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S ophia gave Eugene what she hoped was a businesslike nod and walked toward the colonel’s office. The door was closed, so she knocked.

“Enter.”

She found Max, General Stone, and Con in the room. Max and the general were seated, Con was standing at parade rest.

All three men wore grim expressions.

Sophia stepped inside, closed the door and stood next to Connor before asking, “What’s wrong?”

General Stone spoke. “We’ve interrogated the two men who accosted you outside your quarters last night. They’re part of the construction crew and were already on the base. A man approached them and offered several thousand American dollars. He asked them to grab any American females who had white-blonde hair and deliver them to a truck waiting outside.”

Her stomach turned and twisted. “How many women on the base have my hair color?”

“Two. The other woman is one of our telecommunication techs and was on duty last night. They never could have reached her.”

All three men stared at her, but only Con’s mouth looked angry. Max and the general appeared more resigned than anything else. Or tired.

“It was your idea to sleep in Sergeant Button’s quarters last night?” General Stone asked, one corner of his mouth tightening briefly in disapproval.

“Yes.” She wanted to tell him to mind his own business, but managed to close her mouth before the words could slip out.

“Why?”

“I trust him.”

This time the general allowed disapproval to take up residence on his face. “Just like that?”

“No, not just like that. He’s the first soldier Max has tried to partner me with who treats and talks to me like an equal. He was there when I needed him and he let me cry on his shoulder afterward without making me feel like I was being a wuss. I slept in his room and he didn’t try anything remotely inappropriate.” She transferred her gaze to Max’s face. “You wanted to find me a partner I could trust and work with, right? Well, he’s standing next to me.”

Stone shook his head then stood and said to Max, “I’m not in favor of this because it sets a bad example, but we’ve got an information leak, and I can admit that the situation is a unique one.” He turned his attention to Con. “Are you keeping your head in the game?”

“Yes, sir,” Con promised in his deep baritone.

General Stone stared at him for a couple more seconds, then looked at her again and angled his thumb at Con. “Rumors will, without a doubt, go around. Can you deal with that?”

“I can deal with that better than getting kidnapped.”

Stone sighed. “Max, I thought you were being paranoid, but last night has changed my mind. I’m going to ask for help profiling Akbar. The FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit might have some insights into what he might do next, or at least come up with a short list of possibilities. We have to get ahead of this maniac before he starts World War Three.” He nodded at everyone and left the office.

“He thinks Akbar is involved in that kidnapping attempt?” Sophia asked, her voice rising in surprise.

Max waited until the door was closed again before saying, “Sophia, there are only two women on base who match the physical description of the woman those men were paid to find and kidnap. The other person has no special skills or knowledge, whereas you’re a one of a kind asset. Akbar knows about the Biological Rapid Response Team. He was briefed on the brRT at a time when he was a trusted adviser. He may see us as the biggest barrier to getting what he wants.”

“What does he want?” Connor asked.

“Revenge, pay back, inciting terror, whatever you want to call it. He blames the United States for the death of his family.”

“Is he right?”

“They were killed three years ago in an Islamic State attack in Syria.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Max ran a hand through his hair. “After nagging for a full report of that incident, it turns out the strike was done with American weapons and ammunition. No one publicly took credit for the strike. Military Intelligence says that the Islamic State blames the USA for it.”

“He was a trusted adviser after this?” Con asked.

“He claimed to blame the extremists. He’s also highly educated and politically connected in Afghanistan as well as Syria. He gave us a lot of good intel.”

“Until he didn’t,” Connor said in a disgusted tone.

Max nodded slowly. “I need you both to write a report for that second event last night. Then I need you to prepare for a last-minute departure.”

“Are you thinking of sending me somewhere safer?” Sophia asked, stomach churning at the idea of being taken out of the field.

“No, I think Akbar is planning to use another biological weapon soon, maybe in more than one location and I also don’t think he’s done trying to mess with us.”

“To stop us from responding to an outbreak?”

“Yes.”

Sophia’s stomach twisted harder. “It makes sense in a sociopathic sort of way.”

Con snorted, but didn’t comment otherwise.

She fixed her gaze on her boss. “I don’t want to go through another night like last night, Max.”

“Agreed.” He looked at Con with one eyebrow raised.

“I won’t let her out of my sight.”

He sounded so uptight Sophia couldn’t help but say, “Why don’t you microchip me while you’re at it?”

“Good idea,” Con said with a toothy grin.

She rolled her eyes.

“No. Really.” Con was talking to Max now. “It is a good idea. If she gets nabbed we can find her.”

“What’s to stop the bad guys from using such a chip to find me too?”

“How are they going to know?” Max asked.

“How did they know where my room was last night?”

Con stared at her with an expression that made her shiver with dread. “That’s a good question. Where are they getting their info from?”

“You’re suggesting that we have a traitor on base providing information to Akbar?” Max asked.

“Money makes people do all sorts of things they normally wouldn’t. Then there’s the possibility that some radicalized kid has joined the American military so that they can cause havoc, sabotage equipment, people, and information.”

“We’ve considered that,” Max told her with a grim look. “It’s why we’re going to be changing how things are done in this part of the base. Changing things without informing anyone who doesn’t need to know.”

“I don’t know if that’s going to be enough,” Sophia said.

“It probably won’t,” Con put in. He paused for a moment, then said, “I’d like to make a request.”

“By all means,” Max said.

“I’d like to bring in a couple other Special Forces soldiers to help. If you’re right and we do get deployed to investigate an outbreak, I want men I can trust working with me to protect Sophia.”

