Page 37 of Hidden Attraction

They shared a laugh.

Thorne turned to enter the room. At that very moment, Julian shot out of another hallway and fell into step beside Thorne.

He didn’t meet her eyes, but she was trained to spot small tells.

And judging from the grim set of Julian’s jaw, whatever he found was worth the close call.

EIGHT

Chase matched his steps to the commander’s, keeping his own posture easy and professional.

Thorne turned to him with hands clasped behind his back, his gaze flickering to him long enough for Chase to spot the question in his eyes.

Chase rubbed his hands together. “Nice base you have here. Good heads.”

Alyssa’s eyes bulged. The commander narrowed his.

Chase continued to deflect away from the real question hovering in the air. “I’ve been to a lot of restrooms on a lot of bases. Your personnel should be praised for their attention to cleanliness.”

Alyssa twisted aside, trying not to meet his eyes. Chase may not operate the same way she did when it came to diplomatic relations, but the restroom excuse worked every time. It was the perfect cover for his disappearing act. Nobody wanted to touch the topic, and Thorne was no different.

Though tension buzzed along Chase’s lower spine, he ignored the sensation. “We appreciate how accommodating you’ve been, Commander Thorne.”

He dipped his head in a stiff nod. “I hope you found what you were looking for in your research.”

He shifted his shoulders in a nonchalant way even as the lie rolled off his tongue with ease. “I wouldn’t say that.”

Alyssa jumped in, offering Thorne a gracious and engaging smile, all smooth edges and charm. “Thank you for the tour, Commander. It was very instructive. I’ll be sure to pass along all I learned about our military base in Syria to the secretary of state, who will inform the president.”

A man stationed on a dull military base in the desert didn’t often get a chance to rub shoulders with people of importance, so Alyssa’s mention of the president perked him up.

“We’ll want to stop by the base again before we depart. Just to catch up,” she went on.

“Of course. I look forward to it.”

Chase didn’t miss the pause. The way his eyes settled on Alyssa a beat longer than necessary. Not hostile. Not suspicious, exactly. But wary.

He’d seen that look before from men in charge, holding too many secrets under their skin.

A cough sounded behind them, and the three of them swung toward the open door.

“Rezvan.” Thorne stepped forward, hand extended for the new man to shake. “Just the person we hoped to see today.”

Alyssa darted a glance at Chase. He held up a hand for her to hold all questions until they saw how this played out.

“Ambassador, Special Operative, Lieutenant James Rezvan is the assistant I mentioned.”

“Hello.” Alyssa moved forward to shake his hand, and Chase did the same, sweeping his gaze over the man and committing every detail about him to memory.

Rezvan was older, pushing sixty, with sun-darkened skin. In full uniform, he must be hot as hell.

And his eyes held stories—plenty of which they didn’t ask for.

He nodded at Chase with respect and gave Alyssa a small dip of his head, avoiding direct eye contact.

“Lieutenant Rezvan, we’d love to learn more about the area. Are you willing to give us a tour of the city?”

He paused but finally agreed to Alyssa’s question.

---