Page 15 of Covert Temptation

He felt his muscles lock from the base of his spine to his nape, each vertebra setting into a rigid line. “The apartment?”

Con added two slices of cheese to each sandwich. “No, that was compromised the minute she walked out and bought herself a train ticket. Command found a place for you outside the city, far enough away that there aren’t cameras on every pole. And close enough that we can still support you with a chopper flight. Plus, you’ll have the ability to work on finding the sniper who took out Shaw, and look into the Red Cross worker’s son.”

The entire reason the ambassador was targeted in the first place. Alyssa and Chase just spent time in Syria to uncover why the attack on Alyssa and another special ops team took place. They discovered a single event—a Red Cross worker had died in a bombing that could have been stopped.

Now, the team suspected her son could have acted on revenge.

It was important work. Work that would make a difference. But watching over a woman who constantly broke the rules—and put herself and others responsible for her in blatant danger by running away—didn’t sound like a good time.

He’d rather walk into a den of lions after soaking in meat than share a safe house with Kennedy Bloom.

Con topped his sandwich with lettuce and mayo and then the final slice of bread. When he gathered it in one hand and brought it to his mouth, he was watching Dante closely.

He had to try to win this argument. “I can’t help but think there are other guys on the team who would be a better choice. I’m more of an asset staying right here, where I have access to my computer system.”

“Decision’s made, Dante. We’re down a man since Denver left. You’re the one who can still be pulled from the team if we get the call.”

He expanded his lungs with air. Though they felt itchy and hot, he held his breath for several beats before letting it out in an even trickle.

“I know you don’t like hearing it, but you’re the only player who can still be on the gameboard providing us with backup while protecting her.”

Framed like that, the order made a little more sense—and Dante felt a slight bit better about carrying it out. Sure, babysitting Kennedy wasn’t his idea of a good time, but this wasn’t just about her. Someone had murdered Secretary-General Shaw. Someone was targeting the last member of Echo team. Someone had it out for the ambassador…and possibly Kennedy too.

The team suspected everything led back to a single, bloody point—a bombing at a Red Cross facility in Syria. A woman had died. Her son, grief-stricken, later disappeared, ruled a suicide. But his body was never found.

Now Dante had the unenviable task of unraveling the truth behind all of it.

He reached for a slice of meat and a hunk of bread, chewing over more than just the facts. If he was about to go off the gridwith Kennedy, he’d need to keep up his strength just to keep from throttling her.

Even more disturbing? In his imagination, his hands weren’t exactly around her neck… and she wasn’t complaining.

* * * * *

Kennedy was never in the mood for one of Dante’s moods, but shereallywasn’t in the mood now.

He sat rigid behind the wheel, his forearm locked like steel, while he ignored her.

She stared straight ahead too. Fat snowflakes drifted down, melting on contact with the warm glass. The world around them was still and dark, muffled by the hushed whisper of falling snow.

Inside her, her nerves screamed. Dante hadn’t spoken a word since they pulled away from the base. She might have been wearing a blackout hood for the first few miles but she still had ears, and his silence had a sharp edge. Like disapproval. Or judgment.

She wasn’t sure which unnerved her more.

The urge to freak out hummed just under the surface of her skin. She hated flying blind, with no plan in place. And right now, she had no clue what her future held. No knowledge of how to fix her current situation.

Knowledge was power, and she was completely powerless. After talking to Alyssa, she knew even less about where she stood in this game. Alyssa might have softened toward her after their talk, but that didn’t mean anyone else had.

She shifted in her seat, uncomfortable after endless hours spent traveling today. “Where are we going?”

He gripped the wheel like it had personally wronged him and didn’t look away from the road when he answered. “Safe house. To get your things.”

Surprise made her spine stiffen. She bit her lip to keep from prodding him for more information because if she knew anything about the SEAL, it was that asking questions was a fast track to nowhere.

After she got her things, where was she headed? Wherever he was taking her, she knew he wouldn’t trust her not to run again. She’d seen him place a duffel bag in the back seat. At the time, she hadn’t thought much of it. Now, she had questions galore.

Could that mean…he’d be staying with her?

She darted a quick glance at his long fingers wrapped around the wheel as if he could bend it to his will. Even in the dark, she made out the hair sprinkling the back of his knuckles. She followed the line of a tendon up his forearm to his elbow, where it bunched like a solid rock.

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