Saving Amber - Zoe Dawson Page 0,18
strode up to him and said, “You are mistaken if you think that I’m immune to this tragic situation. I looked at his face and I read about his life, about his service. He has parents who lost their only son to the service of his country. Just because I work in a civilian capacity, don’t presume to know what military service means to me. It is my intention to dig until I get to the truth. Until James gets his justice, no matter the cost. I grew up in one of the coldest states in the US, so it’s nothing new to me. Is a warm sandy beach appealing? You bet your ass it is. But don’t presume to know me or narrow me down into this little box you want to put me in because you don’t like NCIS agents. There is way more than just a badge and a gun here. There’s a passionate, hardworking, caring woman.” Her chest was heaving. She grabbed the keys out of his hand and stormed up the walk. Unlocking the door, she threw it open, then came storming back. “There is only one thing you got right!”
“What is that?”
“You are a grumpy bastard.”
The wariness was back in full force and something inside him rejoiced at that because he was struggling with his distracting and disarming attraction to her. He hadn’t wanted to like James. To see that James wanted and openly competed for his approval and attention. He hadn’t wanted to see the young man in the uniform so open and gung-ho, so downright optimistic, mostly because it reminded him of himself. Before he’d lost his innocence in a blood-soaked day that had transformed him from a boy into a man.
Cynicism had its merits.
So, good. She was wary again. Why did that also piss him off?
When he had no answer, she poked him in the chest. “You asked me to give Corporal Sheppard the benefit of the doubt. Why don’t you try that with me?”
“My experience dictates otherwise.”
She threw her hands in the air and turned to go back into the house. “I’m going for a run.”
That suited him fine. Some more distance was good. He was the triggerman, used to setting off fear, confusion and uncertainty in all his targets. He’d been in the field most of his military career. There had been sleep deprivation, food deprivation, stress, danger, and one time his partner had been spotted and killed. Tristan had been wounded. It was a harrowing experience to get back to base with not only his weapon and himself intact, but his spotter across his shoulders. Leave no man behind. He was certain the same principles had been instilled in Corporal Sheppard and he would do the USMC proud by relaying that information to them. It was a matter of time.
The chill permeated his jacket and propelled him into the warm town house. Amber was in her assigned room, cursing and mumbling to herself. She was some kind of spitfire. An NCIS agent, one who was on her own here, up against a tough investigation. He hadn’t been out there with a squad or platoon or with someone else in charge of telling him what to do. He got his mission statement from his supporting commander and accomplished the mission by his own wits and his own know-how. Same deal with Force Recon. He had to admire the same grit in Amber. She had the same traits and was NCIS’s trigger woman and she’d solidly put him in his place.
And, damned if he didn’t admire her for that, too.
She came out of her room dressed in a formfitting blue top that accentuated every damn thing about her that was female, from her beautifully formed breasts to her strong, shapely thighs to her slender calves. She was completely covered up, her hair in a ponytail, her face devoid of makeup, nothing really sexy about any of it. And yet he had a hard time keeping his eyes off her.
She went to the hall closet and opened it, grabbing his USMC windbreaker, shrugging into it even though it was too big for her.
She walked past him and out the door, evidently reining in her temper, because it only closed sharply instead of being slammed.
He stood there, his own sense of fairness warring with his fear of letting go of the control he’d used to keep himself severely in check, to survive his combat missions, cope after the Banyan incident.
But no matter