Page 45 of Toxic Vengeance

“In your dreams, cheating bastard!” Ty called after him, but Zack was too busy laughing to reply.

His laughter died a quick death, his smile vanishing when he spotted the lone figure leaning up against the side of the stone shed in the distance.

Eden pushed away from the wall when he slowed nearby, standing with her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket while she watched him. None of the other women were here, just her. Had she come to see him?

He quickly parked the ATV inside and came back out. “Hey,” he said, testing the waters.

“Hi. You guys have fun?”

“Yup. I won.” Winning was way more fun than losing, and he intended to win Eden no matter what it took.

“He didn’t. I let him,” Ty said on his way past into the shed.

Zack grinned at Eden. “I totally won.”

Her lips quirked, her amber eyes steady on his. “Feel like taking a walk?”

“Absolutely.”

He fell in step with her as she headed across the field, ignoring the telltale grins he got from the guys. “Everything okay?” he asked when they were out of earshot.

“Fine. I’ve just been thinking a lot about what you said.”

“Which part?”

“All of it. If we’re going to be teammates, then we have to be able to trust each other.”

He nodded. “Agreed.” Though he didn’t want to bejustteammates.

“It’s not easy for me to do, especially since you’re still involved with the Agency.”

“I’m not—”

“You’re still connected to your handler. So yeah, you are.” She leveled a look at him. “Are you really from Indiana?”

“Born and bred. You?”

She looked back out over the fields. They were covered with a light mist in the distance. “Amber says I’m from coastal Georgia originally. It’s in the file she compiled for me from the ones she hacked off the Agency’s servers.”

Amber’s abilities with that laptop of hers were insane. He hoped they would help uncover who was responsible for John’s death. “But you don’t remember?”

She shook her head. “I only have bits and pieces of memories from before.”

Before she’d entered the Program. “Do you remember your family?”

A fond smile softened her face. “My grandma. My dad’s mom. According to my file, my parents died in an accident with a logging truck when I was three. My grandma raised me after that until she got too sick to take care of me, and then I went into foster care. Do you still have family back in Indiana?”

“My dad and his wife. They’ve been together for almost thirty years now. Both of them have been breathing down my neck about coming home for a visit. I haven’t been home in almost seven months. I need to make it happen sooner rather than later.”

“And your mom?”

“I don’t really see her much. She’s in Wyoming with her fourth husband. Never really was into family.”

She absorbed that with a nod. “Tell me one thing I don’t know about you.”

“Okay. I’m actually an introvert.”

She shot him a disbelieving look. “Please. I’ve never seen anyone work a room like you can.”

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