Page 6

H enner flexed his fingers on the steering wheel. His fingers had been cramped for over an hour from gripping it too tight. Every time he realized he was on edge, he did what he did with any op—he analyzed what was bothering him.

About fifty more miles down the highway, he realized just what the source was.

May.

Daylight lit her face in a soft glow, outlining the curve of her cheek. She sat straight-backed, making him wonder if she ever relaxed. Did he? Not often, which was why he took any moment he could to lighten the mood.

The way she fixed her stare on the weathered asphalt was sharp, focused. But her mouth…God, her mouth. It was all soft plumpness and temptation.

He could not be thinking of her like that. Just because they got dressed up and attended a gala under the pretense of being a real couple didn’t mean that they were.

Squeezing his fingers around the steering wheel again, he attempted to dispel the sensation of her warm, smooth skin against his fingers.

It was getting harder and harder to push aside these thoughts he was having about her. Every look she shot his way—even the dirty ones—and the notes of her perfume dancing in the warmth of the car, left him aching.

For the tenth time, he reminded himself that she was his partner. But that came with the flip side of the coin, which was that she was May. Though she was strikingly beautiful, she didn’t flaunt it. Well, except in that pink dress.

She was fierce when she had to be, more intelligent than most people he’d met…

And completely off-limits .

Slowly, he peeled his fingers off the wheel and rested his hand on his thigh. The action didn’t wipe out the tension he felt crawling under his skin.

“You’re quiet.”

“Just thinking.”

“Sounds like that could be dangerous.”

His head swung as if it was on a swivel, and he locked his stare on hers. “Only when I’m with you.” The blurted words flew out of his mouth before he could pull them back.

May’s eyes flared wider. She opened her mouth, no doubt to respond with some biting and witty comeback. But the blinking light on the back of the military truck—a constant weight in the back of both of their minds—cut off anything either of them would say.

She sat up straighter. “They’re pulling off at the rest stop.”

“Good. We could use some gas too.”

She threw him a sideways glance. He could almost see the questions ticking in the depths of her onyx-colored eyes. “Why does that sound like you mean something else?”

He flicked his fingers at the gas gauge. “We need gas and food. I’m starving. I don’t consider cookies and chips a meal.”

The truck bounced into the parking lot. May drew in a breath. “I don’t like how careless they are with that cargo.”

“They don’t know they’re carrying an explosive. If they did, they’d be a hell of a lot more concerned with potholes.”

They both held their breath, watching the back axels rock up and down as they rolled up to the fuel pumps.

“We have to make it look natural.”

“Do you mean we need to act like hungry travelers instead of two operatives following a truck with a bomb?”

Her cheeks pinkened as she gave him an exasperated look.

“That’s why I’m going to circle around.” Henner drove in a wide arc around the gas pumps and parked at the one farthest from the truck. “I’ll pump. You keep an eye on the kids.”

She angled her body toward the window to keep watch while Henner jumped out to pump the gas. From across the lot, he saw the driver standing next to the truck, pumping gas too.

His mind raced over ways to uncover more information. May had done well with her casual encounter at the convenience store, but they needed much, much more if they were going to stop that bomb from reaching its destination.

He pondered ways to disable the truck. Puncturing a few tires or slicing engine hoses. Both of those ideas meant he needed to get close to the truck without them realizing he was there. Not so easy in broad daylight.

Once the tank was full, Henner circled the car and wagged his fingers for May to step outside.

“Are you sure? They could recognize me.”

“Act casual and keep your head turned away.” She stepped out of the car, stretching her arms above her head to ease the stiffness from sitting. He was plenty stiff, but it wasn’t from too many hours in the driver’s seat.

Her sexy back bowed as she stretched, and the small breasts he couldn’t stop thinking about ever since seeing her completely bare thrust forward.

His cock stirred behind his fly.

“What are we doing?” Her voice was pitched low and husky. Neither her words or tone made the throb starting in his groin dissipate.

He held out the keys to her. “You take the wheel. Park far enough away that they don’t notice you but where you can still keep an eye on them.”

McKinnon set off in long, unhurried strides for the front of the rest stop. Inspiration struck Henner.

“I’m going to the restroom.”

“To see what you can pick up from our friends in uniform?”

“Something like that.” He took off toward the building.

“Be careful,” she called out.

He threw her a boyish smile. “Don’t worry—I won’t sit down on the seat.”

“AJ.”

Not only did her voice carry an edge of irritation, it was the first time she ever called him by anything but his last name. Which meant that somewhere between the last stop and this one, she’d begun thinking of him differently.

Same as he was thinking of her.

