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T he air in the room crackled with tension. Constantine stood firm at the head of the long conference table as the special ops team filed in. Chairs scraped on the floor, and the low murmurs faded.

AJ Henner leaned back in his chair while tracing the line of a jagged scar on his hand, a reminder of past battles. The wound had been deep, but he’d survived worse.

Years in the military had honed his skills, making him an expert at reading a room in a single glance.

Right now, this room screamed bad news.

The last members of SEAL Team Blackout Charlie filed in and took the remaining seats. He looked over two of his teammates, who’d been summoned to base from a short weekend away. Judging by the bags under their eyes, they’d made the most of it, but even they were solemn as they picked up the mood of the meeting.

Con’s stare lingered on the pair for a moment, then he cleared his throat with a slight grunt. “Thanks for getting here on time. We have a situation.”

On the wall behind him was a big screen. It was oddly black, devoid of the typical maps and charts required for the op their leader was about to share with them.

Henner directed his full attention to their commanding officer, but a quiet tap tap tap broke into his focus.

Directly across from him sat a stranger, a woman he’d never seen before. She tapped a manicured fingernail on the table again. It was the only sound in the room, and a foreign one compared to the rustle of gear or creaking chairs made by men.

He focused on that fingernail for a moment before swinging his attention back to Con.

“Sophie deciphered another puzzle,” Con informed them.

The statement didn’t come as a surprise. Their brilliant cryptologist had been working round the clock to decode cryptograms associated with recent bombings on US soil. When Henner passed by Con’s office earlier, he saw Sophie seated at the big desk, peering with total absorption at the computer monitor. The faint light coming off the screen highlighted the half-moons of fatigue beneath her eyes.

Henner studied his leader. Con wore similar signs of tiredness, which made him question if the couple was worn out for another reason.

A smile tugged at the corner of Henner’s mouth. Another tap-tap made him glance up at the woman across from him.

She arched a brow in question. Or challenge?

He raised both of his with a silent question of his own. Who was she and what was she doing at SEAL Team Blackout Charlie’s meeting? She must have clearance to be here, but that only raised more questions in his mind.

“Sophie declined to attend this meeting so she could continue to work.” Con’s sharp gaze swept the group. “We found the path of the bomb.”

The room fell silent except for the small, annoying tapping noise of the stranger’s fingernail on the table .

AJ’s stomach dipped with unease. “The bomb didn’t leave the port in Turkey that long ago. The ship made good time.”

Con gave a hard nod. “We know the transfer details. The crate arrives in port in Virginia tomorrow.”

Tap.

“What comes after that?” Henner fixed his stare on the unknown woman’s face. Her black hair hung in a straight sheet, framing her oval face and contrasting sharply with her porcelain white skin. She didn’t look tough enough to be in whatever position put her here.

Tap, tap.

Irritation slithered through him, but he buried it, along with his doubts about an outsider being on base. If Con was leaving out the introduction, there had to be a good reason.

And Henner didn’t want to think about what it might be. By the way Con looked at him, he knew this was going to be his mission. His time to prove his worth to Charlie on a whole new level. They were already at the top, and these opportunities didn’t come up every day.

Con scanned the group. “The crate will be transported by military personnel to Fort Leonard Wood. We don’t know the exact route they’ll take yet.”

Jesus.

The implications of that sank into all of them. A bomb destined for a military installation posed a huge risk to national security. So far, a complex series of clues pointed to several threats and actual bombings carried out by the terrorist, but Charlie team didn’t know nearly enough.

“We mobilize immediately.” Con’s stare centered on Henner. “I want boots on the ground in Virginia tonight.”

Tap, tap.

Henner jerked his head to fix the woman in his stare. “Who is this?”

At his brusque manner, the young woman sat up even straighter in her chair, which seemed an impossible feat when she already sat like she had a plank up her ass.

Both of her refined black brows lifted, but she didn’t speak up.

Con gestured toward her. “This is May Lin. She’s the bomb disposal and explosives expert we requested. She’s joining us on this op.”

Her sharp eyes centered on Henner as she nodded at the introduction.

Of course. He just knew that something would keep him from doing this job to the best of his ability, and she sat right across from him.

He sat back in his seat with a chuckle. “She’s young. How much of an expert can she be? She’s not even old enough to have grown up watching violent cartoons. And you say she’s a bomb disposal expert? She has all her fingers.”

