Page 77 of Critical Alliance (Rocky Mountain Courage 3)

Again with the hesitation? “I don’t want an apology for the kiss, okay?” There, she’d said it.

He grinned, and his gaze roamed her face and made her blush. Fortunately, he turned his attention to the food. Around bites, they talked about her job at the university. A safe enough topic.

Eating and talking about what happened today or anything else revolving around cybercrime would cause her to lose her appetite. She struggled as it was. He kept his questions light and simple. And she was more than happy to think about how much she enjoyed teaching kids to use their skills for good in the world of ethical hacking and cybersecurity.

“And I have a condo near Lake Michigan in a little town called Frankfort.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “I usually spend summers walking the beach. I do some pen testing for charities on the side. My way of giving back.”

He smiled around a mouthful of barbecue, admiration swimming in his gaze. She hadn’t been looking for that from him. But seeing it warmed her down to her toes.

“Enough about me. What about you? Tell me about your assignment overseas. What have you been doing for the last three years, Alex?”

His expression immediately shifted to something entirely too dark, then flattened. As if he’d caught himself and schooled his features for her benefit. “What do you want to know?”

She smiled, hoping the question wouldn’t bother him. “Oh, if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. I told you a bit about my job and my life in Michigan.”

“So you thought I’d want to share about mine.”

Uh-oh. “Not if you don’t want to.” She’d caught him a time or two with a pained look in his eyes. She sensed that something bad had happened.

She couldn’t take that searching stare—his questioning eyes piercing through her. Mackenzie grabbed their plates and headed for the kitchen sink.

“Hey, wait a minute. You don’t need to clean up. I’ll get it.” He followed her into the small kitchen and reached for the plates.

She held them out of his reach, then stuck them in the sink.

“I’ll do the dishes,” he said. “You just relax.”

“I’ll make a deal with you. Tell me something about your life. Your job. It’s no fair you know so much about mine. Tell me and you can do the dishes.”

He laughed, and the sound sent tingles over her. “You know how to drive a hard bargain.”

“Do we have a deal?”

He turned on the water. “Next time, let’s use paper plates.”

Next time. How long would she be here in Montana? How long would they be in this cabin? “Agreed. How about you wash, and I’ll dry?”

“There’s only two. I got it.”

Leaning against the counter, she crossed her arms and watched him. Studied his profile. Would he share a piece of himself? Tell her about his job? She wouldn’t press him. Wait. Oh, yes, she would. “What about our deal?”

He put the two plates away, then placed what remained in the takeout containers into the fridge.

“I was hoping you’d forget.”

“Was it that bad?”

He grabbed her hand and led her back to the sofa. He took a chair across from her and leaned back. His gaze bored into her. “I’ll tell you my story, if you’ll tell me what you learned at Hanstech today. What you’re holding back.”

“You can’t renegotiate.”

“Oh, I can, and I just did.”

“Okay, fine. Though I wasn’t holding back. I just haven’t found the right moment to talk.” She closed her eyes and pressed her hand against her midsection. Nausea swirled at the image. The man’s screams.

“I know it’s been a rough day. But you’re running out of time.”

She sensed she was running out of time in other ways. Someone else could die.