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She hesitated, and he caught the flicker of guilt in her eyes. “It was an accident.”
“Come on.” He smirked. “Really?”
“Yeah, I didn’t mean to. You see, normally I deliver all official documents straight to the prince. I mean they’re in a folder, so I can’t see them.”
“Then what happened?”
“I dropped it, and it slipped out of the folder. I noticed the headline when I bent to pick it up.” She bit her lip. The action drew his eye. It was a lovely, soft, luscious lip. “So, I read it.”
Goddamn.
Not relevant, soldier!
“What was it about?”
“Evacuation measures,” she said, quietly.
Why’d he get the feeling she was holding back?
He frowned. “For whom? Hakeem?”
“Yes, and his family. And key personnel. It was written by Anwar Abdul, the Head of State Security.”
That made him sit up.
“Can I see it?”
Hannah hesitated, her fingers tightening around the fabric of her robe. “I don’t think I should show it to you. Not yet.”
“Why not? It might be above my paygrade, but I don’t know if you noticed…” He spread his arms and looked around. “There’s nobody else here.”
He was a goddamned U.S. Marine. He was allowed to view classified documents if they required passing on to the powersthat be, and he was the only one around to do it. Not that he said that. She didn’t need to know how far he’d fallen.
She sighed. “It’s not that.”
“What then?”
She sighed. “I was hoping to hand it to the U.S. Ambassador or someone senior here at the embassy. I figured they’d know how to get it to the State Department.”
Tom worked his jaw. “Like I said, nobody here.”
He raked a hand through his hair. “I’m just trying to help you, Hannah.”
“I know, problem is, I don’t think you can.”
He fixed his gaze on her. “Try me. I’ve pulled people and intel out of war zones worse than this one. You can trust me.”
Her brows rose. “I thought you were a security guard?”
That did make him chuckle, although it was humorless. “Sergeant Tom Wilde, U.S. Marine Corps, at your service.”
Her brows rose. “You’re a Marine?”
“That’s what I just said.”
“Then what are you doing here, guarding the embassy.”
He sighed. “It’s a long story, okay. About the document?—"