The room fell silent at his outburst. He was known for teasing people—it was how he boosted morale in the heat of battle. They might not be in the trenches right now, but they would be very soon if his sixth sense was on point—and it always was.

She gave him a look as straightforward as any of his teammates. “You can address me directly, Special Operative. And to answer your question, I’m the expert who’s so good I never lost a finger.”

Laughter rippled around the table, but Henner didn’t like where this was headed. The unknown reason for Con waiting so long to introduce May Lin hung in the air like a cloud of gunpowder. And he held the match.

Henner didn’t shift his stare from the woman’s, matching the challenge in her deep onyx-colored eyes.

“What’s the plan once the team reaches Virginia?” he asked his leader.

As he spoke, the woman continued to keep up the nonchalant act. Her calm confidence grated on him. Maybe because she seemed far too unbothered to be involved in a high-risk mission.

Or because she had the same rising disdain for him that he did for her.

“There’s a gala in DC,” Con replied.

He rocked forward, gripping the edge of the table. “Really, Con? A gala? So what’s the plan? Put on a suit and schmooze war profiteers?”

Con’s smile was grim. “That’s exactly what you’re doing. Pack your penguin suit. You and Miss Lin will be partnering up. Chopper is waiting on the helipad. You leave immediately.”

One by one Henner’s muscles tensed into immovable boulders.

Dammit, he knew the storm cloud was about to burst. He just hoped it wouldn’t hail shrapnel on his head.

He was stuck with a woman he could already tell would make this op difficult. The only thing they seemed to be on the same page about was disliking each other.

Slowly, Henner twisted his head to fix his stare on Con. “You’re kidding.”

His brow twitched without a hint of amusement. “Pack your bag, Chickie.”

Hearing his nickname sent a rumble of annoyance through his chest.

May Lin folded her arms on the table, stretching out all ten of those fingers she hadn’t lost deactivating bombs. “This is going to be fun.”

“Yeah. Sounds like a blast. ” He pushed away from the table and walked out of the room. As he strode to his quarters to pack his clothes—the damn tuxedo too—irritation reverberated through him on repeat.

Just what he needed on what might be the most important op of his life.

Somebody to babysit.

* * * * *

May remained in her chair, waiting for Charlie team to clear out of the conference room. Constantine, the leader they called Con, didn’t move from the head of the table. At least one man on the special ops team seemed to possess some manners, unlike the guy she was partnered with.

Henner had shoved back his chair, grating all four legs on the floor, shot her a look that didn’t mask his thoughts about being paired with her and stalked out.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Con flipped his long index finger up. “Just a moment, Miss Lin.”

“Chase, Sinclair,” he called out.

The two men who’d entered the meeting last stopped and turned toward Con.

“A word.” Con stood and moved to the rear of the room.

The guys traded a glance before approaching their leader. The men were all packed with muscle, but that was where the similarities ended. While Con adhered to old-school military standards of appearance with his hair in a high-and-tight military cut, the other two had longer hair.

May had seen this among special ops teams before. Being at the top of their food chain afforded them certain liberties, and having hair over the tops of their ears was one of them.

She tapped her finger on the table, then abruptly stopped. The gesture always gave away her nervousness. She worked on quitting the habit, but she soon realized she could use it to her advantage. The sound unnerved people—threw them off—and keeping men on edge benefitted a woman in her field, especially when they liked to look down on her.

Like her new partner did.

Minutes ticked by while Con spoke to his teammates in quiet syllables she couldn’t make out. If they didn’t wrap up soon, she wouldn’t get a chance to voice her thoughts privately to Con.

She stole a peek at her wristwatch, then swung back to the leader. He gave the men a final nod in dismissal, and they left the room.

When he returned to his seat, the tense set of his shoulders appeared a bit more relaxed. He rested his elbows on the table and leaned in. “You have a matter to discuss, Miss Lin?”

She drew in a deep breath. “I’d like to go on record saying I think it’s a terrible idea to partner me with Henner.”

No immediate denial came from Con, so she pushed onward.

“I get that he’s good at what he does, but I don’t think we see eye to eye. His ideas about the op are already different than mine.” She sent Con a look to measure his reaction before plowing on. “The way he spoke at the meeting leads me to believe that he jumps in without thinking, where I analyze every variable. It’s not just a personality clash—it’s dangerous. If we’re not on the same page out there, everything can literally blow up in our faces. I would like to request a different partner for the operation.”

