
She chose to attack first. “I can do this job so don’t try to talk me out of it.”
Instead of answering immediately, he walked toward her, his steps slow and determined, like a wild animal stalking his prey. Angela swallowed hard but stood her ground, waiting for him to reach her.
With only inches to spare, he stopped in front of her, and in a voice that rumbled like soft thunder, said, “Did I say you couldn’t do this job?”
“No, but you—” She stopped abruptly. Okay, so maybe she should have waited to see what he had to say.
“But I, what? Am I concerned for you? Hell, yeah. Do I wish you’d wait until a less dangerous assignment came along for your first time out? Double hell yeah. What I’d most like to know is why you didn’t tell me yourself?”
“Noah only approved it yesterday. You know missions can’t be discussed until he officially takes them on.”
Though she was telling the truth, she couldn’t help but feel guilty. She’d had the opportunity to talk to him yesterday and had run away from it. She wasn’t proud of her lack of courage.
“Fine. I’ll give you that. But why didn’t you ever mention you wanted to be a field operative?”
Considering she’d told him almost everything else about herself, she could understand his bewilderment. Tilting her head, she said, “What would you have said if I’d told you?”
His eyes seared her for several seconds and then he gave an explosive sigh. “I would