Page 83 of Power Surge

“No, ma'am. Is it helping?”

Her smile widens, and a shallow breath escapes me at the sight. Even after a full day of work, she still manages to find a reason to smile. If I do find a way to get her to say yes, I’ll do everything I can every day to make sure those beautiful smiles never stop.

“Eh,” she says with a shrug. “I'm kidding. Yes. Do you believe unicorns are real?”

“Excuse me?”

“Unicorns. The magical horned horse that is beautiful and could double as a badass secret weapon.”

“Is she serious?” he asks, turning to me.

I just shrug, a smile fighting to escape. Damn, I love this woman. This has to be the most random interrogation tactic I've ever seen, but it's all Randi. Hell, she might not even know what she's doing—she's just being her.

“No, I lost the hope of mystical creatures and heroes a long time ago.”

“Well, that's sad.” Disappointment laces her words.

“That's the reality of this world.”

“Even you?”

“Even me what?”

“You're not a hero?”

His nostrils flare. “I'm no one.”

“I know how that feels.” Picking at a button string, she turns her attention to her lap. “Doesn't make it true.” Looking up through her dark lashes, she flashes me a smile. “Someday, someone will come along and show you how untrue that statement is.”

“I thought we just covered the fact that I don't believe in mystical creatures.”

A tremor shakes her shoulders. Chafing her hands up and down her arms, she turns her full focus back to Smith. “Just wait. It’ll happen, and I'll get to tell you ‘I told you so.’ So why would you kill those guys anyway?”

“It's my job to keep you safe, is it not?” Three shallow lines form along his scrunched brow.

“It is, but why shoot them? Why not arrest them?”

“I don't follow.” The lost expression on his face makes me want to believe him.

“She wants to know why shooting them in the head was your first reaction,” I say to help clarify.

“It's efficient.”

“Efficient,” she says, shaking her head. “Now I'm the one who doesn't understand.”

“If I shoot them in the head, then I know they’re down for good and can't recover to come back and shoot me or you.”

“Logical,” she muses. “I suppose I'll never understand the first reaction being to kill someone or be killed. Where did you learn to be so… efficient?”

I drop my arms to my sides. Leaning closer, I wait eagerly to hear his answer. All the guys on the team have their own suspicions. Most assume he was a Ranger or SEAL before flunking out of Homeland Security or NSA. But the quietness about him, the hidden darkness that he keeps tucked deep inside, makes me think CIA.

He makes to shift on the couch, and if I weren’t watching like a hungry hawk, I would've missed the hint of a wince at the small movement. I scan his starched white dress shirt, wishing for the first time since I was six years old that I had X-ray vision.

“A little bit of everywhere.” His cold gaze slides to me, then to Tank. “You don't seem the type to beat around the bush, Randi. If there’s something you want to ask me, ask me.”

“Did you inform the insurgents of the change of plans in Cairo?”

I'll give it to my girl, her voice stays steady and strong as she holds his gaze.

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