Con heard her out without interruption. “Is that all?”

“Yes.”

“Request denied.”

Her heart plummeted.

“Given your skill set, you’re a perfect fit with Henner for this op.” Con folded his arms. “Miss Lin, I have taken your concerns into account, but Henner is my first pick. He’s gone through hell and back for this team, and he’s the best. You’ll find a way to make it work.”

She started to tap her finger on the table and stopped herself. Digging deep, she attempted a different approach. She didn’t see any good coming from working with Henner.

She softened her tone. “Okay, I understand. I’m not trying to undermine Henner’s skills. But what if the three of us sit down and map out some mission protocols? It will establish clear expectations. After all, isn’t that what teamwork is about?”

One look at Con’s face showed that he was unmoved.

“I’d just like it noted—”

Her insides shriveled at the sound of Henner’s voice projecting from the open door.

“—that I don’t want to work with her either.”

She knew better than to cower. She turned her head and met his stare. A long beat pulsed between them.

“I just had the good sense to keep that information to myself.” He walked up to the table and dropped his bag on the floor.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I thought you were packing.”

“I’m fast.” He gave her a flat look.

This op was getting off to a terrible start, but she was no quitter. There was a reason why she held such a notable position and worked with special ops teams all over the world. She was the best at what she did too.

Swinging her attention back to Con, she jumped to her most persuasive argument. “With all due respect, Constantine, you can see it’s impossible for Henner and me to pull this off. We have to pose as a couple at this gala, and that means we have to actually like each other.”

Henner huffed. “I’ve been to these galas before. Plenty of the couples are at each other’s throats and good at hiding it.”

She sucked in a breath. Was he suggesting that she couldn’t pull this off? She opened her mouth to share some of her credentials, including the latest, which was working with the CIA to investigate a top-secret weapon overseas. But anything she said would fall on deaf ears.

She closed her mouth and pushed away from the table. With a courteous nod to Constantine, she said, “Thank you for taking my concerns into consideration.”

Then she pierced Henner in a glare. “I’ll just have to make the most of a bad situation.”

With measured steps, she strode by Henner and out the door. She didn’t take four steps before she heard boots thumping the floor behind her.

He caught up with her in no time at all. From the corner of her eye, she studied him. His huge frame dwarfed hers, though she was the tallest woman in her family.

She continued toward the exit, ignoring him completely.

“You actually thought Con would change his mind.”

It took a lot of self-control, but she refused to rise to his taunt.

Her soft shoes made no sound on the high-quality marble tile floor of Charlie team’s base. She’d heard the rumors about this building being seized by the government for unpaid taxes and sitting empty until some higher-up decided to hide their black ops team in plain sight.

When she arrived at the New Jersey mansion, she was stunned by the fairytale storybook look of the base. The inside was decked out in high-end materials, but from what she’d seen, the rest was exactly like what you’d expect from the military, with sparse, cold furnishings.

“Are you going to answer my question?”

“I didn’t hear any question,” she tossed back at Henner.

He kept pace with what were long strides for her but nothing for him. “Did you really think you’d get your way with Con?”

She made the error of looking at him. Since she’d been seated across the conference table from him, she knew what he looked like, but his piercing dark blue eyes set in his tan face nearly made her steps falter.

He wore a black T-shirt and black military-issue pants made for performance in the field that hugged his muscular body like they were tailored for him.

She could only imagine what the man would look like in a tux.

Her step slowed again.

Nope. Still didn’t make her like him any better.

“For the record,” he bit off, “I don’t want to work with you either. The difference between us is I don’t defy orders.”

“ For the record ”—she delivered a glare that cut as sharp as her tone—“I’m a private contractor. I don’t take orders from your leader. Or you.”

She quickened her pace until she reached the heavy front door. Opening it had taken a lot of body strength, making her glad she hit the gym on a regular basis. But when she latched her hand on the big brass handle and tugged, the heavy wood slab only opened a crack and then shut again, yanking her forward from the sheer weight.

A chuckle sounded from the cocky jerk standing behind her. “Since we’re about to attend a gala together, allow me to show off my manners by opening the door for you.” He snaked a long arm across her and lashed his fingers around the long bar of brass above hers. With no effort at all, he yanked open the door, and May stalked out.

This op wasn’t just going to fail. It would probably end her career once people got wind of how disastrous it actually was.

And it would be Special Operative AJ Henner’s fault.