Trying not to dwell on what that meant, he entered the restroom a few seconds behind McKinnon. He firmly pushed thoughts of his sexy travel companion out of his mind. Last thing he wanted to do was sidle up next to McKinnon sporting a hard-on.

He positioned himself a few feet down the wall from the kid. As he unzipped, he heard the door open. From the corner of his eye, he saw Moore wander up to the empty spot between them.

He couldn’t wait to tease May that she might have discussed junk food with Moore, but he’d taken a leak with both of them.

He felt Moore’s gaze shift to him.

He threw the kid the side-eye. “First rule of rest stops is eyes on your own business.”

They both chuckled at Henner’s comment.

“Sorry, man. Been staring at the road too long.”

“No harm done,” he responded.

They all went about their reason for being there.

Henner took the sink at the far end of the room, as far away from the guys as he could get.

McKinnon finished first and moved to the sink. Moore followed a minute later.

“Still got another few hours before we can swap again,” McKinnon said.

“Yeah, it’s a long trip. At least we get better food on the road.”

“There’s a restaurant with sit-down service across the parking lot.”

“Sounds like a good spot to me.” Moore glanced over at Henner.

He lathered his hands with soap that smelled like chemicals. “You guys eaten at that place before?”

“Nah. We’re just passing through. First time in these parts.”

“Me too. Road-tripping with the wife.” Henner’s lie rolled off his tongue far too easily. In the past, the word “wife” would have tripped him up, glued his tongue in place. Either he was getting good at pretending on these types of ops or his attraction to May was getting the better of him.

He left the bathroom first but took his time walking out to the car, hoping to catch more chatter between the guys. The pair discussed whether they would get trucker’s breakfast platters or burgers and fries for lunch, but they didn’t offer anything valuable to Henner.

When he reached the vehicle, May unlocked the doors and whipped around to face him. “What took you so long? Did you find anything out?”

He slid into the seat. “They’re going to the restaurant.”

“Damn. There goes our idea to grab some food. It will look too suspicious if we eat there too.”

“We’ll swing through the drive-thru chicken joint and park where we can watch the restaurant.”

Her plump lips twisted in a pout. “I guess fried chicken isn’t much worse than the truck-stop specials.”

“You’re not rubbing elbows with generals at a fancy dinner these days,” he teased her.

She backed out of the parking spot and circled the building to the drive-thru. After they got their food, she parked in the front again. He opened the bag and pulled out a box of chicken they agreed to share along with biscuits and french fries.

“Are you going to tell me if you learned anything from following those kids into the restroom?” She reached into the box and pinched a chicken strip. “Is there dipping sauce?”

He rooted around inside the bag. “Ketchup or barbecue.”

“I love barbecue.”

He guessed from her choice of potato chips. He passed her a sauce. When she took it, their fingers brushed.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. And I didn’t learn much. They talked about their long drive and about getting food. Which is why we’re eating now too.”

“It just had to be greasy chicken, didn’t it?”

He gave her a crooked smile. “Are you afraid your tummy is going to feel bad after more junk food?”

Holding his stare, she purposely opened her mouth and chomped off a large bite of chicken. The groan hit his lips, unstoppable, as he watched her sweet mouth working on the bite.

He didn’t even try to suppress the sound. But May thought he was groaning over the savory spices.

“It isn’t that good, Henner.”

He watched her from the corner of his eye as he devoured his first piece. “What happened to you calling me AJ?”

“Do you prefer if I call you AJ?”

He considered it. “It’s not a name I hear often. My teammates call me Henner or Chickie, a play on the chicken theme.” He took a second strip of the meat. “My momma named me Alexander Henner Jr., but my dad always called me AJ.”

Suddenly, the chicken seemed to stick in his tight throat. He never discussed what joining Blackout cost him—his life. His identity. What was there to say to his teammates when they lived the same thing? They’d all lost their families, but they did it for the love of their country.

May seemed to pick all of this up even though he didn’t utter a word. “You must have a fierce drive to serve your country to give up everything.”

“I do.” He watched her dunk her chicken in the open container of barbecue sauce and nibble at it, wondering if he could actually talk about what sent him into black ops. Then he decided he could.

“I lost a cousin.”

She stopped eating. Her dark eyes burned into his as she waited for him to continue.

“He was killed during a covert mission gone wrong.”

“I’m so sorry, AJ.” Her eyes burned with a little more intensity.

“There was an intelligence failure. Then bureaucratic red tape. I was in a position to access the files, and I did.” He looked down at the box of chicken in his lap. “I shouldn’t have.”

