Page 25 of Over the Edge

He grimaced.Friend-zoned. Damn.

“Would you say the source of your discomfort is more fear or embarrassment?”

She tilted her head, considering. “That’s a good question. Some of both, I guess.”

“Well, in the first place, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. You’re a beautiful woman, and you come across as confident, intelligent, and observant.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled, visibly abashed.

“And you have nothing to fear from men,” he declared.

She snorted. “Speak for yourself.”

“I’m serious. I’ve taught you enough fighting techniques to take down just about any man alive.”

“I can’t take you down,” she retorted.

“I’ve instructed unarmed combat to special operators for close to a decade. I’m the guy who can take out all the other guys. You’ll be able to take out anyone else you encounter. And I’m not about to attack you, so you’re safe from me.”

“Being able to kick a guy’s butt isn’t a fantastic way to flirt with him,” she observed.

“Speak for yourself. I find it sexy as hell.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “I’m asking how to flirt with a guy, not how to drop him.”

“Becoming comfortable with them is the first step in learning how to flirt with men.”

“If you say so,” she muttered.

“Take me, for example. You’re comfortable with me, right?”

She opened her mouth. Closed it again.

“You’re not comfortable with me?” he asked, startled.

“When we’re working, I am.”

He frowned. “What about when we’re off duty?”

“We’re never off duty,” she answered dryly.

She wasn’t wrong. Training her and Lily had been a round-the-clock proposition. The women had years’ worth of information and experience to absorb before they would be ready for field operations with a SEAL team. The normal pipeline took over two years, but Cal hoped to have Anna and Lily up to full speed in half that time.

Anna had most of the technical knowledge she would need, but now it was all about weaving her seamlessly into the single, living organism that was an operational SEAL team. By the time she hit the field, she would flow like water with the other Reapers, and it would all come so naturally that nobody needed conscious thought to work with her.

He felt bad taking her away from her team integration training to help insert him into Zagistan. But he’d been getting an ever-stronger gut feeling that if they didn’t go get Ken Singleton right now, the guy wouldn’t be alive to bring home.

He didn’t know how he knew it, but Kennyhadmade it out of that ambush alive. He was sure of it. And he was just as sure that time was running out on his best friend.

“C’mon,people! Concentrate! You look like a bunch of cockroaches running from a can of bug spray!” Cal yelled in exasperation to the Reapers below. He stood on the high catwalk above them in the training building, observing a hostage rescue scenario going to hell at his feet.

“Reset. Let’s try it again,” he ordered.

The next run was worse than the last. He was tempted to haul their sorry asses outside and PT them into the ground to get their damned attention.

“Take a break,” he called down in disgust. He jogged down the metal stairs to the floor and gathered the team around. They lounged on the floor, sucking wind and slugging bottles of water. The older guys’ shoulders were braced for impact. They knew they deserved a butt chewing for their rotten performance.

He took a calming breath and reached for the professionalism that was the hallmark of the Reapers. “Talk to me,” he said evenly.

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