Page 7

7

Finn scraped the desert dirt with his boot, the coarse grains grinding beneath the sole.

“This is so out of my comfort zone.”

The sand was red brown, like a spillage of dried blood. It crunched underfoot with a brittle noise like a million tiny bones breaking, making the hair on the back of his neck stiffen.

He exhaled. An Omen? Fuck, he was getting superstitious and that was not a luxury he could afford in his line of work.

He tugged his baseball hat, angling it to protect his eyes from the relentless glare of the sun as he contemplated the shit load of kit that still needed to be unloaded. Sweat beaded on the back of his neck and trickled between his shoulder blades.

A heavy slap collided with his shoulder. “It’s sand. Doesn’t bite.” Liev’s voice carried a hint of amusement.

Finn grunted and grabbed a pack out of the SUV and tossed it on the ground where it landed with a resigned puff. Fuck, even their kit didn’t want to be out here.

Dry wind pulled at his ankles, scouring grit under his collar and abrading his skin. “Water and air, I’m good. Dirt not so much. There’s a reason I became a pilot.” He reached for another bag, heavy with tough wetsuits for the cave diving mission ahead.

Behind the SUV, sand dunes stretched as far as he could see, broken only by a few stunted trees braced against the white heat of the sun. They looked as if they would rather be anywhere else but here.

Me too.

“What do you think of the science pair?” Liev picked up a stack of high-powered dive lights.

Finn stomped with an armful of rebreathers from the SUV to two tables already groaning with dive gear. The equipment clanked with each step. “I’m sure they’ll have their uses.”

“She’s attractive.” Liev looked thoughtful, a glint in his eye as he gazed to where Rose and Harris were bent over a computer together under the shade of a tarp.

“High maintenance.” Finn gave a dismissive grunt.

“So you think she’s pretty?” Liev grinned, his teeth flashing white against his tanned skin.

Finn flipped him the finger, but his gaze drifted back to Rose. Her hair was pulled back, exposing the graceful curve of her neck, and she had put on a pair of glasses that were giving him serious librarian vibes. What it would be like to run his fingers through her hair, to feel the softness of her skin beneath his touch?

“Finn?” Liev studied him, a dent between his eyes. His gaze flicked from Finn to Rose.

“What?” Finn dragged his gaze away from Rose, clearing his throat.

Liev’s grin widened, his eyes sparking with mischief. “ You were staring, man. I thought you said she was high maintenance?”

“She is.” Finn grabbed a rebreather and inspected it with more intensity than necessary. “Doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a good view.”

Liev chuckled. “I know that look.”

Finn shot him a glare, his jaw rigid. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Right, right. Because you always look at high maintenance women like you want to devour them whole.”

Finn returned the rebreather to the table, his eyes narrowing. “We’ve got a job to do. A job we need to do well. That’s all I care about.”

Liev held up his hands in mock surrender. “Sure.”

Finn glanced over his shoulder. Rose was deep in conversation with Harris. “Besides. She looks at me like she wants to murder me in my sleep.”

“Maybe.” Liev kneeled to check their emergency supply of air. The bailout tanks were bright yellow, a glaring contrast to the muted tones of the rest of the gear. “But I bet she’d have some fun with you first.”

Finn groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. “You’re impossible, you know that?”

Liev’s usually severe face beamed. “Da.” He shrugged. “Eva tells me all the time.”

Finn headed back to the SUV with a shake of his head. All of this was just bluster. He’d seen the ping of tension in Rose’s body at the mention of his name, the way her shoulders had stiffened and he’d been about to ask Ethan to reconsider his choice. But seeing her reaction fueled his fire. He’d never run from a challenge and Rose Wyndham was no different.

Most people thought he was easygoing, quick to smile and share a laugh. But that was because he showed people what they wanted to see. He’d learned a long time ago to keep his true feelings hidden. He could handle the prickly doctor and then some.

He blew out a breath, as he checked his watch. In just eight hours, they would be in the water, the mission finally underway, but he couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease. They were unpacking the most advanced dive gear known to man, yet here they were, in the middle of the desert, miles from anywhere, sweating like pigs.

He turned to head back to the table, air tanks in his arms and stalled. Rose was making her way over to Liev.

Shit.

He adjusted the tanks and forced himself to walk over to where she was now speaking to Liev.

Keep it casual.

Liev’s voice was a steady stream as he talked her through the specialist cave gear. “... Backup open-circuit regulators, each with a redundant second stage. It’s a precautionary measure in case of equipment failure.”

Liev’s familiar litany of tech equipment washed over Finn like white noise. The sun beat down on his back, the heat seeping through his shirt and into his skin, but it was nothing compared to the slow burn of something that simmered beneath the surface whenever he was close to her.

He studied Rose from the corner of his eye, taking in the serious set of her jaw, the way her brow furrowed as she focused on Liev’s instructions. She nodded, absorbing every word, but when she lifted her gaze to meet Finn’s, he caught a flicker of something—a hint of uncertainty, maybe even a touch of defiance.

“Hey.” Her tone was neutral .

He forced a smile, the muscles in his jaw creaking with the effort. “Hey.” He set the tanks down on the ground, the heavy thud of metal on sand echoing the tension in his body.

Rose turned back to Liev. “I have to admit, the idea of cave diving makes me a little nervous.” Her voice wavered. “It’s so claustrophobic.”

Liev offered her a reassuring smile. “Cave diving is a whole different ball game. It’s unpredictable. But we know what we’re doing. You’re in safe hands with us. We’ll all be looking out for each other down there.” He handed her a rebreather, his hands skimming hers. “Let’s refresh when you might use this.”

A twinge of jealousy pricked at Finn, catching him off guard as Rose’s fingers brushed against Liev’s.

This was ridiculous. Liev was not interested in Rose Wyndham. Couldn’t be further from it. Liev still had his razor-sharp edges, but he had eyes for no one but Eva.

Finn turned his back on them, directing his attention to the specialized dive computers they would all be carrying, primed to calculate depth, dive time, and decompression stats. What the hell was up with him?

Facts. He picked up one of the dive units. The hard plastic bit into his skin. This was what he needed to focus on. Hard, cold facts.

But still Rose’s presence was like a physical thing.

He gritted his teeth. He needed to get his head in the game, or Rose Wyndham was going to be a problem.

A problem he didn’t have time to solve.