Page 5 of Dangerous Devotion

Neither was the fact that she didn’t live very far from the Charlie team base. Taking a chopper and having no ability to converse over the noise would be far preferable to driving to her place so she could pack.

He guided the SUV down the road toward the address she’d given him. He tossed her a pointed look to see if she had read the file containing information about their roles, but the file rested in her lap unopened.

“Why aren’t you studying your file? You need to learn who you’re supposed to be. You can’t slip up, May.”

She wasn’t even trying. And she thoughthewas going to get them killed?

Her argument against working with him echoed in his head. He had to admit that her changing tactics to convince Con they shouldn’t work together had been a smart one—if she had been talking to anyone but Con. His commanding officer would never throw one of his team into the line of fire. Their team was a tightly bound brotherhood, a chain that couldn’t be broken.

May continued to stare out the side window and ignore him.

He forced the huff of annoyance down before he could let it slip out. Okay, if he was going to make this work, he required ahellof a lot of control.

“I get that you don’t want to work with me. I don’t want to work with you either. Get used to it. This is the military.”

“I already know what I’m doing.”

Her voice grated on his nerves as much as that finger tapping had back in the conference room.

“If you won’t read it for yourself, I’ll fill you in on what you need to know. Getting into the gala requires clearance. Your badge is in the file. You are a government contractor who does research on weapons. That’s how you’re getting into the military ball.”

She waved a hand, drawing his attention to her slender fingers. “I got it.”

He blinked. Few people ever brushed him off. Who was this chick?

“You got it?” he countered, a gritty edge in his voice.

She turned her attention to him. “I know my cover. I’m your girlfriend.”

She sounded like being his girlfriend was a death sentence.

“I’m also the daughter of a wealthy family that happens to have a government contract. My status gives me clearance to attend the gala. Our op goal: find out more about the bomb. Information about its exact arrival time in Virginia is limited—probably buried.”

Blah blah blah blah. Who cares? We’ll see if you’ve got the details down when you screw up.

After only a short drive—and a lot of mental fuming later—the GPS alerted him that they’d arrived at their destination.

Henner turned onto a winding driveway, swinging his gaze left and right, drinking in the appearance of the manicured grounds. The house was concealed by trees, but snatches of the structure peeked between branches.

When the lane arced again, a mansion came into view. The place was massive with stately columns parading across the front of the stone façade. The upper floor flaunted ironwork balconies beneath french doors reflecting the sun.

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it wasn’t this.

“I don’t suppose this was a tax seizure too.”

“No.”

As soon as he parked off to the side, May climbed out of the vehicle. He followed her to the front door, which opened for them.

A person in business casual dress greeted them with a dip of his head, and she breezed inside. “Thank you, Brooks.” She tossed her head, sending her black hair into a silken wave. “This is—”

“Adler. Jason Adler.” He cut her off before she could say his real name. She’d been in that meeting with the rest of his team, and that meant she knew what Blackout was—dead men walking. So deep undercover that they didn’t exist on paper. Ghosts.

She didn’t miss a beat. “Brooks, please make Mr. Adler comfortable. I won’t be long.”

She took off across the massive foyer. Two of Blackout’s entryway would fit inside this one.

Brooks waved a hand, gesturing for him to follow, but Henner had no intention of being seated somewhere to wait with a drink in his hand. He set off after May and was halfway up the stairs before she whirled around.

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