Page 24 of Dangerous Devotion

She sliced a look at Moore’s back where he still stood at the cooler. “No, baby. They don’t have any of the chips you like. What would you like instead?”

He hesitated for a beat. “Baby? Jesus fucking Christ. Who needs food?”

She used her sweetest tone on what must be the most sour human being she’d ever met. “Baby…if you don’t choose, I’ll choose for you.”

Moore pivoted in the stiff way he’d been trained to move in. She felt his stare sliding over her and cast him a polite smile.

“Okay, I’ll look for those. See you in a minute, baby.”

She slipped her phone into her purse, keeping an eye on Moore, who was walking toward the checkout with two energy drinks in hand. She snatched up the first thing she saw in front of her face—a package of cookies and two bags of barbecue chips—and hurried behind him.

He stepped up in front of the counter and gave her a grin. God, hewasyoung. Fresh-faced with hardly a hint of facial hair. Either he was very good at shaving—unlikely—or Henner was right that he couldn’t even grow a beard yet.

He looked over the junk food. “I heard you on the phone. I see you got your answer.”

She smiled back and added a little eye roll at the food in her hand. “How hard is it to say you want double-stuffed cookies?”

He chuckled. “That would be my first choice.”

In a deliberate sweep, she looked him over from military-issue cap to boots and all the camo in between. “Oh! You’re in the military truck. Thank you for your service.”

His smile widened. Just then, the clerk emerged from wherever she’d been hiding and picked up one of the energy drinks he set on the counter.

“What brings you through these parts?” May pushed to keep the conversation rolling.

The clerk gave him the total, and he passed her some bills.

“Just had to pick up a shipment from port. We’re on our way back to base.”

“How interesting. Where is base?”

“Fort Leonard Wood.”

May leaned a hip on the counter. Keeping her expression light while her mind raced wasn’t easy. “That’s a long haul. Must be important cargo to warrant a direct pickup from port.”

He shrugged, popping the top of one of the energy drinks. “Logistics, you know? Above my pay grade. They give us orders, we take them. We don’t have any say in where we drive.”

She made a humming sound of agreement. “I get that. Ever have to haul anything classified?”

His hesitation was almost indiscernible—a twitch of his fingers against the can he held, a flick of his eyes.

She needed to disarm him further. Leaning close, she whispered, “Any UFO parts?”

He chuckled and relaxed. “Nah. Nothing that important.”

She could tell by the lightness in his expression that he really didn’t have a clue that he was transporting an explosive.

She tipped her head. “Must be nice, just driving and not having to ask questions.”

“Standard procedure.” He sipped the drink and shuffled forward to let May set her items on the counter.

The clerk started ringing her up. May didn’t have much time left.

“We’re not supposed to ask questions,” Moore told her.

“But you’re curious, right? You get a cargo load from port and you must be dying to know what’s inside.” Now why had she said that? What if the kids looked inside the crate and something terrible happened?

He chuckled again. “Probably just training equipment or spare parts.” He took another sip and then tipped his head toward the exit. “McKinnon’s waiting. Gotta hit the road.”

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