Page 23 of Hidden Attraction

She was thinking of him less like a wall of muscle guarding her while doing his best to annoy her, and more like a man.

He fell into step with her, hands loose at his sides. One hovered near his waistband where she guessed he carried his weapon. In the shadows, his expression was unreadable.

Alyssa slipped her hands into her pockets, fingers patting the edge of the phone Chase gave her just before they boarded the plane. The device had been returned to her only after Blackout’s tech guru searched through everything on it.

A ripple of annoyance ran through her. She’d still like to know what they thoughtshewas involved in. That attack could have stemmed from anywhere. People often uncovered things like flight schedules despite the security surrounding it. Someone back at the airstrip might have even spotted her getting into the Blackout vehicle and tailed it without them knowing.

Though that seemed unusual, considering the alertness both Julian and Denver exhibited.

Julian. When did she start thinking of her partner by his first name? She pondered that for long seconds but found no answer, so she put it from her mind.

Her focus flipped back to her and Kennedy being under suspicion. Poor Kennedy must be frightened right now, being held in that base. Alyssa thought about calling her. Did she even have her phone back?

She decided against making the call. Later, when she knew what to say, what toask,she would.

Right now, she felt too out of her element, something that she rarely felt in her career. She was paid to have the answers—and she always did.

Except…something about the interaction with the commander was eating at her. Maybe she just didn’t make a good enough assessment of the man.

Or maybe…maybe there was something really off about him.

She trusted her instincts about people. It got her this far in life. She needed to think on it a bit more before bringing up the topic to Julian.

The day felt strange—warped. She might know a little bit more about Julian, but they were still strangers. Their dinner offered a brief distraction from the mission, got them out of being shut up together in the safehouse.

It had also been…strangely grounding.

She threw him a look from the corner of her eye as they paced together down the sidewalk.

He kept a vigilant watch as they moved through the quiet streets. “We’re not far now. Two blocks.”

“Julian.”

He jerked his head around, fixing her in his stare, his dark eyes roaming over her face as if trying to figure her out.

“Can I ask you something?”

He nodded.

She stopped at the end of the alley. Their safehouse was nearby but a bit beyond sight.

“I think the commander might be hiding something.”

He stopped walking too, the sharpness seeping back into his gaze, making those flint-like specks into cold steel once more. “I thought the same.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. He was nervous. Defensive. Trying to shut the whole thing down before we started.”

She nodded. “I got the feeling he was holding back, watching for our cues, waiting to see what we knew before he spoke.”

“He doesn’t want to give anything away.”

“He clearly doesn’t want us digging up something that might be buried.”

He looked at her then, really looked at her, and the intensity in his expression made her breath catch. Not just because they were on the same page but because hesawher—not as a liability or a suit, but as someone who could hold her own.

She studied the shadows playing over his rugged features. When he touched his fingers to her forearm, she gave a start.

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