Page 71 of Over the Edge

“True.”

They fell silent, both staring at the dancing flames. The wood hissed quietly as moisture escaped from it.

Eventually, Trevor said, “I have to admit, I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’m glad I’m here. The two of us working together stand a much better chance of rescuing Ken and getting out alive than you trying it alone. And you know it, even if you won’t admit it.”

“Having a better chance doesn’t mean we have a good chance of getting out of this alive, however.”

“We’re SEALs. We can work with any odds better than zero and turn them to our advantage,” she murmured.

“I hate it when you quote my lectures back at me.”

“I learned from the best.”

He added some wood to the fire. “Any chance I can convince you to return to Karaken with Mansur?”

“Whether you like it or not, I was greenlighted for this mission, too. It’s above your pay grade to send me home, mister.”

He got a stubborn look in his eyes that announced loud and clear that he would be calling back to the States to demand her removal from the mission as soon as he got away from her long enough to make the call.

“Only way they’ll pull me is if you tell them I’m not performing up to standards. And I defy you to name one thing I’ve done that isn’t up to snuff. I’ve handled myself not only in close quarters combat but also a firefight. You have no grounds to send me home.”

He scowled hard enough that she took it as an admission of her being right.

She held out an olive branch, saying, “We’re the Reapers. We always have each other’s backs. Take tonight, for example. When you finally quit trying to get rid of me, you’re going to get about four hours’ sleep you wouldn’t otherwise have gotten. If I weren’t here, you’d already be popping stim pills, and you know it.”

He said nothing, and she drove her point home. “You’d have had no choice but to stay awake all night to make sure Mansur didn’t slit your throat.”

“Thank you.”

She snorted. “That was the most ungrateful thank you I’ve ever heard.”

“You sound like my grandmother.” He smiled a little and added, “The rich, mean one.”

If he was casually insulting her, things were good between them. Breathing a sigh of relief, she reached for a branch off the wood pile and commenced breaking it into smaller pieces. “Why don’t you go get some sleep?”

Trevor shocked her by pivoting on the log beside her and drawing her into a quick, hard kiss. He muttered against her lips, “You are the most exasperating woman I’ve ever met.”

“Even more than Grandma Moneybags?”

A gust of silent laughter caressed her cheek, and then he was kissing her again, more gently. “What am I going to do with you?” he asked between kisses.

She reached for his cheeks, razor stubble harsh over his smooth skin. “You’re going to be grateful I’m here and let me help you do this thing. And when we’ve successfully rescued Kenny and returned home, you’re going to admit exactly how crazy about me you are.”

“What makes you think I wouldn’t admit that now?”

“In the first place, I don’t think you actually know just how crazy you are about me. In the second place, we’ve got a job to do. I don’t expect you to run around out here making mad, passionate love with me while we hunt terrorists. I’d actually prefer to focus on the job and live through this little field trip.”

A reluctant smile tugged at the corners of Trevor’s mouth.

She responded, “Hah! And there’s another reason you need me out here. I keep you from taking yourself too seriously.”

The smile vanished. “Thing is, Anna, this is deadly serious business. You’re still in training. You haven’t been on a real mission, yet.”

She retorted, “It felt pretty damned real when I killed those guys in the alley and shot those guys at the checkpoint.”

“You haven’t had people shooting at you, mortars exploding overhead, and an op going to hell around you. Which means you haven’t had to make life and death decisions in a split second. Would you sacrifice your life to save me or Kenny?”

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