She reached over. He thought she was going to snag a french fry, but she placed her hand over his. “What did you find out?”

“My cousin uncovered a major threat, but his warnings went ignored. When his team was finally sent in to stop it, they’d waited too long and the enemy ambushed them.”

“God. How terrible.”

“I struggled knowing that the people who lay their lives on the line to protect our freedom could end up dead because no one would listen to them. When I got the offer to join Blackout, I knew I could do more good in the world than the average foot soldier.”

“More good than your cousin was able to with his team.”

He nodded, swiping his tongue over his lip and tasting spices. “I don’t have anything holding me back now. I can give every ounce of myself, and use all my skills to fight.”

For a long minute, neither spoke. May just cradled her food in her hand but didn’t continue eating.

The atmosphere had grown too heavy.

To lighten the mood, he huffed out a rough laugh. “Do you have a stomachache already? Maybe I should have brought MREs for us to eat on the road.”

“I’m not sure military rations would be much better.” She offered him a hesitant smile, but the expression in her eyes told him that she knew he was trying to cover the moment by joking around.

She was on to him.

The guys knew he operated this way…but having somebody else in the world understand was new to him, and that ripped off a scab that had formed over the self-inflected wound he acquired the minute he joined Blackout and left his old life, his friends— his family —behind.

He stared at May’s beautiful face. The shifting tide of emotion inside his chest came as a surprise.

So did the idea that after the harsh reality of his life…that somebody in this world…could move him this way.

* * * * *

AJ polished off the biscuit and brushed the crumbs off his lips with a paper napkin. May stole a peek at his profile. His rugged features were arranged in a pleasant expression, but the pain in his voice when he told her about his cousin still echoed inside her.

It made her want to reach out and touch his hand again. Or more, to put her arms around him and draw him against her.

Suddenly, he grabbed the door handle and popped it open.

She sputtered around the sip of soda she’d just taken. God, her stomach really wasn’t feeling good.

He stepped out of the car.

“What are you doing?”

He pulled a tiny object out of his pocket and held it up for her to see. She stared at the small circular item.

“A tracking device?”

The shifting light from clouds scudding across an already gray sky seemed to darken the color of his eyes from their normal bright, intense blue to the deepest sapphire of the sea she had seen off many exotic coasts.

At her question, he nodded.

She rushed to set her cup in the drink holder. “What do you plan to do with it?”

He arched a brow. “You know what I’m going to do.”

“No. I don’t.” How she managed to speak slowly and calmly was a mystery when her insides felt like she’d been grabbed by the many tentacles of an ocean creature and held above a swirling whirlpool. She gulped in panic.

“AJ, you can’t chance it!”

His hard lips twisted. Were they really as firm and unyielding as they looked?

“I’ll be back.” He reached to shut the car door.

She threw out a hand to stop him. “AJ! No!”

He ducked to peer at her. “If I’m not back in ten minutes, drive to the next rest stop and call Con.”

Her jaw snapped shut. Then opened again. “Don’t even consider putting a tracker on that truck!”

“I wasn’t. I’m going to put it on the bomb.”

In a flurry, she jumped out and rounded the car to—to what? She wasn’t going to stop a man of his size and strength.

“Stop! We’re partners, and that means we have to both agree on the plan!”

He caught her completely off guard by reaching out and stroking a callused fingertip over the corner of her lips. Before she could regain her wits, he took off in long, purposeful strides toward the military truck.

She blinked at his retreating back, the set of his broad shoulders and damn, that carved ass of his weren’t helping her think better. She still felt the warm stroke of his finger to the pit of her core.

He did that on purpose.

The touch was a distraction from what he was dead set on doing.

Butterflies sporting horns and sharp teeth hatched in her stomach and flitted up to her chest. Calling AJ back was futile. Running after him a mistake. Both would only draw attention to them, and if the kids were watching from the window, they’d be seen.

Panic swept through her. Why was she so upset? After all, it wasn’t as if AJ was defusing the bomb. He was just going to…

Break into a government vehicle and plant a tracker on the crate.

Or inside it.

Again, her mind whirled with apprehension. She dragged in deep breath after deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. After all, the kids had driven for hours with the bomb and nothing happened. They hit potholes that did not end in a fiery blaze. Even if AJ managed to open that crate, he couldn’t do anything to make it detonate.

God, her stomach really hurt, and it had nothing to do with the greasy food. She wanted to remain standing outside the car in order to watch him, but that would make her seem even more suspicious.

She slipped inside the car and gripped the wheel with both hands.

AJ approached the truck. The rumble of an engine from the car beside her made her glance over. In the split second that she looked away, AJ just…vanished.

