Page 10 of Falling Fast

The words hovered in the air between them. A warning and a promise. There was no way she’d forgotten or could have misinterpreted what he’d meant. And he still meant it now. He refused to be a one-night stand for her, and would never indulge in a casual fling with a teammate’s sister, let alone his best friend’s.

“You’re serious? That’s it?” she asked, sounding incredulous as the other eyebrow rose to join the first. “It’s been seven months without a word from you, even when I reached out to you through Easton. After everything that happened that night, I expected more from you.”

His jaw tensed. “I know exactly how long it’s been. And I sent a message back through your brother.” Something benign and totally innocent, but enough to be polite without giving away his feelings for her. If she knew how into her he really was, she’d use it and try to play him to get what she wanted. Them, in bed together. And then she’d move on soon after.

No way would he let it happen.

Charlie let out a humorless laugh. “Wow. Okay then.”

She had no damn idea how hard it had been not to contact her. He’d kept his distance from her this entire time because he was way too aware of the fine line he was walking with her, and because she tested his control in a way no other woman ever had. The truth was, in addition to wanting her, helikedher.

A lot.

He admired the hell out of her smarts, her courage and the skill she’d shown that night in the forest, even if he’d been pissed that she’d run out ahead of him like that. It had shaken him because he hadn’t been able to protect her and she could have gotten seriously hurt or killed if she hadn’t fired first—and hit what she’d been aiming at. “Yeah, I’m dead serious.”

She studied his eyes a long moment, as though trying to figure out if he was bullshitting her or not. “What, so you’re waiting for me to make the next move?” she said on a laugh, as if she still couldn’t quite believe it.

“Only if you’re all in. Otherwise I’m not interested.”

“All in,” she murmured, looking equal parts fascinated and baffled. As if no man had ever passed up the chance of a fling with her. And maybe they hadn’t. But Jamie wasn’t like the other guys she’d been with, and he wanted her to know it.

“That’s right. It’s just the way I’m wired.” The hell of it was, he knew damn well she wasn’t ready for him. At least not for the intensity of what he wanted from her. She was Easton’s sister for Christ’s sake, he wasn’t going to simply screw around with her and then walk away.

Except she’d made it clear she wasn’t interested in anything serious or long term. So why was she so pissed at him then? She wanted to play, to try him on for size just to see what the fit was like. A temporary thrill before she moved on to the next conquest. No strings, no commitments. Just fun and pleasure.

She was used to guys looking to have a good time and then just walk away. Most guys would jump at the chance for a hookup with her, but he was so far beyond all that bullshit with Charlie. He couldn’t do short and casual with her even if he’d wanted to. He wasn’t a toy to be used.

He was thirty-one years old and done with playing. He knew what he wanted from her, and it wasn’t a one-night stand.

So no. If she wanted him, it was going to be all or nothing.

“So. The op,” he said, changing the subject and bringing them back to the most pressing issue at hand. In all honesty, part of him still couldn’t believe this was actually happening. Right up until she’d agreed to be part of the op he’d expected her to bow out, and now that she’d committed, they had no choice but to see this thing through. “You’ve got a file on Baker now, but let me save you some reading time and sum it up for you in one line.” He paused a beat. “He’s a human piece of shit.”

She gave a slow nod, searching his eyes, all business now. “Define ‘shit’.”

Where to start? “He’s worth at least eighty million, easy. On the surface, he projects the image he wants everyone to see, a big time real estate developer on the east coast. Intel from the flash drive you helped crack the encryption on says otherwise, pointing to various offshore companies he might be involved with.

“According to Gallant, originally the guy made his fortune arranging cocaine shipments coming into the States from the Gulf, and when that got too hot, he switched to laundering money for himself and his cartel buddies. Most of the assets he owns are paid for with laundered money, and Gallant says once the agency digs deeper, it’ll find more.”

“Well they must not have much on him, if they were desperate enough to bring me in to an undercover op to steal the files from his personal laptop.”

“They don’t haveenough,” he corrected. He needed her to know exactly what she was getting into. If she wanted to change her mind, it wasn’t too late. And truth be told, he’d rather she said no. Watching her risk her life once was enough for him. He wasn’t eager to see her do it a second time, even if she was the most technically qualified person who matched Baker’s “type”.

“To get enough evidence to nail him with and then put him away, they need a lot more than what they have,” he continued. “And make no mistake, he’s still dangerous, with an unknown number of kills under his belt. If the agency’s right, he’s one of a long list of people working forel Escorpion.” The most wanted narco-terrorist in the Western hemisphere.

Recognition flared in her dark eyes.

Okay, she knew the name, realized what it meant. Good. That meant she’d understand the stakes. “Yeah, so you know what kind of person Baker is underneath that slick businessman image he hides behind. He’s a notorious playboy, so you’ll have to watch out for that.” He didn’t worry about that part as much as the rest of it. Charlie was a force to be reckoned with. “Aside from however many kills he’s personally responsible for by his own hand, Baker is suspected of having ordered the murders of at least a half-dozen people that we know about, and there are likely more. So this is still going to be risky, even though I know you can defend yourself if need be. We both need to be prepared.”

“I know.”

She still seemed determined to go through with it. “We’re going to keep your contact with him to a minimum and a backup team will always be nearby, just in case. My job is to make sure you’re safe, plain and simple. But there might be times when I can’t be in the room with you and Baker, and we’ll just have to work around that.”

“I understand.”

She didn’t appear apprehensive at all, no surprise. She’d never let on that she was nervous. He didn’t want to scare her, but he needed her to be on guard. “If we do this, then you’re going to have to follow my lead and do exactly what I say. If I give you an order, you follow it, no questions asked. Or this isn’t going to work.”

A spark of resentment lit her eyes at his heavy-handedness, but he didn’t care. None of what had happened between them before mattered a damn now. From this point on, they were a team. She’d never done anything like this before and her safety came first. He’d do whatever it took to keep her focused and safe, even if it meant alienating her later.

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