Page 35 of Hidden Attraction

He hurried to the desk, heart thumping, sweat gathering at the base of his neck. He scrubbed a hand over his face, pushing back the nerves.

He couldn’t afford a single misstep.

“All right. Talk me through it.”

Dante guided him. Chase input the code, waited for the portal to open, then stepped back as lines of text unfurled across the screen.

“Good, Cobra. I’m in. I only need a minute.”

Chase stood guard by the door, peeking out at the hallway through the sliver of space between the frame and the glass. Every second stretched like an endless length of elastic.

A glance at his watch revealed that the timer wasn’t just counting down—it had run out. His thirty minutes was up.

But that was fine.

He’d been dancing with danger his entire life.

* * * * *

Alyssa deliberately slowed her pace as she chatted with the commander. She needed all the time she could buy for Julian.

Was the man some kind of professional hacker too? Thirty minutes to search the base’s system seemed superhuman to her. She had to draw out this tour with Commander Thorne. Every precious second she could buy would only help Julian and his team. And her too. She was still reeling from that kidnapping attempt back in New York.

She kept her expression neutral and relaxed, but her heart ticked like a metronome. Whenever Thorne stopped talking, she offered him an encouraging smile to make him start again. Every minute she held the commander’s attention was another minute Julian had to dig.

So far, they’d touched on the topics that convinced him to give this tour in the first place. A few she had made up on the fly, but they covered everything far too quickly. She needed more material, more to keep the man talking—and away from Julian for as long as possible.

The training facility they were standing in offered plenty of opportunities for discussion, and Alyssa seized on every single one. From the types of training that took place here to the demographics of the men who attended, if there was something to talk about, Alyssa did.

She scanned the expansive space with thick ropes attached to the ceiling, gym equipment and even padded mats lined up against one wall for hand-to-hand combat training. “How many people are stationed here these days?”

He glanced at her, voice clear and low. “These days? Around sixty-five, give or take. A few cycle in or out for training or missions.”

Was it her imagination or did his tone sharpen on the last word?

She had to keep him talking. Distraction was the name of the game in everything she did, from negotiating with a terrorist to keeping a commander occupied.

“Was the roll call always this light?” she asked.

“No. Years ago we had over two hundred boots on the ground. A full operation.”

“Interesting.”

“Now troubles seemed to have shifted from this area. They take place in other parts of the world, and bases like this aren’t heavily manned.”

“Absolutely understandable.”

She kept pace beside him, noting his body language after that exchange. Relaxed. At ease. He wasn’t being evasive. If anything, he seemed open.

She needed to keep him that way. And a little flattery wouldn’t hurt.

“It seems like a lot to be in charge of.” She gave him a warm smile, hoping he didn’t notice the perspiration breaking out on her brow. Damn her stress sweat. When she got back to the States, she was going to find a pill for that. Or a shot.

“It must be a big weight to carry,” she poured it on.

He gave her a smile. “It is. But it’s the job.” His pride was taking the bait.

To her distress, they exited the training room, which led them outside, the mid-morning heat like a furnace blast. When they entered the cool building again, her jitters increased.

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