like that,” Vi said to the soldier as she seized Sergeant Danger’s arm to keep him from leaving. She was afraid he might vanish again as quickly as he appeared. “The sergeant here has been helping me reach my family back home—it’s an emergency situation—so I asked him to interrupt me when he had some news.”
She hated lying to the fellow, but she had given her word she would put Marcie’s interests first.
“You heard the lady.” Sergeant Danger shot the soldier a hard look, an aura of command almost visibly radiating off him. “Move along.”
The soldier held up his hands in mock surrender. “Fine. I’ll go find another doll to talk to.”
Sergeant Danger glanced down at her after the other man left. “So . . . what’s the family emergency?”
Vi released him. “I needed to talk to you, but in private.”
His eyebrows rose. “You made me pull rank for that? All you had to do was ask.”
“Except that you have a way of appearing and disappearing on a girl,” she said, a little exasperated. “And this is important.”
He crossed his arms and settled into a wide-legged stance. “All right. Shoot.”
“Well . . .” Vi glanced around and then leaned toward him. “I saw Luciana today, in the crowd near the Tiber river.”
“Really?” His expression didn’t even flicker. “And you’re telling me this why?”
“Because you’re the only one who seems to know what’s really going on around here.”
He huffed a soft laugh. “Glad one person thinks that.”
“Oh, I do,” Vi said, pouncing on that tiny crack in his tough-guy facade. “I also think you’re smart, loyal, and one of the truly good guys. Which is why I’m coming to you with this information, and no one else. And believe me, that’s a compliment, because I don’t trust easily. I’ve been burned in the past. Badly.”
Something flickered in his eyes. Something that made her think he might have been burned, too.
On impulse, she reached out and caught one of his hands. If Marcie’s well-being meant throwing herself at this man, she would. Virginia’s future be damned. Except she had underestimated the impact of having his rough, calloused fingers beneath hers as she brought them to her chest. His skin was surprisingly warm, almost hot. Her pulse fluttered unevenly. No longer sure what she was doing, she pressed his hand against her heart, seeking comfort from his innate strength as much as she wished to give it.
She hadn’t realized until this moment how true her words had been. She did trust him. And admire him.
And want him.
“Virginia,” he said in a low voice. Surprised by his use of her first name, she glanced up. And immediately fell into the mesmerizing beauty of his eyes. “What are you doing?”
The question jolted her out of her fog.
Jumping back, she released his hand. “Sorry. I guess I was still in character from tonight. Nothing to worry about.”
“Worried wasn’t part of the equation, exactly,” he said slowly, his eyes not leaving hers. “More like, are you aware of our audience?”
Her pulse leaped again, but this time for an entirely different reason. Falling back on her hard-earned acting skills, she immediately smoothed her expression and adopted a more relaxed posture. “Thank you for that,” she murmured with a slight smile. “You have a way of making a girl forget herself.”
He hesitated and then said in a low voice, “I’d say the problem is mutual, Miss Heart.”
The heat that flickered in his eyes nearly knocked her knees out from under her. Then his expression cooled. “For the record, Miss Rossi is still in Nettuno, recovering from a sprained ankle and wrist. When she’s cleared to rejoin your unit, I’m sure Lieutenant Holland will let you know.”
He turned and began striding away without so much as a backward glance.
“Wait!” she called after him.
If he’d heard her, he gave no sign. Vi ground her teeth in frustration. Drat the man! She had no more answers now than she had started with. Worse, he had neatly turned all her attempts at bamboozling him back on herself. And he had done it so easily. It pained her to even think about it.
Yet he wasn’t immune to her. That much was clear. If she could just get him alone and not lose her head this time . . .
The idea, once sprung, refused to die.
She glanced around for Marcie. Spotting her, Vi hurried over, smiling apologetically at the soldiers who tried to catch her attention. It nagged at her conscience to push them away,