She stared hard at the back of the military truck. She hadn’t seen him breach the door or open it, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Her breath came in quick pants. Perspiration broke out on her brow and under her arms.

It had been a long time since she felt something like this, but she had to admit the truth to herself: she was freaking out.

She clenched the steering wheel harder. Her knuckles whitened, glinting through her pale skin. Then they began to ache with the strain.

It shook her, the way he disappeared. All his cocky, muscled bravado had been there one minute and was gone during the fraction of time it took for her to glance at the car next to her.

She hated this. Hated him for ducking out of sight and leaving her sitting here, helpless and on edge.

She wasn’t really helpless, though. She was trained for ops exactly like this. But her partner never disappeared before.

With her heart hammering a frantic rhythm, she stared at the truck, hoping to catch some hint of him. For what felt like an eternity, she divided her time between glancing at the vehicle and the exit of the restaurant, praying that the kids didn’t get their food and eat too fast.

Dammit, AJ.

She wanted a glimpse of his warm chestnut brown hair, of those broad, muscled shoulders. In case he came running and they needed a quick getaway, she started the car.

Across the parking lot, the area around the truck was silent with nothing to indicate that the reckless, too-hunky SEAL was trying to break into it.

This was not the plan.

Okay, there was no plan. Nothing had been settled. Since she arrived at the Blackout base, nothing seemed to be going right or in the way she was accustomed to ops going.

When she was called in to that meeting, she should have put her foot down— really put it down hard, and demanded any other partner.

Her hand hovered over her phone. Con was only a call away.

What would she say to him? That his special operative was going by his own rules, playing a dangerous game with a bomb involved?

Con was deep in another mission across the country after that plane crash. He wouldn’t appreciate a call from her. Besides, she didn’t really have any reason to call Con. Not yet. Not unless AJ didn’t return.

If I don’t come back, he’d said.

“If you don’t come back, I’ll kill you myself.”

Her voice was overly loud to her own ears. An undercurrent of fury shook at the center of the words. For the second time in her career, she was rattled.

“Where the hell are you?” she whispered.

Suddenly, a loud bang vibrated the car windows. She let out a small shriek and jumped out, prepared to see the bomb had detonated, and the entire truck was blown to smithereens…

With AJ inside.

But the truck was still sitting there. Intact.

Another low banging noise sounded down the road, where a car engine backfired a second time.

She melted against the side of the car and then slid back into the seat, gripping the wheel while her heart thumped even faster than before.

Another wave of panic rose in her chest like a tide rising up the sharp face of a cliff. Why did everything about her partner make her think of dangerous seas? It had to be the color of his eyes. No, not only the color. The turmoil in the depths too.

She stared at the ground around the truck tires. What if he was lying there hurt…or worse?

She couldn’t rush in to see for herself. A frantic woman running across a parking lot wasn’t exactly subtle. The kids already knew they were in the area. She couldn’t let them catch on that they were following them as well.

Biting down hard on her lip, she felt a tiny sting as the skin separated. Several minutes crawled by, a heavy weight dragging over her nerves. Agonizing seconds counted the moments since she last set eyes on AJ.

She’d heard tales of partners going missing. Some never found.

Suddenly, a shadow flickered across the back of the truck. Her heart leaped as AJ climbed out and slipped to the ground.

She locked her hand on the gear shift, prepared to gun the car toward him. He jogged across the lot as if nothing at all happened.

The urge to shout at him, to tell him to never to take off like that and leave her sitting here worrying again, perched on her lips. As soon as he jumped into the car, he settled his hand on top of hers where it gripped the gear shift.

“Are you freakin’ insane?” she yelped.

His grin maddened her. “I got the job done.”

“You’re lucky those kids didn’t see you. Or worse, some bystander who raised the alarm about a man jumping into a military truck!”

“May. It’s all right.” He wrapped his fingers lightly around her wrist. “I got the tracker planted on the explosive. Now we know for sure where it’s going.”

She shook her head, her straight hair whipping around her shoulders. “Not the point. You scared the hell out of me!”

AJ’s eyes darkened with something more potent than adrenaline. His fingers probed the pulse point on her wrist, which only made her heart trip faster.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to freak you out. But I had to do it. It’s my job.” He leaned over the console, holding her stare prisoner with his own.

“Just don’t do it again.” Her voice came out as a breathless whisper.

Or was that a whimper?

Her heart battered her ribs in a chaotic beat. It had nothing to do with fear or how close they might have come to being caught.

All of a sudden, there were no trucks. No bombs. No mission.

Just AJ and her.

Just them.

Then he kissed her.