Riding The Edge - Elise Faber Page 0,12

pulled on some gloves, and tugged at the corner of the bandage.

“Looks good,” she said, poking at the edges of the wound.

I was barely aware of the doctor’s actions, my focus on Ava, her face going blank as she turned away from me, went to the computer, and bent to snag the flash drive from the computer.

Then she was gone.

The door shutting behind her with the barest sound.

And I was left with the feeling that I’d made both progress in getting behind those heavy walls of hers, and that I’d also helped supply her the rebar to strengthen them.

Six

KTS Satellite Headquarters

Munich, Germany

06:37hrs local time

Ava

I pushed into the gym and stopped.

“Seriously?”

Dan glanced up at me with a guilty expression, quietly setting the weight he’d been lifting down. “What?”

It had been two days since the mission. One since he’d passed out unconscious.

And approximately seven minutes since Olive and Laila had left for KTS’s main headquarters.

“This is rest?” I asked, nodding at the weight bench.

“It’s light.”

Since the thirty-five-pound dumbbells he’d been casually lifting were damn near my maximum, I simply lifted a brow and said, “Would Olive think these are light?”

A flash of temper on his face, one I saw so infrequently that it actually took me by surprise, his dark tone even more so. “I like and respect you, Ava,” he muttered. “But you’re neither my mother nor my doctor. I’ve played by Olive’s rules for twenty-four hours and will continue to do so.” He picked the weight back up and began curling it again. “I promised to do light duty for two weeks,” he said. “I’m not back-flipping over here. I’m exercising—if sitting on my ass and lifting less than half my normal weight can be considered exercising.”

His irritation should have been off-putting.

Instead, it made him more likeable.

I’d never seen him grumpy, and seeing him a little grouchy made him seem more human, especially after I’d elevated him onto such a tall pedestal for these last years. Maybe we weren’t quite the leaps and bounds apart I’d always thought. Maybe we were just two people who—

And that was the crazy talking.

Dan, as an agent, was admirable. He was the kind of even, steady co-worker who I knew I could rely on. Ego didn’t get in his way, and he wasn’t afraid to lead if the situation required it, or to step back and let others take charge.

Dan, as a man, was similar. He was smart, funny, even-keeled. And while he was confident, he wasn’t one of those guys who had to prove his dick was big—

Speaking of which . . . those sweatpants he was wearing, yo.

They were definitely pointing to the fact that he had nothing to prove on that front—it was a simple fact of nature.

He shifted and I tore my gaze away, fully aware this was dangerous territory.

Talk of pedestals and similarities and thinking we had anything more in common than our line of work was insane.

“I’m well-aware of my limits,” he said.

“You’re right,” I agreed.

“And,” he rattled off, picking up the weight and curling it again, and I didn’t think he’d actually heard me, had just expected me to disagree with him exercising, so was already prepared with his counterargument. “I also know that I can’t expect to sit on my ass for a few weeks and come out of this strong.”

“You’re right,” I repeated.

“And further that,” he began.

I sat on the bench next to him, snagged the weight from his hand. “Dan,” I said. “I just told you you’re right twice in fifteen seconds. Take the victory and shut up.”

“You—” He froze. “You just said I was right?”

“Yeah, yeah,” I mock-grumbled, setting the weight on the floor. “Don’t rub it in.”

A smile curved his lips, and I inhaled, my hands curling into fists. The urge to reach out and touch him was strong, so strong that I actually found myself standing again, heading toward the door.

This was why I didn’t spend time with him any longer, why I hardly spent time with anyone. Laila was the only exception, and my team leader had pretty much bullied me into friendship, or at least, she’d pestered me into it, dragging Olive into the mix for good measure. But those connections made me nervous. Shit got real when feelings were involved, and I’d been careful to not feel anything more than respect and professional admiration for anyone.

First Laila. Then Olive. Then Dan—

No.

“Hey.”

His voice was close enough that I had to lock down my body in order to not react