“You have specific men in mind?”

“Yes. Both are currently training Afghan troops and could be pulled for this duty, no problem.”

“Give their names and particulars to Eugene. He’ll get it done.”

“Thank you, sir.” Con nodded and left the office, giving her a nod as well on his way out.

Sophia looked at her commanding officer and noted the dark bags under his eyes. “Things just got a lot harder.”

“We can’t let that stop us from doing what we must.”

“It won’t, but the danger to everyone is greater now. Not just to me, but you, too. What are you doing to protect yourself, Max?”

His mouth tightened. “General Stone has decided to assign me a bodyguard too.”

“Another Special Forces soldier?”

“Not exactly.” It was the way he said it, the stiffness in his shoulders and in his crossed arms, that told her who it was.

“Oh. Sergeant Stone.”

“Exactly.”

“I thought you liked her.”

“I do like her. That’s the problem.”

She thought about Con and how she felt about him, every confusing thing, and what it would do to her if he got hurt protecting her or took a bullet meant for her.

The thought was enough to make her stomach twist so hard it made breathing difficult.

“I understand. I’ve only known Con for a few days, yet the length of time doesn’t seem to matter. He’s the first soldier who didn’t dismiss me as irrelevant the moment he met me.”

“Like I said, these guys...soldiers don’t even know where the damn box is that most people spend their lives in.”

“She doesn’t know where the box is either, Max. She’s one of the people who makes sure they don’t.”

“Unfortunately, the box isn’t the only thing she doesn’t see.” He dropped his arms and gave her a patient look. “Your report?”

As much as she wanted to help him, this was something he had figure out on his own. Like how she had to create a working relationship with a man she wanted for something other than work. “Can I write it in my office?”

“Of course, make sure Button writes his too.”

“Yes, sir.” Sophia left Max’s office. Relief, anxiety, and anticipation made her muscles shake and her head dizzy.

She wasn’t sure how her sexual encounter with Con was going to impact their ability to work together. Would it change the way he treated her during their working hours?

She couldn’t stop thinking about it, but Max and General Stone were keeping such a close watch on them, Con wouldn’t want to risk getting caught with his pants down. Or his hand down her pants. Whichever.

A large part of her wanted more. The rest of her was uncertain and a little afraid of the way she’d lost total control with him.

Con was standing next to Eugene’s desk talking with the young soldier. Both of them had determined expressions on their faces.

“Are you good?” Con asked her.

No, I’m not good. I’m terrified, turned on, and two seconds away from throwing up. She couldn’t tell him all that in front of Eugene, so she found herself lifting her chin. “I’m going to write my report in my office. You’re supposed to come with me. You can use Dr. Samuels’s computer to write yours.”

He nodded, then said to Eugene, “Let me know if you have any problems.”

“Of course, but I don’t expect any. Colonel Maximillian’s team is high on everyone’s priority list.”

Con walked with her to her office, and for the first time since she met him, his height and size made her feel...awkward. “What was that about the extra men you want on my security detail?”

“Yeah. I’ve asked for two specific guys. Demolitions and Engineering Sergeant Lyle Smoke and Medic Walter River.”

“I know Smoke. He was assigned to Dr. Samuels for a short time when she was here recovering from getting blown up and infected with anthrax.” She paused. “I didn’t know his name was Lyle.”

“Don’t use his first name. Ever.”

“I know. He told me when I asked him if Smoke was his first or last name.”

Con glanced at her, his brows raised. “He talked to you?”

“A little. He gave me a nickname.”

Con’s eyes widened. “This I can’t wait to hear.”

“Ghost. You know, because I’m so white.” She pointed at her hair, then turned on Dr. Samuels’s computer, entered the password, and waved at Con to sit. “I don’t know the other man. What’s he like?”

“River is an interesting guy. He has an eidetic memory.”

Sophia paused in the process of entering her password on her computer. “Really? I’m not sure if that’s a blessing or a curse.”

Con tilted his head. “Most people get excited and start imagining all the ways River can use his memory to their benefit.”

“My memory may not be eidetic, but it’s pretty good, and there are plenty of things I wish I couldn’t remember. Not being able to forget would be torturous.” She met Con’s somber gaze. She wasn’t the only one who wished they could forget. “How does he cope with the bad stuff?”

“You’ll have to ask him.”

“When will they be here?”

“A day, two at most.”

“Good.” She blew out a breath and concentrated on writing her report. The faster the better. All the assholes from last night weren’t going to get any more air time inside her head than they already had. She was done. Done with being scared.

One fact stood out, however.

They’d been waiting for her outside her door.

She’d been their target.

“Con?” she asked, attempting to come up with alternate places where she could sleep and be secure. “How safe is the lab?” She glanced at him to see if she had his attention. She did. He was watching her with an eagle’s interest in prey. “I mean, in your professional opinion, is the lab secure?”

“Security, safety, whatever you want to call it, is mostly a myth.” He shrugged. “With the right intel and planning, any area could be breached.” He thought about that for a second. “I’ll talk to Max about moving your hotel room around every few days.”

“What about you?”

He gave her a strange smile. “Whenever I say you , I mean me , too.”

“Oh. Right. We’re a team.” Having him that close all the time might prove inconvenient when she needed to give herself a transfusion of platelets. How was she going to explain an IV sticking out of her arm? She should probably give herself one today or tomorrow. Could she get away with locking herself in the bathroom for a couple of hours?

Or would that cause a whole new set of problems?