Page 20 of Last Resort

“Think about that flinch when I came at you the first time in a choke hold. It totally caught me off guard.”

She shrugged. “It caught me off guard too. But we worked through it and I don’t flinch anymore.”

“But what if something happens while you’re undercover? Something else triggers you.”

“We can’t possibly work through every possible scenario that might trigger me. It’s impossible for anyone.”

She was right. There were always internal factors at play in undercover work that could momentarily cripple even the most seasoned agent. There was no way to prepare for them all.

But this was different. His very gut told him so. “I want you to answer me one question.”

Her eyes narrowed as she planted her hands on her hips. “What?”

“You’re deliberately hiding something from me, aren’t you. Something important.”

The blood drained from her face, and he knew he’d hit his mark. Maci Ford was hiding something.

“Let’s just finish the lesson, Patterson. I’m tired and tomorrow is a big day.”

She was exhausted—he could see it in the bags under her eyes and the tight set of her mouth. He knew she’d been sick at least once a day despite her medication.

He should let this go, but couldn’t. He had to know.

“I’ll make you a deal. You break out of my hold in under two minutes and I’ll leave it all alone.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then you tell me why you keep saying you don’t want to be with me when we both know we can hardly stay away from each other.”

He saw her throat working as she gulped. “I don’t think—”

Chance stepped into her space and ran a fingertip down her cheek. “I should’ve pushed way before now. But I didn’t want you to feel like you were pressured into being with me,” he whispered. “That you had to sleep with me for job security.”

She blinked in shock. “I never felt that way.”

“Good.” They were so close, it wouldn’t take much to bend down and kiss her. He was so tempted. “I thought maybe you’d just lost interest in me, which was a blow to the ego, but acceptable. You’ve done a good job of hiding that you’re still attracted to me, but the last couple days I could fairly taste it in the air between us. You still want me, Maci Ford.”

She swallowed, drawing his eyes to her throat where he desperately wanted to press his lips, but didn’t answer.

“So, if you can’t break my hold in under two minutes, then you tell me why you’re so damned determined to keep away from me.”

“And if I don’t take the bet?”

“Then I’ll be knocking on your door every day until I find out the truth. Your call.”

Either way he was going to get the truth.

“Fine.” She took a step back, stretching her neck from side to side. “Let’s do this.”

Chance set a timer on his phone and gave her a three-second warning before he lunged. He kept them both on their feet, coming at her from the side to trap her arms with his own. It made it harder for her to reach him with a kick. As she struggled, Chance kept an eye on the timer.

One minute left. Maci was breathing hard and grunting with her every move. He could see the panic setting in, and he wasn’t sure if it was his arms restraining her or that she knew she was going to lose. Either way, it pushed her to fight harder. Her nails dug into his stomach where they could reach and her teeth gnashed at his arms.

Good for her. It hurt, but she was using the tools they’d worked on.

Thirty seconds left. Her energy flagged, which he’d been counting on. In a real fight against someone bigger, she’d have to use bursts of speed and power.

They were down to the last twenty seconds when the gym door opened and Brax walked in with his phone in his hand.

---