Page 11 of Fury

She glanced over his shoulder. "Yes, I noticed. I've been getting the suspicious stare down since I arrived."

"We're more wary now. The person who destroyed our main source of income for most of the island is still at large."

"Yeah, that reminds me. Why aren't you rebuilding yet?"

"No one told you?" Shit. They should have told her all the basics. His job wasn't to inform. Simply confirm what she already knew.

"It doesn't matter what anyone else told me. I'm asking you. I want to hear your answers. Not the party line."

He snorted. "No party here, Special Agent." She did know and she was obviously testing him. "The Diablo is dead. It was great while it lasted, but the residents here are ready to move on to a new chapter."

"Which is?"

"Nothing is decided yet. We'll have an island meeting this spring to discuss our options. Until then, some have taken off island jobs to compensate."

She scrunched her forehead as she processed the information. He wasn't about to get into their crops and the fact they harvested oil from the roots of the Devil's Club plant for various purposes including their brand new island distilled whiskey. Or the fact they'd recently purchased the off island market and pub less than a mile away so they could continue to sell said whiskey to both shifters and humans. She'd know soon enough if she did her homework with the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis board and she certainly looked like the kind of woman who did her homework and then some.

"You're being cagey. Why?" she demanded.

Sawyer laughed. Apparently FBI meant no need for a filter and just get right to the point. "Cagey huh? What makes you think that?"

"Because you answer questions with questions or you repeat what I've already said. If that's the way this relationship is going to go, it is not going to work. I expect more cooperation than that."

He sat back and steepled his fingers in front of his face. Well. Well. Apparently Ms. Special Agent Penelope wasn't going to be an easy pushover like Damien had led him to believe.

"Maybe you should have taken my trust building exercises more seriously,” he said.

She rolled her eyes. "Hard to believe a big, strong guy like you has trust issues. Or is it you just have issues with women in authority?"

"A big, strong guy like me?" He puffed out his chest. "I can't believe you just tried that on me."

She lifted her hands and shrugged.

He leaned forward and across the table, into her personal space. "I do not need an ego boost, Special Agent Penelope Bishop. I'm pretty comfortable in my skin, even now that it's mangled. And I absolutely don't have a problem with women of authority. I love women. All of them. But especially curvy ones who are also comfortable in their own skin. So let's try again, babe."

She stared at him with a shitload of defiance stamped across her face this time. He watched the muscle in her jaw flex and unflex, waiting for her to blast into him. Unfortunately for him, her cooler head prevailed and she kept her mouth closed. Although closed or open, he still wanted to taste it. In fact, the idea of kissing her senseless suddenly sounded like a great idea.

As the tense silence stretched, Sawyer reluctantly dropped back down into his seat. He clearly needed his head examined if he thought kissing Agent Bishop was a good idea. Humans made great toys and occasionally more, but not the law enforcement variety.

Those kind of humans were strictly off limits. Their pack had too many secrets to keep to take chances like that.

"So what's next then, Agent Bishop?"

After a quick glance around the room, she leaned forward. "How about a change of venue. Maybe somewhere I'm not the main attraction?"

He grinned. "You mean you don't like the whole island gawking at you?"

"How'd you guess?" she laughed.

"Well, Agent Bishop. It's kind of obvious with you looking over my shoulder every thirty seconds. Although, I'm pretty sure wherever we go, you're going to be the main attraction as far as I'm concerned."

She ignored his blatant flirting. "I can't help it. I feel like I'm under a microscope here."

This time he laughed. "That's because you are. You’re an outsider and you're hanging out with a freak like me. I think that makes you a freak by association." Which was of course total bullshit. Being with him meant no one in the pack would bother her. Ever. Without him here, they might have tried to run her off by now. Depending on just how skittish she truly turned out to be.

"Can we go to the scene of the crime together? I'd like to walk around. Get a sense of the area myself."

He bristled at her request. That was the last place he wanted to take her and was half a second away from suggesting his place instead. Except he'd made a promise. A promise he had to keep. And he did like her use of the word ‘together.’ He’d have to find more ways for her to use it.

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