didn’t appreciate DC telling me to back off. I’ve been digging and I’m still convinced something about her is not right. I called the home office, but there’s no confirmation that she landed in DC.”
He retreated to the other side of the table, bending down and retrieving his case tucked underneath. He checked the chamber to make sure it was free of a bullet, then released the empty magazine and packed the pieces in the box. He didn’t want to breathe in her fragrance, didn’t want to be close enough to touch that pale silky hair swirling around her face. The window, if there ever was one, had closed a long time ago.
“Aren’t the CIA keeping tabs on her?” He was walking too near the edge of control, and he was off-balance. Too little sleep, too much brooding, too many memories. He stayed away from liquor’s easy sleep, preferring not to drown out the darkness with his father’s choice of poison.
“I don’t know. They’ve assigned someone else to her. They said I had my hands full dealing with a bunch of alpha males who don’t quite trust me yet.”
He rolled his shoulders, his head starting to pound. “I trust you, Chry. But I know you. The guys, on the other hand…”
She leaned on the table, and he caught once more that elusive fragrance. Her smile was like quicksilver, flashing in her eyes, curving her lips and disappearing. “Yeah, you do, and I can’t blame your teammates, but Striker is skeptical about Harry and that leaves me just out of his range of comfort.”
He smiled, looking over at his brother. “He was always looking for an angle, still is. We couldn’t help it, considering the dad we had. Makes him a good SEAL.”
She nodded. “I know. But I’m not the enemy.” She shifted closer, lowered her voice. “We just got a target package.”
“Who?” He wished he could find somewhere to swim. Water soothed him, but if they had a target package, there was just going to be enough time to get some rest before they had to head out.
“Andrea Bendarik. We get another crack at him.”
“This time are there going to be noncombatants?”
She winced and he almost missed it as he’d looked away. “Just his family.” Her chin lifted. She had an inner steel. Her last name fit her and her grandmother to a T. “I’ll see you back at the ready room,” she said, then turned and walked away.
2-Stroke watched her lovely back and tight butt as she left, smooth stride marred with that giveaway sway. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but he couldn’t seem to think fast enough. He didn’t trust his own reactions anymore, because sometimes he felt as if he was slipping deeper into the shadows. He picked up his case and gestured to his brother, who nodded. He would deal with it. That’s what SEALs did. He’d managed everything else. He could live with this nagging uneasiness. He could.
More than enough reason to keep his mind on the mission. Chry could do nothing but complicate his life.
“What guy?” Anna asked. God the man cleaned up nice. He’d trimmed his stubble down from unruly to sexy, and the suit he wore was impeccable and expensive, both the tie and shirt silk. It was hard to reconcile this man with all this wealth. Dodger was one of the most down-to-earth people she’d ever met.
“A chap who can get the ball rolling.” He tucked her hand in the crook of his arm and together they went down the staircase, just as the grandfather clock in the hallway started to chime.
They entered the gorgeous dining room with the long table, and Anna thought they must have massive parties here. It would be something the filthy rich did. By the time the sixth chime rang, he was pulling out her chair for her, waving off the butler.
She slipped into the seat. “You are ravishing tonight, luv. You look like you’re wearing a midnight sky.”
“Stop being charming and trying to change the subject. I’m a CIA agent. I have ways of making you talk, you pain in the—”
“Oliver,” his mother said, preceded by a man with silver hair who touched the small of her back. She was beautiful, his father handsome. It was clear where Dodger got his drop-dead looks.
“Mum, Dad,” he said embracing her and shaking his dad’s hand.
“Good to see you.” They both focused on her.
“This is Anna Keegan from California. I met her while on vacation.” He